Restrictions and measures of state support for business: the digest for 13–26 May 2024

DRAFT LAWS

The law about state control may be adjusted

Draft federal law No. 630715-8

The draft has been put before the State Duma.

Amendments have been proposed to Federal Law No. 248-FZ “On state control (supervision) and municipal control in the Russian Federation” dated 31 July 2020, specifically:

• the unified register of the types of control is completed with the list of items subject to control, which are taken into account when the annual plan of control / supervision activities is made;

• the option to abstain from applying the list of assessment and management of risks within the scope of municipal control is removed;

• it is specified that, with regard to the types of control that do not suggest any planned activities, it is not compulsory to approve risk categories of the items subject to control;

• the decision to conduct a control activity that is to be recorded in the unified register is taken by way of entering information in the register and signing it;

• if the control activity is impossible through the fault of the audited person, a similar event is conducted no later tan three months from the date on which the relevant certificate is  made;

• provision is made for the the person subject to control being entitled to deny the inspector the access to facilities if the documents of the control authority do not bear the two-dimensional barcode that links to the register of audits or if the code has been affixed improperly;

• the limitation that the field audit of a single facility must not exceed 1 (one) day is removed.
  
  

LEGISLATION

The Government will determine the rules for damage to be compensated in connection with hostile actions of the USA

The Russian President’s Ruling No. 442 dated 23/05/2024

Came into force on 23 May 2024.

The Government will establish a special procedure for damage to be compensated in cases when Russian rightholders (Russia and the Russian Central Bank) are groundlessly divested of their rights to assets further to decisions of the US authorities.

The rightholder will be entitled to file a lawsuit to a court for the fact of such divestiture to be established and to claim to have damages compensated to it. Further to the court’s request, the Government Commission on Monitoring Foreign Investment in Russia will identify US assets (a list has been put forward) which, based on the principle of proportionality, can be used to compensate the damage.

If the court rules in favour of the rightholder, the rights to US assets will cease to have effect and the assets will be subsequently transferred to the rightholder as compensation.

How to perform transactions involving IP rights with persons from hostile states

The Russian President’s Ruling No. 430 dated 20 May 2024

Came into force on 20 May 2024.

A temporary procedure has been established for performing transactions aimed at acquiring exclusive rights to use IP / means of identification from hostile states, as well as for performing monetary obligations in such transactions.

Transactions will be performed based on permissions issued by the Government Commission on Monitoring Foreign Investment in Russia. If necessary, the permission may contain the conditions of the transaction, including with regard to the remuneration.

The funds in transactions are to be credited to a special account of type “O”, including transactions consummated before 20 May 2024, but not performed in time. Other terms and conditions have been determined for depositing funds to this account.

Exceptions have been stipulated when the provisions of this Ruling are not applied, for instance, to transactions with a value under RUB 15 million.

The specifics of state control have been adjusted

The Russian Government’s Decree No. 637 dated 23 May 2024

Came into force on 24 May 2024, save for individual provisions.

The Russian Government's Decree No. 336 dated 10 March 2022 regarding specific aspects of state/municipal control being arranged and exercised have been expanded in terms of grounds for non-scheduled audits to be conducted without seeking the approval of the prosecutor’s office:

upon the expiry of a deadline for an order to be performed to rectify a violation which was issued after 1 March 2023 based on the outcome of non-scheduled control/ supervisory measures undertaken within the audit programme;

in the field of an audit of documents, when the control/supervisory authority receives materials from state authorities regarding goods, equipment for producing them or items (tools/items for committing an administrative offence) have been withdrawn.

Further, specific aspects have been established for assessing whether mandatory requirements are complied with for prices to be used for medicines from the list of vital and essential medicines.