Monitoring of the Federal Legislation dated 14.11.2003

Federal Law of the Russian Federation No. 151-FZ of November 11, 2003 on the Amendments to the Federal Law on the Citizenship of the Russian Federation

Simplifies the procedure of obtaining the citizenship of the Russian Federation for individual categories of persons, first and foremost the citizens of the former USSR having lived or living in the states forming the USSR.
The citizens of the former USSR born on the territory of the RSFSR obtain the Russian citizenship according to the simplified procedure, rather than the common one, without observing the residence length provision. The amendments introduce the transient period when the former citizens of the USSR having arrived to the Russian Federation from the states forming the USSR and registered at the place of residence in the Russian Federation as of July 1, 2002 or having obtained the temporary residence permission in the Russian Federation may be adopted to the Russian citizenship according to the simplified procedure without observing the residence length provision, requirements of the means of subsistence and ability to speak the Russian language, as well as without the granting of the residence permit, if they declare before January 1, 2006 their intention to get the citizenship of the Russian Federation.
Admission to the Russian citizenship without observing the residence length provision and without the granting of the residence permit is envisaged also for invalid persons having arrived to the Russian Federation from the states having formed the USSR and registered at the place of residence in the Russian Federation before July 1, 2002.
The simplified, rather than the common, procedure is used to adopt to the Russian citizenship the persons living in the Russian Federation and being married to the citizens of the Russian Federation for at least three years or being invalids with grown-up and able-bodied children being the citizens of the Russian Federation.
The simplified procedure of admission to the Russian citizenship is also envisaged for the persons having graduated from the special secondary or higher educational institutions in the Russian Federation after July 1, 2002 and being citizens of the states having formed the USSR.
The simplest procedure of obtaining the Russian citizenship is envisaged for the veterans of the Great Patriotic War possessing the citizenship of the former USSR and living on the territory of the Russian Federation.
The Law changes the general procedure of admission to the Russian citizenship. Thus, foreign citizens and stateless persons having arrived to the Russian Federation before July 2002 may be admitted to the Russian citizenship without the granting of the residence permit, with the period of their stay on the territory of the Russian Federation being calculated from the day of registration.
There is an opportunity to get the Russian citizenship for the citizens of the states having formed the USSR who undergo contract service for at least three years in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, other troops, military formations or bodies. The mentioned persons may apply for admission to the Russian citizenship according to the common procedure without observing the residence length provision and without the granting of the residence permit.
The Federal Law is entered into force one month after the day of its official publication. The text of the Federal Law is published in Rossiyskaya Gazeta on November 14, 2003, No. 231.

Federal Law No. 148-FZ of November 11, 2003 on the Amendments to Part 2 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation and Some Other Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation

Part 2 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation is extended to include Chapter 25.1 "Fees for the Use of the Objects of Fauna and for the Use of the Objects of Water Biological Resources". The Law defines the payers of the fee, particular rates of the fee, procedure and time limits for submission of the tax declaration by the payer, the object of taxation, procedure of calculation and collection of the fee and the time limits for payment, as well as the procedure of submission of information.
Amounts of arrears, penalties and fines built as of January 1, 2004 in the payment for the use of the objects of fauna and the payment for the use of the objects of water biological resources are entered as incomes in the federal budget and incomes of the budgets of the subjects of the Russian Federation according to the procedure specified in the legislation of the Russian Federation being in effect before the entry into force of the present Federal Law.
The Federal Law is entered into force from January 1, 2004, however, no sooner than one month after the day of its official publication.

Federal Law No. 146-FZ of November 11, 2003 on the Execution of the Budget of the Federal Fund of Obligatory Medical Insurance for the Year 2002

Endorses the report of execution of the budget of the Federal Fund of Obligatory Medical Insurance for the year 2002 with incomes amounting to Rbl 5,113.6 million and expenses amounting to Rbl 5,080.6 million.
The Federal Law is entered into force from the day of its official publication.

Federal Law No. 141-FZ of November 11, 2003 on the Amendments to Some of the Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation

Creates legislative basis for the admission of foreign citizens to contract military service in the Russian Federation. Appropriate amendments pertaining to the admission of foreign citizens to the contract military service, service procedure and the status of foreign servicemen are entered in the Federal Laws on the military duty and military service, on the status of servicemen and a number of other federal laws.
The Federal Law on the legal status of foreign citizens in the Russian Federation is changed to enter amendments pertaining to temporary stay and temporary residence of the mentioned citizens in the Russian Federation.
The Federal Law is entered into force from the day of its official publication.

Federal Law No. 139-FZ of November 11, 2003 on the Amendment to Part 2 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation and Amendments to Article 20 of the Law of the Russian Federation on the Fundamentals of the Tax System in the Russian Federation, As Well As on Invalidation of the Acts of Legislation of the Russian Federation in the Sphere of Taxes and Fees

Part 2 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation is extended to include Chapter 30 "Property Tax from Organisations" replacing the Law of the Russian Federation No. 2030-1 of December 13, 1991 on the property tax from enterprises.
The property tax from organisations is a regional tax and will be entered into force by the laws of the subjects of the Russian Federation. When fixing the property tax from organisations, legislative (representative) bodies of the subjects of the Russian Federation will determine independently a number of elements of taxation and, in particular, tax rates within the limits specified in the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, as well as the procedure and time limits for paying it and the form of the reports for the tax. When fixing the tax, the laws of the subjects of the Russian Federation may also envisage tax exemptions and the grounds for their use by the taxpayer.
The object of taxation for the Russian organisations is the movable and immovable property (including the property handed over for temporary possession, use, disposal or trust control, contributed for common activities) registered on the balance as objects of fixed assets according to the established procedure of accounting work.
The taxable base is assumed to be the average annual cost of the property determined proceeding from the residual cost of the property.
The tax period is assumed to be the calendar year, reporting period - quarter, six months and nine months of the calendar year if otherwise is not specified in the laws of the subjects of the Russian Federation.
The Law defines the maximum amount of the tax rate that cannot be higher than 2.2% of the taxable base.
Since the property tax from organisations is a regional one, the list of exclusions from the objects of taxation and tax exemptions is a limited one and applies only to a small circle of the property of organisations. The right to institute additional tax exemptions is qualified as the sphere of reference of legislative (representative) bodies of the subjects of the Russian Federation.
Chapter 30 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation is entered into force from January 1, 2004, however, no sooner than one month after the day of official publication of the present Federal Law.
The Federal Law is entered into force one month after the day of its official publication with exceptions.

Decision of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation No. 17-P of November 12, 2003 on the Case of Constitutionality of a Number of Provisions of Article 19 of the Federal Law on the State Regulation of Production and Circulation of Ethyl Alcohol, Alcoholic and Alcohol-Containing Products Pursuant to the Request of the Arbitration Court of the Pskov Province and Appeal of Citizen A.N.Gasanov

The applicant challenged the norms of the mentioned Law envisaging participation of the subject of the Russian Federation being the place of location of the organisation or its division engaged in activities pertaining to production and/or circulation (except for the retail trade) of ethyl alcohol in the issue of the federal license for one of these types of activities.
The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation recognised the provisions of Paragraph 7 of Item 1, Items 2, 6 and 11 of Article 19 of the Federal Law on the state regulation of production and circulation of ethyl alcohol, alcoholic and alcohol-containing products as not complying with the Constitution of the Russian Federation inasmuch as they serve as grounds for the refusal of the federal licensing body to issue the federal license to an organisation in all cases when the appropriate subject of the Russian Federation does not agree to it.
The provisions envisaging opportunities for the subject of the Russian Federation to participate in coordination of the issue of the mentioned federal license to an organisation by agreeing or disagreeing to the issue of the mentioned license to an organisation are recognised as not contradicting the Constitution of the Russian Federation inasmuch as they do not prevent the federal licensing body from solving the given issue in essence.
The Decision is entered into force immediately after the annunciation.

Decision of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation No. 16-P of November 11, 2003 on the Case of Constitutionality of Provisions of Item 2 of Article 81 of the Law of the Chelyabinsk Province on the Budget Arrangements and Budget Process in the Chelyabinsk Province Pursuant to the Request of the Chelyabinsk Province Court

The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation recognised as not complying with the Constitution of the Russian Federation the provision of Paragraph 2 of Item 2 of Article 81 of the Law of the Chelyabinsk Province on the budget arrangements and the budget process in the Chelyabinsk Province envisaging the right of the bodies of state power of the Chelyabinsk Province to empower the bodies of local government of municipal formations incorporating other municipal formations with authority to allocate the budget expenses. According to the court, the given provision is characterised by the ambiguity of the normative content permitting its implementation to inflict violation of the financial independence of the municipal formations incorporated in other municipal formations.
The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation confirmed the authority of the bodies of state power of the Chelyabinsk Province to empower the bodies of local government of municipal formations incorporating other municipal formations with authority to distribute between the local budgets of municipal formations regulating taxes and fees, resources of financial aid handed over from the provincial budget as an inter-budget regulation to equalise the level of the minimum budget supply. According to the court, the authority of the bodies of local government of municipal formations - regions - are limited to application of uniform principles and methods of fixing the normatives of deductions from regulating incomes and distribution of resources of financial aid, with implementation of this authority not being permitted to violate the financial independence of municipal formations incorporated in other municipal formations.
Also complying with the Constitution of the Russian Federation is recognised to be the provision envisaging the right of the bodies of state power of the Chelyabinsk Province to empower the bodies of local government of municipal formations incorporating other municipal formations with authority to draw up summary forecasts of the socio-economic development of the appropriate territories, as well as to draw up and submit the summary reports of execution of the local budgets of municipal formations available within the boundaries of the appropriate territory.
The Decision is entered into force immediately after the annunciation.

Order of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 1642-r of November 12, 2003

Endorses the list of commodities that cannot be placed under the duty-free trade customs regime.
The Order is entered into force from January 1, 2004.

Decision of the Ministry of Labour of the Russian Federation No. 69 of October 10, 2003 on the Endorsement of the Instruction on the Filling of Work-Books

Endorses the Instruction on the filling of work-books, as well as the form of the logbook of blank forms of the work-book and the insert in it and the form of the logbook of flow of work-books and inserts in it.
Specifies the procedure of entry of information of the employee and his job, awards, dismissal (termination of the labour contact). Defines the particulars of filling of the copy of the work-book.
The earlier Instruction endorsed by the Decision of the State Labour Committee of the USSR No. 162s of June 20, 1974 with amendments is invalidated on the territory of the Russian Federation.
Registered in the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation on November 11, 2003. Reg. No. 5219.