Monitoring of the Federal Legislation dated 1.02.2002

Federal Law No. 10-FZ of January 29, 2002 On the Introduction of Changes and Amendments in the Federal Law On Leasing

The Law gives a definition of the leasing activity and a contract of lease. The contract of leasing implies a contract under which the leassor (leasegiver) undertakes to acquire as ownership property specified by the leassee (leaseholder) from the seller designated by the latter and to make available that property to the leassee at a charge for temporary holding and use. The contract of lease may provide that the choice of the seller and the property to be purchased shall be determined by the leassor. The law introduces two basic forms in place of earlier forms, types and kinds of leasing, viz. domestic and international leasing. Moreover, it excludes such types of leasing as financial leasing, returnable leasing and operational leasing. Regulates in more detail guarantees to ensure the rights of the leassor.
The Federal Law shall take effect as from its official release in the press.

Decision of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation No. 3-P of January 24, 2002 On the Case On the Verification of the constitutionality of provisions of Part Two of Article 170 and Part Two of Article 235 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation and Item 3 of Article 25 of the Federal Law On Trade Unions, Their Rights and Guarantees of Their Activity In Connection With the Inquiries of the Zernogradsky District Court of the Rostov Region and the Central District Court of the City of Kemerovo

The cause of verification of the constitutionality of Part Two of Article 170 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation under which it is disallowed to dismiss workers having disabled children, until the children reach the age of 18, was an application of the Zernogradsky district court of the Rostov region which is considering a case on the complaint of citizen I.N.Vakulenko for his restitution at work. The plaintiff who is a father of a disabled child was dismissed for regular non-performance of his duties.
The Zernogradsky district court maintained that the given norm violates the principle of equality of every person before the law and the court since it enables careless workers to abuse his or her rights and infringes upon the rights of third persons, in particular, those of the employer and the body of workers.
The norms of Part Two of Article 235 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation and Item 3 of Article 25 of the Federal Law On Trade Unions, Their Rights and Guarantees of Their Activity under which a dismissal of workers who are leaders of trade unions, is allowed only on the condition of a prior consent thereto of the trade union body, were challenged by the court of the Central district of the city of Kemerovo.
According to the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, the norms, as such, on additional guarantees to certain workers in case of their dismissal do not run counter to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, on the contrary, they have been adopted in pursuance of the Constitution and a number of international norms; however, impermissible is the abuse of one's right as, in that case, careless workers violate several constitutional norms and rights of third persons.
In view of the above, the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation declared Part Two of Article 170 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation to be inconsistent with the Constitution of the Russian Federation, its Articles 19 (Parts 1 and 2), 35 (Part 2), 37 (Part 1), 46 (Part 1), 55 (Part 3), in so far as it disallows the dismissal of workers having disables children or invalids by birth until they reach the age of 18, at the initiative of the administration in the event of commission by them of disciplinary misdeeds and also Part Two of Article 235 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation and Item 3 of Article 25 of the Federal Law On Trade Unions, Their Rights and Guarantees of Their Activity, in so far as they exclude the dismissal at the initiative of the employer of workers who are members of the trade union bodies, not relieved from the principal job, without the consent thereto of trade union bodies in case of commission by those workers of disciplinary misdeeds.

Ruling of The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation No. 258-O of December 6, 2001 On the Refusal To Accept For Consideration of a Complaint of Citizen Vasilenko Alexander Vasilyevitch Against the Violation Of His Constitutional Rights By Item 1 of Article 3 and Item 2 of Article 5 of the Law of the Russian Federation On Taxes On Property of Individuals

According to the claimant, the provisions of the Law of the Russian Federation On Taxes On Property of Individuals to the effect that the tax on buildings shall be assessed on the basis of data on their inventory value, are rather vague by virtue of the fact that the term "inventory value" is not defined in the law and, therefore, is at variance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation.
According to the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, the taxable basis in respect of taxes on buildings belonging to individuals, shall be defined as an inventory value which is much lower than the market value of objects of realty and the norms being challenged offer no adequate grounds to believe that the application of same has resulted in the violation of rights of citizen A.V.Vasilenko envisaged in the Constitution of the Russian Federation.
It was refused to accept the complaint for consideration.

Ruling of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation No. 257-O of December 6, 2001 On the Complaint of the Krasnoyarsk Branch of the Close Joint Stock Company "Commercial Bank "Lanta-Bank" Against the Violation of Constitutional Rights and Freedoms By Subitems (1 and 2) of Article 135 and Part Two of Article 136 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation

The claimant is challenging the constitutionality of provisions of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation under which the unlawful failure of the bank to comply within the specified time limit with a decision of the taxation body on the collection of a tax, fee or penalties, entails imposition of a penalty and the commission by the bank of actions creating a situation of non-availability of monetary assets in the account of the taxpayer, fee payer or tax agent, in relation to whom the bank has a collection order of the taxation body, entails recovery of a fine. According to the claimant, the said essential elements of offence are worded in so unclear terms that it makes it possible to bring the bank to responsibility twice for the same wrongdoing. The sanctions as penalties are contradictory to the concept of a penalty as a measure of refundable nature and general principles of responsibility for tax offences, since only monetary recovery of fines is recognized as sanctions under the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.
The Constitutional Court ruled that the law-maker had the right to add to the amount of tax not paid on time (the arrears) an extra payment - a penalty as a compensation for the losses of the public purse as a result of short-receipt of tax amounts on time in case of delay in tax payment. The provision of Part Two of Article 136 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation to the effect that the penalty shall be recovered by procedure stipulated under Article 60 of the said Tax Code, being similar to provisions earlier declared to be unconstitutional, may not be applied by courts, other organizations and officials.
The complaint of the claimant was dismissed for consideration as the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation had earlier made decisions on the subject of the claim which still hold.

Information Letter of the Presidium of the Higher Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation No. 66 of January 11, 2002 On the Overview of Settlement of Disputes Associated With Lease

The overview deals with issues associated with the conclusion and termination of contract of lease, its form, term of validity, collection of rental, etc. It clarifies, in particular, that a contract between the owner of a building and other person on the basis of which the latter is using an individual structural element of that building for purposes of advertisement, is not a contract of lease. The leaseholder who has not received the property let out on lease is in no position to claim it from a third person in whose use it actually is. The leasegiver is entitled to hold back the equipment belonging to the leaseholder which may be left over in the premises taken on lease after the termination of the contract of lease as a security of leaseholder's obligations to pay a rental for the given premises.

Letter of The Ministry of Taxes and Fees of the Russian Federation No.VB-6-21/87@ of January 25, 2002 On the Procedure of Payment Into the Budget of Advance Payments Of the Tax On Extraction of Mineral Resources During the First Quarter of 2002

During the first quarter of 2002 advance payments of the tax shall be counted as one third of the amount of payments due for the use of the subsoil and deductions towards the reproduction of the mineral and raw materials base, accrued for the fourth quarter of 2001 and stated in Estimates of payments for the right to use the subsoil and the Estimates of deductions towards the reproduction of the mineral and raw materials base submitted to the taxation body at the place of using the subsoil.
As concerns the oil and gas condensate from oil and gas condensate deposits, advance payments shall be counted as one third of amounts accrued for the fourth quarter of 2001 of payments due for the use of the subsoil, deductions towards the reproduction of the mineral and raw materials base and an excise duty for oil to be determined as a share proportional to the volume of oil and consensate produced by the taxpayer during the fourth quarter of 2001 on the territory within the jurisdiction of a respective taxation body.

Letter of The Ministry of Taxes and Fees of the Russian Federation No.CA-6-05/71@ of January 23, 2002 (further to Letter No. FZ-6-10/34@ of January 15, 2002)

In accordance with the legislation prevailing in 2001, advance payments of the single social tax for December 2001 shall be made not later than January 15, 2002. It clarifies how assets received as payment of a single social tax for December 2001 as a share of the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation should be entered in the budgetary accounts prior to and after that date.