The Government of the Russian Federation has changed the terms of reference of legal entities and individuals to small business enterprises by the order from July 13, 2015 of No. 702 "About limiting values of proceeds from sales of the goods (works, services) for each category of subjects of the small and medium business".
Using such occasion, it is appropriate to remind about these conditions in general, using Article 4 of the Federal Law from July 24, 2007 No. 209-FZ «On Developing Small and Medium scale entrepreneurship in the Russian Federation». The conditions are applied to consumer cooperatives, commercial enterprises (except the state and municipal unitary) and individual entrepreneurs and farms.
In brief, these conditions are formulated as restrictions on participation in the capital: the government in share not exceeding 25%; local and foreign companies not relating to the small enterprises, totally no more than 49% (with a few exceptions for the SKOLKOVO project residents and organizations, which are financing the innovations). The limitation of average employment (including part-time, contract agreements and in separate structures): 101 – 250 persons for medium-sized enterprises, till 100 persons for small enterprises, till 15 persons for microenterprises. The limitation of the amount of fees from the sale of goods, works or services (excluding VAT) or all assets value for each of the listed categories by the regulations of the Government of the Russian Federation.
Since 25.07.2015 the maximum values of standards has doubled in comparison with previous ones: 120 mln. RUB for microenterprises, 800 mln. RUB for small business enterprises and 2 bln. RUB for medium business.
Registration or accounting of the small business is not regulated by standards and such status doesn’t require the documentary confirmation. It is enough to meet the above requirements.
The most important positive thing of the small business is the possibility of accounting under the simplified system, which allows significantly save on VAT, tax on profit, property and the uniform social tax. Moreover, executive authorities and local self-government subsidize small and medium-sized enterprises with financial subsidies and the various intangible services and benefits. It is reflected in the corresponding registers of the subjects - support recipients.
The small business has important political and social functions and its meaning is especially growing in difficult economic periods. Small enterprises promote the extension of the range and quantity of produced goods and services without involving of notable public investment; produce the large amount of components and assemblies for large enterprises and carry out many mediatorial functions for them; involve in the turnover of the material resources and financial savings of the population; make a significant contribution in innovative production; promote the formation of the competitive environment and help to overcome the monopoly in general.
This Government Regulation significantly expands the range of small businesses and focused on the establishment and strengthening of business, increase in employment and, possibly, will help to increase the budget fullness; the share of this business category in budget revenues does not exceed 20% (estimated).
For estimation of the possible increasing in number of small business subjects it is possible to cite the statistics of the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation: more than 220 th. of limited liability companies, 339 th. of newly formed individual entrepreneurs and more than 16 th. of farms were established in Russia within 6 months of 2015.
Using the «Key financial and economic indicators» section of the company’s report and the recommended list «Grant recipients RF» in the Information and Analytical system Globas- i®, you will know, whether your contractor belongs to the category of small business and whether he is the recipient of the state support.
The experts of the Credinform information agency have analyzed new legislative acts on changes of doing business. A significant turning point was in ensuring the reliability of information submitted at the state registration of legal entities and individual entrepreneurs; notifications by Russian citizens and corporate entities about existence of foreign assets; disclosure of information on experts in leadership positions by financial institutions; informing the business about the results of inspections conducted by the state authorities. Let us dwell on the major innovations.
The Federal law №67-FZ as of March 30, 2015 has amended the separate legislative acts of the RF. The content of its main provisions is to ensure the reliability of information submitted at the state registration of legal entities and individual entrepreneurs. The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation establishes responsibility for entering the information about front parties into the Unified State Register of Legal Entities (EGRUL). In general, the law is aimed at preventing the creation of firms registered on front parties.
From January 1 to July 15, 2015 more than 254 th. new organizations were registered in Russia; 498 th. in 2014, 484 th. in 2013.
*According to the Information and analytical System Globas-i.
The Federal law on controlled foreign corporations (CFC) was adopted in November 2014 and came into force since January 1, 2015. The law stipulates that Russian citizens and corporate persons having foreign assets (stocks, shares in foreign companies, trusts, funds) of 10% and more should notify the Federal Tax Service before April 1, 2015. In late March, it was decided to postpone this deadline to June 15, 2015. It was assumed that firstly a law on amnesty has to be passed. According to the lawyers, the amnesty did not affect the decision of the owners to disclose information.
By June 15, 2015, the Federal Tax Service has received 3 858 notifications (1 004 from legal entities and 2 199 from individuals); that is less than 4% of total number of companies holding foreign assets. There are totally more than 4.6 mln. active companies in Russia.
*The System Globas-i.
In its designation as of May 19, 2015 the Central Bank of the Russian Federation defined the procedure for disclosure in the Internet of information on the credit organization’s management - members of the board of directors, officers, deputies, accountants and others. According to the document the following information should be disclosed: name, surname, patronymic; position; election (re-election) date to the Board of Directors (Supervisory Board); arrangement date and actual appointment (election, re-election) for the position; information about primary and secondary education; information on scientific degree, academic rank; employment history; other information about the qualifications and work experience.
Prior to July 1, 2015 less than half of the 30 audited credit institutions took up new obligations. Main defaulters are small banks, although those from the largest top-10.
*Open mass media.
In the Decree №415 as of April 28, 2015 the Russian Government determined the rules of the formation and maintenance of the Unified register of inspections. The register contains information about scheduled and unscheduled inspections of legal entities and individual entrepreneurs, including: information on the inspection, inspection bodies, inspected entity, notification of the inspected entity, abolition of the inspection results, and other. The most important point is information about the inspection results and the measures taken following the inspection. This Decree entered into force on July 1, 2015. The provisions for the inclusion of inspection data under the state control (supervision) will be applied from July 1, 2016, and since July 1, 2017 under the municipal control.
In 2014 the FTS of the RF conducted more than 32.9 mln. on-site and desk audits of organizations and individual entrepreneurs, following the 1Q 2015 - more than 6.83 mln. In 2014 the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor) carried out more than 299 th. audits of legal entities and individual entrepreneurs, including the planned 117 th. For 2015 Rosportebnadzdor has registered more than 94 th. inspection of legal entities and individual entrepreneurs.
* Authorities' data.
In May 2015 the Constitutional Court declared illegal the provision allowing the tax office to exclude automatically the company declared bankrupt from the register. The Court in its ruling stated that extrajudicially termination of the debtor’s legal capacity by the administrative authority leads to the inability to recover debt from a bankrupt company and therefore unreasonably restriction the creditor’s rights to judicial protection.
From January 1 to July 1, 2015 more than 4,5 th. and more than 5,9 th. companies in Russia in the relevant period of 2014 were declared bankrupt. *The System Globas-i.
In the future the changes in the institute of individual entrepreneurship should be expected. Only IEs working without the right to hire will be kept, and all the rest will be transferred to the category of small enterprises. A large number of workers will increase the tax burden on enterprise: it should not be more than 100 employees at the simplified tax system, and not more than 15 at the patent system. It is expected that the amendments to the legislation will be introduced to the State Duma this year fall. The interdepartmental working group consisting of representatives of the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Labor, Federal Tax Service and NGOs acts at this stage and has already analyzed the proposals. In general, the panelists agreed to follow the path of the IE special status.
As of July 15, 2015 more than 3.5 mln. IEs acts in Russia. * The System Globas -i.
In June 2015 at the St. Petersburg international economic forum the President of the RF has stated about the policy on creating the favorable environment for conducting business, such as: to fix tax rates in the next four years, introduce tax holidays for IEs, significantly reduce the fiscal burden on small and medium-sized businesses within special tax regimes, provide tax benefits for new industries (greenfields) and other.
On July 27 The Ministry of Finance issued a document tax policy on main directions until 2018. The Government of the Russian Federation and the State Duma’s anti-crisis measures, taking into account the message of the President are also aimed at stimulating economic activity by reducing the tax burden for entrepreneurs.
The Information and analytical System Globas-i updates counterparties checks algorithm in view of the amendments and new requirements on disclosing.