The draft law on external administration of companies with foreign membership The draft law No. 104796-8 “On external administration for the management of a company” has been put before the State Duma.

Draft the administrative burden on developers has been decreased The Russian Government has taken steps to streamline administrative procedures in the construction field.

A draft law has been put before the State Duma regarding criminal liability for compliance with foreign sanctions in Russia A draft federal law has been submitted to the State Duma according to which compliance with anti-Russian sanctions will be treated as a severe form of an abuse of powers.

The offset of counterclaims may violate the requirement for the mandatory sale of foreign exchange earnings The official explanation of the Bank of Russia on the issue of the mandatory sale of foreign currency earnings has been published. It follows from the explanation that the fulfilment of obligations under export contracts in a way other than payment to an account with an authorised bank generally violates the requirement for mandatory sale.

Measures to support those who rent property of the city of Moscow Pepeliaev Group advises that the Government of Moscow has adopted  a set of measures to provide economic support to those who rent land plots and non-residential premises.

Moratorium on bankruptcy

The purpose of the moratorium is to support citizens, individual entrepreneurs and companies which have found themselves in a difficult financial position after sanctions were imposed on Russia.

The Russian Federal Tax Service has confirmed that it is legal to separate IT units into individual legal entities in order to receive tax benefits Pepeliaev Group advises that, according to the position of the Russian Federal Tax Service, the reorganisation of a legal entity as a result of which a standalone IT company is created cannot be considered by tax authorities to be a distortion of facts of economic life and qualify as the application of a tax evasion scheme.

The ban on Meta Platforms Inc.’s activities*: what should businesses and users take into account? *According to a Court’s ruling, Meta Platforms Inc. has been recognised as an extremist organisation and prohibited from doing business in Russia.

The deadline has been extended for profit tax to be paid in advance in March Pepeliaev Group advises that the Russian Government has extended by a month, until 28 April, the deadline for profit tax to be paid in advance. It was due to expire on 28 March.

Amendments to the special administrative region (SAR) regime. Part I: new benefits and new requirements The regulation of the activities of the SAR residents have been amended. A new law has been published that extends the list of tax benefits for international holding companies (“IHCs”) (Federal Law No. 66-FZ dated 26 March 2022). In addition, on 25 March 2022, Federal Law No. 18-FZ dated 25 February 2022 comes into force, which introduces additional requirements to apply tax benefits and provides for the possibility of obtaining the status of an ICH for Russian companies as well. We have considered the amendments proposed by these laws in aggregate and as completely interdependent.

The law has been passed on measures of tax support for business Pepeliaev Group advises that, on 22 March 2022, the State Duma (the lower house of Russia’s parliament) passed the law containing a package of tax measures to support business.

The court has prohibited Meta Platforms Inc. from doing business in Russia On 22 March 2022 the Tverskoy District Court held Meta Platforms Inc. to be an extremist organisation and prohibited it from doing business in Russia.