Restrictions and measures of state support for business: the digest for 24 June – 7 July 2024

DRAFT LAWS

The following draft laws have passed the first reading in the State Duma:

• regarding the transfer of economically significant companies to Russian jurisdiction being simplified ( Draft law No. 464156-8);

• regarding the conditions being specified on which tax benefits will be applied under a special investment contract (‘SPIC’) ( Draft law No. 555713-8);

• the grounds being extended for reconsidering orders of the Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service. A significant ground for having an order reconsidered will be the inconsistency between the procedure as laid down in the order for setting a product price which provides for exchange/off-exchange indicators to be used of prices of a similar product that have been set on global markets ( Draft law No. 632373-8).
  
  

Fines can be multiplied for violating the requirements for protecting restricted information

The draft federal law

Public discussions are now taking place.

Specifically, it has been proposed to amend parts 2 and 6 of article 13.12 of the Russian Code of Administrative Offences and increase the amount of the fines for:

using uncertified information systems/databases and data banks/tools for protecting information;

other violations of the requirements for the protection of information.

The amount of the fines for the above offences will be RUB 10,000 - RUB 50,000 for companies' officers and RUB 50,000 - RUB 100,000 for legal entities.

LEGISLATION

The temporary procedure has been updated of how economically significant enterprises should disclose and submit information

The Russian President’s Ruling No. 569 dated 2 July 2024

Came into force on 2 July 2024.

Amendments have been made to the Russian President’s Ruling No. 73 dated 27 January 2024 that deal with the temporary procedure according to which economically significant enterprises ('ESEs’) and other persons should submit information. Specifically:

• ESEs must notify the Ministry of Economic Development (financial institutions, such as the Central Bank) about whether or not they have foreign persons within their members, indicating the amount of membership interests they hold, as well as of any changes in such information;

• the consequences have been specified of the non-disclosure/non-submission of the relevant information;

• at an ESE’s request, the Ministry of Economic Development will issue an opinion on whether or not there are any foreign members who either directly or indirectly hold shares/membership interests in the ESE’s issued capital. The opinion will be in effect for 3 months, and the ESE will be able to submit it to state authorities or other persons;

• an ESE’s subsidiaries or persons that are controlled by an ESE or whose shares/membership interests such ERE directly/indirectly holds, may not disclose information regarding persons who are members of their management boards/occupy certain positions;

• authorities (exceptions apply) or third parties, including local authorities, financial institutions, notaries or auditors may not request information that is not to be disclosed/submitted.