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Automotive industry and transportation

Automotive industry and transportation

Our lawyers are highly skilled and experienced in providing legal support for companies engaged in the automotive industry. Putting together a sector-based team enables us to properly develop business strategy taking various legal changes into account. Such a team brings together experts from various branches of law, including taxation, customs law and foreign trade regulation, construction and real estate, commercial practice.

Our key competences are our knowledge of the legal regulation of the branch, and of measures of state support and protection of rights of investors. As a member of the TerraLex international association of law firms, we provide our clients with reliable support for implementing complex international projects.

Pepeliaev Group has among its clients more than 80 companies on this market, including prominent car manufacturers, producers and distributors of components, and dealers.

In today’s difficult and controversial investment environment, we are justly regarded as the flagship law firm among those active on this market.

Achievements

  • We supply services to 50% of the car manufacturers included in the Fortune 500 for 2014.
  • We work with the principal strategic alliances in the industry (8 out of 10 of which have production facilities in Russia), providing legal assistance regarding local manufacturing content, customs clearance, taxation issues, support for real estate transactions, as well as in disputes with consumers and partners.
  • We participated in drafting regulations for the “industrial assembly” regime, including holding negotiations with the Russian Ministry for Economic Development, the Russian Federal Customs Service and other government authorities.We were one of the first legal advisors that participated in “industrial assembly” projects for large foreign automotive alliances in Russia.
  • We actively work with the automotive industry committees of AEB and AmCham.

Projects

Legal support to a major car manufacturer during its global reorganisation
Our corporate lawyers advised a major car manufacturer on a global reorganisation involving its foreign distributors. The EUR 40 million project involved entities incorporated in Russia, Ukraine, France, Czech Republic, Latvia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. Our lawyers’ main role was managing the assets owned by more than 30 of the client’s subsidiaries in the above countries and subsequently advising the client on potential beneficial ways of restructuring the group considering the global changes made to its cost allocation policy.
Developed the optimal scenario for the import of equipment for a major car manufacturer

Pepeliaev Group’s lawyers developed the optimal scenario to import equipment taking into consideration its specific features, the possibility to ship it in assembled form, and contractual relations between the clients and their suppliers of equipment. Our experts also developed a scenario to import the equipment in parts and components and set up a schedule for supplies of such parts. In order to develop a fitting import model, the following factors also had to be taken in account: (i) assigning CCFT codes to the imported equipment and its parts, (ii) the possibility to apply zero import duties and VAT rates to production equipment manufactured outside Russia, (iii) whether it was necessary to obtain certificates of conformity for the equipment and its parts and components as well as special aspects of calculating their customs value, and (iv) whether it was possible to repair or recycle conditionally released equipment as well as the customs requirements when doing so. 

Other projects