Monitoring of the Federal Legislation dated 18.01.2006

Letter of the Central Bank of Russia No. 168-T of December 30, 2005 on the Fixing of the Rouble Equivalents for the Figures Envisaged in the Direction of the Bank of Russia No. 1346-U of December 1, 2003

In the I quarter of 2006, the rouble equivalent of the registered capital for created banks as of the day of submission of the documents must be at least Rbl 170.8685 million (in the IV quarter of 2005, at least Rbl 171.9055 million). The same amount is envisaged for operating credit organisations requesting the general license and for non-bank credit organisations requesting the status of a bank.

For created non-bank credit organisations, the rouble equivalent of the registered capital is 10 times less than the mentioned figure.

Recommendations for Audit Organisations, Independent Auditors, Auditors on the Audit of the Annual Accounting Reports of Organisations for the Year 2005 (Conveyed in the Letter of the Department of Regulation of the State Financial Control, Audit Activities, Accounting Reports of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation No. 07-05-06/2 of January 12, 2006)

The recommendations examine a number of issues that audit organisations, independent auditors and auditors must pay special attention to in the audit of annual accounting reports for the year 2005. Such issues are described in the sample federal rules (standards) of audit activities. The rules define the normative and legal basis of audit activities and specify general requirements to the drawing up of the results of the audit check and the content of the audit statement in particular. The recommendations pertain to such parameters of the check as: substantiation of the accounting policy of organisations; consistency of use of the forms of accounting reports; completeness of accounting reports; use of normative legal acts on accounting work; substantiation of deviations from accounting rules etc.

Separate recommendations are provided on the audit of accounting work of specialised depositaries and management companies to generate and invest resources of accumulated pensions and finance the payments from accumulated pensions.

Methodology Recommendations on Obtaining Audit Proof in a Particular Case (Inventory Taking) (Approved by the Council of Audit Activities of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, Protocol No. 41 of December 22, 2005)

The recommendations are intended for use by audit organisations and independent auditors in cases of obligatory and initiative audit of financial (accounting) reports. They contain explanations on the use of audit standards on the basis of a particular material, object of audit and describe practical application of basic principles, necessary procedures of audit of inventory taking of property and financial obligations.

Letter of the Federal Tax Service No. MM-6-02/2005@ of December 28, 2005 on the Actions of the Tax Bodies Pursuant to Changes in the Procedure of Payment of the Property Tax from Organisations in 2006

The tax body having received the tax payer notification stating that the payment of the property tax from organisations to the budget of the subject of the Russian Federation at the place of location of its separate division will not be made from January 1, 2006, must close appropriate cards "Budget Payments" to hand them over to the tax body at the place of location of the responsible separate division.

If the taxpayer submitted tax declarations for the year 2005 to the tax bodies at the place of location of the separate divisions where the tax will not be paid in 2006, the mentioned tax bodies must hand over these declarations to the tax body at the place of location of the responsible separate division of the organisation in the given subject of the Russian Federation.

Letter of the Federal Tax Service No. ShT-6-06/1084@ of December 23, 2005 on the Documents Confirming the Moving of Commodities from the Territory of the Republic of Belarus to the Territory of the Russian Federation in the Form of International Mail Dispatches Delivered in the Framework of International Mail Exchange

Submission by the taxpayer as transportation documents of postal documents used to deliver international mail dispatches in the framework of international mail exchange may not serve as grounds to refuse to put a stamp on the applications of import of commodities and payment of indirect taxes.