The Russian Ministry of Finance has prepared a draft law amending the tax administration system. Tax Compliance experts Andrei Solomyanny and Fyodor Petrik commented on the main proposals on the air of RBC TV and in a «Kommersant» article. 

Important changes in tax administration

Adjustment of tax payment deadlines: if the last day falls on a weekend or holiday, the payment deadline is postponed to the previous working day.

Clarification of rules for granting tax installments and deferrals for seasonal businesses: installments/deferrals are now available not only in case of a complete shutdown of operations, but also in case of a drop in production or sales by more than 50% due to seasonality or reduced demand.

Clarification of the procedure for reporting certain amounts on the Unified Tax Code, including the cancellation of installments, deferrals or tax deductions, as well as in the event of a judicial challenge to a decision of the tax authority.

It is possible to call witnesses and file objections to a tax audit act via «Gosuslugi» service.

Tax authorities will be able to reasonably audit not only three previous years, but also completed tax periods of the current year (e.g. VAT, excise duties).

Expansion of tax monitoring

Meeting one of the three criteria (rather than all at once) will be sufficient:

• Revenue ≥ 800 million ₽;
• Assets ≥ 800 million ₽;
• Taxes paid ≥ 80 million ₽.

The criteria do not apply to legal successors of reorganized companies of monitoring participants.

At the same time, the list of grounds for early termination of monitoring is extended to include two or more cases of violation of the procedure or timing for providing the tax authorities with access to information/documents, as well as non-compliance of the internal control system with the requirements of the tax authorities.

Important changes in key taxes

The leasing of mining infrastructure and the provision of computing facilities to foreign persons are subject to Russian VAT. The tax is not deductible for foreign companies and is paid in full to the Russian budget.

The limitation on the reduction of the income tax base due to accumulated losses of previous years (maximum 50%) is extended until 2030.

The right to use the federal investment tax deduction may be transferred to another organization within a group of companies regardless of its industry. Also, this deduction cannot be applied to facilities financed by subsidies (retrospective effect from 01.01.2025).

It is prohibited to apply the coefficient 2 multiple times to expenses for the acquisition of rights to use computer programs and databases, software and hardware complexes included in the register of Russian software, within the framework of one chain of contracts. This prevents double counting of costs with an increased coefficient when rights are transferred between several recipients (for example, from licensor to licensee and then to sub-licensee).

It is prohibited to correct in the current period errors from previous years on overpayment of tax if the tax rate has increased since the time of the error (for example, from 20% to 25% for income tax).

At the same time, the list of grounds for early termination of monitoring is expanded - these are two or more cases of violation of the procedure or terms of providing access to information/documents to the tax authorities, as well as non-compliance of the internal control system with the requirements of the tax authorities.