Monitoring of the Federal Legislation dated 18.02.2004

Decision of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 84 of February 16, 2004 on the Amendments to the Decision of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 914 of December 2, 2000

Amends the rules of keeping of logbooks of received and drawn up invoices, purchase ledger and sales ledger in the estimates of the value added tax. The mentioned rules are being brought in compliance with the Federal Law No. 117-FZ of July 7, 2003 having entered into force from January 1, 2004. The new wording is provided for the forms of the purchase ledger and the sales ledger. The mentioned forms include the column envisaging the 18% tax rate and preserve the column for the calculation of the 20% VAT rate.

The changes were also made to the form of the invoice. Thus, the "Seal", "Issued by" and the "Signature of the Seller Representative in Charge" are omitted.

The Decision specifies that invoices issued when selling commodities (carrying out works, rendering services) by organisations and independent entrepreneurs for cash must be registered in the sales ledger. In this case, the readings of control tapes of cash registers are registered in the sales ledger without the amounts of appropriate invoices.

Decision of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 51 of February 6, 2004 on the Amendments to and Invalidation of Some of the Decisions of the Government of the Russian Federation Pertaining to Improvement of State Management in the Russian Federation

The amendments are introduced pursuant to the abolishment from July 1, 2003 of the Federal Border Guard Service of the Russian Federation, Federal Agency of Governmental Communication and Information of the President of the Russian Federation and the Federal Service of the Tax Police. The functions of the Federal Border Guard Service are handed over to the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation incorporating the Border Guard Service. The functions of the Federal Agency of Governmental Communication and Information of the Russian Federation are handed over to the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation, Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation and the Service of Special Communication and Information. The functions of the Federal Service of the Tax Police are handed over to the State Committee of the Russian Federation for Control over Circulation of Narcotic and Psychotropic Substances and the Federal Service for Economic and Tax Crimes of the Ministry of Internal Affairs o f the Russian Federation.

Order of the State Committee of the Russian Federation for Control over Circulation of Narcotic and Psychotropic Substances No. 306 of December 31, 2003 on the Endorsement of the Typical Internal Rules of the Bodies in Charge of Control over Circulation of Narcotic and Psychotropic Substances

The divisions, territorial bodies and organisations of the State Committee of the Russian Federation for Control over Circulation of Narcotic and Psychotropic Substances shall have a strictly regulated daily routine stipulated by the particulars of service activities and operative situation, time of the year, local conditions and other specific circumstances. The typical rules shall define for the personnel, federal state servants and employees of the bodies of the State Committee of the Russian Federation for Control over Circulation of Narcotic and Psychotropic Substances the length of the working week, length, beginning, end and procedure of registration of the service (working) time, time of breaks for rest and meals, on-duty (shift) schedules in cases of shift work, procedure of work in excess of the specified service (working) time, as well as on week-ends and holidays.

Registered in the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation on February 13, 2004. Reg. No. 5550.

Order of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation No. 23 of January 14, 2004 on the Organisation of Reception, Registration, Record Keeping and Consideration in the Bodies of the Federal Security Service of Reports of Crimes and Other Criminal Information

Information of crimes may be received in the security bodies in the form of applications, surrender, reports of committed or anticipated crimes, other sources. The body of investigation, investigator must accept and verify the report of any committed or anticipated crime and take the decision on it within the scope of authority specified in the Code of Criminal Procedures of the Russian Federation no later than within 3 days from the day of receiving of the mentioned report. The applicant gets the document of reception of the report of the crime with information on the person having accepted it, as well as the date and time of reception.

Registered in the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation on February 13, 2004. Reg. No. 5548.

Decision of the Federal Commission for Securities Market No. 03-51/ps of December 24, 2003 on the Amendments to the Regulation on the Particulars of Issue of Bonds and Disclosing of Information by International Financial Organisations on the Territory of the Russian Federation Endorsed by the Decision of the Federal Commission for Securities Market of Russia No. 03-24/ps of April 24, 2003

Specifies that the bond prospectus must indicate the time specified in the decision of issue (additional issue) of the bonds when the delay of execution of obligations by the issuer is considered to be a significant violation of the terms of the concluded loan contract. The quarterly report is submitted by the issuer to the Federal Commission for Securities Market of Russia no later than within 90 days from the end of the reported quarter.

Registered in the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation on February 13, 2004. Reg. No. 5547.

Decision of the State Standards Committee of the Russian Federation No. 4 of January 30, 2004 on the National Standards of the Russian Federation

From July 1, 2003, adopted earlier by the State Standards Committee of Russia state and interstate standards are recognised as national standards. Before the entry into force of the appropriate technical regulations, the requirements to the products, production processes, operation, storage, transportation, sale and utilisation specified in the mentioned national standards must be executed on the obligatory basis only when pertaining to the protection of the life and health of citizens, property of natural persons or legal entities, state or municipal property, protection of the environment, life and health of animals and plants, prevention of actions misleading the buyers.

Registered in the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation on February 13, 2004. Reg. No. 5546.