The Board of Directors of the Bank of Russia lowered the key rate to 16.50% per annum (by 50 bp). Let us recall that the key rate was also reduced in September.

Expenses in the form of taxes (including indirect taxes) paid in another country in accordance with its laws can be included by a Russian company when determining the tax base as part of other expenses. 

The Central Bank has prepared amendments to the instructions on the procedure for residents and non-residents to submit supporting documents and information to authorised banks when conducting foreign exchange transactions, on uniform forms of accounting and reporting for such transactions, and the procedure and deadlines for their submission. 

The information required for an application to import ozone-depleting substances into the Russian Federation, circulation of which is subject to state regulation, has been established. The procedures for submitting the application to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment have been defined.

The Russian Government has established a list of goods from foreign countries for which procurement restrictions are imposed. This protective measure applies to the entire group of goods according to OKPD 2, indicated in the list.

Amendments to the Bank of Russia's Instructions on the procedure for conducting inspections of supervised entities will come into effect on October 31, 2025. 

The Federal Service for Supervision in the Sphere of Telecom, Information Technologies and Mass Communications clarified the specifics of formalising and applying consent to the processing of personal data. 

For a subject of the experimental legal regime in the area of digital innovation in the financial market, the rules for maintaining a register of persons who have entered into legal relations with it within the framework of the regime have been updated. In addition, the procedure for maintaining the register of results of intellectual activity, created, among other things, with the use of AI technologies during the implementation of the regime, by the specified subject has been additionally established.

Rules are proposed for concluding agreements on the development and/or modernisation of computer programs and databases for the purpose of import substitution of software for the implementation of particularly significant projects. The agreements shall be concluded between the Government and Russian organisations that are significant software developers. The condition is that exclusive rights to the software are not transferred to foreign entities or Russian companies with a foreign stake of more than 25%.

The Federal Tax Service continues to promote opportunities of its machine-readable electronic document creation service. Documents created within the service can now be signed using a token.

Starting from 2026, legal entities and individual entrepreneurs will be able to obtain an extract proving their financial and economic status through their taxpayer personal account. It will be formed within one business day from the day following the request. 

According to the new procedure, TINs will be assigned as follows: 

A draft law has been introduced in the State Duma, proposing to supplement the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation with a new article borrowing the provisions of Article 111 of the Arbitration Procedure Code of the Russian Federation regarding the attribution of legal costs to a person who abuses their procedural rights.

Starting January 1, 2026, documents introduced in Russia containing international auditing standards will be supplemented with information clarifying who must sign in the Russian Federation: 

The frequency of scheduled sanitary and epidemiological monitoring for facilities has been adjusted, depending on the assigned risk category, as well as the rules for mandatory and voluntary preventive visits (brought into line with the Law on State Control). 

It was decided to introduce a ban on the purchase of audit and consulting services from Russian entities affiliated with foreign entities. 

The Ministry of Economic Development has clarified the temporary procedure established by the President of the Russian Federation for residents to acquire exclusive rights to the results of intellectual activity or means of individualisation from persons of unfriendly states. 

When making cross-border money transfers through the FPS, system participants are advised to inform the client of any existing restrictions, prohibitions, or special procedures regarding transactions with non-residents before confirming the actions and to post a summary of them in the payer’s banking application. 

100% of the shares of VONORUS LLC, owned by Silgan Metal Packaging Mitterdorf GMBH (a manufacturer of metal packaging), have been transferred to the temporary management of the Federal Property Management Agency.

We present to your attention 10 recent answers from the Federal Tax Service on frequently asked questions regarding electronic signatures. The questions were asked by users through a special service on the website of the Federal Tax Service.

The Federal Tax Service's responses provide information on, among other things, where a lawyer should apply for a certified digital signature; whether a unified register of issued digital signature certificates exists; the minimum age for an individual to obtain a certified electronic signature verification key certificate; whether multiple electronic signature keys for different applicants can be stored on a single key storage device, and more.

Restrictions on international money transfers have been extended until March 31, 2026.