The Russian government will start turning back all imports of alcohol and tobacco as of Jan. 1 that do not bear new excise stamps, customs officials say.


But as the deadline nears, importers say they haven't bought the stamps. Few even know how the new system will work, and those who know complain that the rules are confusing, time-consuming and likely to lead to major shortages next year.


"Maybe we will entirely stop tobacco purchases abroad," said Nina Chernykh, deputy director in charge of tobacco with TKS, a trading company that specializes in tobacco and candy. "The regulation makes us take money out of circulation for too long."


An official at the trading company Marcon who asked not to be named said his company would definitely stop importing tobacco and alcohol products until the impact of the new rules becomes clear.


Under the new regime, which is part of a plan agreed with the International Monetary Fund to boost budgetary revenues and cut smuggling, companies that import tobacco and alcohol must order excise stamps from their local State Customs Committee. They would then send the stamps to their foreign supplier, which must adhere the stamps to each pack and bottle before the goods can cross the Russian border.


The stamps are printed at Gosznak, the state mint, which takes about a month to fulfill each order, according to Yelena Tsvetkova, head of the VAT and Excise-Tax Collection Department of the State Customs Committee.


To collect the stamps, importers must first provide a bank guarantee to the local customs committee that exceeds the excise tax due on all the goods to be imported. If the importer does not bring in the goods and pay the taxes within eight months, the total amount of the guarantee is automatically transferred to the federal budget.


Chernykh complained that the entire process can take several months, burying importers in bureaucratic red tape.


But Tsvetkova was concerned neither with importers' complaints nor with the possibility of shortages of tobacco and alcohol, about half of which is imported.


"Some companies are intentionally provoking such a situation," she said. "It is the companies' problem. They should have planned the amount of their imports and number of stamps they need. They knew about our plans since April."


She said that as of Jan.1 tobacco and alcohol that is imported without stamps will be turned back at the border. If any gets through without stamps, it will be regarded as smuggled.


The State Trade Inspectorate plans to launch regular checks of shops and kiosks next year to make sure that all tobacco and alcohol goods have stamps, according to Galina Belova, head of the inspectorate's trade department. If shops sell excise goods without stamps, they will have to produce documents proving the goods were imported before Jan.1.


But the manager of at least one food and dry goods store in central Moscow said he had no way to prove when his inventory had been imported.


"We shall not be able to prove that our tobacco and alcohol was brought in before Jan.1," said Vadim Meshcheryakov, adding he knew nothing about the new excise regulations.


Belova said the inspectorate had not yet decided what punitive measures it would take against stores that broke the rules. As a rule, she said, it imposes fines for trade violations.


The cost of the stamps is minimal and is counted as partial payment of the total excise tax due. A tobacco stamp measuring 20 by 44 millimeters costs 0.05 Ecu ($0.06); a 20-by-160-millimeter alcohol stamp costs 0.1 Ecu; a special stamp for imports from members of the Commonwealth of Independent States costs 0.01 Ecu. The stamps are protected from forgery by microtexts, watermarks and shading, Tsvetkova said.