Monitoring of the Federal Legislation dated 21.07.2005

Decision of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation No. 9-P of July 14, 2005 on the Case of Constitutionality of Provisions of Article 113 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation Pursuant to the Appeal of Citizen G.A.Polyakova and Request of the Federal Arbitration Court of the Moscow District

According to the challenged Article, a person cannot be called to account for a tax violation if three years expired from the day of committing it or from the day following the end of the tax period when it was committed.

According to the applicants, only the court may make a final conclusion of the culpability or innocence of the person as regards the violation envisaged in the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, and before the court ruling (which must be taken before expiry of the period of limitation) the person is not regarded as liable. However, since the cases of tax violations are processed, and the taxpayers are called to account, by the tax bodies, the challenged norm actually permits to call the person to account after expiry of three-years of limitation, since the court may decide to collect the tax sanction upon expiry of this period.

According to the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, the period of limitation for applying to court to collect a tax sanction is an independent limitation and is not consumed by the limitation of sewing and does not imply that the whole of the process of calling to account must be terminated within three years. The period of collection of the tax sanction begins with the termination of the period of limitation of calling to account. And termination of the limitation of calling to account is associated with the act of the tax check or appropriate decision of the head of the tax body rather than the court ruling on the collection of the tax sanction.

The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation emphasised that provisions of Article 113 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation do not prevent from calling the taxpayer to account if the fact of the tax violation has been revealed by the tax body while observing the requirements of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation on the limiting period of depth of coverage of the tax check and the time limit of storage of the reporting documentation. Provisions of Article 113 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation do not imply that the period of limitation specified in them applies equally to the taxpayers observing their duties in the course of the tax control and those resisting such control. In other words, the mentioned provisions do not exclude an opportunity for the court to recognise as justifiable the missing of the period of limitation by the tax body in cases of resistance on the part of the taxpayer to carry out the tax control and the tax check and to collect tax sanctions from the taxpayer for th e revealed violations within the limits of the depth of coverage of the tax check.

Provisions of Article 113 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation are recognised as complying with the Constitution of the Russian Federation. The revealed constitutional and legal sense of the mentioned provisions is obligatory for all and excludes any other interpretation of them in the judicial practice.

The Decision is entered into force immediately after annunciation.

Decision of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation No. 8-P of July 14, 2005 on the Case of Constitutionality of Individual Provisions of the Federal Laws on the Federal Budget for the Years 2003, 2004 and 2005 and the Decision of the Government of the Russian Federation on the Procedure of Execution by the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation of Judicial Acts on Lawsuits against the Treasury of the Russian Federation to Reimburse the Damage Incurred through Illegal Actions (Failure to Act) of the Bodies of State Power or Officials of the Bodies of State Power Pursuant to Appeals of Citizens E.D.Zhukhovitsky, I.G.Poym, A.V.Ponyatovsky, A.Y.Cheslavsky and OAO "Khabarovskenergo"

The applicants challenged the constitutionality of the norms specifying the rules of execution of the court rulings obliging to reimburse incurred damage from the Treasury of the Russian Federation for illegal actions (failure to act) of the bodies of state power or their officials. According to the budget laws, such court rulings are executed by the Ministry of Finance of Russia according to the procedure specified by the Government of the Russian Federation rather than the bailiff.

The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation emphasised that the federal legislator having delegated the authority in the normative regulation of the process of execution of appropriate court rulings to the Government of the Russian Federation did not specify the volume and limits of such regulation. The Decision of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 666 of September 9, 2002 being in effect permits to return the writ of execution to the collecting party without execution on formal grounds. The mentioned Decision does not contain a mechanism of responsibility for the untimely execution by the Ministry of Finance of Russia of the public duty vested in it. The Constitutional Court recognised as unconstitutional provisions of Part 1 of Article 122 of the Federal Law on the federal budget for the year 2003 where it empowers the Government of the Russian Federation with authority to regulate execution of the court rulings on lawsuits against the Russian Federation to reimburse the damage incurred th rough illegal actions (failure to act) of the bodies of state power or officials of the bodies of state power. The Decision of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 666 of September 9, 2002 remains in force until January 1, 2006. Within this period, the legislator is recommended to bring the provisions of the challenged acts in compliance with the adopted Decision.

The Decision is entered into force immediately after annunciation.

Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 813 of July 18, 2005 on the Procedure and Terms of Sending of the Federal State Civil Servants on Business Trips

Federal state civil servants shall be sent on business trips at the decision of the representative of the hiring party or the person authorised by him for a certain period of time to execute a service task on the territory of the Russian Federation or abroad. The length of the business trip is determined taking into account the volume, complexity and other particulars of the service task. The length of the business trip to the higher in the order of subordination state bodies may not be greater than five days without the time of travel. The sending on a business trips is drawn up in initial registration documents according to specified uniform forms of initial record keeping documents used to register the volumes of work and labour remuneration.

When being sent on a business trip, the civil servant preserves his position, monetary subsistence (average earnings), as well as gets reimbursement of travelling and lodging expenses, daily subsistence and other pertinent expenses. If the servant is sent on a business trip abroad, he may get in addition reimbursement of expenses to draw up the foreign passport, visas and other exit documents, consular and airfield fees, fees for the right of entry or transit shipment of the transport vehicle, expenses to draw up obligatory medical insurance and other obligatory expenses and fees. The daily subsistence is not paid out if the servant may return to the place of permanent living every day. The Decree specifies the norms of expenses to book the lodging: for the manager category - not more than the cost of a two-room suit, other - not more than the cost of a single-room (single-bed) suit. In the absence of confirming documents, the lodging expenses are reimbursed at 30% of the specified norm of the daily allowance . The lodging expenses abroad are reimbursed at the actual cost, however, not greater than the limiting norms of reimbursement of the lodging expenses for the short-term trips specified by the Ministry of Finance of Russia in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia.

The Decree is entered into force from the day of its signing.

Order of the Ministry of Public Health and Social Development of the Russian Federation No. 417 of June 22, 2005 on the Implementation of the Decision of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 238 of April 19, 2005 on the Financing in 2005 of Additional Payments for Obligatory Medical Insurance of Non-Working Pensioners

Lists the documents submitted by the bodies of executive power of the subjects of the Russian Federation to the Pension Fund to take the decision to allocate resources to finance additional payments for obligatory medical insurance of non-working pensioners. Endorses the form of the application for the mentioned financing.

Provides the rules of organisational and information interaction between the Pension Fund and the territorial funds of obligatory medical insurance in the course of implementation of the financing of additional payments for obligatory medical insurance of non-working pensioners.

Registered in the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation on July 15, 2005. Reg. No. 6806.

Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation No. 399 of May 20, 2005 on the Procedure of Assigning (Confirmation) of the Class (Qualification) Category to Servicemen of Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia

Defines the procedure of assigning (confirmation, lowering down and revocation) of the class (qualification) category of servicemen of internal troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia. The testing to assign (confirm) the class (qualification) category shall be carried out two times a year, in the end of the summer and winter periods of training. Contract servicemen may get their subsequent class qualification no sooner than one year after, and the draft servicemen, no sooner than six months after getting the previous class qualification.

The class qualification to servicemen is assigned in the following sequence: "Specialist 3rd class", "Specialist 2nd class", "Specialist 1st class", "Master".

Provides the form of the certificate of the class specialist of internal troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, description and form of the breast sings of class specialists for the contract and draft servicemen of internal troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia.

Registered in the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation on July 15, 2005. Reg. No. 6794.

Order of the Federal Customs Service No. 558 of June 20, 2005 on the Endorsement of the List of the Customs Bodies Authorised to Carry out Customs Operations with Commodities Moved Using ATA Carnets

Lists the customs bodies authorised to carry out customs operations with commodities moved using ATA carnets. The ATA carnet (admission temporaire - temporary admission) is an international customs document equal to the customs declaration permitting to identify the commodities and including an international guarantee of payment of the import duties and fees. The drawing up and issue of the mentioned carnets is vested in the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation.

Registered in the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation on July 14, 2005. Reg. No. 6792.

Recommendations on the Procedure of Informing of Depositors by the Banks of the Issues of Deposit Insurance (New Wording) (Adopted by the Decision of the Management Board of the State Corporation "Deposit Insurance Agency" of June 30, 2005 (Protocol No. 48))

Provides a new wording of the recommendations to the banks participating in the system of obligatory insurance of deposits to provide information to depositors of their participation in the deposit insurance system, procedure and amounts of reimbursement on the deposits, as well as the placing of information on the deposit insurance system in the bank rooms accessible to depositors where they are being served.

The new wording recommends the banks to place on the stands a notification for the depositors of the need to present in due time information of the changes in information submitted when concluding the bank deposit contract or bank account contract (full name, registration address, postal address, type and requisites of the personal identification document), as well as of possible negative consequences of the failure to fulfil such actions if insured cases occur with the bank where the deposit is placed.

The new wording contains also a procedure of use of the sigh "Deposits Insured, Deposit Insurance System" by the banks. The recommendations specify, in particular, that the Deposit Insurance Agency as the right holder permits the banks to use the mentioned sign without concluding the license contract and without the payment of the license fees. It is permitted to use the sign for promotion purposes. Earlier, the Agency recommended the banks to abstain from the use of the fact of their participation in the deposit insurance system for promotion purposes.

Letter of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation No. 07-03-01/647 of June 27, 2005

As a countermeasure against legalisation of incomes obtained in a criminal way and financing of terrorism, when carrying out audit checks, its is necessary to pay attention to the signs of unusual transactions when the persons rendering legal and accounting services prepare or carry out on behalf or at the order of their clients operations with monetary resources or another property. The Letter provides the signs of doubtful operations (transactions) requiring the servicing personnel to identify the clients, arrange internal control, register and keep information. Information on the client, transaction and circumstances permitting to suspect that the client operation (transaction) is carried out for the purposes of legalisation of incomes obtained in a criminal way or financing of terrorism is submitted to the Federal Service of Financial Monitoring no later than the working day following the day of revealing of the appropriate operation (transaction). The fact of transfer of the mentioned information may not be disclosed by the servicing personnel.