Monitoring of the Federal Legislation dated 27.12.2005

Federal Law No. 188-FZ of December 26, 2005 on the Ratification of the Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Korean People's Democratic Republic on the Promotion and Mutual Protection of Capital Investments

Ratifies the Agreement signed in Moscow on November 28, 1996. The Agreement will permit to create favourable conditions for activities of investors of both countries. The Agreement specifies the mechanisms of protection of capital investments against forced withdrawal similar to nationalisation, as well as defines the terms of compensation of the cost of expropriated capital investments.

Investors are guaranteed a free transfer abroad of payments pertaining to capital investments that include incomes, compensations, resources from liquidation or sale of capital investments, as well as the earnings and other remuneration.

Federal Law No. 187-FZ of December 26, 2006 on the Ratification of the Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Laos People's Democratic Republic on the Promotion and Mutual Protection of Capital Investments

Ratifies the Agreement signed in Moscow on December 6, 1996. The Agreement permits to create favourable conditions for activities of investors of both countries. The Agreement specifies the mechanisms of protection of capital investments against measures of forced withdrawal equal to nationalisation, as well as defines the terms of compensation of the cost of expropriated capital investments.

Investors are guaranteed a free transfer abroad of payments pertaining to capital investments that include incomes, compensations, resources from liquidation or sale of capital investments, as well as the earnings and other remuneration.

Federal Law No. 186-FZ of December 26, 2005 on the Ratification of the Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of Mongolia on the Promotion and Mutual Protection of Capital Investments

Ratifies the Agreement signed in Ulan Bator on November 29, 1995. The Agreement permits to create favourable conditions for activities of investors of both countries. The Agreement specifies the mechanisms of protection of capital investments against measures of forced withdrawal equal to nationalisation, as well as defines the terms of compensation of the cost of expropriated capital investments.

Investors are guaranteed a free transfer abroad of payments pertaining to capital investments that include incomes, compensations, resources from liquidation or sale of capital investments, as well as the earnings and other remuneration.

Federal Law No. 185-FZ of December 26, 2005 on the Amendments to Articles 4 and 6 of the Federal Law on the National Defence

The amendments refine the authority of the President of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Russian Federation in the determination of the staff of civilian personnel of the bodies of the Federal Security Service and the federal bodies of the State Guard Service.

Federal Law No. 184-FZ of December 26, 2005 on the Amendments to the Federal Law on the Fundamentals of Regulation of Tariff Rates of Organisations of the Communal Complex and Some of the Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation

Introduces the limiting (minimum and maximum) levels of prices (tariff rates) for commodities and services of organisations of the communal complex in the sphere of regulated pricing to create efficient mechanisms of restriction of inflation processes through measures of state control of the growth of the cost of communal services for the population and other consumers.

If the amount of payment for the dwelling space and/or amount of payment of citizens for the communal services exceeds the limiting indices specified for the appropriate subject of the Russian Federation or municipal formation, amounts of payment of citizens must be brought in compliance with the mentioned indices during one calendar month from the date of entry into force of the decision of the federal body of executive power in charge of the state regulation of prices (tariff rates) or decisions of the bodies of executive power of the subjects of the Russian Federation fixing the mentioned indices.

The earlier introduced tariff rates must be revised and brought in compliance with the limiting indices under the Federal Law no later than within one calendar month from the day of entry into force of the acts endorsing and introducing the mentioned limiting indices.

Provisions of the Federal Law No. 210-FZ of December 30, 2004 on the fundamentals of regulation of tariff rates of organisations of the communal complex regulating introduction and application of the limiting indices shall remain in force until January 1, 2009.

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

Federal Law No. 183-FZ of December 26, 2005 on the Amendments to the Code of Administrative Violations of the Russian Federation

Increases amounts of administrative fines for the violation of the legislation of the Russian Federation on the protection of natural environment - failure to observe ecological requirements in planning, design, construction and operation of enterprises, structures and other objects; failure to observe ecological and sanitary and epidemiological requirements in handling industrial and consumption waste or other hazardous substances; violation of the rules of handling of pesticides and agricultural chemicals; violation of the legislation on ecological expert evaluation.

Introduces administrative responsibility for the failure to transfer within specified time limits the payment for the negative impact on the environment. The mentioned violation implies an administrative fine on officials in the amount of 30 to 60 minimum amounts of labour remuneration, and in the amount of 500 to 1,000 minimum amounts of labour remuneration for legal entities.

Federal Law No. 176-FZ of December 22, 2005 on the Amendments to the Federal Law on the Budget Classification of the Russian Federation and the Budget Code of the Russian Federation

Refines the composition and structure of the classification of incomes of the budgets of the Russian Federation, functional classification of expenses of the budgets of the Russian Federation, economic classification of expenses of the budgets of the Russian Federation, classification of the sources of financing of the deficits of the budgets of the Russian Federation.

The Federal Law shall apply to relations emerging during the drawing up and execution of the budgets of all levels beginning with the budgets for the year 2006.

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

Decision of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 792 of December 21, 2005 on the Organisation of Record Keeping and Analysis of Financial Standing of Strategic Enterprises and Organisations and Their Solvency

The keeping of records and analysis of financial standing and solvency of enterprises and organisations included in strategic ones shall be vested in the Federal Tax Service of Russia. The mentioned enterprises and organisations shall submit to the tax bodies at the place of registration accounting, tax and other reports (in the electronic form) containing information on their financial and economic activities.

Decision of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 788 of December 21, 2005 on the Endorsement of the Rules of Making Monthly Monetary Payments to the Heroes of the Soviet Union, Heroes of the Russian Federation and the Holders of the Order of Glory

The monthly monetary payments are introduced for the Heroes and the holders of the Order of Glory to their application in the amount of Rbl 25,000. The mentioned payment is made regardless of other monthly monetary payments.

The amount of the monthly monetary payment shall be subject to indexing according to the same procedure as the amount of the basic part of the labour pension.

The monthly monetary payment shall be introduced and paid out by the territorial body of the Pension Fund. Application for the monthly monetary payment shall be submitted before October 1 of the current year.

The Decision is entered into force from January 1, 2006.

Decision of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 785 of December 21, 2005 on the Labelling of Alcoholic Products with Special Federal Stamps

Endorses the rules of labelling of alcoholic products with new special federal stamps and the rules of entering in the mentioned stamps of information on the alcoholic products labelled with them. Defines the requirements to the specimens of the new special federal stamps, as well as provides the form of the report of the use of the issued special federal stamps.

The Federal Tax Service of Russia is ordered to provide for the inventory taking and destruction of the residues of the earlier used federal and regional special stamps as of December 31, 2005.

From January 1, 2006, the making of old stamps is terminated. Until July 1, 2006, organisations producing alcoholic products with the content of ethyl alcohol more than 9% of the volume of the finished product on the territory of the Russian Federation are permitted to label alcoholic products, except for the exported one, with old special federal stamps and information media confirming the entry of information on the labelled alcoholic products in the joint information system.

The Decision is entered into force from January 1, 2006 with exceptions.

Order of the Federal Tax Service No. SAE-3-04/616@ of November 25, 2005 on the Endorsement of the Form of Information on the Incomes of Natural Persons

Introduces a new form 2-NDFL "Certificate of Incomes of the Natural Person for the Year 200_" and its filling recommendations. Also endorses new guides necessary for the entering in the certificates of incomes of information on the types of the personal identification documents, types of incomes and tax exemptions, codes of the subjects of the Russian Federation. According to the Tax Code, information on the incomes of natural persons drawn up according to form 2-NDFL is submitted by tax agents to the tax bodies, as well as by taxpayers themselves with their applications. Earlier, form 2-NDFL was used for theses purposes "Certificate of Incomes of the Natural Person for the Year 2003" endorsed by the Order of the Ministry of Taxation of Russia No. BG-3-04/583 of October 31, 2003.

Registered in the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation on December 20, 2005. Reg. No. 7293.

Letter of the Federal Tax Service No. MM-6-03/1054@ of December 15, 2005

Explains the procedure of VAT application to payments, partial payments obtained after January 1, 2006 by Russian taxpayers selling commodities to the Republic of Belarus

Payments, partial payments received by the taxpayer until the last day of the tax period confirmed by the documents envisaged in Item 2 of Section II of the Regulation on the procedure of collection of indirect taxes and the mechanism of control of their payment when moving commodities between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus are not included in the taxable base for the calculation of the value added tax. In cases of a failure to present the mentioned documents, VAT amounts must be paid to the budget for the tax period when the day of dispatch (handing over) occurred.

Letter of the Federal Tax Service No. ShT-6-07/1045@ of December 13, 2005

Lists the documents to be submitted to the licensing body by the organisation to obtain a license for one of the types of activities pertaining to production of ethyl alcohol, alcoholic and alcohol-containing products as the documents confirming the transfer of the registered capital (fund).