According to the proposal of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the state procurement of electric wheelchairs of foreign production should be carried out in accordance with the “second extra” rule.
This means that the relevant applications will not be accepted if there is at least one offer with medical devices-analogues of Russian production or EAEU countries (in addition to Russia, these are: Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Belarus). At the moment, electric wheelchairs for the disabled are purchased according to the “third wheel” rule (Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 102 of May 05, 2015).
In addition, electric wheelchairs will be included in the list of items for public procurement at minimum quotas. Currently, 64.2% of purchases of electric wheelchairs are imported. The proposed measures are designed to support domestic producers, for whom public procurement is the main way to market their products (only 10% of the volume produced comes from private orders).
Every year, Russian enterprises produce more than seven thousand electric wheelchairs a year. It is assumed that this amount will be enough to cover the needs of government orders, which are estimated at four thousand units per year.
Changes are planned to be made to Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No 617 of April 30, 2020. If adopted, the amendments will enter into force at the beginning of next year.
