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What he specialises in

Sergey has specialised for more than 20 years in the taxation of construction activities, as well as of companies in other industries, including manufacturing, oil and gas, the automotive sector and banking, among others. His practical experience also includes dozens of successfully resolved disputes with tax authorities, both at the pre-trial stages and before courts, including the Russian Supreme Court and the Russian Supreme Commercial Court. He has on numerous occasions provided support to clients in applications to the Russian Constitutional Court.

His key achievements

Sergey is ranked among Russia’s leading tax law experts by the foremost independent international legal directories. He has twice been named Tax Lawyer of the Year (Best Lawyers 2018 and 2020).

For more than 15 years, he has taught tax law at the Faculty of Law of St Petersburg State University. He is the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the journal Nalogoved.

Among Sergey’s major projects are:

• advised developers on the tax aspects of their operations (including whether it is possible to deduct costs relating to the design, acquisition, and construction of infrastructure facilities for transfer to municipal institutions); 
• supported the restructuring of several groups of companies from various industries, enabling them to eliminate the risk of their business splitting up and to transition to tax payments in accordance with legislation; 
• represented subsidiaries of PJSC Gazprom on many occasions at the pre-trial stage of disputes with tax authorities. In the overwhelming majority of cases, additional tax assessments were significantly reduced without matters having to be litigated in court; 
• successfully defended a client’s interests in a dispute with a tax inspectorate concerning the right to deduct VAT on restoration works. The Russian Supreme Court’s Judicial Panel for Economic Disputes accepted our arguments and upheld the client’s complaint in full, which led to in the practice of lower courts changing in similar cases; 
• defended Citibank in a case concerning whether taxable income arises when VIP clients receive incentives from banks. Before the Presidium of the Russian Supreme Commercial Court, he proved that no taxable income arises, thereby establishing a precedent that was significant for the entire industry.

What they say

“Sergey Sosnovsky, Head of the Tax Practice in St Petersburg, is one of the leading tax experts in north-west Russia, actively representing clients in tax disputes before the courts” (Chambers Europe).