Monitoring of the Federal Legislation dated 24.01.2006

Decision of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 22 of January 21, 2006 on the Endorsement of the Rates of Import Customs Duties for Iron and Zinc Ores and Concentrates

The rates of the import customs duties for iron and zinc ores and concentrates (codes according to the Foreign Trade Commodity Nomenclature of the Russian Federation 2601 11 000 0, 2601 12 000 0 and 2608 00 000 0) are fixed in the amount equal to zero. Earlier, the rates for the mentioned commodities were fixed in the amount of 5% of the customs cost, however, they did not apply from May 12, 2005 through February 11, 2006.

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

Order of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation No. 9n of January 17, 2006 on the Procedure of Purchase and Registration of the Special Federal Stamps, As Well As Destruction of Unused, Damaged and Those Failing to Comply with Specified Requirements

Specifies the procedure of purchase, registration of the special federal stamps, as well as of destruction of unused, damaged and failing to comply with specified requirements by the organisation engaged in production of alcoholic products on the territory of the Russian Federation.

Procedure of purchase of stamps shall regulate the procedure of submission and processing of the documents sent by the organisation to the territorial tax body to purchase the stamps, specifies the formula of calculation of the amount of collateral of execution of the duty to use the purchased stamps to their destination, defines the procedure of issue of stamps, as well as the procedure of actions if a shortage or excess is revealed after receiving the stamps, incompliance of requisites etc.

Before submitting to the tax body the documents to get the stamps, the organisation must transfer an advance payment proceeding form the stamp price of Rbl 1,300 per 1,000 pieces without VAT to the account of the territorial body of the Federal Treasury No. 40503.

The stamps are handed out to the person authorised by the organisation while handing out simultaneously the way-bill and the invoice. Registration of the stamps in the organisation is vested in the authorised person entitled to get, store, keep records of and hand out the stamps to label the alcoholic products. Received but unused stamps may not be returned and are destroyed by the organisation in the presence of the official of the tax body as the ones failing to comply with specified requirements. Destruction in the organisation is drawn up as an act.

The Order endorses the specimens of logbooks: for those received by the organisation, placed on the alcoholic products, unused, damaged and failing to comply with specified requirements. The given logbooks must be preserved in the organisation for at least 5 years.

Registered in the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation on January 20, 2006. Reg. No. 7399.

Order of the Ministry of Public Health and Social Development of the Russian Federation No. 811 of December 30, 2005 on the Amendments to the List of Medicines

The list of medicines sold to doctor (feldsher) prescription for the purposes of additional free medical aid to individual categories of citizens entitled for the state social aid is extended to include individual medicines. The amendment is introduced to provide for a rational use of medicines imported to the Russian Federation in 2005 in the framework of addition medicine support to individual categories of citizens entitled for the state social aid.

The Order remains in force until April 1, 2006.

Registered in the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation on January 20, 2006. Reg. No. 7397.

Order of the Federal Service for Financial Markets No. 05-84/pz-n of December 20, 2005 on the Endorsement of the Form and Time Limits of Submission by the Specialised Depositary of Reports of Operations, Types and Market Cost of Securities Registered under the Contracts for the Services of a Specialised Depositary to the Federal Body of Executive Power in Charge of the Accumulated Mortgage System of Housing Support for Servicemen and the Contracts for the Services of a Specialised Depositary to Management Companies Providing Trust Control for the Savings of the Housing Support for Servicemen

The specialised depositary having concluded with the pertinent federal body of executive power the contract for services of a specialised depositary shall submit the report for the reported period on the quarterly basis within 10 working days from the date of the end of the reported quarter. Reporting quarter is defined in compliance with the legislation of the Russian Federation on accounting work, and the reporting period is defined as a period from the beginning of the calendar year to the end of the reporting quarter.

Registered in the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation on January 19, 2006. Reg. No. 7385.

Order of the Federal Service for Financial Markets No. 05-79/pz-n of December 13, 2005 on the Endorsement of the Procedure of Determination of the Efficiency Factor of Trust Control of the Savings of the Housing Support for Servicemen

The efficiency factor is used to determined the amount of lost profit to be reimbursed by the management company providing trust control of the savings of the housing support for servicemen in cases envisaged in the contract of trust control of the savings of the housing support for servicemen.

The efficiency factor is calculated on the basis of average results of management of similar portfolios by all management companies forming the investment portfolios at the expense of the savings of the housing support for servicemen.

Registered in the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation on January 19, 2006. Reg. No. 7382.

Order of the Federal Service for Financial Markets No. 05-77/pz-n of December 8, 2005 on the Endorsement of the Regulation on the Requirements to Activities of Participants of Financial Markets Using Electronic Documents

Defines the procedure of use of the documents where information is presented in electronic digital form with an electronic digital signature by professional participants of the securities market, pension and investments funds, management companies and specialised depositaries when interacting among themselves and with clients, as well as recorders and issuers of securities.

Defines the particulars of processing and storage of the electronic documents, including the entry of service notes in the documents, procedure of identification of the person having initiated the document, as well as other requirements.

Participants of financial markets must notify the Federal Service for Financial Markets of Russia of the beginning of use of electronic documents by them.

Registered in the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation on January 19, 2006. Reg. No. 7380.

Information Letter of the Presidium of the Higher Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation No. 99 of December 22, 2005 on Individual Issues of the Practice of Application of Code of Arbitration Procedures of the Russian Federation

Explains the issues of personal and collegiate procedure of processing of cases in arbitration court, application of challenge in a preliminary court hearing, procedure of presenting of a copy of the proxy to confirm the authority of a representative in a court session, uniting several claims in a single lawsuit, collection of expenses of payment for the services of a representative in favour of the plaintiff from a defendant enjoying exemption form the state duty, admissibility of cases of collection of pledged property, individual issues of calculation of procedural time limits.

Also examined are individual issues of proceedings in arbitration court of the first, appellate and cassation instances. Thus, revocation of a challenged non-normative legal act or expiry of the period of its validity do not prevent from consideration of the application to invalidate the act if it violates legal rights and interests of the applicant.

If the examination of the application to invalidate a non-normative legal act revealed that the mentioned legal act is a normative one, the arbitration court must stop proceedings in compliance with Item 1 of Part 1 of Article 150 of the Code of Arbitration Procedures if the challenging of such act in the arbitration court is not envisaged in the Federal Law, and indicate the motives in the ruling having permitted the court to make the conclusion of the normative nature of the given act.

Information Letter of the Presidium of the Higher Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation No. 97 of December 20, 2006

Summarises the practice of conclusion and discontinuation of adjustment accords endorsed in a bankruptcy case. The adjustment accord may apply to only those creditors that are included in the creditor claims register as of the date of their meeting. Therefore, endorsement of the adjustment accord permitting to apply it to all debtor obligations to creditors emerging before the date of initiation of bankruptcy proceedings is illegal. If the claims of one of the creditors having voted for the adjustment accord are not reasonable, this does not affect the legal powers of the appropriate decision on condition that the voting of such creditor could not affect the adopted decision.

Conclusion of the adjustment accord is permitted on any stage of the bankruptcy case, however, no sooner than the first meeting of creditors. In this case the majority of votes of creditors having adopted this decision is considered to be not of the number of those present at the meeting of creditors, but the general number of votes of the bankruptcy creditors.

The court may not change the content of the adopted adjustment accord, however, if there are inconsistencies in the accord, it is not endorsed by the court. The provision on the procedure of redemption of the debt to the bankruptcy commissioner to pay the remuneration to him may be included in the accord only with his consent. The terms of the adjustment accord for creditors having voted against it may not be worse than those for the ones having voted in favour it.

A ruling endorsing the adjustment accord in the bankruptcy case may not be appealed against according to the appellate procedure.

Information Letter of the Presidium of the Higher Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation No. 96 of December 22, 2005

Summarises the practice of processing by arbitration courts of the cases of execution of decisions of foreign courts, of challenging of decisions of arbitration courts and of issue of writs of execution for decisions of arbitration courts.

The summary contains the following issues: procedure of consideration of the application to recognise and execute the decision of a foreign court; authority of the arbitration court in the cases of examination of applications to recognise and execute foreign court rulings; the terms of the ruling of the arbitration court to recognise and execute the decision of a foreign court; the reasons to terminate the proceedings in examined cases. Also explains the issues of the sphere of reference of the arbitration court in cases of recognition and execution of decisions of international commercial arbitrages; admissibility of such cases. Examines a series of reasons permitting to refuse to issue a writ of execution for the decision of the arbitration court.

If participants of an international multilateral contract concluded also an international bilateral contract of legal aid, the international contract applies to only those relations that are not regulated by the bilateral contract.

When processing an application to recognise and execute the decision of a foreign court, the arbitration court may not revise the essence of such decision.

Application to recognise and execute a foreign court ruling against a person undergoing bankruptcy proceedings shall be processed in the course of such proceedings.

Arbitration court may process applications to revoke, recognise and execute decisions of international commercial arbitrages on economic issues even if they pertain to the rights and duties of natural persons.

Agreement to hand over the dispute to an arbitration court preserves its force also after expiry of the contract containing such agreement, if the parties did not specify otherwise in their agreement.