The President of the Russian Federation has signed a Decree defining new measures of state support for Russian IT companies.
According to the text of the document, organizations that carry out activities in the field of information technologies will receive the following types of state preferences.
- Exemption from profits tax. Until December 31, 2024, the rate on it will be 0% (currently 3%).
- A moratorium on scheduled inspections until December 31, 2024, including exemption from tax and currency control.
- Obtaining preferential loans at a rate not exceeding 3%. It is assumed that such loans will ensure the current activities and implement new projects of the IT company.
- Providing grants to support advanced developments of national solutions in the field of information technologies.
The following types of state support are provided for employees of IT companies.
- Obtaining a deferral from conscription until the employee reaches the age of 27. You can get such an exemption only for the period of work of specialists in an IT company and:
- if they have a specialized education in the field of information technologies;
- with their direct participation in the development and implementation of software.
Additional conditions for granting a deferral are being determined and will be announced by the Government of the Russian Federation in the near future.
- Simplified employment and obtaining a residence card in the Russian Federation (for foreign employees). It is assumed that for foreign employees with whom an employment contract has been concluded, it will be provided:
- extension of the period of temporary stay in Russia for the duration of the employment contract, but not more than three years from the date of entry into the Russian Federation (applicable to foreigners who arrived in the Russian Federation on a visa-free basis);
- provision of a multiple-entry ordinary working visa for the duration of the employment contract, but not more than three years with subsequent extension (applicable to foreigners who arrived in the Russian Federation on a visa basis).
In addition, a foreign employee (and his or her family members) may be issued a residence card for the duration of the employment contract, but for not more than three years.
These measures apply to accredited IT companies. To receive it, it is necessary to submit to the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media (Russian acronym – Mintsyfra) a corresponding application and a certificate confirming that the company works in the IT field. The deadline for the decision of the Mintsyfra on state accreditation is not more than 30 working days from the date of receipt of documents from the company.
At the same time, if an IT company plans to apply tax benefits (exemption from profits tax, payment of insurance premiums at a reduced rate of 7.6%), then apart from having accreditation, it has to comply with the following requirements:
- share of income from the sale of IT products from the total share of all income gained is at least 90%;
- average staff number of the company for the reporting or tax period is at least 7 people.
Please note that the developed Decree provides for the establishment of tax benefits for companies that receive income from:
- distribution of advertising or provision of additional services (for example, providing access to electronic educational, news or gaming content and services, electronic libraries, ticket sales, etc.) using applications and online services of these companies (Internet companies).
- implementation, installation, testing and support of software that does not belong to such companies (integrator companies).
This means that the companies mentioned above will be able to receive tax benefits along with IT companies if a number of conditions are met:
- availability of accreditation in the field of IT;
- average staff number of the company for the reporting or tax period is at least 7 people;
- share of income of Internet companies providing advertising services or additional services in their applications is at least 90%;
- share of income of integrator companies providing services for the adaptation, installation, implementation and testing of Russian software that does not belong to them is at least 75%, and the total share of income from IT activities is at least 90% of total income.
More information about the designated support measures can be found on the official website of the Minitsyfra.
Notwithstanding the diverse list of measures approved by the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation and announced by the bodies of the Mintsyfra, some of them are under development. Acsour carefully monitors these changes and will inform you about the latest news on this topic.
