Monitoring of the Federal Legislation dated 6.05.2005

Decision of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 281 of May 4, 2005 on the Amendments to the Decision of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 78 of January 24, 1995

Organisations licensed to produce blank forms of securities, as well as to make printed items protected against forgery, including blank forms of securities, as well as to sell the mentioned items, shall present to the Federal Tax Service of Russia on the monthly basis 6 copies of all produced blank forms together with attached quality certificates. Earlier, the blank forms must have been presented to the Ministry of Finance of Russia.

Decision of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 280 of May 4, 2005 on the Paying out in 2005 to Individual Categories of Citizens of the Russian Federation of the Preliminary Compensation (Compensation) on the Deposits (Contributions) in the State Insurance Organisations (Open-Type Joint-Stock Company "Russian State Insurance Company" and the Companies of the Rosgosstrakh System)

Preliminary compensation on the deposits (contributions) shall be paid out in the amount of Rbl 1,000 to citizens born until 1950 inclusive, group I invalids, group II invalids born until 1960 inclusive, parents and trustees of invalid children and invalids from childhood, as well as the parents whose sons have undergone draft military service and were killed (diseased) during the service in peacetime. The compensation shall be paid out from September 1, 2005.

The preliminary compensation shall include either Rbl 1,000 of the deposit (contribution) for each insurance contract if the amount of the deposit (contribution) transferred (paid) as of January 1, 1992 (proceeding from the nominal value of the currency notes in 1991) is equal to or greater than Rbl 1,000, or the whole of the deposit (contribution) if its amount is not greater than Rbl 1,000.

The amount of the preliminary compensation on the deposits (contributions) depends on the year of termination of the insurance contract and the year of paying out of the insurance (buy out) amount to the holder of the deposits (contributions) and is determined using the attached scale of coefficients.

Decision of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 279 of May 3, 2005 on the Radio Frequency Service

The State Radio Frequency Service of the Ministry of Information and Communication of Russia shall be renamed into the Radio Frequency Service and handed over to the Federal Agency for Communication. The Radio Frequency Service shall form a uniform system including the Main Radio Frequency Centre supervised by the Federal Agency for Communication (Moscow City) and the radio frequency centres of the federal districts. The task of the Radio Frequency Service is implementation of organisational and technical measures to ensure a proper use of radio frequencies or radio frequency channels, radio electronic means and/or high-frequency devices of civilian destination.

Decision of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 278 of May 3, 2005 on Additional Restrictions on the Investing of Savings for the Housing Support of Servicemen and the Maximum Shares in the Aggregate Investment Portfolio of Individual Classes of Assets

Specifies the maximum shares of individual classes of assets in the aggregate investment portfolio of the management companies in charge of the trust control of the savings for the housing support of servicemen. Thus, the maximum share for the state securities of the subjects of the Russian Federation amounts to 40%, for the stocks of Russian issuers created in the form of open-type joint-stock companies: 45% in 2005, 55% in 2006, and 65% from 2007 on.

Order of the Federal Tax Service No. SAE-3-02/173@ of April 21, 2005 on the Invalidation of the Methodology Recommendations on the Application of Chapter 25 "Profit Tax from Organisations" of Part 2 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation

Invalidates the Methodology Recommendations on the Application of Chapter 25 "Profit Tax from Organisations" of the Tax Code endorsed by the Order of the Ministry of Taxation of Russia No. BG-3-02/729 of December 20, 2002 with amendments.

Letter of the Federal Tax Service No. 03-1-03/474/13 of March 31, 2005 on the Value Added Tax

Free distribution of products of mass media, as well as their distribution on the paid basis, shall be qualified as a sale of commodities (works, services) and shall form an object of taxation for the value added tax according to the commonly accepted procedure.