The volume of non-payments by state-owned companies to Russian businesses in 2025 has soared by approximately 2.7 times in annual terms, writes “Vedomosti” with reference to the SME Corporation. We are talking about contracts concluded within the framework of public procurement (223-FZ). “If in 2024 there were 200 appeals for a total amount of 1.5 billion rubles, then this year there have already been 548 appeals for almost 4.03 billion rubles,” said a representative of the SME Corporation. In November, the Federal Antimonopoly Service reported that since the beginning of the year, 1173 administrative cases have been initiated for non-payments in public procurement, which is 20% more than the total number of such cases in 2024 (980).
According to Alexei Kuchmin, the founder of the GC “AIR”, the situation with non-payments by state corporations is “systemic and very serious”. Companies often delay payments for a period of one to three months, which effectively turns unpaid money into an interest-free loan, noted the expert. He explained that companies in the IT and telecom industries, as well as construction and industrial production, are the most active in working with 223-FZ. As Alexander Kalinin, the president of “Opora Russia”, pointed out, non-payments within the framework of 223-FZ have become widespread since the end of 2024. This is due to a drop in the income of state-owned companies and the high cost of credit funds due to a high key rate, he believes (The Moscow Times).
