Monitoring of the Federal Legislation dated 30.07.2004

Federal Law No. 94-FZ of July 28, 2004 on the Amendments to the Code of Civil Procedures of the Russian Federation

The amendments envisage an opportunity to restore the yearly period unused because of justifiable reasons when the court rulings having entered into legal force may be appealed against in the court of enforcement instance.

The Law specifies the names of the acts adopted by the courts of the enforcement instance, terminology and individual provisions of the Code of Civil Procedures of the Russian Federation. The given measure is aimed at improvement of the civil proceedings taking into account the judicial practice accumulated after the entry into force of the new Code of Civil Procedures of the Russian Federation from February 1, 2003.

Federal Law No. 93-FZ of July 28, 2004 on the Amendments to the Code of Administrative Violations of the Russian Federation

Enhances the responsibility for the violation envisaged in Article 12.8 of the Code of Administrative Violations of the Russian Federation ("Driving a Vehicle in an Impaired Condition, Permitting to Drive a Vehicle to a Person Being in a Impaired Condition"). Committing the given violation implies suspension of the driver's license for one and a half to two years (earlier, a fine of 10 to 20 minimum amounts labour remuneration was imposed, and the driver's license was suspended for one year). Also, the chiefs of the territorial departments (sections) of internal affairs and similar bodies of internal affairs, their deputies, chiefs of territorial militia sections (divisions) and their deputies are entitled to process the cases of drunken conduct in public places defamatory to human dignity and public moral.

The Federal Law is entered into force 30 days after the day of its official publication.

Federal Law No. 92-FZ of July 28, 2004 on the Continuation of the Experiment on Taxation of Immovable Property in the Cities of Novgorod the Great and Tver and on the Amendments to the Federal Law on the Experiment on Taxation of Immovable Property in the Cities of Novgorod the Great and Tver

In 2004-2005 continues the experiment on taxation of immovable property in the cities of Novgorod the Great and Tver until 2005. To avoid double taxation of the payers registered outside Novgorod the Great and Tver, the taxable base for the property tax determined according to Chapter 30 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation does not include immovable property available on the territories of these cities.

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

Federal Law No. 91-FZ of July 28, 2004 on the Amendment to the Federal Law on the Total Number of Justices of the Peace and the Number of Districts in the Subjects of the Russian Federation

Increases the specified number of justices of the peace and the number of districts in the Kabardino-Balkar Republic from 35 to 40.

Federal Law No. 89-FZ of July 28, 2004 on the Amendments to the Federal Law on the Securities Market

According to the amendments, trade organisers at the securities market not being stock exchanges are empowered with the right of listing (de-listing) of securities from January 1, 2005.

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

Federal Law No. 88-FZ of July 28, 2004 on the Amendments to the Federal Law on the Combating of Legalisation (Laundering) of Incomes Obtained in a Criminal Way and Financing of Terrorism

The Law extends the list of subjects providing information to the authorised body at the expense of organisations rendering mediation services in the sale-and-purchase transactions for immovable property, as well as the lawyers, notaries and persons engaged in entrepreneurial activities in the sphere of legal or accounting services. In this case, the lawyers, notaries and person engaged in entrepreneurial activities in the sphere of legal or accounting services are exempted from the requirements of the Law on obligatory control. The mentioned persons shall notify the authorised body only if they suspect that appropriate transactions or financial operations are carried out or may be carried out for the purposes of legalisation (laundering) of incomes obtained in a criminal way or financing of terrorism.

Operations subject to obligatory control include interest-free loans granted by non-credit organisations for at least Rbl 600,000, as well as transactions with immovable property for at least Rbl 3 million.

Credit organisations may not open accounts without the personal presence of the person opening a deposit account or his representative, institute and maintain relations with non-resident banks operating without the physical presence on the territory of the states where they are registered. The Law lists the cases when credit organisations may refuse to conclude a contract for a bank account (deposit).

Organisations carrying out operations with monetary resources or other property are provided access to official information necessary for the checking of the clients, including information of the Joint State Register of Legal Entities, Summary State Register of Representations of Foreign Companies Accredited on the Territory of the Russian Federation, as well as information of the lost, invalid passports, passports of the deceased natural persons, lost blank passports.

The Federal Law is entered into force 30 days after the day of its official publication.

Federal Law No. 87-FZ of July 28, 2004 on the Invalidation of the Federal Law on the Restructuring of Credit Organisations and of Individual Provisions of the Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation, As Well As on the Procedure of Liquidation of the State Corporation "Agency for the Restructuring of Credit Organisations"

Invalidates the Federal Law No. 144-FZ of July 8, 1999 on the restructuring of credit organisations. Liquidates the state corporation "Agency for the Restructuring of Credit Organisations" operating on the basis of the mentioned Law. Creditor claims to the agency are accepted within two months from the day of publication of information on the liquidation in Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

Federal Law No. 86-FZ of July 28, 2004 on the Amendments to Chapter 22 of Part 2 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation

Increases approximately 8% the specific excise duty rates for excisable goods except for the cigarettes. Filter cigarettes shall be subject to the rate of Rbl 65 per 1,000 pierces + 8%, however, not less than 20% of the prime price (earlier, Rbl 60 per 1,000 pieces + 5%).

The Federal Law is entered into force from January 1, 2005, however, no sooner than one month after the day of its official publication, with exceptions.

Federal Law No. 85-FZ of July 28, 2004 on the Amendment to the Federal Law on the Federal Budget for the Year 2004

The budgets of the subjects of the Russian Federation are granted the right of making payments under the loans granted in the current fiscal year and prolonged as of January 1, 2004 till the end of the fiscal year, i.e. December 31, 2004, not within 7 months as was envisaged earlier. The given rule does not apply to interest-free loans allocated for the complex of measures to prepare the objects of the housing and communal complex supervised by the subjects of the Russian Federation and the bodies of local government for the autumn-and-winter season of 2003/2004.

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

Federal Law No. 83-FZ of July 28, 2004 on the Amendments to Part 2 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, Amendment to Article 19 of the Law of the Russian Federation on the Fundamentals of the Taxation System in the Russian Federation, As Well As on Invalidation of Individual Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation

Part 2 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation is extended to include Chapter 25.2 "Water Tax". The Law introduces specific tax rates for the river basins, lakes and seas and economic regions. Thus, the water tax for the water intake from the water bodies for supplies to the population is fixed in the amount of Rbl 70 per thousand cubic meters of water collected from the water object.

The tax period is a quarter. The tax must be paid to later than the 20th of the month following the expired tax period. The same period is used to submit the tax declaration.

The Law eliminates individual tax exemptions specified in the legislation of the Russian Federation on the payment for the use of water objects.

The Federal Law is entered into force from January 1, 2005, however, no sooner than one month after the day of its official publication.

Federal Law No. 82-FZ of July 28, 2004 on the Consumer Basket for the Whole of the Russian Federation for the Year 2004

The consumer basket for the main socio-demographic groups of population for the whole of the Russian Federation in 2004 is fixed according to the norms envisaged in the Federal Law No. 201-FZ of November 20, 1999 on the consumer basket for the whole of the Russian Federation.

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

Federal Law No. 81-FZ of July 28, 2004 on the Amendment to Article 34 of the Federal Law on the Investing of Resources to Finance the Accumulated Part of the Labour Pension in the Russian Federation

Removes the inconsistency between Article 34 of the changed Law and the Federal Law No. 135-FZ of November 10, 2003 pertaining to the opportunities of transfer by the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation of resources of accumulated pensions to the management company chosen by the insured or to the state management company.

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

Federal Law No. 80-FZ of July 28, 2004 on the Amendment to Article 59 of the Code of Arbitration Procedures of the Russian Federation

Article 59 of the Code of Arbitration Procedures of the Russian Federation is being brought in compliance with the Decision of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation No. 15-P of July 16, 2004 having recognised Part 5 of the mentioned Article as not complying with the Constitution of the Russian Federation inasmuch as it excluded for the persons rendering legal aid and chosen by organisations opportunities to act as representatives in the court of arbitration if they were not being lawyers or staff employees of these organisations.

Federal Law No. 79-FZ of July 27, 2004 on the State Civil Service in the Russian Federation

Specifies the legal, organisational, financial and economic fundamentals of the state service in the Russian Federation. The Law regulates relations pertaining to the admission to the state service, its particulars and termination, as well as the determination of the legal status of the federal state civil servant and the state civil servant of the subject of the Russian Federation.

The Law defines the main rights and duties of state civil servants, restrictions and prohibitions of the state service, as well as the requirements to their service conduct.

Positions of the civil service are subdivided into categories (heads, assistants (councillors), specialists and support specialists) and groups (higher, chief, leading, senior and junior). All positions of the state civil service are included in the registers of positions of the state civil service. Class grades of the civil service are assigned to civil servants according to the occupied position within the limits of the group of positions of the civil service.

Civil service is open for entry to the citizens of the Russian Federation having reached the age of 18 speaking the state language of the Russian Federation and meeting the qualification requirements specifies in the Law. The limiting age for being in the state service is 65 years.

The Law introduces the notion of the "service contract", defines the parties, content, forms and the period of validity of the service contract, as well as the procedure of concluding it. Regulates in detail the issues of testing when admitting to the civil service, transfer to another position or significant change of the terms of the service contract with the servant's consent. Specifies an exhaustive list of reasons of termination of the service contract.

The Law regulates the issues of the service time and the leisure time of civil servants, defines the normal length of service time, terms of irregular working hours.

The Law regulates also the issues of labour remuneration of the state civil servants and defines the procedure of building of the labour remuneration fund of the federal state servants.

The Federal Law is entered into force six moths after the day of its official publication except for the individual norms envisaging a special procedure of entry into force.

Information Letter of the Ministry of Taxation of the Russian Federation No. 21-2-05/82 of July 21, 2004 on the Calculation of the Tax Rate for the Tax on Extraction of Mineral Resources for June 2004

Provides information on the average level of prices of the Urals oil and the official US dollar rates to the Russian rouble applied for the calculation of the tax on extraction of mineral resources for oil for June 2004. The tax rate is fixed in the amount of Rbl 961.8146 per ton taking into account the coefficient.

Letter of the Ministry of the Industry and Power Supplies of the Russian Federation No. AR-722 of July 27, 2004 on the Prices for the Design and Survey Works in Construction for the III Quarter of 2004

The average level of the basic prices for design works in construction is fixed in the amount of 1.64 to the level of January 1, 2001 and of 12.67 to the level of January 1, 1995.

Inflation index for survey works in construction is fixed in the amount of 1.67 to the level of prices of January 1, 2001 and 18.97 to the basic prices as of January 1, 1991.