Accreditation of IT companies in Russia

Main article: Benefits and support measures for IT companies in Russia

2024

Accredited IT companies must submit consent to the disclosure of tax secrets to the Federal Tax Service of Russia

The accreditation form will be opened on "Public services" from May 8 to June 1. This was announced on May 7, 2024 by the press service of the State Duma deputy RFAnton Nemkin with reference to the Ministry of Digital Development of Russia.

To be re-accredited, Russian IT companies must submit their consent to disclose information constituting a tax secret to the Federal Tax Service FTS (). The corresponding information one must be sent in the period May 8 - June 1, 2024.

The department stressed that companies created in 2024 and submitted an application, as well as received state accreditation after April 25, an application for verification of accreditation is not required. IT companies that apply reduced premium rates in the first quarter of 2024 are also exempt from the requirements.

This also applies to companies that have received certain benefits from the state. In addition, to obtain re-accreditation, it is necessary to check the relevance of the current consent to the disclosure of tax secrets and the relevance of compliance with other regulatory requirements. Including making sure that the level of average wages in the organization corresponds to the average for the region of registration of the company and Russia as a whole, - said the deputy.

There should be no situation in which a company whose leading activities do not correspond to the IT profile claims to receive state preferences. This will not only increase the burden on the state, but also reduce the circle of recipient companies that really need support, the parliamentarian explained.

For example, accredited IT companies can pay premiums at reduced rates. Probably the most famous example of support is a preferential mortgage lending program at a rate of up to 5% for IT specialists, the deputy added.

The Ministry of Digital Development makes changes to the rules of accreditation of IT companies

On March 6, 2024, the Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation informed TAdviser about the introduction of changes to the accreditation rules for IT companies. The corresponding draft resolution was published by the department on the federal portal of draft regulatory legal acts.^[1]

According to the proposed Ministry of Digital Development of document, for small technology companies created less than 3 years ago, the criterion for checking the share of income from IT activities is canceled. Moreover, if the company received accreditation in the year of its creation, then it may not undergo the planned confirmation procedure this year

IT companies from new regions will be able to receive accreditation regardless of the average monthly amount of payments to employees. This benefit will be valid until July 1, 2025.

Applications for the annual accreditation confirmation procedure will be accepted only in electronic form through Public services.

As part of the confirmation procedure, a salary level check will be carried out for two quarters instead of five.

In addition, it is planned to introduce a criterion for checking for foreign participation in the company. The share of foreign persons should not be more than 50%. This change will come into force on August 1, 2025.

According to the idea of ​ ​ the department, thanks to the proposed changes, even more companies will be able to apply for IT accreditation, and the process of confirming it will become more convenient. Most of the changes will take effect on May 1, 2024.

The Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation will tighten the rules for forming a register of accredited IT companies

On February 21, 2024, it became known that the Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation intends to change the rules for forming a register of accredited IT companies in order to exclude foreign organizations from entering it. Thus, foreign structures will be deprived of a number of tax and other preferences.

To be included in the specified register, the company must have a specialized OKVED and a site with a description of products and services, and the share of its income from IT activities must exceed 30%. Accreditation provides reduced rates for insurance premiums, zeroing income tax, providing employees with a preferential mortgage, as well as deferrals from military service and mobilization.

The Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation intends to change the rules for the formation of a register of accredited IT companies

However, as of February 2024, the register includes not only Russian companies, but also subsidiaries of foreign firms, including Huawei, Samsung, etc. This is, in particular, SAP CIS LLC (100% owned by the German SAP SE), Tekhkompany Huaway LLC (100% owned by the Dutch Huawei Technologies Cooperatief U.A) and Samsung Research Center (100% owned by Samsung Electronics Benelux B.V.). Russian developers are asking to close the register for foreign companies, indicating that they are luring personnel from domestic enterprises, including for the purpose of re-location.

According to the Kommersant newspaper, the Ministry of Digital Development will tighten accreditation requirements. It will be able to receive a Russian legal entity, "in which the total share of direct and (or) indirect participation of Russian persons is more than 50% of the total number of votes that fall on voting shares (shares) - if other current accreditation requirements are met." Thus, it is assumed that structures controlled by foreign companies will not be able to enter the register. And already present in the register of "daughters" of foreign organizations will be excluded from it. The new rules will come into force no earlier than July 1, 2025.^[2]

2023

The number of accredited IT companies in 3 years increased 4.5 times to 19 thousand.

By the end of 2023, the number of accredited IT companies in Russia reached 19 thousand, which is 4.5 times more than in 2020, when there were 4 thousand such firms in the country. This was announced on February 29, 2024 by Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko.

As the Deputy Prime Minister noted, the head of state during the announcement of the message to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation announced a significant increase in the number of domestic companies in the technological sphere.

The number of accredited IT companies in Russia has reached 19 thousand.

Accreditation is a prerequisite for IT companies to receive tax incentives and other preferences, including zero income tax, a decrease to 7.6% in insurance premiums for employees, preferential loans, exemption from inspections, a preferential rate on mortgage loans for employees, etc.

In November 2023, the head of the Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation Maksut Shadayev said that the issue of extending the zero rate on income tax for IT companies is being actively discussed, the decision will depend on the real situation with regional budgets. According to Shadayev, the decision will be made depending on the economic situation in the regions, since funds from income tax go to the budgets of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. The rest of the benefits for IT companies are likely to be preserved.

All other benefits are in our understanding, the likelihood of their preservation is very high. Some of the benefits have no urgency, and some, I think, we will be able to maintain, - noted the head of the Ministry of Digital Development.

In February 2024, Danil Volkov, director of the tax policy department of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, said that the issue of extending the zero income tax rate for IT companies would be discussed after receiving the reporting data for 2023.^[3]

The Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation increased from 36 to 43 the number of activities in the field of IT

The Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation approved a new list of activities related to activities in the field of information technology. The corresponding order was published on the official Internet portal of legal information in mid-August 2023.

The updated list includes 43 positions instead of the previous 36. In particular, the following were added to the document:

• production of communication equipment, including equipment of switching systems, equipment of digital transport systems, including software that ensures the implementation of established actions during operational-search activities, as well as the production of technical and software tools of information systems containing databases of telecom operator subscribers and communication services provided to them, ensuring the implementation of established actions during operational-search activities;
• activities on installation, adjustment, testing, repair of information protection means (technical means of information protection, protected technical means of information processing, technical means of monitoring the effectiveness of information protection measures, software (software and hardware) means of information protection, protected software (software and hardware) means of information processing, software (software and hardware) means of monitoring the effectiveness of information protection), including using encryption (cryptographic) means of information and telecommunication systems;
• activities on repair, maintenance, installation (installation) of information and telecommunication systems protected using encryption (cryptographic) means;
• activities related to maintenance of encryption (cryptographic) means provided for by the technical and operational documentation for these means (except for the case where these works are carried out to ensure the own needs of a legal entity or an individual entrepreneur);
• certification activities (qualification tests) for compliance with the requirements for information protection;
• repair and maintenance of computer terminals, computers, peripheral computer equipment, including desktops, laptops, magnetic drives, flash cards and other memory devices, optical drives (CD-RW, CD-ROM, ROM DVD, DVD-RW CDs), printers, monitors, keyboards, mice, joysticks and ball pointers, internal and external computer modems, dedicated computer terminals, computer servers, scanners including bar code scanners, smart card readers, virtual game helmets, computer projectors, and repair and maintenance: computer terminals, including ATMs and vending machines, non-mechanical terminals, PDAs;
• providing services using its own computer programs, databases, including by providing remote access to computer programs and (or) databases, for scientific research and development in the field of nanotechnology, information protection, bioinformatics, as well as in the field of nanobiotechnology, including the use of nano- and microconstruction tools and processes for the creation of devices for the study of biosystems and applications for the diagnosis of diseases, the delivery of drugs.

Ministry of Digital Development of Russia Order No. 449 of 11.05.2023 On Approval of the List of Activities in the Field of Information Technology

The Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation has extended accreditation of 17 thousand. IT companies

The Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation has extended accreditation of 17 thousand. IT companies. The press service of the department announced this on July 25, 2023.

The Ministry of Digital Development recalled that in 2022 the rules for accreditation of IT companies changed and a mechanism was introduced to confirm compliance with the profile of activities. The first such check ended on July 21, 2023. More than 12 thousand developers receiving tax breaks and another 5 thousand organizations that additionally provided data on compliance with the necessary requirements (in terms of salary level and share of income from IT activities) retained a place in the register of Russian IT companies, the ministry said.

It is noted that about 2 thousand. IT companies were unable to maintain accreditation because their salary levels did not match the national or regional average where they are registered. At the same time, as part of the check, a smaller of two options was taken. According to the data Rosstat provided in the message of the department, the average salary Russia in the third and fourth quarters of 2022 was 61.4 thousand rubles and 71.4 thousand rubles, respectively.

Salary verification requirements applied only to those companies that did not register their products in the register of Russian software. If the company has software in the register, the requirements for the level of the average salary do not apply to it. By July 25, 2023, 17,217 products from 6,264 companies were registered in the register of Russian software.

Companies that fail the review can apply for accreditation again, the Ministry of Digital Development said. Those who have not passed the salary criterion can register their product in the software register.

Dozens of lawsuits filed against the Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation from IT companies deprived of state accreditation

From the beginning of February to May 24, 2023, dozens of lawsuits from IT companies deprived of state accreditation were filed with the Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation. Plaintiffs demand that they be reinstated in the appropriate register, which gives organizations a number of tax and other benefits.

As it writes, CNews LLC "Veolia Magician," LLC "Matryoshka," software LLC "Smart Digital Solutions," LLC "Compass IT," LLC "Dipol-Integration," JSC "Consist-OS," JSC "RCS," LLC "OSG Records Management Crypto," LLC "Aitis," LLC "Grand Stroy," LLC "Spectrum" INIS, "Integration" information protection " Grif, Sputnik LLC, Design Click LLC, SKL Digital LLC and Parity LLC.

The publication notes that by May 24, 2023, most of the rest of the claims are still under consideration. At the suit of Superwave Group LLC (Leningrad Region, Krasnaya Zarya village), the proceedings were terminated after the organization refused its claims. One of the plaintiffs, Bov Group LLC (Kazan), in addition to the main requirements, also demanded that the court recover from Ministry of Digital Development the losses caused to him in the amount of 214 thousand rubles.

IT companies must apply to confirm accreditation by June 1, 2023. According to the Ministry of Digital Development, by May 23, 2023, they filled out a form for Public services and sent an application to only 20% of those affected by this requirement. Every fourth company that submitted an application received confirmation of accreditation, the department said. In total, by May 23, 2023, there are 22.5 thousand organizations in the register of IT companies, of which more than 11 thousand enjoy benefits and must not confirm accreditation.

The Ministry of Digital Development explains that the company that has lost its accreditation can send a complaint against the decision of the ministry through the pre-trial appeal system (FGIS DO). In addition, she can submit an appeal in accordance with the law "on the procedure for considering appeals from citizens of the Russian Federation."^[4]

Maksut Shadayev warned 2 thousand. IT companies about the deprivation of accreditation

On May 12, 2023, the Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation Maksut Shadayev allowed the deprivation of accreditation of almost 2 thousand. IT companies due to lack of consent to disclose tax secrets.

The situation is frightening, because we get almost 2.2 thousand companies, which now, due to lack of consent, definitely do not undergo the re-accreditation procedure, "the minister said, specifying that by May 12, 2023, 1956 companies did not submit consent to the disclosure of tax secrets, and another 240 firms filed it incorrectly.

According to Shadayev, the Ministry of Digital Development has opened a form on the State Public services portal through which IT companies must apply for confirmation of accreditation. If the application is not submitted by June 1, 2023 inclusive, or if the company does not provide consent to the disclosure of tax data, it will lose accreditation, the head of the department said.

In addition, Shadayev said that IT companies that do not correspond to the average salary level (150 thousand rubles in Moscow, 120 thousand rubles in million-plus cities and 70 thousand rubles in other cities) may be excluded from the registry.

A significant number of companies do not match the average salary level required for accreditation. For many, this discrepancy is extremely insignificant - up to 10%. You can make additional payments for employees in order to correct this insignificant difference and send refined calculations of insurance premiums to the tax, "he said.

By May 12, 2023, 22.2 thousand enterprises are in the register of accredited IT companies. The inclusion of the enterprise in the register gives the right to apply for a number of benefits, including zeroing the income tax rate until the end of 2024 and reducing insurance premiums for employees to 7.6%. Until March 2025, the Federal Tax Service will not conduct scheduled field inspections of IT companies. In addition, loans are available to them at 3%, and employees under 27 received a deferral from conscription and access to preferential mortgages.^[5]

Researchers and developers in the field of natural and technical sciences can now get accreditation too

IT companies whose activities are related to research and development in the field of natural and technical sciences will now be able to obtain state accreditation, which means they can apply for state support measures. The decree on this in February 2023 was signed by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.

The decision is aimed at supporting companies developing domestic products in the field of information technology.

2022

The number of accredited Russian IT companies has grown 5 times

By the end of 2022, there were about 19 thousand accredited domestic IT companies in Russia, which is almost 5 times more than a year earlier, when the indicator was measured by 4 thousand organizations. Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko announced this on February 16, 2023. The growth in the number of accredited companies was due to the measures taken to support the industry.

In mid-June 2022, Chernyshenko predicted that by the end of the year, about 35 thousand Russian IT companies would be accredited by the Ministry of Digital Development and entered into the corresponding register by the end of this year.

We understand that the conditions for doing IT-Business in Russia are more profitable than around the world, the industry is already starting to show results. The balance of power is very changing in the market. We understand that the largest corporations and state customers are now turning towards IT solutions. Russian solutions exist in almost all categories of software, - said the Deputy Prime Minister.

According to him, which he said at one of the forums on February 16, 2023, Russia is smoothly moving towards achieving the goal set by President Vladimir Putin on technological independence and economic security of the country.

Almost every large business has its own staff of programmers and other IT specialists: many organizations bring them to individual companies, since this allows you to save money through new tax incentives, Sergey Shilov, president of the Digital Economy League, told Forbes. Aram Sargsyan, a business angel and former vice president of strategy at Yandex Go, agrees with him, who believes that some companies are forced to follow these benefits. If the organization even has a small staff of IT specialists, they need to be somehow retained, says Sargsyan.^[6]

Ministry of Digital: 10 thousand out of 26.7 thousand IT companies did not give the Federal Tax Ministry of Digital Development consent to disclose tax secrets

On November 24, 2022, the Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation announced that more than 10 thousand. IT companies in Russia will be deprived of accreditation due to tax secrecy.

Of the 26.7 thousand companies that had accreditation before the entry into force of the new government decree, 10141 companies did not submit consent, - said the head of the department Maksut Shadayev, answering a question from journalists about how many companies did not apply to the Federal Tax Service.

De facto has already begun.

He added that the department "repeatedly informed and notified about this through all channels, through his personal account. Public services

After the license is revoked, companies will be able to apply for accreditation again, subject to the simultaneous submission of an application to the Federal Tax Service for consent to the disclosure of tax secrets.

There are no norms that prevent a second serve. But when submitting, they must still submit consent to the disclosure of information, - said Maksut Shadayev.

On September 30, 2022, the Government of the Russian Federation approved a new procedure for accreditation of IT companies. In particular, in order to obtain accreditation, the average salary of employees must be at least the average salary in the region or country. The condition for accreditation of small companies is income of more than 1 million rubles. All accredited companies had to send consent to the Federal Tax Service to disclose tax secrets by October 31, 2022.

Accredited companies have a number of benefits, including tax breaks, a moratorium on scheduled tax audits, preferential lending, simplification of public procurement procedures, etc. In addition, employees of companies during the mobilization period received a deferral from the draft, and also have the right to receive a preferential IT mortgage.^[7]

Ministry of Digital Development resumes accreditation of IT companies

On October 26, 2022, the Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation announced the resumption of accreditation of IT companies. According to the ministry, 422 applications for inclusion in the register were received in 15 days, of which eight companies were approved accreditation, and three were refused.

According to Ministry of Digital Development, IT companies may be denied accreditation for the following reasons:

• the company filed zero salary payments and zero revenue for the year;
• The salary of IT specialists is lower than the monthly average for the region or country;
• there is no consent to the disclosure of information constituting a tax secret.

Organizations that are denied state accreditation, or whose state accreditation has been canceled, have the right to send a complaint to the authorized body or appeal such a decision in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation.

The ministry recalled that IT companies need to send consent to the Federal Tax Service (FTS) to disclose tax secrets by October 31, 2022. This must be done in order to maintain the previously obtained accreditation.

The new accreditation regulation provides that in relation to accredited organizations annually until July 1 (starting from 2023), a procedure will be carried out to confirm compliance with the requirements for accredited IT companies, within which organizations will need to provide information on income from activities in the field of information technology. The Russian Ministry of Digital Development may also conduct an unscheduled inspection.

At the same time, the requirement for the main type of activity (according to OKVED) in relation to previously accredited organizations (until July 1, 2022) does not apply when conducting the confirmation and verification procedure. In addition, during the annual compliance check, only the share of direct state participation will be checked.^[8]

The number of accredited IT companies in Russia has increased 7 times

The number of accredited IT companies in Russia in two years increased 7 times and reached 28 thousand by October 24, 2022. Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko said this during a meeting with President Vladimir Putin.

This suggests that, of course, many, apparently, came out of the shadows, but many were created, because we see that the number of IT specialists has increased - this is 1.7 million, - stressed the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation.

We have about a million more deficits in these areas.

Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin instructed the Ministry of Digital Development and the Ministry of Industry and Trade to prepare additional support measures for the introduction of Russian IT products and hardware and software systems by August 1, 2022. Chernyshenko noted that "this is a very correct decision - the effect of such measures is obvious to us."

As an example, thanks to state support for a year and a half, the number of accredited domestic IT companies has grown sevenfold. If at the beginning of 2021 there were a little more than four thousand of them, then at the end of the year - already 14 thousand, - noted Chernyshenko.

The Deputy Prime Minister recalled that in 2021, on behalf of President Vladimir Putin, 62 measures were launched to support the IT industry. This year, by decree of the head of state, a plan was developed to support the industry in the face of external sanctions pressure.

The new accreditation regulation provides that in relation to accredited organizations annually until July 1 (starting from 2023), a procedure will be carried out to confirm compliance with the requirements for accredited IT companies, within which organizations will need to provide information on income from activities in the field of information technology. The Russian Ministry of Digital Development may also conduct an unscheduled inspection.^[9]

IT companies in the DPR, LPR, Zaporizhzhya and Kherson regions received the right to accreditation

IT companies in the DPR, LPR, Zaporizhzhya and Kherson regions received the right to accreditation to the Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation. The head of the Ministry of Digital Development RFMaksut Shadayev announced this on October 20, 2022.

{{quote 'Technically, for them to submit, the company must be accredited. We opened accreditation a week ago. I don't remember if there are companies that have applied. So, they have all the rights, of course, as citizens of Russia. Obviously, their companies weren't accredited before. And now we must first accredit the company, and then submit an application, "Shadayev said, answering a question from journalists about the possibility of receiving a deferral from partial mobilization by IT specialists in the annexed territories. }}

According to the minister, the infrastructure development plan for the launch of the State Public services portal in the new territories of Russia will be ready by mid-November 2022.

In October 2022, the president Russia Vladimir Putin signed federal constitutional laws on the entry into Russia of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), as well as the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions.

Thus, the number of regions of Russia will grow from 85 to 89, and the borders of the DPR, LPR, Kherson and Zaporizhzhya regions will become the state borders of the Russian Federation. At the same time, the DPR, LPR and Zaporizhzhya region became part of Russia within their administrative borders, and the Kherson region - with two districts of the Nikolaev region, in which a referendum was held.

Uniform standards for digitalization and communication will be developed for the liberated territories. Will be engaged in it in the Ministry of Digital Development at the request of the chairman PravitelstvaDmitriya Chernyshenko.^[10]

IT companies must send consent to the Federal Tax Service to disclose tax secrets by October 31

All accredited IT companies must, within a month after the entry into force of the updated accreditation procedure (by October 31), send consent to the Federal Tax Service to disclose information constituting a tax secret. The Ministry of Digital Development of Russia reported this on October 20, 2022. This is necessary to confirm that the company meets the conditions of accreditation.

You can submit consent:

• through the taxpayer's personal account;
• through the electronic document management operator.

You can get acquainted with how to do this in more detail in the instructions prepared by the Ministry of Digital Development.

The fulfillment of this requirement is necessary to maintain accreditation after October 31, 2022.

The Ministry of Digital Development hid the register of accredited IT companies

On October 11, 2022, the Russian Ministry of Digital Development hid the register of accredited IT companies, which was previously in the public domain on the official website of the department.

Previously, the data of organizations included in the register could be found in the section "Accreditation of IT companies." There, a file was available to visitors, which contained the names of accredited IT companies, their OGRN, TIN, as well as the dates of making an entry in the register and decisions on state accreditation.

Now, in the same section on the website, the ministry provides the opportunity to verify information on the status of accreditation in the register using a special service on the Unified Portal of Public Services (EPGU).

As the source Sheets"" in Ministry of Digital Development explained, the general register was hidden due to fears of imposing sanctions on Western countries against [listed] companies. The same reason was heard by an employee of one of the Russian IT firms familiar with the situation. According to him, the list could have been hidden back in the summer of 2022.

Lawyers interviewed by the publication note that the ministry itself decides whether to publish such data for general acquaintance or not. And due to the threat of sanctions, more and more government agencies prefer not to do this, says Kira Vinokurova, adviser on sanctions issues at the Pen & Paper Bar Association.

On October 12, 2022, the Ministry of Digital Development announced the launch of a service with which you can check whether it has state accreditation by TIN or company name. In the search bar, it is enough to enter part of the name of the organization, and if it has accreditation, it will immediately appear in the drop-down list.

According to the department, the new service will help to understand to employees of IT companies whether they are entitled to benefits: a deferral from mobilization or an IT mortgage. The service can be used by both individuals and legal entities. If necessary, you can also get an extract from the registry on the portal, this service is available to legal entities.^[11]

The Ministry of Digital Development approved a list of activities in the field of IT

In October 2022, it became known about the approved Ministry of Digital Development of order "On the list of activities in the field of information technology." The document includes 36 areas for the availability of certain benefits.

In order to uniformly define the concept of "activity in the field of information technology," I order: to approve the list of activities related to activities in the field of information technology in accordance with the appendix, the document says.

So, in particular, the document indicates the design and provision of consulting and expert services in relation to robotics and sensory technologies, information systems, sites or pages of sites in information and telecommunication networks, comprehensive maintenance of the IT infrastructure, activities to create, train and support the functioning of neural networks, as well as trade in software and hardware systems and equipment and its components.

In the context of these types, organizations will need to provide information (in the form of a certificate) on income from IT activities. So the company will be able to confirm the necessary share of revenues from IT activities (at least 30%),  the Ministry of Digital Development reported earlier in October 2022.

Earlier in October 2022, the Government of the Russian Federation approved new rules for accreditation of IT companies. According to the document, the Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation by November 1, 2022 must approve the list of activities in the IT sphere, and by December 1, 2022, approve the administrative regulations for granting accreditation.^[12]

The form for accreditation of IT companies began to work on the Public services

On October 10, 2022, a form for accreditation of IT companies under the new rules began to work on Public services.

{{quote 'The form of accreditation at night on Public services was withdrawn. There are already real applications. If something fails, let me know, we will quickly edit. But so far it is working normally, - said the head of the Ministry of Digital Science Maksut Shadayev in the Telegram channel. }}

According to him, IT specialists and companies that are members of the industry chat can report possible failures to the ministry. It is noted that by October 10, 2022, the service is already working on the portal and is available only for legal entities.

By October 10, 2022, Russia has new accreditation rules for IT companies, according to which revenue from activities in the field of information technology should be at least 30% of the total income of the company, and its employees should receive a salary not lower than the average for the country or subject of registration.

Also, now start-up projects that do not have revenue from IT activities, but invest in this area, can also receive accreditation. When submitting documents for accreditation, such projects must provide an extract from the registry of startups.

In early August 2022, the Ministry of Digital Development excluded from the register of IT companies more than 400 organizations for which IT activities are not the main one. Including 32 banks, 12 insurance companies, more than 150 budgetary institutions and a number of other non-IT companies were removed from the register. ^[13]]

New procedure for state accreditation of IT companies approved

On October 1 , a government decree was published approving a new procedure for state accreditation of IT companies. The main condition is that revenue from IT activities should be at least 30%.

The Ministry of Digital Development explained in its Telegram channel that they have developed two options for accreditation. It is important that not only large, but also small Russian IT companies can be accredited. The organization itself chooses the most convenient option for it, and for each option there are a number of conditions.

Option 1:

• the average salary of the company's employees must be at least the national or regional average;
• profile IT-OKVED as the main one;
• The company's website should contain information on the activities carried out by the organization in the field of IT.

Option 2:

• the company's income is more than 1 million rubles;
• in this case, the organization must be the copyright holder of the software included in the register of Russian software, and have income from the sale of rights to it;
• profile IT-OKVED as the main one;
• the company's website should contain information on the activities carried out by the organization in the field of IT;
• The salary requirement is not taken into account in this variant.

IT startups that do not have revenue can also receive accreditation. The main conditions for startups:

• average salary of employees - not lower than the national or regional average;
• the company was established less than 3 years before the application;
• income of the organization less than 1 million rubles (from the moment of creation);
• profile IT-OKVED as the main one;
• The company's website contains information on the activities carried out by the organization in the IT sphere.

If the region does not have a startup register, then the company can apply for accreditation, meeting only these conditions. And if there is a registry of startups, then accreditation requires:

• basic conditions (see above);
• the organization is registered in the registry of startups, the maintenance of which is normatively fixed by the decision of the constituent entity of the Russian Federation.

If the company is not in the registry of startups, but there is a register in the region, then it is necessary to comply with the basic conditions (see above), as well as the company's revenue from IT activities should be at least 30%.

The Ministry of Digital Development also expanded the list of specialized OKVED, now it includes more than 30 activities:

• 2620.4 Production of information protection means, as well as information and telecommunication systems protected using information protection means;
• 46.512 Wholesale software trading;
• 58 Publishing activities;
• 47.91.2 Retail trade carried out directly using the information and communication network of the Internet;
• 58.2 Software Edition;
• 59.14 Activities in the field of film display (activities for showing films or videos in cinemas, in open areas or in other places intended for watching films and the activities of cinema clubs);
• 60.10 Broadcasting activities;
• 60.20 Activities in the field of television broadcasting;
• 62.0 Development of computer software, consulting services in this area and other related services;
• 62.01 Development of computer software;
• 62.02 Advisory and computer technology activities;
• 62.021 Activities on planning, design of computer systems;
• 62.02.4 Activities on computer systems preparation for operation;
• 62.02.9 Advisory activities in the field of computer technology other;
• 62.03 Computer equipment management activities;
• 62.03.1 Computer systems management activities;
• 62.03.11 Computer systems management activities directly;
• 62.03.13 Activities related to the maintenance of computer systems;
• 62.09 Activities related to the use of computer technology and information technology, other. This grouping includes:

other computer-related information technologies not included in other groupings, including: provision of services for computer recovery after a failure, installation (configuration) of personal computers, software installation.

This grouping does not include:

installation of specialized digital and analog computers; development of computer software; consulting in the field of computer systems; management of computer hardware; data processing and hosting.

• 63.1 Data processing activities, provision of information posting services, activities of portals in the information and communication network of the Internet;
• 63.11 Data processing activities, provision of information posting services and related activities;
• 63.11.1 Activities on the creation and use of databases and information resources;
• 63.11.9 Other information posting services;
• 63.12 Activity of web portals. This grouping includes:

operating websites using a search engine to create and maintain an extensive database Internet addresses contained in an easily accessible form;

the functioning of other weU sites that act as portals of the information and communication network of the Internet (for example, media sites offering periodically updated content, media hosted on the Internet)

This grouping does not include:

• publication of books, newspapers, magazines, etc. through the information and communication network of the Internet;
• broadcasting through the information and communication network Internet

• 63.91 Activities of news agencies;
• 73.1 Advertising activities;
• 73.20.1 Market Research;
• 74.90.9 Activities in the field of information protection;
• 85.30 Professional training;
• 85.41 Additional education for children and adults;
• 85.42 Professional secondary education.

To obtain accreditation, the following documents are required:

• certificate of the absence of a criminal record of the head
• consent of the taxpayer to the disclosure of information constituting a tax secret
• income statement (for state institutions and autonomous non-profit organizations - on expenses) in the context of activities classified as IT.

The agency will try to issue all documents regulating the procedure for accreditation of companies as soon as possible. In the coming days, a list of IT activities should also be published. In the context of these types, organizations will need to provide information (in the form of a certificate) on income from IT activities. Thus, the company will be able to confirm the necessary share of revenues from IT activities (at least 30%).

The Ministry of Digital Development recommends that you start preparing all the necessary documents now in order to timely upload them to the form on State Public services, which the department plans to launch on October 10.

It is important that if the company is already accredited, then you do not need to re-apply for accreditation now. But such a company must, within a month from the date of entry into force of the new procedure, send consent to the Federal Tax Service to disclose information constituting a tax secret in order to pass a compliance check with the requirements for accredited IT companies, the Ministry of Digital Development explains.

At the same time, the new accreditation provision provides that in relation to already accredited organizations annually until July 1 (starting from 2023), a procedure will be carried out to confirm compliance with the requirements for accredited IT companies, within which organizations will need to provide information on income from activities in the field of IT. The Ministry of Digital Development may also conduct an unscheduled inspection.

The Ministry of Digital Development clarifies that there will be a refusal of accreditation if the organization:

• does not meet the criteria specified in the provision;
• with direct and/or indirect participation states (50% or more);
• is state agency, state unitary enterprise (municipal unitary enterprise), state company, state corporation, the public company;
• is a credit, non-bank organization, insurance organization, telecom operator;
• is included in the list approved by Government Decree No. 91-r of January 23, 2003;
• has a tax debt of more than 3 thousand rubles;
• did not consent to the disclosure of tax secrets;
• and if the head of the organization has an unexplained or outstanding criminal record.

Chernyshenko: 0.5 million people work in accredited IT companies in Russia

Almost half a million people work for accredited IT companies in Russia. This was during the congratulations of the Russians on the day of the programmer, said Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko on September 13, 2022.

The Deputy Prime Minister noted that IT specialists are the locomotive in the digital transformation of the sectors of the economy and social sphere, the press service of Chernyshenko said.

The new law on IT benefits from August 1, 2022 canceled the "old" procedure for state accreditation of IT companies. According to official data from the Ministry of Digital Development website, by mid-September 2022, a new procedure is being developed, and applications are suspended until a new accreditation procedure is adopted. At the same time, it is not known how long its development will drag on the relevant departments.

Accreditation is a prerequisite for IT companies to receive tax benefits and other preferences. And the increase in the number of applications is direct evidence of the demand for new anti-sanction measures to support the industry developed by the government. In the first days since Mikhail Mishustin announced these measures, the number of applications for accreditation of IT companies in Russia increased tenfold, "said Dmitry Chernyshenko, whose words are quoted on the official portal of the Government of the Russian Federation.

The Deputy Prime Minister recalled that in 2021, on behalf of the president Vladimir Putin , 62 measures to support the IT industry were launched. In 2022, by decree states of the head, a plan was developed to support the industry in the face of external sanctions pressure.

According to Chernyshenko's forecasts, the number of accredited Russian IT companies in the corresponding register will reach 35 thousand by the end of 2022.^[14]

The Ministry of Digital Development creates a council that will clean up the register of IT companies

In mid-August 2022, it became known about the decision of the Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation to form a council that will clean up the register of accredited IT companies entitled to tax and other benefits.

According to Kommersant, the draft order of the head of the Ministry of Digital Development Maksut Shadayev on the establishment of the council was sent on August 5, 2022 to the heads of the largest Russian specialized associations, including Russoft, Domestic Software, RAEK, APKIT. The interlocutors claim that they will be engaged in checking the register.

The department confirmed to the publication that the practice of attracting industry experts will expand, including to analyze information about companies from the register for its compliance with the necessary requirements.

According to Mikhail Lebedev, general director of ALMIS Partner (developer of AlterOffice), the industry has been discussing the idea of ​ ​ checking with the Ministry of Digital Development since the beginning of 2022. According to Lebedev, about half of the entries in the register look fictitious.

Шаблон:Quote 'For example, we took several companies from the list and simply could not even get through to them. One gets the feeling that these legal entities exist only on paper, - said the interlocutor. Dmitry Komissarov, director of product development at New Cloud Technologies (MyOffice), agreed that some of the entries in the registry have already lost their relevance due to identified shortcomings or outdated data. He attributed to such shortcomings the termination of the company's activities, the loss of exclusive rights by the copyright holder, a change in legal details, and more. The source of the newspaper in the IT market added that over the past six months, the budget could lose up to 9 billion rubles due to the allocation of benefits to companies that are not developing.

Cleaning the register of accredited companies is a logical and absolutely correct decision, says Renat Lashin, executive director of the Domestic Software Association of Software Developers (ARPP). According to him, the situation when microcredit and insurance organizations, banks and management companies suddenly received the status of an IT company does not allow talking about the targeted use of benefits by the IT sector.^[15]

Offer updated IT accreditation procedure

On August 2, 2022, the Russian Ministry of Digital Development proposed changing the procedure for accrediting IT companies. According to one of the conditions, companies whose revenue from IT activities is at least 30% will be able to be accredited.

Companies will need to keep separate revenue records. The financial statements generated for the previous reporting period should reflect revenue from specialized activities.

Startups that do not have revenue but invest in IT are also offered to accredit.

According to other conditions for accreditation, companies must have a specialized OKVED as the main one. At the same time, at least 80% of the company's employees should receive salary at least the average. to the country

Startups, in addition to the above points, need to declare the developed project in the field of IT and the status of its implementation. The company itself must be formed three years or less before applying for accreditation.

The Ministry of Digital Development proposed to deny accreditation to companies created as a result of reorganization, state-owned companies and organizations with direct and (or) indirect participation of the state (50% or more), banks and non-bank credit organizations, etc., insurance organizations or telecom companies, state or municipal institutions, as well as companies that are included in the order of the Government dated January 23, 2003 No. 91-r.

The agency plans to regularly check all companies from the register of accredited for compliance with the necessary requirements.

Suspension of acceptance of applications until the adoption of a new accreditation procedure

From August 1, 2022, the submission of applications was suspended until the adoption of a new accreditation procedure in connection with the amendments to the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. At this time, the Ministry of Digital Development, together with relevant associations and regions, is working to improve the criteria and procedures for accreditation of IT companies.

The Ministry of Digital Development excluded more than 400 organizations from the register

On August 1, 2022, it was announced that the Ministry of Digital Development excluded over 400 organizations from the register of domestic IT companies, whose activities in the field of information technology are not the main ones.

"The register of accredited IT companies has been updated. As a result, more than 400 companies were excluded from the register, "it was reported.

The ministry notes that those organizations for which activity in the field of information technology is not the main one are excluded.

Thus, among the companies excluded from the register were more than 150 budgetary institutions, 32 banks, 12 insurance companies, as well as a number of other non-IT companies. "The Ministry of Digital Development regularly analyzes information about companies from the register for its compliance with the necessary requirements. For example, in September last year, about 1.6 thousand organizations were excluded from the register, "the ministry recalled.

"This time, the Ministry of Digital Development used information about the activities of companies from open sources as additional information to make a decision on inclusion in the register. Previously, companies only needed to have a specialized OKVED, "the ministry added.

According to the register of Ministry of Digital Development, among the excluded were banks, insurance organizations, telecom operators, the media and a number of government agencies.

Among them are such banks as Sberbank, VTB, Gazprombank, Raiffeisen Bank, Alfa Bank, Tinkoff, Credit Bank of Moscow, as well as Otkritie. The Internet operator in the Maxima Telecom metro, the GLONASS system, Mediaskop and the Mir payment system operator were also excluded. In addition, such telecom operators as Megafon, Yota, Tele2 and Rostelecom, as well as Russian Post, the Main Radio Frequency Center, the Moscow IT Department, the Research Institute of Radio, and universities such as SibGUTI and MIPT were excluded.

In the spring, more than 10 thousand new participants were included in the register of domestic IT companies, more than in 6 previous years

As it became known to TAdviser, from February 24 to May 17, 2022, the register of domestic IT companies increased by more than 10 thousand participants. Moreover, in 2022 until February 24, only 219 organizations were included in the list. Over the entire period of its existence since January 2008, 25.8 thousand companies were included in it.

Number of companies included in the Register of accredited organizations operating in the field of information technology, year/pc.
2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022
171	62	484	1055	483	441	1773	1024	990	1312	1359	1678	2174	2532	10254

Most of the companies included in the register in 2022 filed an application in March-April after the announcement of measures to support the IT industry, including reduced rates of taxation and social contributions. At the same time, the register includes not only companies that develop software, provide cloud services or serve infrastructure, but also educational and medical institutions, pharmacies and advertising agencies.

For example, in 2022, Chelyabinsk State University, Irkutsk State University of Railways and North Caucasus Federal University, as well as the Moscow advertising agency "There are good guys" and the Yekaterinburg charity company "Profile of Mercy" became IT companies.

Ivan Begtin, CEO of the Association of Data Market Participants, told TAdviser that, of course, the vast majority of registry participants are IT companies, however, there are more and more organizations that have nothing to do with IT.

In May 2022, Ivan Begtin published a post in which he wrote that in the Register of domestic IT companies more than 1.5 thousand companies have at least one foreign founder, and 381 of them were listed in March-April 2022. The register includes 43 state medical institutions, 23 state universities, 7 state NGOs, as well as an airport, pharmacies, management companies, more than a dozen factories, private security companies and many institutions of additional professional education.

The problem must be identified. The existing selection criteria are clearly not enough to form a relevant list of IT market participants, "he shared with TAdviser.

Ministry of Digital Development will review the register of accredited IT companies to eliminate abuse

The Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation will revise the register of accredited IT companies that can apply for benefits, such as income tax exemption for three years, loans for continued work and new projects at a rate of no more than 3%, preferential mortgages for IT specialists and exemption from conscription. This became known on April 6, 2022.

As they write Sheets"," a revision of the register and accreditation procedures are necessary to exclude abuse of new preferences by companies. By the beginning of May 2022, specific proposals to change the requirements for companies applying for inclusion in the register were Ministry of Digital Development not discussed in. It is not planned to exclude already accredited companies from the register, but the requirements for obtaining benefits may be changed, a source close to the Ministry of Digital Development told the publication.

By the beginning of May 2022, IT companies simply need to obtain accreditation from the Ministry of Digital Development: they need to allocate the IT division to a separate legal entity with the necessary OKVED codes or simply add the desired OKVED to the parent company. IT activities should generate at least 90% of the total revenue, and the number of employees should be at least 7 people. However, many of them do not fit the profile of the industry, according to the publication of the publication.

Since the new support measures were announced, the number of applications for accreditation in the register of IT companies has grown sharply, according to a Ministry of Digital Development spokesman, whose comment the newspaper managed to obtain. Judging by the data of the registry updates, over the past two months, more than 10,000 organizations have been added to it and as of May 5, 2022, the number of accredited legal entities reached 25,304 organizations. If earlier on average about seven applications were received per day, now - more than 250.^[16]

2021

Now through public services. Simplified state accreditation of IT companies

In early August 2021, a decree of the Government of the Russian Federation on simplified state accreditation of IT companies that can apply for benefits (3% income tax rate, simplified procedure for attracting foreign specialists, etc.) came into force.

From August 1, 2021, companies can apply for state accreditation through the portal. public services The system will collect all the necessary information itself - you will not need to fill out anything. Also in the personal account there was an opportunity to receive an information statement on inclusion in the register of accredited IT companies.

By the end of May 2021, 14,248 companies were included in the state register of accredited organizations operating in the field of information technology. That month, the list included "TechLAB," "Center for Informatization of the Republic of Mordovia," "LANIT-SiEsPi," "Medical Screening of the System (Celsus)," etc.

Earlier, the Ministry of Digital Development reported that after the announcement of benefits as part of the tax maneuver, the number of applications of Russian IT companies for state accreditation almost tripled. Also, the number of applications for the inclusion of programs in the register of domestic software has almost quadrupled

As RBKnispolnitelnyy IT consulting PwC director Dmitry Shepelyavy explained, in all large businesses, from oil and gas to telecommunication companies, retail and banks, there are divisions in state corporations that are engaged in development. software

Having structured them correctly, you can apply for benefits. Many companies are now analyzing the potential benefits, he said.

According to Natalia Kasperskaya, president of InfoWatch Group of Companies and a member of the expert council on Russian software under the Ministry of Digital Development, among the applications for the inclusion of products in the register of domestic software, "quite a lot" is rejected - mainly due to failure to provide information.^[17]

Introduction of a new procedure for state accreditation of IT companies in the Russian Federation

In June 2021, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin signed a decree of the Government of the Russian Federation, which introduces a new procedure for state accreditation of IT companies. The document will enter into force on August 1, 2021.

As before, the Ministry of Digital Development Industry is engaged in state accreditation, however, after the entry into force of innovations, an application can be submitted through the Unified Portal of Public Services. The necessary information is filled in automatically based on the data obtained from the ESIA.

The authorized federal executive body is not entitled to demand from the applicant the submission of documents or information not provided for by the fields of the application for state accreditation.

The decision on state accreditation (to refuse this) is made, information is entered into a special register within one working day. The organization has the right to resubmit the application for state accreditation after the elimination of the reasons for which it was refused earlier.

An organization whose information is entered in the register may request an extract from the register in the form of an electronic document signed by an enhanced qualified electronic signature of an authorized federal executive body in a personal account on a single portal. It is noted that the extract from the register is informational in nature.

In case of voluntary refusal of state accreditation, the organization submits an application for refusal of state accreditation in electronic form through a single portal.

Notification of the results of granting state accreditation or cancellation of state accreditation is sent to the organization using the "personal account" service on a single portal on the day of making the relevant decision. If it is impossible to inform the organization using the "personal account" service, the notification is sent to the organization in hard copy within 5 working days from the date of the relevant decision.

For organizations working in the field of information technology, the income tax rate credited to the federal budget has been reduced from 20% to 3%. In the case of tax credited to the regional budget, the rate will be 8%.^[18]

Notes

2020: Introduction of online accreditation of IT companies

In August 2020, the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications announced a decision to introduce online accreditation of Russian IT companies. Entrepreneurs were released from the obligation to present a certificate-list of codes of the All-Russian Classifier of Economic Activities (OKVED).

Russian IT companies will be able to obtain state accreditation as "organizations operating in the field of information technology" on the basis of an application on the portal of public services.

The Ministry of Communications noted that the refusal of the OKVED certificate is due to the fact that it contains information available in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities.

According to the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications, for the period from June 24 to August 10, 2020, the department received 646 applications for state accreditation of IT companies, while for the same period of time until June 23 - 94 applications. 7-fold growth occurred after the proposal of President RFVladimir Putin to conduct a tax maneuver in the IT industry.

The largest number of requests were sent from Moscow and the Moscow region, St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region, the Republic of Tatarstan, the Sverdlovsk and Voronezh regions, and the Perm Territory.

By mid-August 2020, about 11.5 thousand Russian IT companies were registered in the register of the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications. State accreditation allows you to use tax preferences, but taking into account the additional tax measures taken, companies can apply for even greater benefits.

For accredited IT companies, the legislation provides for the following preferences:

• reduced insurance premium rates (no more than 14%) subject to additional conditions on the share of "profile" income and the number of employees;
• the right to include expenses for the purchase of electronic computer equipment in material expenses in the amount of the full value of such property as it is put into operation, subject to additional conditions on the share of "profile" income and the number of employees;
• the ability to attract highly qualified specialists from among foreign citizens to work in the Russian Federation in a simplified manner.^[1]

2015: The number of IT companies accredited by the Ministry of Communications doubled in two years to 5.5 thousand

The number of IT industry organizations accredited under the Ministry of Communications of the Russian Federation more than doubled in 2014-2015, exceeding 5.5 thousand. In 2015, more than a thousand companies received accreditation, bringing the total number of IT companies accredited under the ministry to 5604.

2014

For the year, 1794 companies received accreditation

In 2014, 1,794 companies received accreditation - a record number for all the years of the provision of benefits, bringing the total number of IT companies accredited under the ministry to 4,596. Systemic support measures have attracted the approval of market participants, who in an independent industry survey note that in 2014 for the first time in 11 years they see real improvements in government regulation in all areas of the IT industry.

At the end of 2014, the following benefits were provided for accredited IT companies: reduced insurance premium rates - up to 14% of payments in favor of individuals; the possibility to attract highly qualified foreign specialists to work in a simplified manner; the right to include expenses for the purchase of electronic computer equipment in material expenses in the amount of the full value of such property upon its commissioning; preferential rate on income tax of organizations in the Novosibirsk and Penza regions.

The first support measure was improved, and the second was developed by the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications of Russia in 2013, and both new mechanisms began to operate in 2014. On January 1, 2014, a law came into force on reducing the threshold for the number of employees of IT companies applying for benefits for insurance premiums, signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin on December 30, 2013. And on June 24, 2014, amendments to the Federal Law "On the Legal Status of Foreign Citizens in the Russian Federation" began to operate, setting the minimum wage threshold for highly qualified foreign IT specialists at one million rubles a year, which is 83 thousand rubles a month instead of the pre-existing threshold at two million rubles a year (about 170 thousand rubles a month).

In addition, at the suggestion of the Ministry of Communications of Russia in 2014, a preferential tax regime for IT companies was introduced in the Novosibirsk and Penza regions, providing for the payment of income tax in the amount of 15.5% instead of 20%.

The number of IT companies that apply to the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications for obtaining benefits has tripled

From the beginning of 2014, when the minimum threshold for the number of employees of IT companies was reduced to seven people, and until September 2014, the average monthly number of accreditation requests for benefits more than tripled.

In February 2014, Minister of Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation Nikolai Nikiforov signed an order granting state accreditation to organizations operating in the field of information technology. 190 companies received accreditation. They were given the opportunity to pay a lower percentage of insurance premiums (14% instead of 30%).

The Federal Law of the Russian Federation of December 28, 2013 No. 428-FZ "On Amendments to Article 57 of the Federal Law" On Insurance Contributions to the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation, the Social Insurance Fund of the Russian Federation, the Federal Compulsory Health Insurance Fund "was signed by President Vladimir Putin on December 30, 2013 and entered into force on January 1, 2014.

According to this law, the minimum threshold for the number of employees in IT companies applying for benefits for insurance premiums has decreased from 30 to 7 people.

This measure of state support has found a great response from the IT industry in Russia. Over the past months, the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications of Russia has noted a steady increase in the number of applications for accreditation for benefits. So, in the first half of 2013, only 180 companies applied to the ministry for accreditation. In the second half of 2013, this number increased, but slightly, amounting to 247 companies. At the same time, since the beginning of 2014, the number of applications has amounted to 269, which in the average monthly perspective exceeds the indicators of 2013 by more than three times.

Over the six years of the old norm - from 2008 to 2013 - 465 companies received accreditation at the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications of Russia on average annually. After the introduction of the new law, the ministry notes a sharp increase in the attractiveness of this state service. So, according to the results of the incomplete ten months of 2014, 1561 companies received accreditation in the ministry, the ministry said.

As of October 2014, the following preferences are provided for accredited IT companies: reduced insurance premium rates - 14% of payments within the base for calculating insurance premiums, amounting to 624 thousand rubles per employee per year for 2014, and 0% of payments over the specified limit base; the possibility to attract highly qualified foreign specialists to work in a simplified manner; the right to include expenses for the purchase of electronic computer equipment in material expenses in the amount of the full value of such property as it is put into operation.

2011: 1.5 thousand firms accredited in the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications

About 1.5 thousand IT firms accredited by the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications will receive tax breaks. This was announced on May 11, 2011 at a meeting of the board of the Ministry of Communications of the Russian Federation, the head of the department Igor Shchegolev.

The minister recalled that accreditation in the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications for IT companies is mandatory in order to get the right to use tax benefits. Now, according to him, the ministry "accredited about 1.5 thousand such firms."

If the company has at least 50 people and if 90% of revenues are revenues from software development, then such companies can now be paid contributions/to state social funds/at a total rate of 14%, - explained Shchegolev. - Previously, the rate was 34%. The difference is significant.

According to the minister, we are talking about the right to deduct contributions at a reduced rate to the Pension Fund, the Social Insurance Fund, the Federal and Territorial Compulsory Health Insurance Funds.