Overview of tax events for August 2017
REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS
The Russian President has signed Federal Law No. 274-FZ dated 29 July 2017 on amending the law on appraisal activities. Municipal authorities are entitled to challenge the cadastral value that has been set for a privately owned land plot if, upon the owner’s application, the cadastral value was significantly reduced based on establishing the market value. This may affect the lawful interests of the municipality relating to the tax income received by the budget.
www.nalog.ru, 3 August 2017
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Russia has approved:
- the draft of the Protocol on the exchange of information in electronic format between tax authorities of the CIS states;
- the draft of the Convention between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of Japan on the elimination of double taxation with respect to income taxes and the prevention of fiscal evasion.
government.ru, 15 and 30 August 2017
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The Russian Prime Minister has signed a resolution obliging legal entities to provide information about their beneficial owners.
government.ru, 10 August 2017
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The State Duma is considering a draft law aimed at easing the control of tax authorities over business. The most radical proposal is to shorten the timeframe for a desk tax audit to one month. Another proposal is to narrow down the list of transactions subject to transfer pricing control: the value of internal transactions that are subject to control will increase from RUB 1 billion to RUB 3 billion, and for external transactions (with affiliates) up to RUB 60 million.
www.duma.gov.ru, 16 August 2017
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The Russian Government has developed amendments to the Russian Tax Code setting 0% VAT for re-exporting certain categories of goods. The zero rate is proposed to cover the sale of goods originated as a result of recycling, and goods produced (received) using foreign goods imported within the framework of a re-export procedure, and auxiliary services for the transportation of such goods.
government.ru, 9 August 2017
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The Russian Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Economic Development have specified a Road Map for systematising obligatory public payments not included in the Russian Tax Code, and on forming a single list of such payments.
government.ru, 14 August 2017
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The Russian Ministry of Economic Development:
- proposes to cancel corporate movable property tax starting from 2018;
- plans to review tax benefits for business;
- proposes that the practice of issuing notices instead of fines for offences committed for the first time should be applied to major business.
iz.ru, 7 August 2017, www.rbc.ru, 17 August 2017,
www.vedomosti.ru, 25 August 2017
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The Russian Ministry of Finance proposes to treat cryptocurrency as a financial asset, but to regulate it as ‘other property’. Only ‘qualified investors on the stock exchange’ may buy and sell bitcoins.
www.minfin.ru, 28 August 2017
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The Administration of the Russian President has prepared proposals to reduce the administrative burden on the business. The administration wants to prohibit investigative authorities from seizing hard drives of work stations and servers by limiting them to copying the information. Local business ombudsmen will be entitled to represent members of business associations before the court. The Russian Government, the General Prosecutor’s Office and the Supreme Court have been instructed to protect from detention persons who are suspected and accused under economic articles of the Criminal Code. In addition it is proposed to restrict by the law the opportunity to extend the term of apprehension if no active investigative activities are conducted within the framework of a criminal case.
www.kommersant.ru, 21 August 2017
PRACTICE
On 26 August, an Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Federal Tax Service came into force. The Tax Service may independently file a request with the Ministry of Internal Affairs to conduct operational and investigative activities when the elements of a tax crime are present.
publication.pravo.gov.ru, 26 August 2017
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By Letter No. MMV-20-15/112@ of the Russian Federal Tax Service dated 13 July 2017, local tax authorities have been instructed to reduce the timeframe for declaring a desk tax audit from three to two months with respect to good faith taxpayers who are claiming a refund of VAT from the state budget.
www.nalog.ru, 25 August 2017
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The Russian Federal Tax Service, by its Order No. MMV-7-14/582@ dated 27 July 2017, has moved the deadline to 1 June 2018 for launching the new service with information about taxpayers that are legal entities.
rulaws.ru, 1 August 2017
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The Russian Ministry of Economic Development and the Russian Ministry of Finance will check whether the low excise duty for Russian wine with a protected geographical status complies with international standards.
iz.ru, 8 August 2017
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The Russian Federal Tax Service has published:
- explanations on how inspectors should identify and prove transactions aimed at tax evasion in connection with the enactment of article 54.1 of the Russian Tax Code;
- a review of the ambiguous practice of state commercial courts in disputes on splitting up a business.
www.consultant.ru, 2 August 2017, www.vedomosti.ru, 21 August 2017,
www.kommersant.ru, 24 August 2017