Russia’s veterinary traceability system explained — Mercury, Galen, Argus and 2025 deadlines
As of March 1, 2025, veterinary clinics cannot legally prescribe an antibiotic without an electronic prescription issued through the Galen system. On September 1, 2025, a new operating procedure for FGIS VetIS comes into force, while the Government Decree governing the system itself is valid only until March 1, 2028. In the remaining time, market participants must adapt to the updated rules and prepare for the next round of changes.
FGIS VetIS integrates more than 15 components. Three of them form the foundation for the traceability of veterinary medicinal products: Mercury is responsible for accompanying documents, Galen maintains the registry of medicines and prescriptions, and Argus controls border crossings. This article examines how the system is structured and what has changed in its operating rules.
How the System Was Established
The Law «On Veterinary Medicine» (No. 4979-1) was adopted in 1993. At that time, veterinary control relied on paper certificates and references, and each region maintained its own records. Tracking a product from producer to point of sale was practically impossible.
The turning point came in 2015. Federal Law No. 243-FZ of July 13, 2015, supplemented the Law «On Veterinary Medicine» with Article 4.1, which consolidated the creation of FGIS VetIS. In November 2016, the Government approved Decree No. 1140 «On the Procedure for the Creation, Development, and Operation of the Federal State Information System in the Field of Veterinary Medicine.»
The system addresses five tasks:
Ensuring the traceability of controlled goods
Issuing veterinary accompanying documents
Issuing permits for import, export, and transit
Registering the results of veterinary sanitary examinations and laboratory tests
Accounting for organizations working with biological waste
The system operator is the Federal State Budgetary Institution «Federal Centre for Animal Health» (ARRIAH). The customer and owner of the information in the system is Rosselkhoznadzor.
As of January 1, 2018, electronic veterinary certification became mandatory. Paper veterinary certificates became a thing of the past for most categories of goods.
Components of FGIS VetIS
| Component | Purpose | Main Users |
|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Electronic veterinary accompanying documents | Manufacturers, sellers, carriers of controlled goods |
| Galen | Registry of veterinary drugs, feed additives, electronic prescriptions | Marketing authorization holders (MAHs), veterinary pharmacies, veterinary clinics |
| Argus | Permits for import, export, and transit | Importers, exporters, customs authorities |
| Cerberus | Registry of economic entities and supervised facilities | All turnover participants |
| Horriot | Marking and accounting of animals | Animal owners, veterinary services |
| Vesta | Results of laboratory testing | Laboratories, regulatory authorities |
| Sirano | Early warning system for unsafe products | Regulatory authorities |
| eCert | Electronic exchange of certificates with other countries | Exporters, Rosselkhoznadzor |
Mercury and Electronic Veterinary Documents
Mercury ensures the issuance of electronic veterinary accompanying documents (eVADs) for controlled goods from the List approved by Order of the Ministry of Agriculture No. 648 of December 18, 2015: live animals, meat and offal, fish and seafood, dairy products, eggs, honey, animal feed, raw hides, and hunting trophies.
The procedure for issuing eVADs is established by Order of the Ministry of Agriculture No. 862 of December 13, 2022 (as amended on May 7, 2025). The Order is effective until September 1, 2029.
Mercury is based on two mechanisms. Each new certificate is created on the basis of the preceding one — thus forming a genealogical tree of the product, and any batch can be traced back to the original manufacturer or point of entry.
The second mechanism is the warehouse log. Mercury maintains up-to-date product balances at each facility. When a transport eVAD is issued, the system automatically deducts the volume from the sender’s log. If the declared volume exceeds the actual remaining balance, the transaction is blocked: this is precisely how «phantom» batches with no document trail are detected.
Time limits for issuing VADs:
| Document type | Time limit |
|---|---|
| Production eVAD | 48 hours after the end of the technological process |
| Production eVAD (if laboratory testing or veterinary sanitary examination is required) | 24 hours after receiving the results |
| Transport eVAD | Prior to the start of movement |
| Turnover eVAD | Prior to the start of sale or gratuitous transfer |
Galen and Electronic Prescriptions
Galen maintains the state registry of veterinary medicinal products and feed additives, issues electronic prescriptions for prescription drugs, and collects adverse event reports.
Order of the Ministry of Agriculture No. 776 of November 2, 2022, established the procedure for prescribing veterinary medicinal products and the list of products dispensed by prescription. The list includes drugs containing narcotic and psychotropic substances, antimicrobial drugs (antibiotics, sulfonamides, fluoroquinolones), and antiparasitic drugs for agricultural animals.
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Date of entry into force | March 1, 2025 |
| Validity period of the Order | Until March 1, 2031 |
| Prescription validity period | 30 calendar days |
| Extension for chronic diseases | Up to 1 year |
| Format of issuance | Electronic (Galen) or paper |
The prescription must specify the doctor’s and clinic’s details, the owner’s and animal’s details, the name and dosage of the drug, and the diagnosis. Clinical confirmation is mandatory for antimicrobial drugs.
Argus and Cross-Border Control
Argus issues permits from Rosselkhoznadzor for the import, export, and transit of controlled goods. Before issuance, the system checks the epizootic situation in the exporting country and the status of the manufacturing enterprise — the entire cycle takes up to 15 working days.
Since April 2, 2024, Argus has been integrated with the My Export platform of Russian Export Center JSC. Exporters submit applications through a single window for foreign trade activity, and the Federal Customs Service (FCS) receives information about decisions in real time and does not require additional confirmation at the border.
New Operating Procedure for the System
Order of the Ministry of Agriculture No. 331 of May 13, 2025, approved a new procedure for submitting information to FGIS VetIS. The document comes into force on September 1, 2025, and replaces Order No. 318, which had been operational since 2017.
| Parameter | Previously (Order No. 318) | Now (Order No. 331) |
|---|---|---|
| Time limit for entering information about facilities | Not clearly regulated | 1 working day from the day of receipt of information about the start of activities (paragraph 25) |
| Time limit for changes regarding facilities | Not clearly regulated | 1 working day from the day of changes (paragraph 26) |
| Time limit for submitting diagnostic data for especially dangerous diseases (paragraph 35 of List No. 476) | Not clearly regulated | 4 hours (paragraph 36) |
| Time limit for submitting diagnostic data for contagious diseases (paragraph 35 of List No. 635) | Not clearly regulated | 1 working day (paragraph 36) |
| Time limit for submitting laboratory test results | Not clearly regulated | 4 hours from the moment of obtaining results (paragraph 43) |
| Time limit for submitting veterinary sanitary examination results | Not clearly regulated | 4 hours from the moment of obtaining results (paragraph 51) |
| Validity period of the Order | Indefinite | Until March 1, 2028 |
Decree No. 1140 on FGIS VetIS also expires on March 1, 2028. By this date, the Ministry of Agriculture must approve an updated regulatory framework.
Integration with the Marking System
Government Decree No. 675 of May 27, 2024, established the deadlines for the mandatory marking of veterinary medicinal products in the GIS MT Chestny Znak system:
| Stage | Date |
|---|---|
| Registration of turnover participants | From 01.09.2024 |
| Application of identification means | From 01.10.2024 |
| Transfer of data on retail sales | From 01.03.2025 |
| Transfer of data on withdrawal from turnover | From 01.09.2025 |
| Transfer of data on turnover | From 01.03.2026 |
Government Decree No. 674 of May 27, 2024, established the deadlines for marking pet food:
| Stage | Date |
|---|---|
| Mandatory marking of dry food | From 01.10.2024 |
| Mandatory marking of wet food | From 01.03.2025 |
| Volume-varietal accounting | From 01.09.2025 |
| Reconciliation of volumes in Chestny Znak and eVADs | From 01.11.2025 |
| Item-by-item accounting | From 01.12.2026 |
From November 1, 2025, manufacturers and importers of feed will have their volumes in Chestny Znak reconciled with the volumes in veterinary accompanying documents. The permissible discrepancy is 5%.
What to Do
Check registration in Cerberus. Ensure that the organization and all facilities are registered. Update data if addresses or types of activity have changed. The time limit for making changes under the new procedure is 1 working day.
Set up operations with Mercury. Manufacturers, custodians, carriers, and sellers of controlled goods are required to issue eVADs. Designate responsible staff and train them on the system. The new Operating Procedure for FGIS VetIS (Order No. 331) comes into force on September 1, 2025.
Connect to Galen. Veterinary clinics and pharmacies must ensure the issuance of electronic prescriptions. Verify that specialists are certified and have access to the system. Without certification, working with prescription drugs has been impossible since March 1, 2025.
Register in GIS MT. Manufacturers and importers of veterinary drugs and animal feed are required to register in Chestny Znak and apply identification means to the packaging. The deadline for transferring data on the turnover of veterinary drugs is March 1, 2026.
Track changes in the regulatory framework. Decree No. 1140 and Order No. 331 are valid until March 1, 2028. By this date, the Ministry of Agriculture must approve new rules for working with the system.
Until March 2028, the Ministry of Agriculture must rewrite the regulatory framework of FGIS VetIS. This means a new round of changes to the system’s operating rules. Companies that are only now setting up their processes should keep this date in their plans and not count on long-term stability.
Regulatory Framework:
1. Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 674 of 27.05.2024 «On Approval of the Rules for Marking Animal Feed»
2. Law of the Russian Federation No. 4979-1 of 14.05.1993 «On Veterinary Medicine» (as amended on 28.12.2024)
3. Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 1140 of 07.11.2016 «On the Procedure for the Creation, Development, and Operation of FGIS in the Field of Veterinary Medicine» (as amended on 27.03.2025, valid until 01.03.2028)
4. Order of the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia No. 862 of 13.12.2022 «On Approval of Veterinary Rules for Organizing Work on Issuing VADs» (as amended on 07.05.2025, valid until 01.09.2029)
5. Order of the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia No. 776 of 02.11.2022 «On Approval of the Procedure for Prescribing Veterinary Medicinal Products» (entered into force on 01.03.2025, valid until 01.03.2031)
6. Order of the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia No. 331 of 13.05.2025 «On Approval of the Procedure for Submitting Information to FGIS VetIS» (enters into force on 01.09.2025, valid until 01.03.2028)
7. Order of the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia No. 648 of 18.12.2015 «On Approval of the List of Controlled Goods»
8. Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 550 of 05.04.2023 «On Approval of the Rules for Animal Accounting»
9. Order of the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia No. 832 of 03.11.2023 «On Approval of Veterinary Rules for Marking and Accounting of Animals»
10. Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 675 of 27.05.2024 «On Approval of the Rules for Marking Veterinary Medicinal Products»