Monitoring of the Federal Legislation dated 3.06.2005

Decision of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation No. 6-P of May 31, 2005 on the Case of Constitutionality of the Federal Law on Obligatory Insurance of Civil Liabilities of Owners of Transport Vehicles Pursuant to the Requests of the State Assembly - El Kurultay of the Republic of Altay, Volgograd Province Duma, Group of Deputies of the State Duma and Appeal of Citizen S.N.Shevtsov

According to the applicants, the right for free travel, choice of the place of stay and residence guaranteed by Part 1 of Article 27 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation is violated by the fact that owners of transport vehicles having failed to execute their duty to insure their civil liabilities are prohibited to use the given transport vehicles on the territory of the Russian Federation, carry out their technical examination and registration. The payment for the obligatory insurance in the form of an insurance premium does not take into account the cost of living in the country and makes it an incommensurable financial burden for the majority of citizens possessing transport vehicles. Besides, the rights of insurers are being restricted, since insurance is permitted only for the companies forming part of the professional association of insurers.

The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation recognised as not contradicting the Constitution of the Russian Federation provisions stating that insuring civil liabilities is permitted only for companies forming part of the professional association of insurers, as well as the norm empowering the Government of the Russian Federation with authority to fix tariff rates for obligatory insurance (their limiting levels). The duty to insure the risk of civil liabilities by the owners of transport vehicles and inadmissibility of use of transport vehicles on the territory of the Russian Federation whose owners failed to execute this duty is also recognised as not contradicting the Constitution of the Russian Federation.

Meanwhile, not complying with the Constitution of the Russian Federation is recognised to be the provision of the Law "permitting the Government to define on the arbitrary basis the terms of the contract of obligatory insurance of the risks of civil liabilities of the owners of transports vehicles". However, this does not imply the loss of legal power by the normative legal acts of the Government of the Russian Federation adopted in compliance with the given Article and the contracts of obligatory insurance concluded in compliance with them.

Decision of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 346 of May 31, 2005 on the Indexing of the Pensions of the Federal State Servants

From July 1, 2002, the Pension Fund shall re-index the length-of-service pensions of the federal state servants out of those who include the average monthly earnings in the periods before July 1, 2002 in the average monthly earnings used to calculate the amount of the mentioned pension. The indexing of the pensions shall be done using the factor of 1.28 proceeding from the centralised increase from July 1, 2002 of the monetary subsistence of the mentioned servants by changing the amount of mark-ups to the salary for the occupied position for the special conditions of the state service.

Decision of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 345 of May 31, 2005 on the Cost of the Insurance Year for the Year of 2005

The cost of the insurance year in 2005 proceeding form the tariff rate for insurance contributions for obligatory pension insurance is fixed in the amount of Rbl 1,209.6.

Decision of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 344 of May 31, 2005 on the Interim Rate of the Import Customs Duty for Individual Types of Native and Modifies Starches

For individual types of native and modified starches (codes according to the Foreign Trade Commodity Nomenclature of the Russian Federation 1108 11 000 0, 1108 12 000 0, 1108 13 000 0, 1108 14 000 0, 1108 19 900 0, 3505 10 100 0, 3505 10 500 0, 3505 10 900 0) introduces for 9 months a new rate of the import customs duty in the amount of 20%, however, not less than EUR 0.06 per kg. Earlier, the rate for the starch of wheat, maize, potato and manioc, as well as for the one converted into an ester or ether, made 10% of the customs cost, for other - 10% of the customs cost, however, not less than EUR 0.03 per kg, for dextrines - 5% of the customs cost.

The Decision is entered into force one month after the day of its official publication.

Decision of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 324 of May 24, 2005 on the Measures to Protect Russian Producers of Channel Iron

Introduces for 3 years an anti-dumping duty for the imported channel iron originating in the Ukraine and classified under Headings of the Foreign Trade Commodity Nomenclature of the Russian Federation 7216 10 000 0, 7216 31 110 0, 7216 31 190 0, 7216 31 910 0, 7216 31 990 0, 7228 70 100 0, 7228 70 310 0, 7228 70 990 0.

The Decision is entered into force one month after the day of its official publication.

Order of the Federal Service of Enforcement in the Sphere of Protection of Consumer Rights and Human Well-Being No. 402 of May 20, 2005 on the Personal Medical Book and the Sanitary Certificate

Endorses the form of the personal medical book for the employees of individual occupations, production facilities and organisations whose activities are associated with production, storage, transportation and sale of foodstuffs and drinking water, education and up-bringing of children, communal and household services to population. Also endorses the form of the sanitary certificate for the specially designated or specially outfitted transport vehicles for moving foodstuffs.

Personal medical books and sanitary certificates are issued by hygiene and epidemiological centres.

Registered in the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation on June 1, 2005. Reg. No. 6674.

Order of the Federal Service of Enforcement in the Sphere of Protection of Consumer Rights and Human Well-Being No. 215 of February 28, 2005 on the Authority of the Heads of the Territorial Departments of the Federal Service of Enforcement in the Sphere of Protection of Consumer Rights and Human Well-Being

The mentioned persons are entitled to take decisions to include, as an exception procedure, in the length of state service of the federal state servants permitting to get a monthly mark-up for the length of services to the salary for the occupied position other periods of work (service) where experience and knowledge are necessary for the execution of the official duties of the occupied position of the federal state service. For the heads of the territorial departments of the Federal Service of Enforcement in the Sphere of Protection of Consumer Rights and Human Well-Being and their deputies, such right is granted to the head of the Federal Service of Enforcement in the Sphere of Protection of Consumer Rights and Human Well-Being on the basis of their personal applications and copies of labour-books.

Registered in the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation on May 31, 2005. Reg. No. 6666.

Order of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation No. 67n of May 19, 2005 on the Invalidation of Some of the Orders of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation

Invalidates the Orders of the Ministry of Finance of Russia No. 14n of January 28, 2004 on the endorsement of the procedure of submission by insurers of information on the conclusion, prolongation and termination of the contract of obligatory insurance of liabilities of the specialised depositary and management companies, No. 26n of March 1, 2004 on the reports of the specialised depositary of operations with resources of accumulated pensions and No. 29n of March 11, 2004 on the reports of the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation on generation and investing of resources of accumulated pensions.

Registered in the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation on May 31, 2005. Reg. No. 6662.

Order of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation No. 56n of April 12, 2005 on the Endorsement of the Regulation on the Procedure of Presenting by the Federal Tax Service in Cases of Bankruptcy of the Banks of the Claims Rights to the Bank Assumed by the State Corporation "Deposit Insurance Agency" As a Result of Paying out of the Reimbursement on Deposits by the Mentioned Corporation

Defines the rules of presenting by the Federal Tax Service of Russia in cases of bankruptcy of the banks participating in the system of obligatory insurance of the deposits of the claims rights to the bank assumed by the state corporation "Deposit Insurance Agency" as a result of paying out of reimbursement on deposits by it, as well as adopted measures to recover amounts of debts from the bank to the agency claims.

The Federal Tax Service of Russia shall execute its duties to present the agency claims rights to the bank from the date of adoption of the decision by the arbitration court recognising the bank bankrupt and initiating bankruptcy proceedings for it and till the end of the bankruptcy proceedings.

Registered in the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation on May 31, 2005. Reg. No. 6661.

Direction of the Central Bank of Russia No. 1577-U of May 6, 2005 on the Reservation Requirement for the Cases of Transfer of Resources by Residents to Their Accounts (in Deposits) Opened in the Banks outside the Territory of the Russian Federation

When making the mentioned transfers, the requirement is introduced to reserve the amount of 25% of the amount of the carried out currency operation for the period of 15 calendar days until the day of its execution. The given requirement applies to residents (natural person independent entrepreneurs and legal entities including the currency exchanges) except for credit organisations.

The mentioned reservation requirement does not apply to transfers made by the resident legal entity to provide for the fulfilling of the representation functions by its division not being a legal entity and located outside the territory of the Russian Federation.

The Direction is entered into force from June 19, 2005.

Registered in the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation on May 31, 2005. Reg. No. 6659.

Direction of the Central Bank of Russia No. 1574-U of May 4, 2005 on the Opening of Accounts in the Banks outside the Territory of the Russian Federation by Residents Being Natural Person Independent Entrepreneurs and Legal Entities

Residents, except for the credit organisations and currency exchanges, shall open bank accounts in the currency of the Russian Federation and in foreign currencies in the banks located on the territories of foreign states not being OECD or FATF members after preliminary registration of the opened account in the tax bodies at the place of registration of the resident. The same requirement is specified for the opening of bank accounts in the currency of the Russian Federation in the banks located on the territories of foreign states being OECD or FATF members.

The Direction is entered into force from June 19, 2005.

Registered in the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation on May 31, 2005. Reg. No. 6658.

Regulation of the Central Bank of Russia No. 269-P of May 4, 2005 on the Opening of Bank Accounts of Non-Residents in the Currency of the Russian Federation by the Bank of Russia and Operations Carried out on These Accounts

Divisions of the payment network of the Bank of Russia may open the mentioned accounts within their sphere of reference, if there are applications from non-residents to open bank accounts in the currency of the Russian Federation, and carry out operations on these accounts. In this case, special bank accounts of non-residents in the currency of the Russian Federation are not opened by the divisions of the payment network of the Bank of Russia.

The Regulation explains the procedure of carrying out operations on type T rouble accounts of non-residents, rouble correspondent accounts of non-resident banks, type I rouble accounts of non-residents, type K, N, F accounts of non-residents in the currency of the Russian Federation opened by the Bank of Russia before June 18, 2004.

The Regulation is entered into force 10 days after the day of its official publication in the Herald of the Bank of Russia.

Registered in the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation on May 31, 2005. Reg. No. 6657.

Order of the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation No. 70 of March 23, 2005 on the Endorsement of the List of the Types of Special Water Uses

The special water uses shall include the use of water objects or parts thereof for the purpose of drinking and economic and household water supplies, public health, industry and power supplies, agriculture, forestry, hydro power stations, recreation, transport, construction, fishery, hunting, rafting, extraction of underground water, mineral resources, peat and putrid mud, as well as for other purposes if the mentioned purposes of water use are implemented while applying separate structures, technical means and devices.

Registered in the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation on May 31, 2005. Reg. No. 6656.