Currently, liability applies to non-payment of maintenance as such. The penalties for the offence remain unchanged. Similar amendments have also been made to criminal legislation. Repeated failure without valid reasons to pay maintenance in full will also become a criminal offence from 10 January. The penalty remains unchanged. It is also clarified that a maintenance defaulter may avoid criminal liability by paying the entire debt. The Russian government, which authored the amendments, explained them by inconsistent judicial practice: some courts punish partial payment, while others believe only complete non-payment constitutes an administrative or criminal offence. The changes were developed to remove this legal uncertainty.