Monitoring of the Federal Legislation dated 20.06.2003

Decision of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation of June 19, 2003 on the Case of Constitutionality of the Provisions of the Federal Legislation and the Legislation of the Subjects of the Russian Federation Regulating Taxation of Small Businesses - Independent Entrepreneurs Using the Simplified System of Taxation, Accounting and Reporting Pursuant to the Appeals of a Number of Citizens

According to the challenged norm of Item 3 of Article 1 of the Federal Law on the simplified system of taxation, accounting and reporting for small businesses, application of the mentioned system of taxation by independent entrepreneurs envisages replacement of the tax from incomes obtained from the carried out entrepreneurial activities with the cost of the patent for the given type of activities. The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation recognised the mentioned norm of the Law as not complying with the Constitution of the Russian Federation since it does not exempt independent entrepreneurs using the simplified system of taxation, accounting and reporting from the value added tax and the sales tax thus creating less favourable conditions of work for independent entrepreneurs as compared to legal entities.
Provisions of Item 3 of Article 1 of the Law of the Stavropol Territory on the simplified system of taxation, accounting and reporting for small businesses and Item 7 of Article 1 of the Law of the Kirov Province on the simplified system of taxation, accounting and reporting for small businesses on the territory of the Kirov Province were also recognised as not complying with the Constitution of the Russian Federation because they reproduce the mentioned norm.
The Decision emphasises that introduction form January 1, 2001 of the value added tax for independent entrepreneurs by Article 143 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation does not mean that the taxation procedure providing beneficial terms for the first four years of work to independent entrepreneurs that was in effect as of the moment of their state registration stops to apply to them simultaneously. Thus, independent entrepreneurs having applied the simplified systems of taxation before January 1, 2003 must not pay the value added tax and the sales tax. The cases of taxpayers having paid the mentioned taxes besides the cost of the patent must be revised.
The Decision is entered into force immediately after annunciation.

Decision of the State Mining and Industrial Supervision Agency of the Russian Federation No. 71 of June 6, 2003 on the Endorsement of the Rules of Protection of Mineral Resources

Defines the requirements to the design works, construction and putting in operation of the objects of exploitation of mineral resources, to the development of the deposits of oil and gas, requirements to the processing of the mineral raw materials, as well as additional requirements to the development of the deposits available in complex mining and geological and other natural environments.
The rules are obligatory for organisations regardless of their organisational and legal forms and forms of ownership, independent entrepreneurs drawing up and implementing projects in extraction and processing of mineral resources, use of mineral resources for the purposes other than extraction of mineral resources, as well as carrying out survey and prospecting works on the territory of the Russian Federation and within its continental shelf and exclusive sea economic zone of the Russian Federation.
Registered in the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation on June 18, 2003. Reg. No. 4718.