The Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of Finance of Russia presented a package of measures to support citizens and businesses under sanctions

The State Duma at an additional plenary session on Friday, March 4, adopted in the first and immediately in the third, final, readings the draft law of the Government of the Russian Federation on supporting citizens and businesses under sanctions.

The bill was presented by Deputy Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation Alexei Khersontsev. “The set of measures will be supplemented by the packages of measures of priority actions developed by the Government of Russia to ensure the development of the Russian economy. This will minimize the damage from sanctions for the smooth functioning of all sectors of our economy and the well-being of citizens. There are all opportunities and potential for this,” he stressed.

The government of the Russian Federation in 2022 is vested with the powers to ensure the preservation of the level of social protection of citizens of the Russian Federation. We are talking about the areas of employment, the provision of medicines and medical devices, the provision of social assistance and pensions, as well as ensuring the protection of the rights and interests of Russian citizens who studied abroad and were forced to stop it.

The government receives the authority to determine the features of regulation in the areas of:

- small and medium-sized businesses - in terms of changing the conditions for classifying legal entities and individual entrepreneurs as SMEs;

- state and municipal control, to establish features for licensing, accreditation, attestation, conducting qualification exams, state registration, as well as other permitting regimes

- to establish the features of assessing the conformity of products put into circulation on the territory of the Russian Federation with the requirements of technical regulations, as well as the features of importing products into the Russian Federation subject to mandatory confirmation of conformity;

- to establish features in the field of creating tourist infrastructure facilities.

In addition, the Government will determine the specifics of the provision of state and municipal services in order to quickly respond to possible technical restrictions, improve procedures for obtaining public services and support measures.

The deadlines for the transition of departments to digital administrative regulations are postponed for a year.

It also establishes the authority of the Government to determine, in addition to the cases provided for by the Law on the contract system in the field of procurement (44-FZ), other cases of procurement from a single supplier.

The second block of amendments is the optimization in 2022 of the procedure for state (municipal) procurement in the healthcare sector.

The third one is the legalization of parallel imports by exempting from liability persons who import and sell goods included by the Government in a special list.

The fourth proposal is directed to the sphere of corporate governance. The right of a JSC is established not to reduce the authorized capital of a JSC in 2022 (not to be liquidated) in case of a decrease in net assets. The deadline for submitting proposals for candidates to the Board of Directors of the EA is extended (including the possibility of replacing JSC non-residents). The procedure for purchasing PJSC own shares is simplified. The restriction for investors is eliminated, it is possible to obtain the status of a participant in a free economic zone, regardless of the place of state registration, if there is a branch and (or) representative office on the territory of the Republic of Crimea or the territory of the city of Sevastopol.

The fifth support measure is aimed at the construction sector: the possibility of granting loans by self-regulatory organizations to their members at the expense of the compensation fund to ensure the contractual obligations of such organizations is extended for 2022; we provide for the possibility of establishing by federal laws the specifics of the implementation of urban planning activities in 2022, without amending the Urban Planning Code of the Russian Federation;

It is also proposed to empower the Government to establish the following features:

- inclusion in the register of problematic objects of apartment buildings and other real estate;

- transfer of an object of shared construction to a participant in shared construction;

- application of penalties;

- transfer of funds to escrow accounts;

- making changes to the project documentation and the results of engineering surveys, state examination of the project documentation, preparation of approval, approval, extension of the validity period of the territory planning documentation.

The sixth support measure: citizens are extended until September 30, 2022 to apply to the bank with an application to suspend the fulfillment of their obligations under the loan agreement for the grace period established by the lender, even if they have previously applied with a similar request, due to a decrease in the borrower's income.

Recall that this norm was valid until 09/30/2020 as part of the support of citizens in connection with the spread of coronavirus infection.

It is also proposed to increase the amount of obligations transferred by the insurer for the insurance payment of the national reinsurance company from 10 to 50 percent.

Seventh measure: the draft law proposes a number of changes in the field of financial and banking activities, which will be valid until 12/31/2022.

The Bank of Russia (by a decision of the Board of Directors) will have the right to: increase the terms for disclosure, preparation and submission of reports and disclosure of information by credit and non-bank financial institutions;

- establish requirements for the activities of credit and non-credit financial organizations;

- suspend (restrict) the conduct of operations and transactions by financial organizations, establish standards and indicators on an individual basis; the term of the insurance rate does not apply.

Also, the Board of Directors of the Bank of Russia, depending on the type of consumer loan, will have the right to determine the periods during which restrictions on the full cost of the loan are not applied. The bill establishes the right of banks to open an account (deposit) in foreign currency in the event of transferring funds from an individual's account from a bank subject to the sanctions of an unfriendly state, without his personal presence.