Overview of developments in legislation and case law for March 2021

The laws that have been signed are:

• No. 40-FZ, which makes adjustments to the law on the procedure for making foreign investments in business entities of strategic importance;
• No. 32-FZ on the ratification of the amended Protocol to the double tax convention between Russia and Malta;
• No. 57-FZ on clarifying the concept of “crimes committed in the area of business activity”;
• No. 53-FZ on extending the experiment aimed at using work-related electronic documents;
• No. 55-FZ on administrative liability for a failure to provide to the state controlling authority information in the area of regulated prices (tariffs);
• No. 54-FZ on administrative liability for selling certain categories of technically complex products without pre-installed software developed in the EAEU.

The Russian Government:

• by Resolution No. 279 dated 27 February 2021 has approved a new concessional credit programme for businesses in the most affected areas;
• by Resolution No. 316 dated 4 March 2021 has extended the measures aimed at supporting entrepreneurs who sell products subject to excise tax;
• by Resolution No. 362 dated 13 March 2021 has approved the rules for state support to be provided in 2021 to businesses that hire unemployed individuals;
• by Directive No. 497-r dated 27 February 2021 has introduced the continuous monitoring of prices for consumer goods and services;
• by Directive No. 551-r dated 5 March 2021 has approved the concept of how the situation should be monitored and assessed in the area of combating counterfeit products.

Resolution of the Plenum of the Russian Supreme Court No. 2 dated 4 March 2021 has clarified certain matters connected with the application of antimonopoly legislation.