Publications

The overview highlights some significant changes in the legislation of the Russian Federation that come into force in January and February 2018, in particular in such domains and spheres of regulation as:
banking law;
tax law;
public procurement;
intellectual property rights;
Internet messengers and mass media;
circulation of medicines;
medical services;
industrial production and technical regulation;
inspections of legal entities and individual entrepreneurs.

On 13 December 2017, the State Duma of the Russian Federation adopted in the first reading the draft Federal Law aimed at the legalisation of remote retail trade in medicines. The right to conduct remote retail trade (including trade via the Internet) in the OTC medicines for medical and veterinary use shall be granted to pharmacy organisations and veterinary pharmacy organisations, respectively.

As of 1 January 2018, the Instruction No. 181-I of August 16, 2017 of Bank of Russia establishing the procedure for the submission by Russian residents and non-residents to authorised banks of supporting documents and information on the performance of currency transactions, as well as unified forms of accounting and reporting on currency transactions, the procedure and timing of their submission becomes effective. In particular, the requirement to submit a transaction passport by Russian residents with an authorised bank is cancelled, instead, the procedure for registering foreign trade contracts with banks with unique numbers being assigned to them is established.

The Federation Council approved on 22 November 2017 the draft Federal Law amending the Federal Law "On Information, Information Technologies and Information Protection" and the Law of the Russian Federation "On Mass Media" for the purposes of the regulation of foreign media in Russia.

Amendments to the Federal Law No. 149-FZ of 27 July 2006 "On Information, Information Technologies and Information Protection", which came into force on 1 October  2017, provide, inter alia, for the administrative procedure for restricting access to copies of Internet sites blocked by a decision of the Moscow City Court in connection with the repeated and illegal  placement of information containing copyright and (or) related rights, or information necessary to get access thereto (so-called mirror sites).

GRATA International is launching a new practice in Russia - White-Collar Crime. In keeping with GRATA International's practice of informing about important legal developments that might affect their business, we highlight the impact of criminal law on business in Russian Federation.

Federal Law No. 216-FZ of 29 July 2017 "On Innovative Scientific and Technological Centers and on Amending Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation", which entered into force on 10 August 2017, regulates relations arising in connection with establishments of innovative scientific and technological centres (ISTC) and their functioning.

GRATA International Moscow office contributed to the International Comparative Legal Guide series - Franchise 2018 with the chapter on Russia. 

The Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology, and Mass Media (Roskomnadzor) held a seminar on the organisation of activities of web publications with the participation of the Roskomnadzor legal experts and the representative of the RU/RF Domain Coordination Centre. 

On July 30, 2017 the amendments to the Federal Laws "On Foreign Investments in the Russian Federation" and "On the Procedure for Making Foreign Investments in Companies of Strategic Importance for National Defense and State Security" came into force, in particular, clarifying the notion of a foreign investor and supplementing the list of activities of strategic importance for the national defense and state security, as well as establishing new consequences of non-compliance by foreign investors of the obligation to submit information to the competent authority on the acquisition of 5 percent and more of the shares (stakes) of the strategic company.