31.03.2023

CENTRAL BANK OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION KEEPS THE KEY RATE AT 7.5% PER ANNUM

On March 17, 2023, the Bank of Russia decided to keep the key rate at 7.5% per annum.

According to the forecast of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, annual inflation will be 5-7% this year and will return to 4% in 2024.

30.03.2023

EXPLANATIONS FOR DETAILS OF APPLICABILITY OF AGREEMENTS ON AVOIDANCE OF DOUBLE TAXATION

Federal Tax Service has prepared answers to questions regarding:

- taxation of foreign companies that do not have permanent representative offices in Russia, but obtain income from sources in the Russian Federation;

- application of agreements on avoidance of double taxation concluded by Russia with foreign states.

In particular, it is established that return of the principal amount of the debt by a Russian borrower to a foreign lender is not considered as the lender's income from sources in the Russian Federation, since it does not produce economic benefits.

Agreements do not give tax agents (taxpayers) the choice of the state in which the tax must be paid. Also, they do not establish new tax rates, but only limit the tax rates provided for by the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. If the agreement provides for a higher withholding tax rate than provided for by the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, then the rate established by the Tax Code of the Russian Federation should be applied.

29.03.2023

STARTING FROM SEPTEMBER 2023, OWNERS OF TECHNOLOGICAL COMMUNICATION NETWORKS WITH AN AUTONOMOUS SYSTEM NUMBER WILL HAVE NEW RESPONSIBILITIES

Owners of technological communication networks with an autonomous system number are obliged to store the following information for three years on the territory of the Russian Federation:

- about the facts of reception, transmission, delivery and processing of voice information, text messages, images, sounds, video and other electronic messages;

- about the interaction of users of information systems and computer programs operating in technological communication networks, and about these users.

They must also provide state bodies engaged in domestic intelligence activities and security of the Russian Federation with the above and other information necessary to fulfil the tasks assigned to these bodies, in cases established by federal laws.

28.03.2023

PROCEDURE FOR ISSUING RUSSIAN VISAS HAS BEEN CLARIFIED

A visa is issued to a foreigner who is in another state than his/her country of nationality, only if he/she has permission to continuously stay in this country for more than 90 days. Another exception to this rule has been established. This requirement may not be met if an ordinary private visa is issued to the specified foreigner who is a close relative of a Russian citizen.

27.03.2023

RUSSIA AND AZERBAIJAN HAVE AGREED UPON COOPERATION IN THE SPHERE OF PENSIONS

An agreement with Azerbaijan on cooperation in the field of pension provision has been ratified.

Distribution of financial responsibility is provided for the parties with respect to insurance coverage for pension rights acquired on their territory. This will provide citizens working both in Russia and abroad with the opportunity to exercise their right to pension provision and, if necessary, to summarise the periods of work on the territory of the two states when determining the right to an old-age pension.

24.03.2023

THE CONCEPT OF STATE POLICY IN THE AREA OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE HAS BEEN UPDATED

One of the principles of state policy is the refusal to impose political strings for the provision of assistance, respect for the right of the recipient states to independently choose a model of socio-economic development, taking into account the characteristics of each of these states.

The list of tasks of state policy has been expanded. Of these, there are the promotion of regional economic integration and the development of trade and economic cooperation with the recipient states, the formation of good-neighbourly relations with neighbouring states, assistance in eliminating the hotbeds of tension and conflicts existing in the territories of these states, as well as preventing their occurrence.

23.03.2023

FEDERAL TAX SERVICE HAS UPDATED THE BUSINESS REGISTRATION SERVICE

Now, using the State Online Business Registration service, you can fill in an application not only for registration, but also for the unreliability of the information contained in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities or the objection of an interested person regarding the upcoming registration.

It became also possible to fill in an application for state registration of a legal entity when creating any organisational-legal form.

Drawing up and filling in applications for state registration of an international company or an international fund is also available.

22.03.2023

BANK OF RUSSIA WILL BE PROVIDED WITH INFORMATION ON ALL PARTICIPANTS IN FRAUDULENT TRANSFERS

It is reported that the Interaction and Response Center of the Information Security Department, established under the Bank of Russia and also known as FinCERT, on whose site all Russian credit institutions exchange information on fraudulent transactions, will be able to obtain additional information from banks on participants in such transfers, and not only about the final recipients of the stolen money. This is provided for by the updated standard of information exchange rules on cyber attacks and information security incidents in the financial sector.

21.03.2023

THE DEADLINE FOR FILING A 3-NDFL DECLARATION FOR 2022 IS MAY 2, 2023

The Federal Tax Service reminds of the ongoing personal income tax declaration campaign.

Taking into account the rule on postponement due to weekends and holidays, it is necessary to submit a declaration on income received in 2022 no later than May 2, 2023.

Income reporting is required if in 2022 the taxpayer, for example, sold real estate that was owned for less than the minimum tenure, received expensive gifts from other than close relatives, won a small amount in the lottery, rented property or received income from foreign sources.

20.03.2023

LIST OF GOODS FOR PARALLEL IMPORTS HAS BEEN EXPANDED

The list of foreign-made goods allowed for import into the country without the consent of the right holders has been adjusted.

In particular, the list includes a number of brands of motor oils (Shell Helix, Rimula), household appliances (Zanussi, Wahl), cosmetics and perfumes (Kerastase, Yves Saint Laurent), spare parts for agricultural and marine equipment (Caterpillar, Bauer Kompressoren), toys and children's products (Hasbro, Logitech, Nintendo). The list also includes IKEA goods.

17.03.2023

THE PRESIDENT HAS SIGNED A DECREE ON ADDITIONAL TEMPORARY MEASURES RELATED TO THE CIRCULATION OF SECURITIES

The Decree provides for a special procedure for making transactions with Russian securities (shares of a Russian joint-stock companies, sovereign bonds, bonds of Russian issuers, the rights to which are centrally recorded by a Russian depositary, investment units of Russian mutual funds), entailing the transfer of the right of ownership to these securities, or their transfer to trust or pledge.

16.03.2023

THE GOVERNMENT HAS CLARIFIED THE LIST OF PARTICIPANTS INVOLVED IN THE EXPERIMENT TO CREATE A NATIONAL DATA MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

The list of participants in the experiment to improve the quality and cohesion of data contained in state information resources has been supplemented with new entities. Professional participants in the securities market, non-governmental pension funds, the Deposit Insurance Agency, carriers of air or rail transportation of passengers, and a number of others are included. Regarding the employers, it is clarified that this experiment concerns those with whom individuals are planning to enter into labour relations or are already implementing them.

The list of information, the exchange of which is organised within the framework of the experiment, has also been adjusted.

15.03.2023

THE STATE WILL SUBSIDIZE SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AS PART OF THE MONITORING OF CLIMATE-ACTIVE SUBSTANCES

In 2023-2024 grants are allocated from the federal budget in the form of subsidies for scientific research and work related to the unified national system for monitoring climate-active substances.

14.03.2023

THE POSSIBILITY OF ISSUING CERTAIN TYPES OF TRANSPORT WITHOUT THE SOS BUTTON HAS BEEN EXTENDED FOR A YEAR

Until February 1, 2024, in Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, conformity assessment and release into circulation of individual trucks, buses, trolleybuses and cars for the transport of passengers imported for their own needs on the territory of these states are allowed, without equipping with systems (devices) emergency calls.

Previously, this option was valid until February 1, 2023.

13.03.2023

FEDERAL SPECIAL STAMPS WITH THE EMBLEM ‘WINE OF RUSSIA’ WILL APPEAR ON RUSSIAN WINES FROM DOMESTIC GRAPES

From March 1, 2023, it is possible to issue federal special stamps with the emblem "Wine of Russia" to members of the Federal Self-Regulatory Organisation of Winegrowers and Winemakers of Russia, who have confirmed the Russian origin of the grapes used to make wine, fortified or sparkling wine.

The emblem "Wine of Russia" will appear on three federal special stamps with the inscriptions "Wines", "Sparkling wines" and "Liquor wines".

10.03.2023

PERSONAL DATA: THE AMENDMENTS ENTERS INTO FORCE ON MARCH 1

On March 1, the final part of the amendments made to the Law on Personal Data last July came into force. The amendments relate to the procedure for confirming the destruction of personal data, cross-border data transfer, the timing of notification of the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology, and Mass Media about changes in information previously provided in the notification on the processing of personal data, and a number of other issues.

09.03.2023

ACTS OF CURRENCY LEGISLATION ARE APPLIED SUBJECT TO EXEMPTIONS AND RESTRICTIONS AIMED AT ENSURING THE FINANCIAL STABILITY OF RUSSIA

Currently, acts of the President have been issued, acts of the Government and the Bank of Russia have been adopted, providing for restrictions and exemptions in the currency sphere, which are aimed at stabilizing the Russian economy in the current geopolitical situation. At the same time, acts of currency legislation and acts of currency regulation bodies are applied subject to the indicated exemptions and restrictions.

08.03.2023

OPERATORS MUST REPORT INCIDENTS WITH PERSONAL DATA BASES WITHIN 24 HOURS

A procedure is established for operators to interact with the state system for detecting, preventing and eliminating the consequences of computer attacks on Russian information resources, including informing the Federal Security Service of incidents that resulted in the unlawful data breach. Such interaction shall be carried out through the National Coordination Centre for Computer Incidents. Operators must send information within 24 hours from the moment an incident is discovered.

07.03.2023

PROCEDURE FOR STATE CERTIFICATION OF IT COMPANIES HAS BEEN UPDATED

The Government of the Russian Federation has amended the rules for certification in the following way:

- the list of types of economic activity for certification has been expanded. From now, IT companies that are engaged in research and development in the field of natural and technical sciences may also obtain state accreditation;

- the criteria that IT companies must meet, as well as the procedure for their confirmation, have been adjusted;

- the list of companies that are entitled to be certified as IT companies has been expanded.

06.03.2023

SINCE MARCH 1, THE RANGE OF TRANSPORTATION DOCUMENTS THAT CAN BE GENERATED ELECTRONICALLY HAS BECOME WIDER

Amendments made last spring to the Charter of Motor Transport came into force. These amendments provide that among the transportation documents that can be generated in electronic form, in addition to those already mentioned in the law, also include a charter agreement, a waybill, an order and an application from a consignor.

03.03.2023

OIL AND GAS COMPANIES ON YAMAL: ENTITLED TO A TAX CREDIT

On February 16, 2023, the State Duma in the second and third readings approved amendments to the Tax Code of the Russian Federation aimed at providing funding for construction of additional infrastructure for the transportation of liquid hydrocarbons produced on Yamal.

In particular, it is planned to provide a tax credit through a deduction to be applied for the period from April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2029 with respect to tax on the extraction of minerals (MET-gas & MET-oil), in the amount of 1.111 billion roubles - for acquisition, construction, production and delivery of fixed assets related to the road, transport, engineering and energy infrastructure necessary for implementation of the corresponding project

02.03.2023

BOOKING THE DATE AND TIME FOR FREIGHT CARRIERS TO CROSS THE RUSSIAN BORDER AT CERTAIN CHECK-POINTS

The Law on Motor Roads and Road Activities in the Russian Federation provides that the passage of freight vehicles, used for international road transport and owned by Russian or foreign carriers, on sections of motor roads included into a special list, in order to cross the State Border of the Russian Federation, is carried out in a reserved date and time in accordance with the procedure established by the Government of the Russian Federation. This procedure should include a list of cases of out of turn travel and rules for booking date and time - free of charge using the GIS (State Information System)