The President of the Russian Federation signed Federal Law No. 479-FZ of 26.12.2024: mandatory deductions for distributing advertising on the Internet will be introduced from 1 April 2025. Acsour experts explained who will have to pay the fee and how.
Who must pay the fee?
The Federal Law, which comes into force on April 1, obliges distributors of advertising and operators of advertising systems that display advertising on the Internet to users from Russia to pay a fee. We remind you that
The requirements also apply to advertising agencies that distribute promotional materials on behalf of the advertiser.
Acsour experts note: if an agreement on advertising distribution in Russia is concluded with a foreign company or citizen, the advertiser must withhold part of the funds that he intends to transfer to the distributor of promotional materials for subsequent payment of the fee.
How is the fee amount calculated?
Taxpayers are required to transfer the established fee of 3% from quarterly income from advertising distribution and placement services.
The basis for calculating deductions is the income received during the quarter from the sale of services for the distribution of advertising on the Internet. Quarters are counted from the beginning of the calendar year.
For intermediaries, the base is the intermediary remuneration received for the quarter.
Acsour experts note that thanks to the introduction of this fee, the federal budget revenue may increase significantly. Thus, according to a report published by Roskomnadzor in October 2024, from January to June, businesses spent 381 billion rubles on online advertising, while the fee would have amounted to 11.43 billion rubles.
Payment terms and control by the legislator
The fee for distributing advertising on the Internet must be paid quarterly. Since Federal Law 479 comes into force on April 1, 2025, the first payment must be made in July — for April, May and June.
The regulatory authority in this area is Roskomnadzor. It undertakes to monitor the completeness and timeliness of payment for promotion on the Internet according to the marking, which is transferred to the Unified Register of Internet Advertising.
The Tax and Antimonopoly Services also have access to this Registry. The Federal Tax Service will determine whether the fee has been calculated correctly. And the Federal Antimonopoly Service will be assigned the following functions:
Please note that the criteria by which information will be classified as online advertising must be determined by the government.
Who is not required to pay the fee?
Deductions will not be collected when distributing advertisements on the websites of federal television channels, radio and news agencies. The fee may also not be paid if the advertisement is placed on the websites of media outlets that meet one of these criteria:
Marketplaces are also exempt from the fee, since their activities are aimed at promoting the product, not advertising it.
This law promotes support for domestic software and digital resources, but the innovation is a challenge for business: a significant portion of companies will be required to pay a fee. Acsour specialists will help you find out whether your company needs to pay a fee and understand all the nuances of the innovation.
Who must pay the fee?
The Federal Law, which comes into force on April 1, obliges distributors of advertising and operators of advertising systems that display advertising on the Internet to users from Russia to pay a fee. We remind you that
- Advertising distributors include owners of Russian social networks, websites, mobile applications and platforms that publish advertising from entrepreneurs. Bloggers are also considered distributors.
- Advertising system operators include sites that deal with contextual and targeted advertising and its placement. For example, VK Advertising, Yandex Direct.
The requirements also apply to advertising agencies that distribute promotional materials on behalf of the advertiser.
Acsour experts note: if an agreement on advertising distribution in Russia is concluded with a foreign company or citizen, the advertiser must withhold part of the funds that he intends to transfer to the distributor of promotional materials for subsequent payment of the fee.
How is the fee amount calculated?
Taxpayers are required to transfer the established fee of 3% from quarterly income from advertising distribution and placement services.
The basis for calculating deductions is the income received during the quarter from the sale of services for the distribution of advertising on the Internet. Quarters are counted from the beginning of the calendar year.
For intermediaries, the base is the intermediary remuneration received for the quarter.
Acsour experts note that thanks to the introduction of this fee, the federal budget revenue may increase significantly. Thus, according to a report published by Roskomnadzor in October 2024, from January to June, businesses spent 381 billion rubles on online advertising, while the fee would have amounted to 11.43 billion rubles.
Payment terms and control by the legislator
The fee for distributing advertising on the Internet must be paid quarterly. Since Federal Law 479 comes into force on April 1, 2025, the first payment must be made in July — for April, May and June.
The regulatory authority in this area is Roskomnadzor. It undertakes to monitor the completeness and timeliness of payment for promotion on the Internet according to the marking, which is transferred to the Unified Register of Internet Advertising.
The Tax and Antimonopoly Services also have access to this Registry. The Federal Tax Service will determine whether the fee has been calculated correctly. And the Federal Antimonopoly Service will be assigned the following functions:
- defining advertising and non-advertising;
- checking for the presence of online advertising marking;
- checking for the presence of information about the advertiser.
Please note that the criteria by which information will be classified as online advertising must be determined by the government.
Who is not required to pay the fee?
Deductions will not be collected when distributing advertisements on the websites of federal television channels, radio and news agencies. The fee may also not be paid if the advertisement is placed on the websites of media outlets that meet one of these criteria:
- The state or municipalities participate in the authorized capital.
- Received allocations from the federal budget during the year.
- Perform the functions of a publisher or editorial board of a periodical printed publication with an annual circulation of 300 thousand to 15 million copies, depending on the frequency of publication.
Marketplaces are also exempt from the fee, since their activities are aimed at promoting the product, not advertising it.
This law promotes support for domestic software and digital resources, but the innovation is a challenge for business: a significant portion of companies will be required to pay a fee. Acsour specialists will help you find out whether your company needs to pay a fee and understand all the nuances of the innovation.
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