At the plenary session, the Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation Maksut Shadayev answered various pressing questions of IT experts.
Benefits
The Digital Ministry intends to establish criteria for the inclusion of banks and universities in the register of accredited IT companies by the middle of summer.
“There will most likely be two accreditation requirements, the first being the ratio of IT staff to the company’s employees and the second, IT spending as a percentage of revenue. Any bank or university seeking accreditation as an IT organization must meet these requirements. We will probably come up with the final decision by the middle of summer,” the minister said.
Maksut Shadayev recalled that, initially, accreditation was an automated service. “Therefore, any company can enter the required code from the Russian Classification of Economic Activities and be included in the list of IT companies, which allows its employees to obtain draft deferment. We would not like the support measure to be discredited this way,” the minister noted.
Earlier, the government launched the preferential mortgage program for IT experts, reducing the mortgage rate to 5 %. In regions with a population of more than 1 million, the maximum loan amount is 18 million rubles; in other regions, 9 million rubles. The borrower must be 22 to 45 years old and earn more than 150,000 rubles a month before personal income tax in regions with a population of more than 1 million and more than 100,000 rubles in other parts of the country. The borrower’s employer must carry out IT-related activities, be accredited and meet the tax exemption requirements.
In order to obtain state accreditation, companies must carry out IT-related activities, including development and implementation of computer programs and databases on physical media or in an electronic form using communication channels. Organizations must also provide program and database development, adaptation, modification, installation, testing and support services. The register of accredited IT organizations available on the Digital Ministry’s website includes over 27,000 companies.
This page contains all the information on preferential mortgage for IT companies’ employees provided by the ministry.
Click the link to:
· find out whether a company is included in the list of organizations that meet the IT mortgage requirements (the database can be searched by a company’s TIN and name)
· explore the list of banks to apply for a mortgage (it will be expanded)
· review the program’s conditions
· learn more about the requirements for borrowers.
Components
According to the minister, now, concessional lending programs support import trade as well. “Last week the government approved the list of low-interest loan requirements for importers. It is a rather strong measure. Those who’d like to purchase components can receive decent beneficial loans. It is a cross-industry program; however, it completely covers all of our sectors,” the minister stated.
“Customs-related problems, certification issues in the absence of the right holder’s consent… We’re launching new initiatives and have a good understanding of these problems. The components’ logistics and import will receive necessary support,” the expert concluded.
The program for IT equipment export trade support will be launched in Russia in the third or fourth quarter of 2022.
No to paper notices
The Digital Ministry is working on a draft law on abolishing the use of paper notices, including paper copies of utility bills.
“In our opinion, all problems the market is facing provide an opportunity to develop digital services. Now we are trying to pass the draft law on abolishing the use of paper notices completely and switch to electronic notifications, including paperless utility bills,” the expert said.
According to the minister, transitioning to electronic document management systems is of great importance. “We’re interested in services that would reduce business expenses. It is now very important to stimulate demand for Russian solutions,” the minister added.
It is imperative to find ways to cut business costs, Shadayev explained. “The infrastructure is already prepared. Let me remind you that the electronic signature is ready; the service for concluding sales contracts electronically will be launched in June. We are launching an online service that will allow users to send documents to other users and add digital signatures,” the minister noted.
Data processing
A center for assembling data storage systems will be launched in Russia. Some companies are already willing to invest in the project.
“The end-user equipment assembly and manufacturing center will move inland. There is a long list of companies ready to invest in the manufacturing process and assembly, ready to purchase machines,” the minister said.
According to Shadayev, due to the emphasis placed on the supply of components, it will become increasingly difficult to import end products. The minister pointed out that while the logistics would be difficult to manage, the end-user equipment prices would increase. He also highlighted that “it [would] be impossible to import components; however, the assembly operations [would] be carried out here.”
