Monitoring of the Federal Legislation dated 28.07.2004

Federal Law No. 78-FZ of July 26, 2004 on the Amendment to Article 74 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

Introduces an additional reason to revoke a suspended sentence other than the regular or fraudulent failure to execute by the convict of the duties imposed on him during probation. If the convict avoids control, the court may decide to execute the assigned punishment at the presentation of the body in charge.

Federal Law No. 77-FZ of July 26, 2004 on the Amendment to Article 23.11 of the Code of Administrative Violations of the Russian Federation

According to the introduced amendments, the district military commissars are empowered to process the cases of administrative violations envisaged in Articles 19.25, 21.1-21.7 of the Code of Administrative Violations of the Russian Federation.

The Federal Law is entered into force thirty days after the day of its official publication.

Federal Law No. 76-FZ of July 26, 2004 on the Accession of the Russian Federation to the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation in the South-East Asia

The Russian Federation accesses to the Treaty of friendship and cooperation in the South-East Asia of February 24, 1976 while declaring that its rights and duties under the Treaty will be equal to those of other member-states from other regions.

Federal Law No. 75-FZ of July 21, 2004 on the Khanty-Mansiysk Regional Court of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous District of Yugra

Abandons the Khanty-Mansiysk Regional Court and the Khanty-Mansiysk City Court of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous District of Yugra while handing over the judicial issues to the created Khanty-Mansiysk Regional Court of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous District of Yugra.

The Federal Law is entered into force six months after the day of its official publication.

Federal Law No. 74-FZ of July 21, 2004 on the Amendments to Articles 57 and 205 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

Enhances criminal responsibility for the crime envisaged in Article 205 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation "Terrorism". The terms of imprisonment for the terrorism without aggravating circumstances are increased from 5 to 10 years to 8 to 12 years, and for the terrorism with aggravating circumstances - from 8 to 15 years to 10 to 20 years, for the terrorism with specially heavy aggravating circumstances - from 10 to 20 years to 15 to 20 years or life-time imprisonment.

Besides, the new wording is provided for Article 57 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation stating that life-time imprisonment is specified for the specially heavy crimes infringing on the life, as well as for the specially heavy crimes against public security.

The Federal Law is entered into force from the day of its official publication.

Federal Law No. 72-FZ of July 20, 2004 on the Amendments to the Law of the Russian Federation on the Copyright and Adjacent Rights

Significant number of changes are aimed to bring the Law of the Russian Federation No. 5351-I of July 9, 1993 on the copyright and adjacent rights in compliance with the Bern Convention for the protection of literary and artistic works of 1886.

Increases the period of validity of the copyright from 50 to 70 years after the death of the author, thus permitting to ensure an additional protection of the works of Russian authors abroad. The copyright of legal entities emerging before the entry into force of the Law ends 70 years after the day of the legal publication of the work, and if not published, from the day of creation of the work.

Exclusive copyright includes the right to communicate the work in a way permitting anyone to access it in the interactive regime from any place any time at their choice (right of public communication). The given provision is entered into force from September 1, 2006.

The Law is extended to include the norms dedicated to the technical means of protection of the copyright and adjacent rights and the procedure of confiscation of counterfeit copies of the pieces of art and phonograms.

Specifies that the copyright holders may demand from the violator instead of the reimbursement of losses a compensation in double the amount of the cost of the copies of the pieces of art or objects of adjacent rights or double the amount of the cost of rights for the use of the works or objects of adjacent rights determined from the price usually collected in similar circumstances for the legal use of the works or objects of adjacent rights. The authors and performers in cases of violation of their personal non-proprietary or proprietary rights may also demand from the violator reimbursement of the moral damage.

The Federal Law is entered into force from the day of its official publication with exceptions to be entered into force from September 1, 2006.

Federal Law No. 71-FZ of July 20, 2004 on the Amendments to Articles 14 and 15 of the Federal Law on the Status of a Serviceman and Article 108 of the RSFSR Housing Code

Defining the procedure of possession, use and disposal of the property of servicemen is qualified as the sphere of reference of the Government of the Russian Federation.

Housing space to contract servicemen and their family members living together with them is provided in residential settlements at the place of location of the military units, and in the case of absence of opportunities to provide housing space in the mentioned residential settlements - in other residential settlements in close vicinity.

The amendments to the Housing Code envisage preservation of the service housing space with the federal body of executive power envisaging military service.

The Federal Law is entered into force from the day of its official publication.

Federal Law No. 70-FZ of July 20, 2004 on the Amendments to Chapter 24 of Part 2 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, Federal Law on the Obligatory Pension Insurance in the Russian Federation and on the Invalidation of Some of the Provisions of Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation

The amendments envisage a number of measures to reduce the tax burden pertaining to the uniform social tax. Reduces the amounts of the basic tax rates of the uniform social tax for various categories of taxpayers and changes the regression scale. In particular, organisations making payments to natural persons shall use the following scale of tax rates:

- 26% if the payments make up to Rbl 280,000 per year;

- Rbl 72,800+10% from the amount in excess of Rbl 280,000 if the amount of payments makes from Rbl 280,001 to Rbl 600,000 per year;

- Rbl 104,800+2% from the amount in excess of Rbl 600,000 if the amount of payments makes more than Rbl 600,000 per year.

The Law specifies that taxation does not apply to the amounts of material aid paid out to natural persons from the budget sources by organisations financed from the budget up to Rbl 3,000 per natural person for the tax period.

The list of amounts exempted from taxation now does not include the amounts paid out at the expense of the member contributions of garden, garage-construction and housing-construction cooperatives (partnerships) to persons fulfilling works (rendering services) for the mentioned organisations, payments to trade-union members, as well as the payments in kind with own-made commodities - agricultural products and/or commodities for children - in the amount of up to Rbl 1,000 (inclusive) per natural person employee per calendar month.

The Law also reduces tariff rates of insurance contributions paid out by insurants in obligatory pension insurance. In particular, organisations shall use the following scale:

- 6% if the amount of payments makes up to Rbl 280,000;

- Rbl 16,800+2.4% from the amount in excess of Rbl 280,000 if the amount of payments is from Rbl 280,001 to Rbl 600,000;

- Rbl 24,480 if the amount of payments is greater than Rbl 600,000.

The Law specifies the rates of insurance contributions for the years 2005-2007 for insurants employing persons of the 1967 year of birth and younger. As compared to the 2004 rates, the given rates are also reduced.

The Federal Law is entered into force from January 1, 2005.

Federal Law No. 69-FZ of July 20, 2004 on the Invalidation of Some of the Provisions of the Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation on Militia

Omits the provision providing for the duty of the militia to register colour copiers purchased by natural persons and legal entities, to control observation of the rules of registration, storage and use.

Federal Law No. 68-FZ of July 20, 2004 on the Invalidation of Individual Provisions of the Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation in the Sphere of Education

Lifts the restriction for the admission to the state and municipal institutions of the secondary and higher professional education to teach specialists in the sphere of law, economy, management, state and municipal management under contracts with natural persons, as well as the non-state enterprises, institutions and organisations. Earlier, educational institutions could not admit on the paid basis more than 50% of the students for each of the mentioned directions of training (specialities).

The Federal Law is entered into force from the day of its official publication.

Federal Law No. 67-FZ of July 20, 2004 on the Amendment to Article 1 of the Law of the Russian Federation on the Organisation of Insurance Work in the Russian Federation

The Law is extended to include the provision stating that it does not apply to relations in obligatory insurance of the deposits of natural persons in the banks.

Federal Law No. 66-FZ of July 20, 2004 on the Amendments to Articles 346.27 and 346.29 of Part 2 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation

The system of notions of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation for the purposes of Chapter 26.3 "System of Taxation in the Form of the Uniform Imputed Income Tax for Individual Types of Activities" includes the notion of the "means of transport" implying motor vehicles intended for passenger and cargo transportation over the roads (any types of buses, cars and trucks). The "means of transport" do not include trailers, semi-trailers and draw-bar trailers. The Law specifies that the physical figure used to determine basic incomes for incomes calculation is a "means of transport", not a transport vehicle.

The given measure removes an obstacle preventing the switchover of organisations and independent entrepreneurs (while observing other restrictions specified in the Tax Code of the Russian Federation) to the uniform imputed income tax for the incomes obtained from operation of less than 20 trailer or semi-trailer vehicles. Earlier, such organisations could not switch over to the uniform imputed income tax, since the trailers and semi-trailers were included in the "means of transport".

The Federal Law is entered into force one month after the day of its official publication. The Law applies to legal relations emerging from January 1, 2004.

Federal Law No. 65-FZ of July 20, 2004 on the Amendments to Part 2 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation

The services of keeping motor vehicles on paid parkings is separated into an independent type of activities for the purposes of the uniform imputed income tax. The paid parkings are implied to be the areas (including the open and closed sites) used to render paid services of the keeping of transport vehicles. The basic incomes factor per month for the mentioned type of activities makes Rbl 50 per square meter.

The Federal Law is entered into force one months after the day of its official publication, however, no sooner than the 1st of the subsequent tax period for the uniform imputed income tax for individual types of activities.

Decision of the Higher Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation No. 4052/04 of June 15, 2004 <br>& Ruling of the Higher Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation No. 4052/04 of July 2, 2004 on the Explanation of the Decision and Correction of the Misprint

The Higher Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation invalidated on June 15, 2004 as not complying with the Tax Code of the Russian Federation Paragraph 23 and Paragraph 26 of Section 2.1 "Estimation of the Total Tax Amount" of the Instruction on the filling of the declaration for the value added tax and the declaration for the value added tax for operations subject to the zero percent tax rate endorsed by the Order of the Ministry of Taxation of Russia No. BG-3-03/25 of January 21, 2002 (with amendments). The Code does not specify the duty of the taxpayer to restore in the tax declaration VAT amounts and pay them to the budget for the property earlier purchased by the taxpayer for operations subject to VAT and handed over later as a contribution to the registered (shared) capital of companies and partnerships or handed over to the successor (successors) in cases of the taxpayer reorganisation.