Publications

Russia has expanded the special payment regime applicable to obligations owed to certain foreign creditors associated with “unfriendly” states. The regime now also covers obligations under bank deposits, including repayment of deposits and payment of accrued interest.

Previously, the regime applied mainly to obligations under loans, borrowings and financial instruments where the relevant monthly threshold was exceeded. Following the latest amendments, Russian banks must also apply the regime to deposit-related obligations owed to foreign creditors associated with “unfriendly” states, where the aggregate amount of the bank’s obligations to such creditors exceeds RUB 10 million in a calendar month.

The threshold is calculated not by reference to a specific depositor or deposit, but on the basis of the bank’s total monthly obligations to all relevant foreign creditors. If this threshold is exceeded, individual payments to such creditors are required to be made through special type “C” accounts, subject to the restrictive rules established by the Bank of Russia.

The change further expands Russia’s counter-sanctions control over cross-border payments to persons linked to “unfriendly” states.



At its meeting on June 19, 2026, the Bank of Russia reduced its official discount rate by 25 basis points, bringing it to 14.25%, following the previous cut to 14.5% in April 2026. This marks the ninth consecutive reduction since the start of the easing cycle, which began in June 2025.

According to the Central Bank's statement, economic growth continues at a moderate pace after a temporary slowdown registered at the beginning of the year, and the inflation rate is declining, although it remains at elevated levels.

The next meeting on the official discount rate is scheduled for July 24, 2026.



As of May 27, 2026, changes have taken effect in the list of goods permitted for import into Russia via parallel import. These are provided for by Order of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia No. 4769 dated September 26, 2025, which amended the list approved by Order No. 2701 dated July 21, 2023.

Excluded from the list are certain categories of computers, laptops, servers, data storage systems, drives, and components from a number of international brands, including Acer, Asus, Fujitsu, HP, Hitachi, IBM, Intel, Kingston, Samsung, Toshiba, and others.

The Ministry explains that similar products are produced by Russian manufacturers in sufficient volume to replace goods from “unfriendly” countries. According to the Ministry’s assessment, removing these goods from the parallel import list should not lead to a reduction in the range of products available on the domestic market and is intended to support demand for domestically produced radio-electronic goods.

Market operators, however, suggest that during a transitional period, there may be certain restrictions on the range of products and possible price increases for specific categories, particularly in the segment of drives, memory, and computer equipment.



Effective July 1, 2026, the Bank of Russia has allowed residents to carry out certain transactions (payment for shares, contributions, units in the property of non-residents, as well as contributions under simple partnership agreements with capital investments) without obtaining an individual permit. The aggregate limit for transactions in favor of a single non-resident legal entity has been increased from 15 to 30 million rubles (in rubles or foreign currency at the Central Bank exchange rate on the payment date). Exceeding this threshold will require an individual permit from the Bank of Russia.



Federal Law No. 162-FZ dated June 10, 2026, establishes uniform rules for medical examinations for foreign nationals. Foreign nationals entering the Russian Federation are required to undergo a medical examination within 30 calendar days of entry to obtain a temporary residence permit, a temporary residence permit for study purposes, a residence permit, a work permit, or a patent.

Medical reports are generated in electronic form and placed in the federal Unified State Health Information System registry within 24 hours, and are also transmitted to the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs and Rospotrebnadzor. Medical organizations are prohibited from assigning the right to conduct examinations to third parties. The law comes into force on September 1, 2026.



The Federal Tax Service (FNS) has issued new Recommendations on conducting desk tax audits. The audit is based on a risk-oriented approach: inspectors analyze profitability, tax burden, compare these with industry benchmarks and counterparty data.

The principles of “reasonable document requests” are established – legality, definiteness, singularity, and priority of obtaining information from government resources. Accelerated audits of 3-NDFL tax returns with property and social deductions (when complete documents are provided) are set at 10 or 15 business days. Conditions for reducing the desk audit period of a VAT return applying for a refund from two months to one month are outlined. New sections have been added concerning audits within the framework of the SPOT system and the traceability system.

In 2025, approximately 150 billion rubles were additionally assessed as a result of desk audits (compared to 37 billion in 2019).



The State Duma has passed a law clarifying the procedure for confirming the right to apply the reduced VAT rate (10%) for the sale of children’s goods. Previously, the Tax Code did not specify the particular documents confirming that goods qualified as children’s products, leading to numerous disputes with tax authorities.

The law establishes an exhaustive list of documents: to confirm the 10% rate, it is necessary to submit to the tax authority a Russian certificate of conformity or a declaration of conformity to EAEU standards. This is particularly important for importers, as the EAEU HS code alone is not always sufficient to apply the reduced rate.



The Federation Council has approved a law abolishing penalties for failure to submit “zero” tax returns (confirming the absence of taxable transactions). Approximately 55% of all decisions to impose liability under paragraph 1 of Article 119 of the Tax Code are related to such violations, and the minimum fine of 1,000 rubles (with a possible halving) does not cover the budget’s administrative costs.

The law also cancels penalties for individuals for failing to file a return on income from the sale or donation of real estate and introduces a simplified procedure for bringing organizations and individual entrepreneurs to account for late submission of “non-zero” returns, provided there are no signs of other violations.



The transitional period for the payment of the security payment under the SPOT system (system for confirming pending goods delivery) has concluded. From July 1, 2026, importers bringing goods from Armenia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan are required to make a security payment before the goods are imported. For supplies from Belarus, the transitional period has been extended until November 1, 2026.

In this regard the importer must, through the applicant’s service or telecommunication channels, generate a document on the upcoming delivery (DOPP) containing information about the cargo, transport, and security payment. The system generates a QR code, which is checked at the border crossing. According to the FNS data, currently 15,300 importers have completed 158,000 DOPPs, with trade turnover for June reaching 267.9 billion rubles. Starting July 20, the first declaration campaign for indirect taxes using the new form, incorporating SPOT, begins.



The President of the Russian Federation signed Federal Law No. 228-FZ dated July 4, 2026, “On Amendments to Article 145 of Part Two of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation”. The law maintains the income threshold for STS taxpayers, exceeding which creates an obligation to pay VAT, at 20 million rubles for the years 2027–2029.

Previously, the Tax Code had provided for a phased reduction of the limit: to 15 million rubles from 2027, and to 10 million rubles from 2028. This reduction has now been postponed: the 15-million-ruble threshold will apply from 2030, and the 10-million-ruble threshold from 2031. Crucially, if a taxpayer's income during the tax period exceeds the applicable threshold – 20 million rubles in 2026–2029, 15 million rubles in 2030, or 10 million rubles in 2031 – the obligation to pay VAT arises from the 1st day of the month following the month in which the excess occurred.

This initiative implements the proposal of the President of the Russian Federation announced at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum and is aimed at supporting small businesses, creating a predictable business environment, and preserving employment.



The Ministry of Finance of Russia, in Letter No. 03-04-06/9182 dated February 9, 2026, has radically changed its approach to calculating insurance contributions (IC) under civil law contracts (CLC) with individual entrepreneurs (IEs). The general rule is that payments under CLCs are subject to ICs, with an exception for IEs who pay contributions for themselves. However, the decisive factor is now the matching of the type of services acquired with the type of business activity of the IE listed in the Unified State Register of Individual Entrepreneurs (USRIE): if the service corresponds to the declared OKVED code, the IC is paid by the entrepreneur; if it does not match, the obligation to pay IC (with additional assessments, fines, and penalties) falls on the customer.

For customers, this entails significant tax risks, even with good faith conduct. It is recommend implementing an internal control system: request an up-to-date USRIE extract from the IE, verify the type of service against the OKVED code before payment, charge IC in case of mismatch, and include tax clauses in contracts to redistribute the relevant risks.