Restrictions and measures of state support for business: the digest for 18-31 March 2024

PROJECTS

Subjects of critical information infrastructure will be obliged to use Russian software

Draft federal law No. 581689-8

The draft has been put before the State Duma.

Amendments have been proposed to Federal Law No. 187-FZ “On the safety of the critical information infrastructure of the Russian Federation” dated 26 July 2017. The purpose is to ensure technological independence of subjects of critical information infrastructure (CII subjects) via a transition to a predominant use of Russian software, databases and radioelectronics and by improving a mechanism for classifying CII subjects.

In particular, provision is made for the following:

• the Government will establish requirements for software and radioelectronics that are used at significant critical information infrastructure facilities (CII facilities), as well as the cases and approval procedure for using same; the rules and deadlines for CII subjects to transition to the predominant use of Russian software and radioelectronics; and the procedure for supervising such a transit;

• lists of typical industry-based CII facilities will be made in coordination with a competent state authority for the purposes of classifying such CII facilities. The specifics of classification will be set out in relevant guidelines;

• if during monitoring a CII subject submits incomplete/inaccurate data, it will be ordered to make amendments;

• CII subjects are obliged to comply with the requirements for software and radioelectronics that they use and also to ensure the transition to a predominant use of Russian software and radioelectronics.

The Law may come into effect on 1 March 2025.

The switch to electronic document flow in freight transportation will be tested

The Russian Government’s draft decree

Public discussions are now taking place.

In particular, it is planned:

• to hold an experiment, from 1 May 2024 until 1 May 2025, to switch to electronic document flow for the purposes of transportation by trucks and other means of transport;

• to appoint the Ministry of Transport as the competent authority;

• to approve the regulations to carry out the experiment. The following, among others, have been determined: the objectives, the range of participants (including consignors and freight forwarders who will participate voluntarily further to their applications) and the issues for which the guidelines will be approved.

The main objective of the experiment is to test prototype subsystems and services of the national digital transportation and logistics platform at the first stage, including:

A “one-stop shop” to issue shipping documents, waybills and permits;

The digital profile of a member of the platform;

Submitting information relating to the movement of cargoes (traceability);

Submitting information regarding haulage as well as transportation and logistics infrastructure facilities.

LEGISLATION

The procedure has been adjusted for economically significant companies to disclose information

The Russian President’s Ruling No. 221 dated 29 March 2024

Came into force on 29 March 2024.

The temporary procedure has been adjusted for economically significant companies and some of their related parties to disclose and submit information (the Russian President’s Ruling No. 73 dated 27 January 2024).

Specifically, it has been added that no information will be disclosed/submitted by:

• business entities which have been included in the list of business entities to which a special procedure applies for completing certain types of transactions and entities in which they directly/indirectly hold shares/membership interests (the list is closed and is not provided);

• Russian legal entities that, through transactions, acquire/have acquired rights to shares/membership interests of business entities which have been included in the above list.

• This also concerns information that is submitted/disclosed under federal laws relating to LLCs, JSCs, personal data, the state registration of legal entities and individual entrepreneurs, public procurement and other information.