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Argus international pricing agency will be allowed to continue operating in Russia despite a recently enacted ban on foreign companies researching Russian commodity markets, according to a government bill submitted to the State Duma.

The law, which came into force on March 1, 2026, prohibits foreign companies, as well as Russian firms with foreign ownership, from providing commodity market analysis services in Russia. Before the ban took effect, the London-based Argus sent a letter to the Finance Ministry expressing “serious concern” regarding the law. In the letter, company representatives pointed out that Argus remained the only international pricing agency that continued to share its data with Russian authorities after the start of Russia's military operations in Ukraine.

Draft amendments by the Finance Ministry would allow foreign entities to conduct market research activities until at least September 1, 2028, if their data is required under Russian tax or customs and tariff regulations. Argus’s oil price quotations are currently used by the Finance Ministry to calculate taxes in the oil industry.

Deputy finance minister Alexei Sazanov earlier said the proposal to retain this agency’s benchmarks for tax purposes came from the ministry. According to the bill’s explanatory note, the exemption would remain in place for a transition period defined under the law on administrators of commodity and financial benchmarks.

Russian authorities will set out the rules governing the use of such indicators no later than September 1, 2028, according to the law. However, the use of a foreign indicator may be permitted in case no equivalent domestic indicator exists.