Section 1. General Provisions

Chapter 1. Legislation on Taxes and Fees and

Other Regulatory Legal Acts on Taxes and Fees

Article 1. Legislation of the Russian Federation, Legislation of Russian Federation Member Territories, and Regulatory Legal Acts of Representative Bodies of Local Self-Government on Taxes and Fees

1. Legislation of the Russian Federation on taxes and fees shall consist of this Code and other federal laws on taxes and fees adopted in accordance therewith.

2. This Code shall establish a system of taxes and fees collected to the federal budget, and general principles of taxation and fees in the Russian Federation, including:

1) types of taxes and fees collected in the Russian Federation;

2) the grounds for arising and the procedure for fulfillment of obligations to pay taxes and fees;

3) the principles of the introduction, enforcement and invalidation of the earlier introduced taxes and dues of the subjects of the Russian Federation and local taxes and dues;

4) the rights and duties of taxpayers, the tax authorities and other parties to relations regulated by tax and fee legislation;

5) forms and methods of tax control;

6) liability for tax violations;

7) the procedure for appeals against reports of tax bodies and actions (inaction) of their officials.

3. This Code shall apply to establishment, introduction and collection of fees in cases where it is explicitly provided for in this Code.

4. The legislation of the subjects of the Russian Federation on taxes and dues consists of laws and other normative legal acts on taxes and dues of the subjects of the Russian Federation adopted in accordance with the present Code.

5. Normative legal acts of the local self-government bodies on local taxes and dues shall be adopted by the representative bodies of local self-government in accordance with the present Code.

6. Laws and other regulatory legal acts provided for by this Article shall be referred to in this Code as "legislation on taxes and fees."

Article 2. Relations Regulated by Tax and Fee Legislation

Tax and fee legislation shall regulate authority relations involving imposition, enactment and collection of taxes and fees in the Russian Federation, and also relations arising during the exercise of tax control, the appeal against the acts of tax bodies, the actions or inaction of their officials, and imposition of sanctions for tax violations.

Tax and fee legislation shall not apply to relations involving imposition, enactment and collection of customs payments or relations arising during the exercise of control over customs payments, the appeal against the acts of customs bodies, the action or inaction of their officials and imposition of sanctions on guilty persons unless otherwise provided by this Code.

Article 3. Basic Principles of Tax and Fee Legislation

1. Each person shall pay taxes and fees imposed in a lawful way. Tax and fee legislation shall be based on recognition of universality and equality of taxation. Upon the introduction of taxes it is necessary to take into account the taxpayer's ability to pay the tax.

2. Taxes and fees may not be discriminatory or applied differently depending on social, racial, national, religious and other similar criteria.

It shall not be allowed to set differential tax or fee rates or grant tax benefits depending on the form of ownership, citizenship of individuals or origin of capital.

It shall be allowed to impose special types of duties or differential rates of import custom duties depending on the country of origin of goods in accordance with this Code and customs legislation of the Russian Federation.

3. Taxes and fees shall have an economic basis and may not be arbitrary. It shall not be allowed to impose taxes preventing individuals from exercise of their constitutional rights.

4. It shall not be allowed to impose taxes and fees which violate the single economic area of the Russian Federation and in particular restrict free movement, either directly or indirectly, of goods (works, services) or financial resources within the Russian Federation; nor it shall be allowed to restrict or hinder the economic activity of natural persons and organisations, which is not banned by law, in any other way.

5. Federal taxes and fees shall be imposed, amended or revoked by this Code.

Taxes and fees of Russian Federation member territories, and local taxes and fees shall be imposed, amended or revoked by laws of Russian Federation member territories relevant to taxes and fees or regulatory legal acts of representative local self-government bodies relevant to taxes and fees, respectively, in accordance with this Code.

No one may be charged with an obligation to pay taxes and fees or other contributions and payments having characteristics of taxes as defined by this Code which are not provided by this Code or are imposed in a way which is different from the one provided by this Code.

6. Upon the introduction of taxes it is necessary to define all the elements of taxation. The legislative acts on taxes and dues shall be formulated in a way to enable each person to know exactly which taxes or dues he should pay, when and in which procedure.

7. All unremovable doubts, contradictions and ambiguities of legislative acts relevant to taxes and/or fees shall be interpreted in favour of taxpayers (payers of fees).

Article 4. Normative Legal Acts of the Organs of Executive Power, the Executive Bodies of the Local Self-government Bodies and the Agencies of the Governmental Extra-budgetary Funds on the Taxes and Dues

1. In cases provided for by legislation on taxes and fees, federal executive bodies, the organs of the executive power of the subjects of the Russian Federation, the executive bodies of local self-government, the agencies of governmental extra-budgetary funds shall publish regulatory legal acts on issues related to taxation and fees which may not amend or supplement legislation on taxes and fees. In issuing the above acts, the State Customs Committee of the Russian Federation shall be guided by customs legislation.

2. The Ministry of Taxation of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, the State Customs Committee of the Russian Federation, the agencies of the governmental extra-budgetary funds shall issue obligatory orders, instructions and methodological directions on the questions of taxation and collection of dues which are not pieces of legislation on the taxes and dues.

Article 5. Enactment and Validity of Legislative Acts on Taxes and Fees

1. Legislative acts on taxes shall take effect not earlier than upon expiry of one month after the date of their official publication and not earlier than the first day of the next tax period for the corresponding tax except for cases provided by this Article.

Legislative acts on fees shall take effect not earlier than upon expiry of one month after the date of their official publication except for cases provided by this Article.

Federal laws amending this Code with regard to imposition of new taxes and/or fees, and also legislative acts on taxes and/or fees of Russian Federation member territories and acts of representative local self-government bodies imposing taxes and/or fees shall not take effect until 1 January of the year following the year of their adoption, but not earlier than one month since the day of their official publication.

2. Legislative acts on taxes and fees which impose new taxes and/or fees, raise tax rates, the amounts of dues, impose or increase sanctions for breaches of the legislation on the taxes and dues, establish new obligations for, or worsen situation in any other way of, taxpayers or payers of fees or other parties to relations regulated by legislation on taxes and/or fees shall not be retroactive.

3. Legislative acts on taxes and/or fees which lift or mitigate sanctions for breaches of the legislation on the taxes and dues or provide additional guarantees of protection of rights of taxpayers and payers of fees or tax agents and their representatives, shall be retroactive.

4. Legislative acts on taxes and fees which revoke taxes and/or fees, reduce tax rates, eliminate obligations of taxpayers, payers of dues, tax agents and their representatives or improve their position in any other way, may be retroactive if the above acts explicitly provide for it.

5. Provisions provided for by this Article shall also extend to the normative legal acts regulating the collection of the taxes and dues subject to payment in connection with the movement of goods across the customs border of the Russian Federation except for regulatory legal acts on endorsement of crude oil export customs duty rates the procedure for entry into force of which is set out in Article 3 of the Law of the Russian Federation on Customs Tariff.

Article 6. Lack of Correspondence Between Regulatory Legal Acts on Taxes and Fees and This Code

1. A regulatory legal act on taxes and fees shall be considered to be at variance with this Code if such act:

1) is issued by a body which does not have the right under this Code to issue acts of this type or is issued in violation of the established procedure for issuance of such acts.

2) revokes or restricts the rights of taxpayers, payers of fees, tax agents or their representatives or powers of the tax authorities, customs agencies of governmental extra-budgetary funds established by this Code;

3) changes the content of obligations of parties to relations as regulated by the Legislation on taxes and fees, other persons whose duties are established by the present Code;

4) prohibits actions of taxpayers, payers of fees or tax agents and their representatives, allowed by this Code;

5) prohibits actions of the tax authorities, customs agencies, agencies by governmental extra-budgetary funds, their officials allowed or prescribed by this Code;

6) allows or admits actions prohibited by this Code;

7) changes the grounds, conditions, sequence or procedure for actions of parties to relations as regulated by the Legislation on taxes and fees, other persons whose duties are established by the present Code;

8) changes the scope and/or content of concepts and terms defined in this Code or uses these concepts and terms in a meaning other than the one used in this Code;

9) contradicts in any other way the general principles and/or the literal meaning of particular provisions of this Code.

2. Normative legal Acts referred to in Item 1 of this Article shall be considered to be at variance with this Code provided even one of the circumstances set forth in Item 1 of this Article exists.

3. The recognition of a normative legal act as inconsistent with the present Code shall be effected through legal proceedings, unless otherwise stipulated by this Code. The Government of the Russian Federation, and also a different organ of the executive power or the executive body of local self-government, which have adopted the said act or their higher bodies shall be entitled to repeal this act to introduce the necessary amendments to it prior to its juridical examination";

4. Provisions stipulated by this Article shall also extent to the normative legal acts regulating the collection of taxes and dues subject to payment in connection with the movement of goods across the customs border of the Russian Federation.

Article 6.1. Procedure for the Calculation of Time-Limits Established by the Legislation on the Taxes and Dues

The time-limit established by the legislation on the taxes and dues shall be determined by a calendar date or the expiry of the period of time that is calculated in terms of years, quarters, months weeks or days. The time-limit may also be determined by reference to the occurrence that should come inevitably.

The time calculated in terms of years expires in the corresponding month and on the day of the last year of the period. Any period consisting of 12 calendar months succeeding in a row shall be recognized as a year (except for a calendar year).

The time calculated in terms of quarters expires on the last day of the last month of the period. A quarter is deemed to be equal to 3 months and the counting off the quarters is kept from the beginning of the year.

The time calculated in terms of months expires in the corresponding month and on the day of the last month of the period. A calendar month shall be deemed to be a mont. If the end of the time fulls on the month in which there is no corresponding day, the time-limit expires on the last day of this month.

The time calculated in terms of weeks expires on the last day of a week. The period of time consisting of five working days succeeding in a row shall be deemed to be a week.

When the last day of the time falls on a day off, the next following working day shall be deemed to be the day of the end of the time.

An action for which a time-limit is established may be performed until 24 hours of the last day of the time-limit. If documents or monetary sums were delivered to a post-office or a telegraph-office before 24 hours of the last day of the time-limit, this time-limit shall not be deemed to be missed.

The time-limits for the performance of actions shall be determined by an exact calendar date, by a reference to the occurrence which should come without fail or a by a period of time. In the latter case an action may be performed during the entire period of time.

The running of the time reckoned in terms of years, months, weeks or days shall begin on the next day after a calendar date or the onset of the occurrence, which determine its beginning.

Article 7. Effect of International Treaties on Taxation

If a tax treaty of the Russian Federation which contains provisions concerning taxation and fees establish rules and standards other than those provided by this Code or laws and other regulatory legal acts on taxes and/or fees adopted in accordance with it, the rules and standards of tax treaties of the Russian Federation shall prevail.

Article 8. Concept of Tax and Fee

1. A tax shall be defined as an obligatory and individually non-refundable payment collected from organisations and individuals in the form of alienation of money resources owned by them by right of ownership, economic jurisdiction or operational management for purposes of financing the activity of the state and/or municipalities.

2. A fee shall be defined as an obligatory contribution collected from organisations and individuals the payment of which is one of the conditions of legally significant actions to be taken in relation to payers of fees by government authorities, local self-government bodies or other bodies and officials authorized by them, including granting of particular rights or issuance of permits (licenses).

Article 9. Parties to Relations Regulated by Legislation on Taxes and Fees

Parties to relations regulated by tax and fee legislation shall be as follows:

1) organisations and individuals recognized as taxpayers and payers of fees under this Code;

2) organisations and individuals recognized as tax agents under this Code;

3) the Ministry of Taxation of the Russian Federation and its subdivisions in the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as the tax bodies);

4) the State Customs Committee of the Russian Federation and its offices (hereinafter referred to as customs authorities);

5) State executive bodies and local self-government executive bodies, other bodies and officials authorized by them that receive and collect taxes and/or fees and also control their payment by taxpayers and payers of fees apart from tax and customs authorities in accordance with the established procedure (hereinafter referred to as collectors of taxes and fees);

6) the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, finance ministries of the republics, finance departments (boards, divisions) of administrations of krais (territories), oblasts (regions), the cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg, the autonomous oblast, autonomous okrugs (areas), raions (districts) and cities (hereinafter referred to as financial bodies), other authorized bodies when making decisions on deferral and payment by installments of taxes and fees and on other issues provided by this Code.

7) agencies of governmental extra-budgetary funds;

8) the Federal Tax Police Service of the Russian Federation and its territorial agencies (hereinafter referred to as the tax police agencies) - upon the solution of questions referred to their jurisdiction by the present Code.