Monitoring of the Federal Legislation dated 29.05.2003

Decision of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation of May 27, 2003 on the Case of Constitutionality of the Provision of Article 199 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation Pursuant to the Appeals of Citizens P.N.Beletsky, G.A.Nikova, R.V.Rukavishnikov, V.L.Sokolovsky and N.I.Talanov

The Article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation challenged by the applicants envisages criminal responsibility for the avoidance to pay the taxes for the organisation in large or specially large amounts by including in accounting documents information on incomes and expenses known to be incorrect or in another way and, similarly, to pay insurance contributions to the state non-budgetary funds from the organisation. According to the applicants, part of the mentioned Article envisaging criminal responsibility for the avoidance to pay the taxes "in another way" permits for a free interpretation because of its indefiniteness.
The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation has decided that the mentioned provision of Article 119 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation does not contradict the Constitution of the Russian Federation, since it envisages criminal responsibility for only the deeds committed deliberately and aimed directly at avoiding the payment of the legally specified tax in violation of the rules fixed in the legislation. The revealed constitutional and legal meaning of the given provision is obligatory for all and excludes its any other interpretation in the law enforcement practice.

Federal Law No. 60-FZ of May 27, 2003 on the Amendments to the Federal Law on the Total Number of Justices of the Peace and the Number of Court Districts in the Subjects of the Russian Federation

Amends the defined in the Law number of justices of the peace and its corresponding number of court districts in some of the subjects of the Russian Federation.
The Federal Law is entered into force from the day of its official publication.

Federal Law No. 59-FZ of May 27, 2003 on the Amendments to the Federal Law on the Budget of the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation for the Year 2002

The budget of the Pension Fund of Russia is endorsed legislatively with expenses amounting to Rbl 400 million to render tied material aid to non-working pensioners having become the victims of the flooding of June 2002 on the territory of the Southern Federal District, including up to Rbl 100 million to finance the construction of the special houses and their engineering infrastructure for the lonely old-age citizens being the victims of the flooding.
The Federal Law is entered into force from the day of its official publication.

Federal Law No. 58-FZ of May 27, 2003 on the System of the State Service of the Russian Federation

Defines the legal and organisational fundamentals of the system of the state service of the Russian Federation formed of three types of the federal state service (federal state civil service, military service, law enforcement service) and the state civil service of the subjects of the Russian Federation.
The Law provides definitions of the federal state service and its types, state civil service of the subjects of the Russian Federation, as well as the federal state servant and the state civil servant of the subject of the Russian Federation.
The state hirer for the federal state servants is the Russian Federation, for the state civil servants of the subjects of the Russian Federation - appropriate subject of the Russian Federation.
The Law defines the general conditions of building of the staff of the state service, admittance to the state service and its flow, assigning, preserving and disqualifying from class grades, diplomatic ranks, military and special ranks. Fixes the rule of inclusion in the total length of one type of state service of other types of state service, as well as the periods of being in the state positions of the Russian Federation, state positions of the subjects of the Russian Federation, elected positions of the municipal service. Also defines the goals of creating of the system of management of the state service at the federal and regional levels, the sources of financing of the federal state service and the state civil service of the subjects of the Russian Federation.
The Federal Law is entered into force from the day of its official publication.

Decision of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 290 of May 16, 2003 on the Temporary Suspension of Travel through Transfer Points at Individual Sections of the State Border of the Russian Federation with the Chinese People's Republic and Mongolia

Lists the transfer points at individual sections of the state border of the Russian Federation with China and Mongolia where the traffic is suspended temporarily from July 4, 2003 to prevent interference of the acute respiratory syndrome to the territory of the Russian Federation.

Order of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation No. 38n of May 7, 2003 on the Amendments to the Chart of Accounts of Financial and Economic Activities of Organisations and Its Filling Instruction

The Chart of Accounts is extended to include subaccounts to record expenses for scientific research, design and technological works. The Instruction on the application of the Chart of Accounts is extended to include appropriate characteristics. Thus, expenses for the mentioned works with results being used for production or management needs of the organisation are registered on Account 04 "Non-Material Assets" separately.
The Order also introduces Account 09 "Deferred Tax Assets" intended to summarise information on the presence and flow of deferred tax assets. Deferred tax assets are accepted for recording in accounting work in the amount defined as the product of deducted differences emerging in the reported period by the profit tax rate as of the reported date.
The Order is entered into force beginning with accounting reports for the year 2003.

Order of the Ministry of Taxation of the Russian Federation No. BG-3-05/271 of May 26, 2003 on the Amendments to the Methodology Recommendations on the Procedure of Calculation and Payment of the Uniform Social Tax

If the amount of the applied tax exemption in the reported (tax) period exceeds the amount of the actually paid insurance contribution for the same period, the penalty for the incomplete payment of the uniform social tax is accrued from the 16th of the month following the month of the paid insurance contributions, and from April 15 of the year following the tax period as a result of the tax period.
Other changes explain the particulars of payments made during election campaigns.

Letter of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation No. 16-00-14/162 of May 15, 2003

To determine the current market cost of financial investments in accounting work and reports, one may use information on the market price of financial investments not only of Russian organisers of trade at securities market but also of foreign organised markets or organisers of trade possessing appropriate license of the national authorised body.

Letter of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation No. 03-01-01/11-126 of April 23, 2003 on the Procedure of Reassessment of the Cost of Fixed Assets, Non-Material Assets and Individual Low-Value Items Available in the Operative Management of the Budget-Supported Institutions and of Recording of Its Results in Accounting Work and Reports

The reassessment is carried out using the indexing method by applying coefficients endorsed by the State Statistics Committee of the Russian Federation on November 27, 2002. It is not permitted to use other reassessment methods including direct recalculation of their cost or determination and documentary confirmation of their market price.
The Letter provides an example of filling out the cards of analytical records and recording of the results of the reassessment in accounting work. The results of the reassessment are not registered in the account balance report for the year 2002. The results of the reassessment are shown in the accounting balance report of the budget-supported institution for the first six months, nine months of 2003 and for the year by changing the opening balance in column "Year Beginning" for appropriate lines of the assets and liabilities of the balance report, as well as in explanatory note to the above reports.
When reassessing the cost of the buildings and structures built and put into operation before December 31, 2002, the amounts of capital investments are reassessed as a total value - proceeding from the volumes of capital investments and recalculation coefficients for the appropriate year.