Benefits and support measures for IT companies in Russia

IT Support

Preferential mortgage

Main article: Preferential mortgage for IT specialists in Russia

Reprieve from the Army

Main article: Deferral from the army for IT specialists in Russia

Support for IT companies

Accreditation for Support

Main article: Accreditation of IT companies in Russia

Tax breaks

Main article: Tax incentives for IT companies in Russia

Soft loans

Main article: Soft loans for IT companies in Russia

Grants

Main article: Grants for development and implementation of IT solutions in Russia

2024

The head of the Accounts Chamber announced the end of the moratorium on inspections of IT companies in Russia

On May 15, 2024, the new head of the Accounts Chamber, Boris Kovalchuk, announced the end of the moratorium on inspections of IT companies in Russia, which had been in effect since the spring of 2022, and also announced the conduct of checks on pricing in the field of digitalization.

I want to remind you that there was a moratorium on checking, including IT companies, it recently ended. He acted a few months ago, respectively, the authorities can somehow start checking them, "Kovalchuk said during a speech in the Accounts Chamber (quoted by RIA Novosti).

Head of the Accounts Chamber Boris Kovalchuk

According to him, the introduction of a moratorium on checking developers of IT solutions was the right decision. At the same time, the head of the Accounts Chamber said that he knew "firsthand how the price of the product from the vendor goes to the customer: vendor, intermediary, integrator." Often, according to him, the customer "does not even determine who won against him," this price is determined by agreement between vendors and the integrator.

There are such examples, "Kovalchuk added.

According to him, "now we need to look" and engage in pricing, supporting digitalization and the field of information technology. Speaking to the employees of the control department, Kovalchuk called digitalization the most important direction in the work of the Accounts Chamber, but at the same time urged to deal with the issue of setting prices in the IT sphere.

As specified earlier in the Ministry of Digital Development, the lifting of the moratorium will affect only a few companies that have:

• there is a digital platform;
• the share of transactions between the buyer and the seller exceeds 35% of all transactions in this market;
• annual revenue exceeds 2 billion rubles.

The Ministry of Digital Development adds that the moratorium will continue to apply to all scheduled inspections, including through compliance with antitrust laws.^[1]

The government will allocate grants and subsidies for 130 billion rubles to support IT development

As part of the implementation of the national project "Data Economics," the authorities will allocate grants, soft loans and various subsidies totaling 130 billion rubles to support IT developments. Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko spoke about this on April 17, 2024 at a plenary meeting of one of the conferences on technologies in the field of data analysis and artificial intelligence.

We must ensure the transition of the entire state IT infrastructure and most systems of our enterprises to domestic solutions. At the same time, it is necessary to ensure advanced development. For this, the program includes measures to support new developments and scientific research in the form of grants, subsidies, preferential loans, - said the Deputy Prime Minister (quoted by RIA Novosti).

The government will allocate funds to support IT development

According to him, within the framework of the national project "Data Economics," the task is to cover all the main spheres of the economy, public administration of digital platforms, which will become the basis for management and government functions, and the provision of various services using artificial intelligence and other technologies. For these purposes, the government has provided new measures to support IT projects, Chernyshenko said.

On April 17, 2024, the head Ministry of Digital Development Maksut Shadayev , following a meeting with the president Russia Vladimir Putin , announced that a mechanism could appear in the country to facilitate access to government contracts for small technology companies and startups. According to the minister, the country has serious procedures for concluding contracts, and small companies do not always manage to pass the selection and compete with larger counterparts.

On April 17, 2024, Shadayev also said that Russian developers of IT solutions can receive new measures of state support, which should contribute to a further increase in the number of information technology specialists in Russia. At the same time, the minister did not specify what new initiatives are in question.^[2]

The Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation will introduce a mechanism for concessional lending to manufacturers of telecom equipment and electronics

In early March 2024, it became known that the Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation intends to resume the work of the mechanism of preferential lending to manufacturers of telecommunications equipment and electronics. Funds within the framework of this initiative are planned to be received through exit tax - a voluntary payment of foreign investors when selling a business in Russia.

According to the Kommersant newspaper, Ministry of Digital Development is discussing the project with market participants. It is assumed that in 2024, 19 billion rubles will be required for concessional lending. According to reports, the department appealed to the Ministry of Industry and Trade with a proposal to send funds received by the budget "from transactions with the capital of the companies" Ozone "and" Yandex, "the exit from which is carried out by foreign persons," to finance the program.

The Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation intends to resume the work of the mechanism of preferential lending to manufacturers of telecommunications equipment and electronics

Lending is carried out in accordance with Decree No. 407, which entered into force in the spring of 2022. It suggests that manufacturers of electronics and telecommunications equipment may receive loans at preferential rates for the purchase of components from some banks, such as VTB, Sberbank and Promsvyazbank. However, in November 2023, banks transferred borrowers working under the decree from preferential to market rates. As a result, the cost of loans rose from 5% to about 20%. This was due to the exhaustion of limits on the program in connection with the increase in the key rate of the Central Bank.

According to Kommersant, Aquarius, ICL, Yadro and others were credited under a preferential program. Vice President of Aquarius Dmitry Titov says that concessional lending "was a key support measure that is extremely relevant for the industry now." And Fplus says that "the resumption of the program is critically necessary to ensure the stability of the industry and its development." This is especially true in the current geopolitical situation.^[3]

FAS will be able to check IT companies

In early March 2024, it became known that the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) of the Russian Federation will receive the right to conduct inspections of IT companies. The initiative will primarily affect marketplaces and aggregators.

The powers were slightly limited due to the 448th ordinance. My colleagues and I carried out work and came to the opinion that it was time to withdraw antimonopoly control from the decree, and this will be done in the coming days, - said the head of the FAS Maxim Shaskolsky during a meeting of the Federation Council Committee on Economic Policy on March 5, 2024.

FAS will have the right to conduct inspections of marketplaces and aggregators

In 2022, the government banned regulators from conducting inspections of accredited IT companies until the end of 2024. In January 2024, the FAS recognized Ozon and Wildberries as dominant in the Marketplaces market with a share of about 80% after complaints from sellers who accused the area of ​ ​ inflating logistics costs, imposing unfavorable conditions and charging fines. Then the Federation Council announced the preparation of a bill that will establish a marginal market share of 25% for marketplaces and limit them in opening new points if it is exceeded.

In early March 2024, the Ministry of Digital Development told Kommersant that the initiative to withdraw accredited IT companies from the moratorium on antitrust control would affect not all market participants, but only owners of digital platforms that abuse their dominant position.

Such digital platforms include an extremely small composition of IT market participants, since such an organization should have a digital platform, its revenue should exceed 2 billion rubles, and the share of transactions between the buyer and seller should be more than 35% of all transactions in this market, - the representative of the ministry specified to the newspaper.[4]

Software developers in Russia have proposed a model of state support for the IT industry by analogy with the auto industry

At the end of January 2024, it became known that Russian software developers proposed to distribute measures of state support for the IT industry between market participants and users. A similar scheme operates in the automotive industry.

According to RBC, as of the beginning of 2024, domestic software developers receive state support, but this does not guarantee the final product to enter the market. The new model assumes that financial assistance will also be provided to software customers - for example, in the form of compensation for funds that go to pay for product maintenance services. At the same time, the software provider must undertake certain obligations, including the sale of a certain set number of licenses per year.

Russian software developers proposed to distribute measures of state support for the IT industry between market participants and users

According to the new scheme, after receiving the first tranche [support] from the state, the vendor receives the second after guarantees for implementation. A similar scheme was previously implemented to support the automotive industry, says Alexander Khinshtein, chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Information Technology and Communications.

It is assumed that the new approach will provide a number of advantages. In particular, the distribution of the created software in the commercial market will be guaranteed. The scheme may interest developers "who are confident in the quality and demand of their product."

The general director of the company "BASEALT" Alexei Smirnov notes that subsidizing software customers is justified, since in the current geopolitical situation they bear additional costs in replacing the already purchased and implemented foreign software. At the same time, Smirnov emphasizes, state subsidies should not replace ordinary financing at the expense of their own funds, loans or attracting investors.^[5]

2023

Putin instructed to simplify the issuance of securities for IT startups

On December 7, 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed to simplify the issuance of securities for high-tech fast-growing startups. The head of state made the corresponding statement at the forum organized by VTB.

The government and the Bank of Russia need to pay, of course, increased attention to this segment, including the need to simplify the issuance of securities of small, dynamically growing companies, and not only on the stock exchange, but also on investment platforms, where private investors can become real owners of promising startups... Here, as a rule, from assets - only one idea is valuable, new technology and a great desire to implement them, and resources for development, entering the market, as a rule, such a resource is not enough, "Putin said.

The President considers it necessary to create the most comfortable conditions for startups and ensure maximum freedom for creative people. According to the president, talented Russians should be sure that they are needed, will receive support and will be able to succeed in Russia.

It is people, their talent, energy that are the main factor in success not only in the field of artificial intelligence, but also in all areas of technological development. We must ensure maximum freedom for creativity, business initiative, create better conditions, a favorable, friendly space for everyone who launches a startup, risks, brings breakthrough products to the market, "Putin noted at a conference on artificial intelligence.

According to him, Russian universities should form the best conditions for startups, this would allow launching the creation of high-tech companies throughout Russia.^[6]

IT companies face sudden increase in rates on already issued concessional loans

In early December 2023, TAdviser was told in three accredited IT companies that they had received a notification from Sberbank about an increase in the rate on preferential loans previously opened by it from 3% to the standard one - about 18% per annum. IT market participants say that many have faced a similar situation. Evgenia Dmitriyeva, president of the Union of Technology Companies, which includes organizations of the small and middle segment, told TAdviser that the companies received notifications directly from Sberbank, and the amount of loans from everyone is different - from 5 million rubles to 150 million.

TAdviser got acquainted with the notification of the rate increase, which Sberbank sent to one of the companies. From the document, dated December 1, it follows that Sberbank associates the rate increase with the refusal of the Ministry of Digital Development to provide him with a subsidy with 01.10.2023 due to a lack of limits on budget obligations brought in accordance with the established procedure to the department for preferential lending. The bank refers to a letter from the Ministry of Digital Development dated November 24, 2023, which said that it would refuse to provide a subsidy to the bank.

The agreement on concessional loans between Sberbank and companies was concluded on the basis of the PP-1598 "On the approval of the rules for the provision of subsidies from the federal budget in order to ensure concessional lending to digital transformation projects implemented on the basis of Russian IT solutions." The rules allow a grant to be refused to an authorised bank on the basis stated above.

At the same time, the increase in the loan rate occurred retroactively, and now the bank demands from the companies with which TAdviser got acquainted with the situation, within 10 days from the date of receipt of the notification to compensate the creditor for the property losses incurred by him for the period of using the preferential loan from the moment of termination of subsidies.

Several other companies have similar letters, now I know at least a dozen more. At the moment, on the part of the WeIT community, of which I myself am a member, information has been brought to the attention of the Ministry of Digital Development management, and the department is actively negotiating with the bank so that the program participants are offered adequate conditions for moving to another bank accredited under this program by the Ministry of Digital Development, - said TAdviser Natalia Tylevich, general director of the Social Laboratory company, which develops data collection and analysis systems.

According to her, the Social Laboratory has signed an agreement under the concessional lending program 21.10.2022 through Sberbank: "According to representatives of Sberbank, this is the first agreement concluded by the bank under this program."

According to Natalia Tylevich, meetings with representatives of companies participating in the program should take place in the coming days. Several options are being discussed within the group of program participants who are faced with an increase in rates: moving to another bank accredited under this program, or maintaining the conditions under the concluded agreements. This is due to the fact that for companies all alternative options entail negative consequences both in the short term and in the long term: confidence in the bank and support programs decreases, the credit history of participants will deteriorate, the economy of projects announced in the programs will not converge, and in each case the loan is secured on the security of property and with the guarantee of the fund.

Alexey Okara, the founder of Pinol, which faced the same situation, wondered why the Ministry of Digital Development letter from 24.11.2023 became the basis for transferring those who had already entered into an agreement with the bank to the standard rate.

For us, this means from the standpoint that we have been obtaining this loan for 5 months in order to "fly off" the preferential rate under conditions beyond our control and still get on property losses from Sberbank, "he wrote in the profile Telegram community.

In response to this, in the same Telegram community, the deputy director of the IT Ministry of Digital Development industry development department, Aleksey Dorozhko, explained that by letter of Ministry of Digital Development from 24.11.2023, the bank was notified of an incorrect application in the amount exceeding the current remaining limit on a specific date. Limits are reached by the bank at the beginning of the year, and the bank in these ranges must optimize on them in order to be able to regulate the emerging needs between borrowers. At the same time, the Ministry of Digital Development regularly informed the bank about how to optimize so that such a risk does not arise, he claims.

If the bank's limits come to an exhaustion, the Ministry of Digital Development, if there are such opportunities, carries out work to bring additional resources. In the current situation, we managed to find an opportunity to find such means. The bank was informed in working order that the ministry will find additional resources and by the end of the year will ensure the closure of the gap in the bank either from the funds of the current year (and now this decision is being approved by the government at the final stage), or will provide compensation from the funds of next year (the money is already laid down in the law on the budget of next year), - wrote Alexey Dorozhko.

Despite this message, the bank may decide to raise the rate. According to the representative of the Ministry of Digital Development, only Sberbank made such a decision. The rest of the banks decided to wait for the additional funds to be brought in without shifting this to their customers.

The Ministry of Digital Development, in response to a request from TAdviser, said that the program of concessional lending to IT companies continues to operate within the PP-1598. To date, according to the ministry, 163 projects have received support, and the total loan portfolio for them is 82.3 billion rubles. For 2024, 4.1 billion rubles were allocated to subsidize the preferential rate on loans in the budget, for 2023 - 2.47 billion rubles.

In connection with the decisions of the Central Bank to raise the key rate to 11%, and 15%, adopted on September 15 and October 27, the Ministry of Digital Development assessed the necessary additional funding under the program. The corresponding funds were found, the government supported the ministry's proposals for the redistribution of resources within the framework of the Digital Economy national program, the department told TAdviser. - The first part of the funds has already been brought to the banks. We hope that the second will go to credit organizations by the end of the year. The Ministry of Digital Development is in contact with the industry and banks, we hope that this issue will be resolved in the near future.

Sberbank could not comment on the TAdviser rate increase at the time of publication, including how many organizations it affected.

Ministry of Economic Development will allow IT companies not to be responsible for the loss of state money

At the end of October 2023, it became known that the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation is making additions to the bill "On Technological Policy," designed to stimulate the development of the domestic IT industry. We are talking about fixing the so-called "right to risk," which will allow companies and investors in the field of technology in the event of a failure of the project not to be responsible for the loss of public money.

The named law is being prepared within the framework of the concept of technological development of Russia until 2030. The document is designed to agree on industrial and scientific policies in order to strengthen the domestic IT industry, which is important in the light of the current geopolitical situation. As the Kommersant newspaper notes, the "right to risk" is provided for in the law "On Science," but the mechanism remains non-working. Unsuccessful investments of state money in technological assets are associated with risks of criminal liability.

In the new version, the "right to risk" will apply to both technology companies and state support entities - development institutions, state corporations, authorities, etc. Claims for the loss of public funds in the event of a project failure will not be presented to companies and investors if they followed the established risk management and decision-making procedures. In particular, if an entrepreneur followed the established rules, that is, applied a risk management system and attracted experts, then there is no reason to consider his actions unscrupulous (if there is no other information about offenses on his part). Plus, the necessary procedures must be followed by the operator of support measures (investor).

Market participants believe that with the introduction of the "right to risk" Russian technologies will be able to develop independently, and not replace the solutions of departed vendors. In other words, companies from the Russian Federation will have the opportunity to approach the development process more creatively.

Now most enterprises in the field of electronics, IT and investment funds are invested either in analogues of existing Western solutions, or in the expansion of existing industries. With such investments, we will remain secondary in the world market, "says Nikolai Komlev, director of the Association of Computer and Information Technology Enterprises.[7]

The state compensates developers 80% of the cost of software for deliveries to the DPR, LPR, Kherson and Zaporizhzhya regions

On October 19, 2023, it became known that the state intends to subsidize entrepreneurs from the DPR, LPR, Kherson and Zaporizhzhya regions from 50% to 80% of the cost of licenses for Russian software. This measure is aimed at supporting small and medium-sized businesses in new regions. Read more here.

IT startups in Russia will be able to take loans for 1 billion rubles

On October 13, 2023, the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia published a draft resolution, according to which small technology companies (MTK) will be able to receive preferential lending at a rate not exceeding 3% per annum. The proposed changes will allow Russian IT startups to take loans worth 1 billion rubles. Read more here.

Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation will extend and increase lending to electronics and telecom equipment manufacturers

On September 7, 2023, it became known that Ministry of Digital Development Russia it would request 11.9 billion from the budget rubles to subsidize preferential rates on loans that manufacturers electronic engineers and telecommunications equipment will be able to take for the purchase of components in 2024.

As part of the initiative, on behalf of the Deputy Head of the Ministry of Digital Development Andrei Zarenin, a letter was sent to large telecom operators, including MTS, VimpelCom, Rostelecom, ER-Telecom, MegaFon and others. The agency asks companies for information on the volumes and characteristics of equipment that will be required for the development of the industry until 2035. In particular, we are talking about communication base stations, transponders, video cameras, Internet of Things terminals, switches, smartphones and other devices.

Based on the data obtained, the Ministry of Digital Development intends to determine which categories of equipment "fully cover the need of the domestic market, and what else needs to be done for the active development of the telecom industry." The collected information will also help the department calculate the amount of subsidies required in 2024 to compensate for loan rates.

In 2023, 7.5 billion rubles are allocated from the budget to subsidize preferential rates on loans. Thus, in 2024, this figure will increase by 4.4 billion rubles, or more than 50%. As part of the initiative, manufacturers of electronics and telecommunications equipment can borrow funds in the amount of 3-100 billion rubles from banks such as Sberbank, VTB, Gazprombank and Promsvyazbank for the purchase of an electronic component base. At the same time, the Ministry of Digital Development subsidizes the loan rate to 1-5% per annum.

Market participants believe that the extension and increase in lending will be a popular measure - especially in the light of the increase in the key rate to 12%. On the other hand, stimulating the purchase of foreign components can complicate the development of the Russian IT industry.^[8]

Putin instructed to provide support for Russian software for filmmaking

President RFVladimir Putin approved the list of instructions following a visit to the exhibition "Development of the creative economy in Russia" on May 30, 2023. One of them, as reported on the Kremlin's website, concerns support for software developers for the domestic film industry.

Consider the issue of providing financial support measures to domestic developers of priority software products used in the production cycle of the film industry, - says the instruction given to the government of the Russian Federation and the Agency for Strategic Initiatives to Promote New Projects.

It is necessary to fulfill this order by September 30, 2023.

In May 2023, during a visit to the exhibition "Development of the Creative Economy in Russia," the president promised to develop additional support measures for the Russian animation industry in an interview with the chairman of the board of directors of the Soyuzmultfilm film studio, chairman of the board of the Association of Animated Film Industry Organizations Yuliana Slashcheva.

In November 2022, Ilya Massukh, director of the Center for Import Substitution Competencies in ICT, said that Russia plans to start developing Russian analogues of multimedia editors to work with video and photos to replace Adobe programs.

There are niches that require injections. The niche is designer, video management, photos, editors, production for cartoons - it is expensive. Multimedia editors are planned to be made to replace Adobe and other programs, he said.

According to him, a niche with such programs is not so relevant for Russia as a topic of transition to domestic software in industry and in other objects of critical information infrastructure.

In principle, they can cost $2 billion. These are not crazy numbers for this industry. But this is not so critical that everything is thrown and immediately highlighted, - said Massukh.[9]

Putin signed a law on the development of technology companies in Russia

The president Russia Vladimir Putin signed a law on the development of technology companies in the country. The Kremlin press service announced this on August 4, 2023.

Federal law defines the legal basis for the activities of technology companies in the Russian Federation, including the regulation of the provision of state support to such companies. The law enshrines the concepts of "technology company," "small technology company (MTK)," "category of technology company," "type of small technology company," "innovative technology," "center of expertise of small technology companies." According to the document, the technology company is a Russian commercial organization engaged in the development, production of products (provision of services, performance of work) using innovative technologies.

The Cabinet of Ministers, in particular, will determine the maximum revenue of such companies for assignment to MTK, approve the procedure for assignment to MTK and the list of types of activities for them, the procedure for forming and maintaining the MTK register, determine the types of MTK depending on the volume of revenue, and also approve the list of centers of expertise of small technology companies.

It is assumed that depending on the revenue of MTK, the government can allocate three groups: from 0 to 300 million rubles; from 300 million to 2 billion rubles; from 2 to 4 billion rubles, said in an explanatory note.

To obtain MTK status, information about the company must be entered in the register of such companies. Inclusion in this register will become the basis for targeted receipt of state support measures. These measures may provide for benefits for the payment of taxes, fees, insurance premiums, customs payments; information, consulting, financial support, export support; as well as the formation of demand for innovative and (or) high-tech products (works, services).^[10]

The Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation began to check the use of funds for the development of the IT industry after the arrest of Deputy Head of the Ministry of Digital Development

The Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation began checking the use of funds for the development of the IT industry after the arrest of the deputy head of the Ministry of Digital Development Maxim Parshin, who is accused of receiving a bribe for assisting in the allocation of a grant to the Russian Fund for the Development of Information Technologies (RFRIT). This became known on August 3, 2023.

As the press service of the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation said on this day, prosecutors will assess the completeness, legality and timeliness of financing measures to ensure the accelerated development of the information technology industry, the validity of receiving and spending subsidies and grants by legal entities.

During the audit, the prosecutor's office will analyze the timeliness of the modernization of departmental information systems in order to provide mass socially significant services (services) in electronic form, as well as readiness to transfer interdepartmental electronic interaction systems to a single electronic service. It is reported that special attention will be paid to the provision of state support measures in order to develop Russian software products for the development of the production of high-tech industrial products.

As added to the Prosecutor General's Office in early August 2023, the development of information technologies directly affects the competitiveness of the national economy. In recent years, in the Russian Federation, including using public funds, digital transformation of key sectors of the economy, social sphere and public administration has been carried out.

In July 2023, it became known that the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation approved the allocation of 11 billion rubles for import substitution of software despite the suspension of the issuance of grants for new developments in the IT sector announced by the Ministry of Digital Development.^[11]

The Ministry of Digital Development refused to give IT benefits to music services

On July 18, 2023, it became known that the Ministry of Digital Development did not support the initiative to provide IT benefits to music services. The National Federation of the Music Industry (NFMI) addressed the department with a corresponding question.

According to the Kommersant newspaper, it was about including music labels in the list of organizations that can receive accreditation from IT companies. In this case, labels could qualify for tax breaks as IT businesses. However, knowledgeable persons say, it is not necessary to extend support to music labels, since creating music and promoting artists to IT activities does not apply.

Already, benefits apply to music streaming services that are accredited as IT companies, develop and use appropriate software, Kommersant quotes a source close to the government.

To qualify for tax incentives as an IT company, an organization must have accreditation. To do this, you need to confirm that the revenue from IT activities exceeds 30% of the total amount of funds received. In the fall of 2022, the Ministry of Digital Development clarified the types of activities of Russian IT companies that can apply for benefits. In particular, enterprises providing services in the field of "granting the rights to use objects of copyright and related rights related to phonograms," that is, music streaming services, can be classified as accredited IT companies. The NFMI, in turn, says that they are preparing "additional detailed justifications" according to which music labels can be attributed to the IT sphere.

Unfortunately, the state does not notice the market, which in every sense has an important social role, - added Mikhail Minin, General Director of MTS Entertainment[12]

Manufacturers of materials for the manufacture of printed circuit boards will be provided with state support

On July 14, 2023, it became known that the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation intends to expand the list of recipients of tax benefits. State support, in particular, is planned to be provided to manufacturers of materials and equipment for the manufacture of printed circuit boards.

According to CNews, the document prepared by the Ministry of Industry and Trade amends Government Decree No. 1310 and No. 1311 of July 22, 2022 - a list of products, as well as materials and production technologies for the electronic component base for the application of tax benefits. It is proposed to extend state support, among other things, to suppliers of equipment that is used in the manufacture of semiconductor plates, ingots and devices, as well as electronic integrated circuits.

Companies that are engaged in the production of basic and chemical materials for the manufacture of printed circuit boards have been added to the list of possible recipients of benefits. These are various polymers, reinforcing fibers, copper foil layers, as well as a solder mask, marking paints (ink) and fillers for holes. In addition, the list of recipients of benefits will include manufacturers of consumer electronics, mounted printed circuit boards, photo and film equipment, medical equipment, etc.

The new measures will help printed circuit board manufacturers and organizations supplying relevant materials save part of their own funds. Companies will be able to use this money to improve manufacturing technologies, increase the level of wages of employees, and purchase the necessary components and devices. State support will also contribute to the emergence of new players in the Russian market, which is important in the current geopolitical situation.^[13]

Microelectronics developers will offer the government new measures to invest in the industry. Current ones are not suitable

On June 28, 2023, the board of the Association of Developers and Manufacturers of Electronics (ARPE) agreed on the main theses of proposals for investment support for manufacturers of semiconductor components in Russia^[14]. As TAdviser was clarified by the executive director of ARPE Ivan Pokrovsky, a letter with these proposals is planned to be sent to the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the government next week.

The tasks of developing the production of semiconductor components have been set, they are contained with the strategic initiative of the President of the Russian Federation in the scientific and technological sphere "Microelectronics" and the state program "Scientific and Technological Development of the Russian Federation." However, at present in Russia there are no investment support tools that take into account the specifics of semiconductor industries, the current situation in the industry and the tasks being solved, according to the prepared draft letter.

The authors of the document believe that none of the current measures of investment support for the electronic industry, such as, for example, subsidies determined by PP-109 and PP-1252, and preferential lending do not correspond to the tasks of developing semiconductor industries. A comparative analysis of existing and proposed measures will be attached to the letter to the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the government.

The ARPE believes that two types of support measures are required for the development of semiconductor industries:

1) Design and target investments in the creation of new industries; 2) Subsidizing on the fact of investment costs of enterprises for accelerated modernization and development of existing production facilities.

Large investment projects of tens and hundreds of billions of rubles require long-term joint planning. Industry analysis for the preparation of large investment projects is currently carried out by industry associations, the results of the analysis will be presented in July 2023, which will allow agreeing on a plan for large targeted investments.

At the same time, it is necessary to provide support for many projects to modernize and expand existing production facilities, according to the ARPE. Such projects solve the problems of meeting the demand of traditional customers, including ensuring government orders. They do not require joint planning with participation. states Businesses are well aware of traditional customer challenges and bottlenecks in their manufacturing processes. The best method of investment support for such projects in the current environment will be to subsidize investment costs for all enterprises - manufacturers of semiconductor components.

For the next five years, we propose to determine the amount of subsidies available for semiconductor manufacturers in an amount that corresponds to two VAT for the previous year. In five years, the amount of subsidies can be reduced to one VAT, - says the draft of the ARPE letter. - Direct connection of the amount of available subsidies with VAT will allow to take into account the scale of production - the more production, the more costs are required for its modernization. A positive motivation for the development of production is also formed - with the expansion of output, VAT increases and investment opportunities expand proportionally, even with minimal profitability during the period of market share expansion.

At the same time, ARPE proposes to use subsidies exclusively for the purchase of technological equipment, while subsidizing up to 100% of the corresponding costs. Then the enterprises' own investments will cover the associated costs associated with the introduction of new technological processes, the expansion of production facilities, and personnel training. This approach will avoid the misuse of subsidies to cover costs that are difficult to control. It will also simplify the reporting of companies on the use of budget funds.

We propose not to establish requirements for recipients of subsidies to increase revenue or the number of employees, as is customary in the current R&D support measures. Many companies need to replace worn-out equipment, which will not lead to a significant increase in revenue, but will improve product quality and avoid the risks of stopping production. The number of employees may decrease with the transition to more modern technological equipment, while the qualifications of employees will grow, the draft letter says.

The risks of low utilization of subsidized technological equipment are mitigated by the competitive motivation of industry companies. More efficient companies will provide more production, more VAT and receive more support. Less efficient ones will maintain the stability of production, but with the loss of market share, they will eventually come under the control of more successful competitors.

Subsidies on the fact of costs linked to VAT is the most effective investment support tool for existing semiconductor industries.

The ARPE expects that the result of the proposed support measure will be the development of existing semiconductor industries.

Mishustin instructed to launch a new program for financing IT projects

Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin instructed to work out the issue of launching a special program for financing projects in the IT sector, which would include benefits for business, including writing off part of loans. The press service of the Cabinet of Ministers announced this on June 27, 2023.

Mikhail Mishustin suggested thinking about launching a special program for financing projects in the field of information technology, which involves benefits for companies, including the write-off of part of credit funds, the list published on the government's website says.

Among other instructions of the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, which became known at the end of June 2023:

• allocate more than 11 billion rubles from the government reserve fund for the implementation of "road maps" for the development of high-tech areas "new industrial software" and "new system-wide software" (instructions were given to the Ministry of Finance until July 17, 2023);
• submit an action plan for the development of venture financing of Russian IT companies, stimulating the creation of private industry venture capital funds, including through tax incentives (to the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Digital Industry, the Central Bank by the end of September 2023);
• to form by September 1, 2023 lists of standard industry objects of critical information infrastructure, where foreign software products will be replaced by domestic ones, as well as specific replacement dates;
• work out the formation of a system for assessing the level of compliance of critical information infrastructure with the requirements for technological independence (Ministry of Ministry of Digital Development until October 2, 2023);
• work out the issue of creating a competence center in the field of electronic element base, taking into account the need to attract representatives of friendly states (Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Digital Development);^[15]

15 Moscow IT startups selected to scale business in the Middle East with city support

The Moscow Export Center, subordinate to the Department of Entrepreneurship and Innovative Development of the capital, and the GenerationS corporate innovation development platform summed up the results of the qualifying stage of the international acceleration program to increase export sales through local partners in the Middle East. The best companies received co-financing of participation from the Moscow Government in the amount of 90% of the cost. This became known on April 25, 2023. Read more here.

The Ministry of Digital Development has developed a new mechanism for supporting Russian software

Ministry of Digital Development has developed a new mechanism for ensuring demand for Russian software. It was called "the market in exchange for investment," said the deputy head of the department Maxim Parshin.

According to him, with a new form of support, software companies will develop software for customer requirements through private investment, and the state will provide demand for this product and, possibly, preferences for public procurement.

We plan to focus on attracting non-state investment in IT. In particular, through the implementation of the "market for investment" mechanism, when the company takes responsibility for the development of the product, and the state provides guaranteed demand for it, Parshin said.

The new mechanism provides for the conclusion of agreements between the government and the developers, the deputy minister emphasized. The agreement will have to fix the functionality of the developed software and its development schedule.

Parshin added that the cabinet will commit to providing market access opportunities.

We proceed from the fact that a company that has received the status of systemically significant, having signed such an agreement with the government, understands the preferences that the state can give, and in the future, when and if the product meets the declared result, it will be able to find financing in the market with evidence, - he explained at a meeting of the GR-Committee of the Russoft Association.

The Deputy Minister confirmed the readiness of the Ministry of Digital Development to support the export of software and services for its development. He pointed out the need for a serious study of the economic justification for the application of new measures of state support for exports, and also expressed gratitude to the committee members for effective work for the benefit of the development of the domestic IT industry.^[16]

Russoft asked for 465.3 million rubles to support the export of Russian software

The Association of Russian Software Manufacturers "Russoft" asked 465.3 million rubles to support the export of domestic software. This follows from the draft roadmap developed by the organization, which became known on March 7, 2023. Read more here.

2022

Small IT companies received 12 billion rubles of state support. Leading regions

In 2022, small IT companies related to small and medium-sized businesses received 12 billion rubles of state support using the guarantee and guarantee mechanism of the National Guarantee System (NGS) within the framework of the national project "Small and Medium Enterprises." This was announced on March 15, 2023 by the SME Corporation.

They noted that the amount of state support provided to small and medium-sized enterprises in the development of computer software and consultations in this area and activities in the IT region almost tripled in 2022. At the same time, the number of loans issued increased - from 195 in 2021 to 875 a year later.

The list of leading regions in terms of financial support for small and medium sized IT-Business is as follows:

• Moscow (6.2 billion rubles);
• Petersburg (1 billion rubles);
• Tatarstan (980 million rubles);
• Perm Territory (532 million rubles);
• Oryol region (353 million rubles).

Zero support indicators were recorded in the Kamchatka Territory, Novgorod Region, Trans-Baikal Territory, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, the Republic of Ingushetia, the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, as well as the Amur, Kursk and Lipetsk regions.

One of the strategic areas of work of the SME corporation is the transition from the volume of support to the growth of the number of its recipients. It was possible to achieve a multiple increase in the number of loans issued in 2022, including due to the improvement of the guarantee mechanism. Also, all last year we were actively engaged in expanding the capabilities of the mechanism of "umbrella" guarantees that we provide to entrepreneurs in the absence or lack of collateral. In parallel Ministry of Economic Development with this, the approach to the requirements for the work of regional guarantee organizations was changed, - said the Director General of the SME Corporation. Alexander Isaevich[17]

The Ministry of Digital Development is preparing new mechanisms to support IT companies

On November 25, 2022, it became known about new support mechanisms for Russian software developers, which are being prepared by the Government of the Russian Federation. According to Kommersant, the apparatus of the deputy head of the Ministry of Digital Maxim Parshin is developing two "road maps": "New system-wide software" (NOPO, involves support for developers of operating systems, office packages, database management systems, etc.) and "New industrial software" (NIPO, will include support measures for developers of design systems, PLM, BIM, etc.).

As the source close to the Ministry of Digital Development Science explains, "road maps" imply not only the allocation of grants, but also special conditions for public procurement.

We were promised a "market for investment" scheme. The bottom line is that the developer, by agreement with the government, creates or refines his software product at his own expense to meet the requirements of the main industry customers. In return, customers at the procurement stage will be required to choose the product that was financed by the developer, the source said.

Initially, Ministry of Digital Development planned to finance IT companies' import substitution projects through grants from the Russian Information Technology Support Fund (RFRIT) and the Skolkovo Foundation. However, according to Kommersant's sources, the allocated funds are not enough for all approved projects.

The top manager of the Russian IT company, which is part of one of the specialized working groups in the Ministry of Digital Development, explained to the newspaper that in fact the development of new road maps was required because the funds did not have enough funds for all projects.

Many companies praised the prepared projects and the financial and economic justification, but said there was no money, he added.[18]

Minek approved the concept of "small technology company" for state support of such a business

In mid-November 2022, the Ministry of Economic Development announced the development of a draft federal law, which defines the concept of "small technology company" and the criteria for its definition. In the future, such a business will be provided with state support.

Minek proposes to consider a small economic company a commercial organization that uses or creates the results of intellectual activity in the development or production. At the same time, the higher the turnover of the enterprise, the more stringent the requirements for the conditions of scientific, technical and commercial activities will be set for obtaining state support.

To assign the status of a small technology company, the department proposes to consider the following parameters:

• Revenue;
• Type of economic activity;
• Scientific and technical potential;
• Conditions for conducting scientific, technical or production and commercial activities.

The explanatory note to the document specifies that on the basis of annual revenue, the companies will be divided into three groups: up to 300 million rubles, from 300 million to 2 billion and from 2 to 4 billion rubles.

We are confident that it is necessary to focus on small companies developing technologies or high-tech products for a competitive market, "said Deputy Minister of Economic Development Maxim Kolesnikov.

According to Kommersant, information about small technology companies will be included in the corresponding register - according to the calculation of the authorities, being in it will contribute to a "seamless" receipt of state support. At the same time, organizations from the unified register, when meeting the criteria for small technology companies in terms of revenue and OKVED, will receive such status and will be automatically included in the register of small technology companies.^[19]

The Ministry of Digital Development asked IT companies to pay 80% of their salaries to mobilized employees

At the end of September 2022, the Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation made an appeal to the heads of IT and telecommunications companies. The department asked the business to take care of the mobilized employees, namely:

• provide them with monthly payments in the amount of at least 80% of wages;
• pay several salaries at a time;
• issue VHI policies for families.

Many programmers, engineers, cybersecurity specialists will receive delays in order to keep communication networks stable, repel cyber attacks, support existing digital services and launch new ones. But some will carry out military service: someone will volunteer, someone has already received a summons, the ministry's Telegram channel says.

The Ministry of Digital Development added that the proposed support measures "are the minimum that we must do now."

Employees of IT companies can expect a delay from mobilization if they have a higher education in one of the approved specialties. In addition, they must perform "critical functions." The deferral application service was launched on September 27, 2022. In a few hours, 1.5 thousand people submitted documents through public services.

At the end of September 2022, the State Duma adopted a law allowing mobilized citizens to receive credit holidays on mortgages and consumer loans. Contract workers and volunteers can also count on preferences.

In addition, in September 2022, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin signed a decree according to which mobilized citizens will be able to maintain an employment contract and later return to their previous place of work. The changes necessary for this are made in particular to the legal regulation of labor relations, valid in 2022 and 2023.^[20]

Minister Maksut Shadayev joined the military registration and enlistment offices to help IT workers get a deferral from the draft

The Minister of Digital Development Maksut Shadayev sent personal government telegrams to all military registration and enlistment offices signed with the procedure for action regarding the appeal of IT workers who fall under the reservation from the draft. The minister announced this on September 25 in the Telegram group " Grants and Benefits for IT."

In the example of such a telegram published in the same place, the military registration and enlistment office is notified of the list of documents that the Ministry of Digital Development recommended that employees of accredited IT companies present when receiving a mobilization agenda.

An example of a government telegram, the minister recommended that employees who fall under the reservation from the draft be presented to the military registration and enlistment office along with a package of documents published earlier for such cases.

A day earlier, a minister in the same group in Telegram also announced the collection on a system basis of lists of specific employees of specific companies that received subpoenas, although they fall under a delay. To do this, the general director must send an email to the help@digital.gov.ru, signed by an enhanced qualified electronic signature.

Shadayev also announced his readiness as an emergency measure, while the lists of such employees are being collected, to personally sign government telegrams to the military registration and enlistment offices from the company that specific employees fall under the reservation from the draft.

There is its own mechanics of bringing the decision of the General Staff on the non-appeal to the call of the IT company to the military registration and enlistment offices. It is clear that the military registration and enlistment offices themselves are now overloaded and in full storage. What can we do for those who fall under the delay but have already received subpoenas. There is an urgent notification format - government telegrams. I can sign these. Therefore, if employees of some IT companies have already received summons - you can not wait for anything - I can send a telegram to a specific military registration and enlistment office with reference to the decision of the Chief of the General Staff and a request not to urge SPECIFIC people from specific IT companies that fall under the reservation. This is an emergency measure - while we are deploying the collection of lists on a systemic basis, - wrote Maksut Shadayev.

Ministry of Digital Development is also working with the Ministry of Defense on a form for submitting lists of employees suitable for the criteria for deferral from partial mobilization. The form will be opened this week on the public services portal.

Recall that the right to deferment can be obtained by employees with the appropriate higher education and working full-time:

• accredited IT companies involved in the development, development, implementation, maintenance and operation of IT solutions (software, software and hardware systems) or involved in ensuring the functioning of the information infrastructure;
• telecom operators involved in ensuring the stability, security and integrity of the operation of individual communication facilities, communication facilities and communication lines of the public communication network, as well as data processing centers;
• registered media, broadcasters, broadcasters included in the list of system-forming ones involved in the production and distribution of information products.

On September 25, information appeared that the Ministry of Digital Development is considering the possibility of including leadership positions in the field of IT in the list of specialties that fall under the criteria for deferral from partial mobilization.

If an employee of an accredited IT company who meets the deferral requirements has already received a summons, then the Ministry of Digital Development recommends taking with him an additional person to present:

• an original or certified copy of the employment contract with the employer;
• diploma of professional higher education;
• an extract (https://www.gosuslugi.ru/600178/1/form) from the register of state accreditation of the employer in the field of IT, certified by the general director of the company or an authorized person;
• a certificate from the place of work signed by the general director or an authorized person that the employee is involved in the development, development, implementation, maintenance and operation of IT solutions or in ensuring the functioning of the information infrastructure.

The collected package of documents should be sent to the Ministry of Digital Development to the address of the help@digital.gov.ru. Ministry of Digital Development will process the received documents and send them to the Ministry of Defense.

In addition, the Ministry of Digital Development is preparing a recommended list of specialties for each sectoral area to receive a delay. The agency promises to publish the list no later than September 26.

After the start of partial mobilization, a special group "IT Mobilization" also appeared on Telegram, for those for whom this situation is relevant.

We are not afraid! Many processes have already been organized and we have many cases when military commissars were released home after checking documents, - wrote the activist, owner of this group Yevgeny Titarenko.

Due to a technical error, IT companies received letters from Public services about revoking their accreditation

On the evening of Friday, August 26, in the Telegram community "STK|RFRIT for IT," in which more than 900 participants, and "Grants and benefits for IT," where more than 1.4 thousand participants, there were reports that companies through the portal "Public services" received letters revoking their accreditation.

This caused panic in the community, because only accredited IT companies can receive benefits aimed at supporting the industry, such as tax and contribution benefits, mortgages for employees, etc. According to the companies that received the letters, they have no grounds for revoking accreditation.

Speculation arose that this could be due to the "cleaning" of the register of accredited IT companies, which was first reported in the media in May. And on August 1 , Ministry of Digital Development reported that it had updated the register and excluded more than 400 companies from it - those organizations for which IT activity is not the main one. At the same time, 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.

According to community participants, residents of Skolkovo and IT parks received "letters of happiness." One of the Skolkovo resident companies suggested that in their case this may be due to the fact that the company has the main OKVED 72.19 - "Scientific research and development in the field of natural and technical sciences others." This was a requirement of Skolkovo, and therefore the company made changes to its charter, leaving IT OKVEDs as auxiliary.

The Ministry of Digital Development explained the incident by a technical error. One of the community activists, the owner of the group "Grants and Benefits for IT" Yevgeny Titarenko posted in a chat a response from the department, sent to him as an official position:

Dear colleagues, Today, due to a technical error, a number of companies received messages about the cancellation of state accreditation. All companies that received the newsletter are still on the state register of accredited IT companies. We sincerely apologize!

Soon, the Ministry of Digital Development published a message about this in its official Telegram channel. It also says that in the near future those who received such a message mistakenly will receive a refutation letter from Public services.

Boris Nuraliev, "1C": Other industries envy the IT industry

As many benefits as are provided to Russian IT companies, little else can be found, and other sectors of the IT industry are jealous, the founder of 1C Boris Nuraliev, who is one of the top largest IT billionaires in Russia according to TAdviser, spoke at an industry forum on August 19. And now, after the number of employees (at least 7 people) was removed this year to take advantage of some benefits, they have become available to an even wider range of IT companies.

Small startups usually develop with investor money, venture capital investments. 1C itself, for example, has about 300 joint ventures, mainly with small interested companies. And in Russia "1C" is not such one.

There are more than enough opportunities to get venture capital investment in Russia. There are several state development institutions, there are private ones. Everything is fine here. It's just that the market is small - then it is difficult to apply within the country, and there are many opportunities to start a business, "he said.

At the same time, according to Nuraliev, preferential product development loans do not make sense. The development will either "shoot" or not. If it does not "take off," then there will be difficulties with the repayment of a loan received at any interest. At the same time, soft loans make sense for technology implementation projects.

The head of 1C noted that their company received a lot of help from the state: at one time it was important to fight piracy, and the franchise law was greatly improved, and widely known benefits were introduced. In Russia, you can do IT perfectly, he is sure.

Some of those who, against the background of a complicated geopolitical situation, leave Russia, do so because their "brains are fuelled" by the fact that "there are great prospects, and here there will be difficulties," Boris Nuraliev believes. But mostly the mass departure of IT workers, especially to near countries, occurs when their company, which wants to work in the Western market, decided to move. The work of Russian business abroad is now greatly slowing down, and first of all, banks - both foreign and Russian. Therefore, companies focused on the Western market want to be listed as not Russian.

At the same time, according to the head of 1C, the IT specialists who remained in Russia are quite enough to solve the problems of the country's development, and "we will recruit more people."

The Ministry of Digital Development proposed to simplify the possibility of an IT company receiving a preferential loan

On August 18, 2022, the Russian Ministry of Digital Development proposed to simplify the possibility of an IT company receiving a preferential loan. This will attract additional funding to the IT industry, and Russian developers will be able to provide current activities with loans and implement more new projects. The corresponding npa = 130623 draft resolution has been prepared.

In general, the Ministry of Digital Development of offers:

• cancel the condition that an accredited IT organization must be a recipient of tax benefits and apply reduced insurance premiums to obtain a loan;
• allow the company to pay dividends (funds of a preferential loan for these purposes cannot be directed);
• lift the ban on deposits that exceed the preferential rate;
• remove the indexation obligation. wages

As of August 1, 2022, the Ministry of Digital Development, together with banks, formed a portfolio of loan agreements totaling about 52.2 billion rubles. As of August 2022, 97 projects were supported, 23 credit institutions were involved.

A total of 4 concessional lending options are available for IT companies.

• Customer lending for implementation up to 5% per annum
• R&D lending to development companies up to 3% per annum
• Lending to IT companies and integrators for implementation up to 5% per annum
• Lending of development for own needs up to 5% per annum

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. Read more here.

GTLK asked to allocate another 10 billion rubles for preferential leasing of iron under the Digital Technologies fedproject

State Transport Leasing Company (GTLK) asked to allocate electronic engineers an additional 10 billion for the state program of preferential leasing and computer technology. rub This is necessary, according to the company, to increase the pace, import substitution writes "" Businessman with reference to a letter Eugene Dietrich from the general director of GTLK to the head of Ministry of Digital Development Maksutu Shadayev June 27, 2022. This became known on July 14, 2022. More. here

Putin expanded benefits for IT companies

In mid-July 2022, the president Russia Vladimir Putin signed a law that expanded the list of benefits for IT companies and reduced the number of requirements for obtaining them.

Among other things, the document has expanded the list of revenue types that fall under the criteria of preferential. In particular, this is revenue for the introduction of Russian products to the market. The requirement for a minimum number of employees in the organization of seven has been canceled, and the requirement for the share of IT revenue in the company's total revenue has been reduced from 90% to 70%.

The list of companies that can use income tax of 0% and insurance premium rates of 7.6% has expanded.

The list of IT activities, the income from which is accounted for in IT revenue and allows the company to receive benefits, has been expanded. For example, services for the implementation of Russian products will now relate to profile revenue. Providers that provide Solution SaaS through closed networks will also be able to count on benefits.

The benefits extended to companies that derive revenue from:

• services for the revision, implementation and support of any Russian software;
• online advertising sales on their platforms;
• placing ads on classifies;
• providing paid access to content (films and music), including by subscription;
• providing educational services using online platforms;
• development and sale of Russian software and hardware systems.

Companies that will reorganize after July 1, 2022 or will be created as a result of reorganization (with the exception of transformation) will not be able to take advantage of the benefit. The exception will apply to reorganized companies that:

• received income tax relief until July 1, 2022. Such companies will continue to enjoy preferential income tax;
• received a benefit on insurance premiums in 2022. They will be able to receive this benefit further.^[21]

In the Novgorod region approved the introduction of new regional benefits for IT specialists

In the Novgorod region, the introduction of new regional benefits for IT companies was approved, as reported by the regional Ministry of Digital Development and Information and Communication Technologies on July 7, 2022.

One of the measures is a reduction to IT-Business of the rate under the simplified taxation system from 6-15% to 1-5%. The introduction of an investment tax deduction for telecom operators, as well as a preferential mortgage for IT specialists, was also approved.

This will apply more to telecom operators. Today we are faced with the fact that our base stations are imported, they are not enough to implement all development programs. This will allow us to create more comfortable conditions for operators on the territory of the region so that when they choose a subject, where to install stations, they choose us, "explained Mikhail Kibler, Minister of Digital Development and Information and Communication Technologies of the region.

Another measure is a preferential mortgage for IT specialists. There is a federal rate on mortgages - 5%, it is proposed to lower it to 2% on mortgages and additionally subsidize the remaining 3% from the subject. According to Kibler, this will help support our colleagues, on the other hand, in the future it can become a serious tool for attracting personnel

The governor of the region, Andrei Nikitin, supported these initiatives: I think this is the right decision. In addition, analyze cases with our specialists of electronic enterprises. I would like the young guys who come to work there, in particular, graduates of NovSU, to have the opportunity to get under a preferential mortgage.

By July 2022, more than 90 IT companies with over 1,600 employees were registered in the Novgorod region. The Investment Council supported the proposed measures to support the IT industry, the necessary draft laws will be prepared in August 2022.^[22]

Advertising state support for IT companies is launched in Russia. 1.5 billion rubles allocated for this

June 17, 2022 in the Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation announced marketing support for Russian IT companies. The project will be implemented by the Russian Information Technology Development Fund (RFRIT).

As the Deputy Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media Maxim Parshin told TASS, the new support measure will be launched by the end of June 2022.

There will be advertising on the Internet of domestic products and solutions. RFRIT is developing this program, in the near future it will be launched in pilot mode, - he said on June 17, 2022.

According to Parshin, the pilot of the system will take place within three months. The total advertising budget will range from 100 thousand to 1 million rubles. Companies will be able to count on compensation up to 80% of the advertising budget. The government allocated about 1.5 billion rubles for the implementation of the project. The advertising period will be up to three months, the deputy minister said.

He added that advertising will pass through accredited platforms, such as, for example, domestic search services.

Companies' access to this support measure will not be limited. If there is a high demand for this program, then the parameters will be specified and budgets will be increased, - concluded the Deputy Head of the Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation.[23]

In Russia, adopted a law on simplifying the employment of foreign IT specialists

On June 15, 2022, the State Duma in the third (final) reading adopted a law on simplifying the employment of foreign IT specialists. They and their family members will be able to receive a residence permit (residence permit) in Russia in a simplified manner. Read more here.

What support measures are available to the Russian electronic industry. Brief review from the Ministry of Industry and Trade

At the request of TAdviser, the Ministry of Industry and Trade spoke about what support measures as of early June are available to companies operating in the field of the electronic industry. The department says that they have formed "an almost complete ecosystem of financial measures," which covers all levels of product creation, including the development of materials, means of production, an electronic component base, final equipment, as well as its implementation.

Thus, the Ministry of Industry and Trade offers subsidies for the implementation of complex projects for the development of high-tech products: from microprocessors to hardware and software systems for working with artificial intelligence.

Now 4 subsidies are provided under previously concluded agreements:

1) PP RF No. 2136 (subsidizing R&D in the field of electronics production facilities);

2) PP RF No. 1252 (subsidizing the costs of creating ECB and modules);

3) PP RF No. 1380 (subsidizing the costs of developing the agro-industrial complex for the purposes of artificial intelligence);

4) PP RF No. 109 (subsidizing the costs of creating a scientific and technical reserve for the development of basic technologies for the production of priority electronic components and electronic equipment).

Separately, the Ministry is working on PP RF No. 529, reimbursing part of the costs of developing digital platforms and software products.

And within the framework of the priority action plan for the adaptation of the Russian economy in the context of external sanctions pressure, a number of measures were approved aimed at both mitigating the consequences and progressive development. In particular, now there is an opportunity to extend for two years the terms of fulfillment of obligations under subsidies for all industrial state programs in case it is impossible to achieve the planned results in 2022.

Also, significant conditions of state contracts signed until 2023 in the field of municipal and public procurement can now be changed, the Ministry of Industry and Trade says.

In addition, a moratorium was introduced on inspections of enterprises by control and supervisory authorities in 2022. Backbone industry organizations are actively receiving soft loans from Russian banks for up to a year. The department says that they are also working to update this list, being in contact with the regions, enterprise consortia, manufacturers and developers themselves every day.

The rate on a preferential loan for enterprises will be 11% per annum, and we have already begun accepting applications from banks under this program, the ministry said.

In addition, the government extended the current conclusions on the country of origin of products until April 2023. And the sentences are now issued for three years, not one, as they used to be.

One of the most necessary initiatives we offer today is the expansion of tax incentives for enterprises of the radio-electronic industry engaged in the development and sale of their own products. Reducing the rate of insurance premiums is possible from 30.2% to 7.6%, reducing the tax rate of corporate income tax - from 20% to 3%.

It is proposed to focus tax incentives on the developers and manufacturers of the electronic component base (electronic modules), since these products are the basis for the production of final electronic equipment and require priority support in order to ensure technological independence from imported supplies. This will additionally support manufacturers in the amount of about 16 billion rubles a year, the Ministry of Industry and Trade notes.

However, as specified in the TAdviser department, the measure in the field of tax benefits has not yet been agreed, there is a discussion, not so long ago the first commission on legislative activities on it was held.

The Russian government also legalized parallel imports, including radio-electronic products, mainly the electronic component base necessary for the production of finished products.

Now this list of products, which, if necessary, is subject to clarification, can be imported into the country without the permission of the copyright holder, - noted in the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

And on May 18, the government approved a program of preferential lending to purchases as a priority for imports of products. Now importers will be able to attract soft loans at a rate of no more than 30% of the key rate of the Central Bank plus 3 percentage points (at the moment this is a little more than 7%). The difference will be compensated for by banks through subsidies from the federal budget. For the purchase of raw materials and components, the preferential rate on loans will be valid for 1 year. For equipment and means of production - 3 years.

Maksut Shadayev: Asian software will not be able to replace American and European products that have left the market

The Ministry of Digital Development is confident that there will be no mass migration from European and American software to Asian software in Russia. The [1] Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media Maksut Shadayev spoke about this at TAdviser Summit 2022 . According to him, this is due to the high quality of Russian solutions, the lack of experience in using software from the countries of Southeast Asia by Russian companies, as well as the complexity of its localization.

Naturally, all manufacturers look at Asia as a channel for the supply of components and, until our radio electronics, microelectronics program starts working, they will look there. But as for the software, I do not agree and I see no risks here. So far, I do not know any precedents, "the minister said, answering a question about the possibility of switching to Asian software.

Even if large Asian developers enter the domestic market, they will face protectionist government policies. In Russia, there is a strict priority for the use of Russian software and restrictions have been imposed on the purchase of foreign software even from friendly countries.

Moreover, Russia itself will increase the export of domestic solutions, including to Asian markets.

I see three main regions - Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Latin America, where they want to reduce dependence on American and European solutions. Russian companies began to receive many requests from these regions, hold meetings, present products. And this is good, because the Russian market is not very large, and in order to make competitive decisions, international scales are needed, - said Maksut Shadayev.

According to him, the export support program will be launched in the 3rd-4th quarter of 2022. So far, information is being collected and the prospects for foreign markets are being assessed. There are constant consultations with the trade missions of Russia, with the diplomatic corps. The ministry is trying to develop systemic support measures that will allow domestic companies to feel more confident in the global market.

TAdviser SummIT took place on May 31, 2022 in Moscow. The event was attended by more than 900 delegates, more than 100 reports were made. Among the key speakers are the Minister of Digital Development of the Russian Federation Maksut Shadayev, Deputy General Director of RZDEvgeniy Charkin, [2] Chief information officer UralhimValeriy Fokin, Vice President for IT of Eurasholding Artem Natrusov, [3] Chief information officer LentySergey Sergeyev and others.

Maksut Shadayev: Ministry of Digital Development will support the import of components and the creation of assembly industries in the country

Ministry of Digital Development will support the import of components and the production of IT equipment within the country. This was told by the Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media Maksut Shadayev at the TAdviser Summit on May 2022 31, 2022.

According to him, now there are serious difficulties with the supply of IT equipment, and they will continue in the near future. At the same time, the supply of components from Asian countries has increased. According to the minister, the most promising model for solving the problem of shortage of IT equipment is the import of components and assembly of equipment here.

The market will change towards the supply of components. It will be more difficult to import, logistics will be difficult, the cost will be higher. But it is possible to import components, albeit in a very difficult logistical situation, - said the minister.

According to him, until the launch of new domestic industries there will be a "drawdown," IT equipment will be in short supply, but then the situation will level out. Many Russian companies have already expressed a desire to organize the assembly of the necessary equipment within the country.

We have a large number of applications for the development of the production of server and telecom equipment. This means that the market will change towards the supply of components. Assembly with an increase in the level of localization will be carried out here, - Maksut Shadayev.

The minister clarified that companies that apply to the Ministry of Digital Development for support are ready to independently invest in the creation of new industries within the country. They even offer to independently purchase the necessary equipment. The companies have already worked out logistics routes for organizing regular deliveries of components.

According to Maksut Shadayev, the state is doing everything possible to support Russian manufacturers of IT equipment. So the customs procedures for the import of components were extremely simplified. In addition, on May 18, 2022, Government Decree No. 895 "On Approval of the Rules for the Provision of Subsidies from the Federal Budget to Credit Institutions for the Reimbursement of Lost Income on Loans," was approved. issued for the purchase of priority products for import^[24]. " The resolution spelled out the mechanisms of concessional lending for companies that are engaged in the purchase of, among other things, components for IT equipment abroad . Banks will issue loans for the purchase of strategic goods at rates not exceeding 30% of the key rate of the Central Bank plus 3 percentage points (today it is about 6.3%), and the difference to banks will be compensated from the federal budget. The preferential rate for the purchase of components will be valid for a year.

Maksut Shadayev: 10 industry consortia will determine what software the Russian market needs

To support domestic developers in Russia, 10 industry consortia will be created. This was [4] announced on May 31, 2022 at TAdviser Summit 2022 by the Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media Maksut Shadayev. According to him, it is necessary to make sure that the business actively participates in the development of Russian decisions, and this can only be implemented by including potential customers in the process of making strategic decisions. The minister is convinced that industry collaboration is needed.

"State-owned companies cooperate with the ministry and fulfill their mission, but they are not able to take over all processes. We need representatives of key industries - leaders in digital transformation. Within the framework of industry consortia, they must formulate their needs, "Maksut Shadayev believes.

The head of the Ministry of Digital Development noted that a mechanism for integrating business into the decision-making process is being worked out. He did not disclose working ideas, since, according to him, the report of Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin in early June will be devoted to this.

At the same time, he noted that the domestic market is important not only targeted financing of development, but also stimulating customers. According to him, after representatives of industries formulate their needs, the ministry will "collect" a funnel of proposals and launch financial support mechanisms. For example, Ministry of Digital Development can co-finance the development of important solutions for the market or allocate large targeted grants, up to 6 billion rubles, for strategically significant contracts. According to Maksut Shadayev, it is important that the business leads the process, since if the developments turn out to be unclaimed, then their support projects are meaningless.

The Ministry of Digital Development has identified 10 key industries in which consortia will be created:

• finance;
• retail;
• construction;
• HOUSING AND COMMUNAL SERVICES;
• Industry;
• communication and media;
• power;
• agriculture;
• transport;
• social sphere.

Moreover, according to the minister, there are already the first representatives of industries that have announced their readiness to participate in consortia.

About the event

TAdviser SummIT took place on May 31, 2022 in Moscow. The event was attended by more than 900 delegates, more than 100 reports were made. Among the key speakers are Deputy General Director [5] of RZHDvgeniy Charkin, [6] Chief information officer UralhimValeriy Fokin, Vice President for IT of Evrazhholding Artem Natrusov, [7] Chief information officer LentySergey Sergeyev and others.

Mishustin allowed industrial software developers to implement projects with a 2-year delay

At the end of April 2022, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin signed a decree that softened the requirements for IT companies that received state support. The document was called "On Amendments to the Rules for Granting Subsidies to Russian Organizations to Reimburse Part of the Costs of Developing Digital Platforms and Software Products in Order to Create and (or) Develop the Production of High-Tech Industrial Products and Invalidate Certain Provisions of Certain Acts of the Government of the Russian Federation."

As the press service of the Cabinet clarifies, we are talking about concessions for IT developers who receive state subsidies for the creation of digital platforms for the production of high-tech industrial products. Such companies increased by two years the period for the implementation of complex projects for which subsidies were allocated. In accordance with the changes approved by Mishustin, software developers will be able to avoid penalties for disrupting supplies under existing agreements.

Subsidies mentioned in the decree have been allocated to domestic IT companies since the end of 2020 within the framework of the federal project "Digital Technologies" of the national program "Digital Economy of the Russian Federation." They cover up to 50% of the cost of creating software products.

As Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Vasily Shpak said in an interview with Rossiyskaya Gazeta at the end of April 2022, the Russian Federation is accelerating the transition of industry to domestic software, creating a modular multi-service industrial platform. The project is being implemented by the Ministry of Industry and Trade Shpak noted that the transition of each enterprise to Russian software will consist of several stages: first, it will have access to analytical services to independently assess the level of digital maturity of production and audit internal processes.^[1]

Lobbying and GR in the Russian IT market. Who, how and why is doing this? TAdviser Overview

The state in Russia has paid a lot of attention to the IT sector in recent years, and the IT industry, in turn, is one of the most active and consolidated when it comes to promoting its interests in the authorities. In April 2022, TAdviser prepared a detailed review of Government Relations (GR) practices in the Russian IT industry. It contains information on how GR functions are organized in IT companies, who have the strongest GRs in the market, examples of the most successful lobbying stories and much more. Read more here.

The Ministry of Digital Development has published a list of priority areas of Russian IT solutions

Ministry of Digital Development of Russia published a list with priority directions the Russian IT- solutions that can support. state This became known on April 11, 2022. The document appeared in the official Telegram channel of the regulator after a meeting of the operational headquarters of the IT association, but has not yet been published on the official website.

We are talking about the proposals of IT experts from the operational headquarters under the Ministry of Digital Development, which was created after the start of Russia's military special operation in Ukraine to work out support mechanisms. It includes heads of industry associations such as APKIT, RUSSOFT, ARPP, RAEK and representatives of the largest IT companies.

Information systems, "critical to the economy and not reproducible under the usual market mechanism," are divided into 17 classes in the list. State support should be obtained as a matter of priority, for example, by means of computer-aided design (CAD) - we are talking about those that relate to complex high-tech products of various industries . "Sovereign" solutions should replace foreign ones from such vendors as Siemens, Autodesk, Dassault Systems, etc.

The list also includes engineering analysis tools - systems of simulation, aero-, hydro-, theromodynamic and other applied modeling and solutions of optimization problems. Previously, Siemens AG, Ansys, DP Technology products prevailed on the market.

Special attention will also be paid to load balancers and integrated monitoring systems for the management of network infrastructure components.

The document, which the Ministry of Digital Development published, also outlined detailed requirements for domestic developments in these classes^[2]

The amount of grants from Skolkovo for the pilot implementation of Russian IT solutions increased to 300 million rubles

The amount of grants from Skolkovo"" for the pilot implementation the Russian IT of solutions increased to 300 million. rubles The Fund announced this on April 8, 2022. More. here

Mishustin allocated 21.5 billion rubles to support the IT industry

In early March 2022, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin signed an order approving the allocation of 21.5 billion rubles to support the Russian IT industry. The funds will be taken from the reserve fund and spent in 2022.

The allocated money will be directed, among other things, to subsidizing the interest rate on loans for companies that work in the field of digital technologies. The rate should not exceed 3%, the Cabinet said in a statement. The decision will allow "to provide benefits for the implementation of at least 75 digital transformation projects."

In addition, the maximum size of grants provided for the implementation of projects will be increased. In total, 14 billion rubles will be allocated for these purposes. Another area of ​ ​ support is preferential mortgages for company employees. For them, the interest rate on loans taken in 2020-2022 will be reduced to 5% per annum. The 1.5 billion rubles allocated for these purposes will help improve the living conditions of 10 thousand citizens.

The order was prepared for the implementation of the presidential decree Russia Vladimir Putin "On measures to ensure the accelerated development of the industry information technology in." In of the Russian Federation particular, they include tax breaks and preferences for "accredited organizations that receive income from the distribution of advertising or the provision of additional services using the applications and online services of these organizations, or income related to the implementation, installation, testing and maintenance of domestic solutions in the field." information technology A list of 75 specialties has also been published, which allow you to apply for a delay. It includes engineering specialties, statistics, telecom specialties and others. [^[3]

FTS stopped field inspections of IT companies for 3 years

At the end of March 2022, the Federal Tax Service (FTS) announced the suspension of field inspections of IT companies until March 3, 2025. The exception is only those checks that are appointed with the consent of the leadership of the higher tax authority or the Federal Tax Service. To justify the appointment of an exit tax audit by a lower tax authority, a motivated request must be sent to the higher tax authority, the ministry said in a statement.

On behalf of the Minister of Finance of the Russian Federation, in relation to organizations that have received a document on state accreditation of an organization operating in the field of information technology, in accordance with the procedure established by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of 18.06.2021 No. 929 "On State Accreditation of Organizations Operating in the Field of Information Technology" (hereinafter - accredited IT organizations), conducting on-site (repeated on-site) tax audits, with the exception of inspections appointed with the consent of the head (deputy head) of the higher tax authority, head (deputy head) of the Federal Tax Service of Russia, is suspended until 03.03.2025 inclusive, - says the letter of the Federal Tax Service.

The tax service made this decision by decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin and on behalf of the Ministry of Finance in order to support IT companies against the background of sanctions restrictions. After the start of the Russian special operation in Ukraine, a strong outflow of IT personnel abroad began in the Russian Federation. According to the recruiting company Benchmark, in March 2022, 60-70% of IT specialists considered moving abroad.

The decree, which IT companies are exempted from scheduled inspections for three years in the implementation of state and municipal control, was signed by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin earlier in March 2022.^[4]

The Ministry of Digital Development presented measures to support the Russian IT industry in 10 areas. Full presentation

At the end of March 2022, Minister of Digital Development Maksut Shadayev presented the current status of the development of the third package of measures to support the IT industry (see the minister's presentation below). The agency, together with the IT industry, work in 10 areas, within which various benefits are being worked out for IT companies and specialists. Some of the measures are still being discussed, and some have already begun work on creating the necessary regulatory framework for application.

The Minister noted that the new support measures in terms of tax incentives should cover a wider range of companies than before. For 2 years, the department has listened to criticism that they previously extended only to software developers. Now these benefits are proposed to be extended also to software integrators who are engaged in the implementation of domestic solutions. As an example, Shadayev cited 1C partners who implement solutions and carry out digital transformation at enterprises. It is also planned to extend the benefits to Internet companies that are commercialized through sales of advertising and services.

In addition, Maksut Shadayev notes, there is a preliminary agreement with the Ministry of Finance so that developers of software and hardware complexes of various classes can also become recipients of support measures. There is a preliminary agreement with the Ministry of Finance and to exclude the restriction on the minimum number of employees (at least 7) that the company must have in order to take advantage of the benefits.

One of the main tasks of the new support measures is the task of the released developers amid the departure or suspension of foreign IT companies in Russia. There are many new niches, and this process needs to be supported, first of all, financially. Therefore, we are talking about the need to significantly increase the volume of grants that will be allocated through the ministry.

Only in 2022 it is planned to allocate grants in the amount of 20 billion rubles. They will stand out along the 2nd main lines. The first is to replace corporate solutions through large anchor customers. And custom products that are not related to the corporate segment will also be funded.

Shadayev calls the measure to defer from the army very important and debatable. The draft resolution determining the procedure for granting a deferral was already in the government at the time of Shadayev's speech, and on March 29, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the conditions for a deferral from the army for IT specialists. Young people under 27 with higher education, working in IT companies for at least a year, as well as working in IT for less than a year, but who graduated from a university a year before being appointed to a position, will be able to get it.

IT professionals will also be eligible for preferential mortgages. Shadayev said that it is intended for employees aged 22 to 40 years with an income of 200 thousand rubles a month in cities with a population of over one million and from 150 thousand rubles for the rest. The basic preferential mortgage rate will be 5%. And if the regions are ready to close 3% at their own expense, then for the IT specialist the rate will be 2%. According to Ministry of Digital Development of estimates, in 2022-2024. the preferential mortgage program will be able to cover about 50 thousand employees of IT companies.

It is also important now to simplify access to the state order and optimize the execution of state contracts. A bill has already been prepared proposing significant facilitation and simplification of the conditions for the execution of state contracts.

In April, the Ministry of Digital Development expects the release of all the necessary regulations for the proposed measures to work.

Ozon and Wildberries: We are IT companies like Amazon. Retailers ask government to extend IT industry support benefits to them

Ozon and Wildberries believe that as part of providing measures to support the IT industry, companies like theirs should also be able to receive some benefits on a par with IT companies. This follows from the speeches of representatives of these companies on March 26 at a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko, dedicated to the discussion of the upcoming third package of measures to support the IT industry. Read more here.

They want to allocate almost a trillion rubles for the development of Russian radio electronics

The Ministry of Industry (Ministry of Industry and Trade) as anti-crisis measures proposed to allocate 900 billion rubles. Russian radio electronics. The industry can receive such an amount in 2022-2024. The ministry also proposes to provide various tax incentives for organizations related to the electronic industry. This became known on March 17, 2022. Read more here.

The head of the Ministry of Digital Development Maksut Shadayev assessed the situation in the IT market and named 3 main tasks

A source in the Ministry of Digital Development Affairs shared with TAdviser a letter to employees of the department from the Minister of Digital Development Maksut Shadayev against the background of difficulties in the Russian economy that arose after the start of Russia's military operation in Ukraine. In a letter dated March 5, the minister notes that the digital industry is the main object of the restrictions imposed, and that in this situation, the support and active position of the ministry is more important than ever.

Friends, we are very stormy. The digital industry has become the main object of the restrictions imposed. Deliveries have been frozen, contracts with foreign customers and manufacturers have been suspended. Many companies on the market are at a loss and, of course, employees are worried about their future, the minister notes.

We have many levers and opportunities to stabilize the situation in the market, help companies find new ways of development, launch large and large-scale projects. I believe that this is our chance to take a step forward for the development of our own technologies, products and solutions, "Shadayev says in his letter.

In a difficult situation, the minister proposes to focus on solving three problems:

1. Allocate financial resources for new large-scale developments in order to download specialists left without work.

2. Involve those who have lost foreign software of the company in the formation of new orders.

3. Remove interfering regulatory restrictions.

Guys, the main thing is to stick together, support each other. We will definitely break through and get out of this crisis, - says Shadayev's letter to employees.

The Ministry of Digital Development of Russia has developed measures to support Russian telecom operators

On March 4, 2022, it became known that the Russian Ministry of Digital Development had developed measures to support Russian telecom operators against the background of the situation around Ukraine. First of all, they are waiting for the weakening of the requirements of the "Spring Law" also known as the "Spring Package." Read more here.

The Ministry of Digital Development launched the collection of information on urgent measures to support IT companies

On March 5, the Ministry of Digital Development initiated the collection of information on urgent support measures required by ^[1]/. Representatives of the industry can fill out the corresponding form on the State Public services portal.

Companies are invited to talk about the problems they face and report on the necessary resources to solve them. Also, survey participants can propose new projects and support measures for implementation.

We monitor the situation in the IT industry online and receive feedback on the problems faced by companies. The collection of information from market participants on the Public services has been launched both for the most prompt response and for the development of new support measures, - said Deputy Head of the Ministry of Digital Development Maxim Parshin.

Putin signed a decree on new benefits for Russian IT companies

President Vladimir Putin on March 2 signed a decree on new measures to ensure the accelerated development of the IT industry in Russia.

He instructed the government to:

• annually allocate from the federal budget allocations for grant support for promising developments of domestic solutions in the field of IT;
• provide for the allocation of funds to accredited organizations operating in the field of IT to improve the living conditions of employees of these organizations and ensure an increase in their salaries, as well as determine the categories of employees for which funds will be allocated for these measures;
• provide loans at a preferential rate of not more than 3% to ensure the current activities of accredited organizations and the implementation of new projects.

In addition, the order includes the need for the government to take measures aimed at establishing:

• IT company exemption from income tax until December 31, 2024;
• simplification of employment procedures for foreign citizens involved in work in accredited organizations and obtaining a residence permit;
• establishing tax incentives and preferences for IT companies that receive income from the distribution of advertising or the provision of additional services using applications and online services of these organizations or income related to the implementation, installation and testing of domestic IT solutions;
• exemption from tax, currency control and other types of state supervision and municipal control for up to 3 years;
• to ensure the consolidation and stimulation of public procurement of critical domestic developments in the field of IT and procurement for certain types of legal entities, as well as to simplify the procedure for such purchases.

The government will also determine the categories of employees of IT companies who will be able to receive the right to receive a deferral from military service until they reach the age of 27 years (for the period of work in these organizations).

Representatives of the IT industry previously asked for a wider list of measures to help the industry amid the difficult economic and geopolitical situation. For example, they asked to cancel personal income tax for IT companies. According to TAdviser, the IT market hopes to adopt another package of benefits later.

Mikhail Mishustin spoke about the new measures on March 2 at a government meeting. They were adopted after the imposition of sanctions against Russia against the backdrop of a military operation in Ukraine.

It is important to prevent a decrease in the pace of development of the IT industry in our country, even under conditions of sanctions restrictions. It is necessary to ensure the stable and uninterrupted functioning of the information infrastructure. And of course, to maintain personnel potential, - said Mishustin.

A headquarters for monitoring the state of IT companies has been created in the Ministry of Digital Development. It includes people from Yandex, 1C and VK

As TAdviser found out, on February 28, 2022, following the announcement of new measures to support the IT industry, the head of the Ministry of Digital Development Maksut Shadayev signed an order on the operational headquarters for monitoring the state of Russian organizations in the IT industry in order to ensure their sustainable functioning in connection with the introduction of restrictive measures by foreign states, international or foreign organizations. Read more here.

To keep programmers in the country, the Ministry of Digital Development proposes to give them a preferential mortgage and not to draft them into the army

The Ministry of Digital Development predicts the outflow of IT specialists from the country after the start of Russia's military special operation in Ukraine. On Monday, February 28, 2022, Minister Maksut Shadayev sent a letter to Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin with a list of measures that should keep developers inside the country. The ministry confirmed that the list of 10-point proposals was submitted to the government. According to TAdviser, the representative of the Ministry of Digital Development, the measures were developed taking into account the opinion of the IT industry. After approval by the government, the proposals will be implemented as soon as possible.

The Ministry of Digital Development proposes as anti-crisis measures:

1. extend the mechanism of existing tax incentives also to IT companies that receive income from advertising, the provision of additional services in their applications and online services or the implementation, installation, testing and maintenance of partner domestic IT products;

2. exempt for the next three years all employees of IT companies from paying personal income tax, and the companies themselves from paying income tax, as well as from inspections by control bodies;

3. provide all employees of IT companies with a preferential mortgage with a rate of 5% for the duration of work;

4. Grant a deferral from military conscription for employees of IT companies for the duration of their work in these companies.

5. introduce a procedure for simplified obtaining a work permit and residence permit for foreign citizens attracted to work in Russian IT companies;

6. provide IT companies with grants for the development and development of IT products (reducing the requirement for mandatory extra-budgetary co-financing of projects to 20%, and in some cases to 0%), develop a program of concessional lending to the implementation of domestic solutions at a rate of 1% for the borrower (banks participating in the program up to 100% of the key rate will be compensated by the Bank of Russia);

7. ensure accelerated import substitution of software at critical information infrastructure facilities through targeted budget financing through the created industry competence centers;

8. introduce preferential lending to IT companies to ensure uninterrupted current activities;

9. consolidate and stimulate state orders, including from state-owned companies, to finance new critical developments (PLM, ERP, etc.) with the possibility of its execution by large IT companies without holding tenders and auctions (tenders);

10. provide targeted funding for the creation in Russia of a "mirror" of the GitHub open source software repository.

Mishustin simplified the rules for providing subsidies for R&D for IT products

The Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Mikhail Mishustin signed a decree simplifying the rules for granting subsidies to companies for research and development work () RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT in the production of high-tech products. The head Governments of the Russian Federation announced this on February 17, 2021.

According to him, such a tool allows businesses to compensate for a significant part of the costs of preparing and purchasing equipment, components, raw materials and materials, and manufacturing prototypes.

For innovative products that are created to implement socio-economic initiatives, the requirements for providing subsidies will be significantly reduced. This will allow government support to those domestic manufacturers that produce critical products in small batches, for example, complex equipment for the chemical industry, oil and gas engineering. More than 19 billion rubles are provided for the corresponding payments in the three-year federal budget.

There will be less control reporting. From six months to a year, we will increase the time to eliminate violations associated with the implementation of innovative projects. This will protect bona fide companies. After all, sometimes disruptions in deadlines and indicators are caused by objective reasons, including the impact of sanctions risks. We hope that such changes will be a good incentive for the creation of modern industries and high-performance jobs, - said Mikhail Mishustin.

As the press service of the Ministry of Industry and Trade emphasized, the Government supports high-tech industries and pays special attention to import substitution programs in the most sensitive areas. The main priority is innovative projects aimed at fulfilling the task set by the President to expand non-resource non-energy exports.^[2]

Dmitry Chernyshenko: "Digital attaches" will begin work in 16 countries of the world

As part of the implementation of the measures of the "second package" of measures to support the IT industry in Russia, a service of "digital attaches" will be created. This was announced on February 7, 2022 by Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Dmitry Chernyshenko. The corresponding agreement has already been signed by the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation and the Russian Fund for the Development of Information Technologies (RFRIT).

"It is planned that in 2022" digital attachés "will begin work in 16 countries - Brazil, Vietnam, Malaysia and others. In the future, the geography of their presence will expand - by 2024 to 28 countries of presence, "said Dmitry Chernyshenko.

As the Deputy Prime Minister clarified, the selected candidates will conduct comprehensive work to promote domestic software products abroad, provide consulting, information and analytical, legal and organizational support to Russian IT companies in the countries of presence. Their main task is to develop the export of Russian digital solutions.

According to experts, the institute of "digital attaches," as an effective tool for the development of exports of domestic IT solutions, is in demand in the markets of Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and South America. Among the first countries are considered Brazil Vietnam Germany Egypt India Iran Kazakhstan,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,. Cuba Malaysia UAE Singapore Thailand Turkey REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA South Korea

In accordance with the document, Ministry of Digital Development will be responsible for the selection of specialists from the "digital attaché" service. The agency has already announced a competition for filling positions in trade missions of the Russian Federation abroad. Resumes for participation in the competitive selection can be sent to the mail: job@digital.gov.ru.

According to Maxim Parshin, Deputy Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media, the initiative to create a "digital attaché" service was proposed by representatives of the IT industry as part of the preparation of a "second package" of support measures. According to him, digital attaches should be well guided in Russian and foreign software products and at the same time understand the competitive advantages of domestic solutions. Knowledge of Russian and international trade legislation is also important.

"And, of course, the basic requirements for candidates are higher education no lower than a specialty or magistracy and knowledge of the language of the host country," added Maxim Parshin.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade is responsible for organizing employment in Russian trade missions in foreign countries. According to the Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation Alexei Gruzdev, the implementation of the agreement will help improve the conditions for the development of Russian exports of information technologies, as well as the formation of a talent pool of specialists for subsequent referral to trade offices.

"We believe that such a decision will ensure comprehensive support for Russian companies in promoting domestic IT products on foreign markets, as well as high-quality interaction with the largest international IT companies within the framework of the global" digital "agenda," said Alexey Gruzdev.

In the competencies of RFRIT - training and advanced training of specialists, as well as interaction with domestic IT companies.

"An important element of the fund's strategy is the export of Russian IT solutions. We are in constant dialogue with companies and see their request for support in positioning and promoting products and services in foreign markets. For our part, we will organize work on training and adaptation of promising personnel for the service of digital attaches, "said Alexander Pavlov, General Director of the Russian Fund for the Development of Information Technologies.

2021

Chernyshenko: The effect of two packages of measures to support the IT industry exceeded ₽49 billion

The effect of the introduction of two packages of IT industry support measures exceeded 49 billion rubles. Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko said this on December 22, 2021 at a meeting of the Council for the Development of the Digital Economy under the Federation Council.

During his speech, he also pointed out the need to develop new initiatives aimed at stimulating the introduction of Russian solutions into the activities of domestic enterprises, as well as supporting exports and promoting Russian IT solutions in foreign markets.

I believe that if the Federation Council supports us, it is expedient in 2022, without postponing, to start developing a third package of measures to support the IT industry, because these are pulling technologies that need to be relied on to develop our economy, "he explained (quoted by RIA Novosti).

The first deputy chairman of the Federation Council, Andrei Turchak, who heads the council for the development of the digital economy, said that council members are ready to take part in the development of support measures.

According to Dmitry Chernyshenko, thanks to benefits, the income of IT companies in 2021 increased, which allowed to increase the salaries of employees. Accordingly, tax revenues to the country's budget also increased.

Chernyshenko also said that a roadmap for the phased introduction of artificial intelligence technologies will be developed in Russia. It will provide for the development and implementation of an additional pool of legislative initiatives. These measures are provided for within the framework of the federal project "Artificial Intelligence."

It is important that the Federation Council and the Council for the Development of the Digital Economy act as drivers for the development of regulatory regulation in the field of artificial intelligence. The government will provide maximum support in this work. Only by joining forces, we will be able to harmonize the legal environment for the development of AI as much as possible, "he said.

The United States complained to the WTO about measures to support the IT industry in Russia

Import substitution in Russia violates the norms World Trade Organization (WTO), said trade representative USA Catherine Tye on December 21, 2021. She believes that non-compliance with WTO rules and obligations puts US workers and enterprises at an economic disadvantage, preventing them from competing on equal terms with other^[3] manufacturers^[4]The report on the implementation of Russia WTO obligations was prepared by Tai for Congress and published on December 21^[5]document says "about the departure from Russia the WTO guidelines," among which the absence of discrimination, open trade, predictability, transparency and fair competition. An extensive part of the document is devoted to the IT sector and preferences established in Russia for domestic IT companies and products. More. here

Government agrees new perks to support IT industry

At the end of November 2021, it became known about the approval by the Russian government of new tax incentives for IT companies. The head of the Ministry of Digital Science Maksut Shadayev reported about them to the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin.

The essence of one of the benefits is to use an increasing coefficient of 1.5 to the cost of purchasing Russian solutions in the field of artificial intelligence. When they are implemented, companies will pay less income tax.

The second measure makes it possible to speed up the depreciation of Russian electronic equipment and software three times, the third - introduces an investment tax deduction for their purchase. These initiatives will be included in the second package of measures to support the IT industry. They are designed to stimulate demand for domestic IT equipment and software.

Naturally, this will be the decision of the subjects - to what extent this investment tax deduction will be valid. Of course, we will ask them to introduce such a deduction as a priority for solutions in the field of artificial intelligence. We really hope for your support, - said Shadayev at a meeting of government members with Vladimir Putin (quoted by the Kremlin press service).

The Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media said that the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation plans to amend the Tax Code by the end of 2021.

Maksut Shadayev also presented the interim results of the application of the first package of measures to support the IT industry. According to the head of the Ministry of Digital Development, according to the results of nine months, the innovations, contrary to the concerns expressed, did not lead to a loss of budget revenues, but to additional tax deductions from the IT industry in the amount of 48 billion. rubles The minister cited data Rosstat according to which the implementation by Russian IT companies of their solutions, services and works over these months increased by 38% compared to the same period in 2020 and exceeded 1.14 trillion rubles.^[6]

The Government of the Russian Federation approved the second package of measures to support the IT industry, consisting of 62 events

Download the full version of the Action Plan "Creating additional conditions for the development of the information technology industry" in.pdf format.

The action plan to create conditions for the development of the IT industry was approved by the Government of the Russian Federation on September 9 and published on September 14. The document was formed with the participation of leading Russian IT companies, industry public organizations and the United Russia party, the government said in a statement. It aims to address several key challenges:

• increasing demand for domestic IT solutions,
• ensuring accelerated digital transformation of sectors of the economy and social sphere,
• creating comfortable conditions for conducting IT-Business in Russia.

The Roadmap includes 62 events. Of these, 20 are system-wide. They provide for measures to equalize the conditions for doing business in Russia for international Internet corporations and Russian IT companies, stimulate the introduction of Russian solutions into the activities of domestic enterprises, as well as support exports and promote Russian IT solutions in foreign markets.

Another 42 measures of the plan are aimed at stimulating the development and implementation of Russian developments in specific segments. These are, in particular, solutions for business, electronic educational services, digital medical services, office software and operating systems, data processing and cloud services, solutions in the field of artificial intelligence, big data and the Internet of things, the production of computer games and professional video content, solutions in the field of information security.

For individual segments of the IT market, the plan provides for measures to:

• removal of legislative restrictions and barriers to the use of modern digital solutions;
• the introduction of industry digital standards that determine the necessary level of digitalization of relevant processes and establish the predominant use of Russian software products and equipment for them;
• financing the creation of Russian digital platforms and standard solutions for budgetary organizations;
• training for certain sectors of the economy necessary for the implementation of modern digital solutions.

The implementation of the roadmap will give an additional impetus to the development of the IT industry, a qualitative transformation of certain segments of the economy and social sphere, the government is confident.

The first package of IT support measures has led to an increase in the number of IT products and companies. A new support program is on the way

On September 6, 2021, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin at an operational meeting with Deputy Prime Ministers reported on the results of the implementation of a set of measures for the advanced development of the IT industry on behalf of the president. Mishustin cited data that since the approval of new benefits (the first package of measures to support the industry), the number of accredited Russian IT companies has increased by almost 3 thousand, and the number of software products included in the register of domestic software has increased by about 4.5 thousand.

The Prime Minister recalled that in 2020, for those involved in the development, sale and implementation of software, they reduced insurance premiums, reduced the income tax rate. In addition, operations on the implementation of rights to use software products that are included in the register of Russian software are exempted from VAT.

All this made it possible to create comfortable tax conditions in our country for the development of business in the field of software, opened up additional opportunities for the development of new products, attracting specialists, - said Mikhail Mishustin.

The Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media Maksut Shadayev, who was present at the operational meeting, told how the second package of support measures is being prepared. According to him , the Ministry of Digital Development has prepared an action plan that is primarily aimed at the large-scale introduction of Russian IT solutions into the social sphere and the economy. This program was formed with the participation of IT companies, industry public organizations and the United Russia party.

Today we are faced with the task precisely with the help of Russian solutions, Russian developments to ensure the further digital transformation of enterprises in various sectors of the economy, removing the last barriers for this, - said Shadayev.

Speaking briefly about the main contours of the program, Shadayev noted that from the point of view of building an electronic government, there is a positive trend. All mass public services must be provided by the end of next year without the need for full-time appeal to the authorities, as quickly as possible and sometimes in a proactive mode where possible.

A formations large project to provide high-speed access to schools is being completed in the sphere 2021 year. to the Internet Therefore, in the near future, special attention should be paid to the creation of networks Wi-Fi in schools so that Internet it can be used in each classroom, as well as continue to equip classrooms with modern domestic digital multimedia equipment so that electronic educational content can be shown.

It is very important by 2024 to provide all teachers with modern digital tablets with access to electronic journals, digital educational content, the minister stressed.

High school students from 2022 will have the opportunity to in-depth study modern programming languages ​ ​ free of charge for two years either online or in specialized training and training centers. And university students, as part of obtaining their main profession, will be able to learn in addition not only digital skills, but also digital specialties in addition to the main one.

In healthcare, the most serious attention is planned to be paid to the development of digital services. In the near future, users of the portal of public services in their personal account should get access to electronic medical appointments, prescriptions, test results, medical research - to the entire medical record. And to organize constant monitoring of the health of chronic patients, it is planned to widely introduce telemedicine services, technologies, including domestic digital medical sensors for health monitoring.

Due to the accelerated introduction of domestic Internet solutions in the field of ecology, weather monitoring, housing and communal services, fire safety, it is planned to ensure an operational response to emerging incidents. And this will avoid serious consequences, prevent major accidents and emergencies, said Maksut Shadayev.

Last week, we discussed the program with the leaders of the electoral list and the leadership of the United Russia party. I must say that from the very beginning they participated in the preparation of the program. Last week we discussed the final touches, made important proposals. And in general, we have a program to support the IT industry, the so-called second package of measures, in a high degree of readiness. Agreed with all interested departments. I ask you to support his statement, - Maksut Shadayev addressed Mishustin at an operational meeting.

Mishustin approved the rules for subsidizing small businesses for the purchase of domestic software

Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin signed a decree of the Government of the Russian Federation on the approval of the rules for the provision of subsidies for the purchase of software for small and medium-sized businesses. The press service of the Cabinet of Ministers announced this on July 1, 2021. Read more here.

Ministry of Digital Development launches accelerator for IT startups

On May 12, 2021, the Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation announced the launch of an accelerator for IT companies. This is a joint project with the Internet Initiatives Development Fund (IIDF). Read more here.

Ministry of Digital Development proposes to create a separate court for IT companies

In mid-April 2021, Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation proposed creating a separate court for IT companies. The relevant court may appear in three years.

We all understand that our public sector is a very large customer: state-owned companies, government agencies. We know that there are criminal cases against all large IT companies, almost everyone. We understand that the investigation of these cases is always difficult, because a special examination, special skills are required, - said the head of the Ministry of Digital Development Maksut Shadayev at a meeting of the Council for the Development of the Digital Economy (quoted by Interfax). - Therefore, we propose to create a separate court that would investigate economic criminal cases against IT companies, where expertise, competence and so on would be necessary.

The creation of a separate court, according to the minister, will be another measure of support for the domestic IT sphere. By mid-April 2021, it is not known which of the next packages of such measures it will enter (so far there are two such packages), but a new instance may appear no later than 2024.

The parliamentarians reacted to the minister's initiative, the agency did not specify, but recalled that earlier, on April 15, 2021, speaking in the Duma committee on information policy, Shadayev proposed punishing IT companies for mass leaks of personal data. The Ministry of Digital Development has prepared a bill that implies responsibility for such violations up to criminal.

Shadayev recalled that Russia provided IT companies with unprecedented tax breaks in 2020. As a result, all recipients of such benefits automatically attracted the attention of the Federal Tax Service in accordance with a risk-oriented approach to inspections. Shadayev called for a moratorium on inspections of recipients of these benefits for the next three to five years. It will affect the developers of Russian software with sales of more than 300 million rubles.^[7]

New benefits and support measures await the IT market. Their discussion took place at a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Chernyshenko

On March 18, 2021, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko held a meeting with representatives of the IT industry, during which the participants discussed the "second package of support measures" for the IT industry and the implementation of the roadmap for the selected initiatives.

The meeting was attended by the head of the Ministry of Digital Development Maksut Shadayev, heads of working groups on support measures and IT associations.

Chernyshenko said that the "second package" included 64 measures to support the industry, the preparation of which was worked by more than 200 experts representing 150 IT companies.

In the near future, the prepared plan will be submitted for signature to the Prime Minister. After approval, we will begin to implement it, working in detail with the departments of measures for each measure of support for the IT industry, - explained the Deputy Prime Minister of the government.

At a meeting with Dmitry Chernyshenko, representatives of expert working groups in various areas of the digital economy announced the proposed measures using an interactive system of IT industry support elements developed by the Ministry of Digital Development [8] (a map with all support measures is available at the link). So, for example, among the measures announced by the director of the Center for Import Substitution Competencies in the field of ICTIlya Massukh is the introduction of a tax on foreign Internet services that interact in Russia with the population.

It is proposed not to invest this tax in the budget, but to redirect it to Russian technologies, companies that work in the same segment. Moreover, Massukh noted, it is important to work out this mechanism so that the funds are directed specifically to the development of software products, and not to the development of "marketers or couriers who deliver products."

Among the measures, he also mentioned the creation of the "Russian GitHub," which must definitely interact with foreign development centers, the community, so that there is no separation from global technologies, and on the other hand, that we have security in terms of sovereignty.

A whole block of measures concerns the conditions for doing business, said Ilya Massukh. He is the most difficult. It also affects interaction with law enforcement agencies, the creation of an IT ombudsman.

A separate area, according to Massukh, is the protection of the IT business from scheduled inspections, including tax ones. A moratorium for 2-3 years is being considered. It is proposed to postpone inspections so that companies can take advantage of the tax relief package.

Among the measures voiced at a meeting with Dmitry Chernyshenko, Director of Digitalization of Rosatom State Corporation Ekaterina Solntseva, concerning engineering software. Now the dependence of industrial enterprises on imported engineering software is about 90%, according to Solntsev. Rosatom is ready to jointly undertake an ambitious project with Russian developers - ensuring the technological independence of Russian industry.

These proposals allow to level the conditions of international competition, provide comprehensive support for domestic developers by reducing the costs of IT companies, as well as by regulating the demand for Russian IT solutions and introducing Russian software and hardware systems. In addition, the list of measures reflects proposals aimed at "deepening" and expanding support for certain segments of the IT industry.

Measures from the working group on data processing and cloud services were represented by the general director of Rostelecom - Data Processing Centers (RTK - data center) Pavel Kaplunov. One of the measures proposed by the group is the introduction of requirements that would prescribe mainly the use of domestic cloud services and the refusal to create a data center at the expense of budget funds without proper justification.

And the head of the data research center for state bodies of Sberbank Vladimir Averbakh, representing the working group on AI technologies, Big Data and the Internet of Things, spoke about such a measure as tax deductions on the expenses of companies that introduce AI. Deductions are assumed for the cost of decisions that they buy. The first package of measures is stimulated only by developers of AI technologies, but not by customers. But for customers, there is a lot of economic uncertainty about the use of AI, so tax deductions could drive demand.

In turn, Infowatch President Natalya Kasperskaya, who heads the information security working group, announced such a measure as introducing information security requirements into all regulations providing for targeted digital transformation programs. Information security is an important part of digitalization, but at the same time they forget about this side in pursuit of rapid digitalization, Kasperskaya noted. It is necessary to lay such requirements at the stage of system design, the president of Infowatch believes.

Dmitry Chernyshenko expressed his wish that the work on the plan on the proposed measures in order to implement them should go without "bureaucratic emasculation" of the plan in the process of its interdepartmental coordination.

Recall that the "first package" of measures was prepared on behalf of the president and presented by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin as part of a meeting with the IT-Business in Innopolis in July 2020. It included two main directions. "Tax maneuver," which provides for a decrease in income tax from 20% to 3% for IT companies and a decrease in insurance premium rates from 14% to 7.6%.

Also, Russian software developers were exempted from VAT when implementing their own solutions and when purchasing marketing services for promoting products abroad.

In addition, mechanisms were launched to financially stimulate the development and implementation of domestic IT products. By the end of 2020, grants were allocated for new developments of IT products and their implementation for 6.9 billion rubles, more than 300 projects were supported. A portfolio of projects for the implementation of Russian solutions for concessional lending for 34.7 billion rubles has been formed.

At the same time, another fundamentally important decision was made at the Innopolis site - to bring the dialogue with the IT community on improving the conditions for conducting IT-Business in Russia to a fundamentally new level and to involve a wide range of industry experts and entrepreneurs in this work.

Fewer criminal cases and more benefits. New measures to support the IT industry have become known

In mid-March 2021, it became known about new measures to support the IT industry, which will be discussed on March 18 at a meeting of market participants with profile Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko.

VTimes listed the main proposals of officials who were included in the document:

• It is proposed to exempt IT entrepreneurs from criminal liability in cases where they have already paid fines and compensated for damage. This, according to the authors of the initiative, should reduce the number of criminal cases against IT businessmen by five times;

• Create a repository of state large data arrays (Big Data) and share it with developers of solutions in the field of artificial intelligence. The data will not be personalized, the authorities must think over the rules for accessing it;

• Develop a tax maneuver for companies that receive most of their advertising revenue. The authorities have already introduced a tax maneuver, but only for those who receive 90% of income from software development - as a result, large companies, for example, Yandex, could not claim it;

• Extend the investment tax deduction for software and hardware expenses from Russian registers. The investment benefit concerns investments in the purchase of equipment, modernization and reconstruction of production: up to 90% of costs can be deducted from the regional part of the tax by decision of the region (17 pp out of 20%), another 10% - from the federal one.

• Introduce tax incentives, including income from advertising activities. In the first package, companies fell out of the effect of preferential regimes, the main income of which is brought not by the sale of software, but by advertising revenue;

• Increase the maximum income for self-employed IT specialists from 2.4 million to 5 million rubles a year. It is proposed that this category of working people can provide paid services without employees and pay taxes of 4% on income received from individuals and 6% from companies.^[8]

The Ministry of Digital Development proposed to save IT companies from scheduled inspections

On March 15, 2021, it became known about the proposal of the Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation to exempt Russian IT companies from scheduled inspections of fire supervision, Rospotrebnadzor, the Social Insurance Fund of the Russian Federation, the labor inspectorate, etc. The corresponding measure, which is proposed to be fixed at the legislative level, was included in the second package of support for the IT industry, developed by the Ministry of Digital Development and submitted to Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko for consideration.

The new measure to support the information technology industry involves a ban on the implementation of planned control and supervisory measures in relation to IT organizations, the document says, excerpts from which Vedomosti leads.

If the proposal is approved by the government, appropriate amendments could be drafted by autumn 2021, a source told the newspaper. The Ministry of Digital Development clarified that by mid-March it is too early to talk about how long a moratorium on scheduled inspections can be introduced.

Deputy Minister of Digital Development Maxim Parshin explained that when preparing the second package, the associations were worried that the supervisory authorities would begin to closely check the companies that would take advantage of tax breaks as part of the first package of measures.

The press service of Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko told the newspaper that the exemption of IT companies from scheduled inspections should create more comfortable conditions for doing business in the field of information technology when introducing new preferential tax rates. 

Since the measures to support the industry were new, there was a risk of misunderstanding during inspections, says Nikolai Komlev, executive director of the Association of Computer and Information Technology Enterprises. According to him, so that this does not happen, instructions on working with tax breaks were developed, and it was also proposed to "cancel control and supervisory checks of IT organizations in order to avoid an increase in the administrative burden on companies."^[9]

FTS warned about tax audits in companies that split business for the sake of IT maneuver

The Federal Tax Service warned of thorough tax checks in companies that break up business for the sake of an IT maneuver. This became known in early March 2021.

As they write Sheets"" with reference to the letter of the Federal Tax Service No. SD-4-2/561 "On paragraph 1 of Article 54.1 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation," "the creation of an IT company as a result of the reorganization of existing legal entities (separation, separation) should be investigated by the tax authorities in each individual case for signs of "business fragmentation," when the sole purpose of these actions is to obtain the right to apply reduced corporate income tax rates and insurance premium rates. "

BGP Litigation partner Alexander Golikov notes that the Federal Tax Service seeks to prevent the application of newly introduced benefits for IT companies in schemes aimed at crushing business. The service's clarifications point to the risks associated with bringing existing IT units into separate business units, if such actions are due only to the purpose of tax savings, he explained.

As evidence of the artificiality of business processes or when justifying the division of business, the tax authorities use the criterion of economic control, "says Ekaterina Sokolova, head of the Business Structuring practice at Lemchik, Krupsky and Partners LLC.

According to her, the letter of the Federal Tax Service is not prohibitive in nature - it directly indicates that the creation of an IT company applying benefits can in itself be recognized as a legitimate business goal. At the same time, the main condition is the absence of any distortions aimed at creating the visibility of activities, she stressed.

Sokolova added that such an approach could significantly simplify the allocation of IT companies within large holdings.^[10]

2020

The volume of financial support for IT-Business in Moscow increased 9 times, to 1.2 billion rubles

The volume of financial state support for technology companies in Moscow at the end of 2020 amounted to about 1.2 billion rubles, which is nine times more than a year ago. This was announced by the deputy mayor of the capital Natalya Sergunina, whose words are quoted on the official website of the mayor.

We are talking about supporting the city, thanks to which the IT-Business can compensate for part of the costs of purchasing or leasing equipment, paying interest on loans for the development of activities, part of spending on online promotion of goods and services, export, employee training, exhibition and other activities.

Residents of the capital's technology parks and participants of the Moscow Innovation Cluster (MIC) used the most active financial assistance. For example, 434 million rubles were approved by him last year to compensate for part of the costs of leasing, loan or purchase of equipment and to pay interest on loans for the development of activities.

In addition, MIK participants can reimburse part of the cost of creating a new or upgrading existing product. The subsidy applies to the development of design and technological documentation, the manufacture and testing of prototypes and prototypes, the purchase and commissioning of equipment and measuring instruments. In 2020, support totaling more than 295 million rubles was approved for these purposes. Separately, grants for the development of complex innovative projects are provided for the cluster participants.

Also in 2020, Moscow technological enterprises applied for reimbursement of part of the costs of exporting goods, services or products of intellectual labor. The city compensates them for the costs of various components of foreign economic activity: obtaining patents, certification of products or management systems, adapting the project to enter the international market and transporting goods abroad.^[11]

Mishustin signed a decree on the creation of a register of microelectronics developers

Main article: Register of Microelectronics Developers

Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin signed a decree on the creation of a register of microelectronics developers for tax incentives in support of the IT industry. This was announced on January 6, 2021 by the press service of the Cabinet of Ministers. Read more here.

The Ministry of Digital Development proposes to subsidize half the cost of software when sold to small companies

At the end of December 2020, Deputy Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media Maxim Parshin spoke about the new proposed measures to support the IT industry. Among them - subsidizing half the cost of specialized software when selling it to small and medium-sized businesses. Such an initiative will allow small companies to access software on preferential terms.

In a conversation with RBC, Parshin also said that "with a high degree of probability" the IT industry support package will include a requirement for domestic software developers to be compatible with Russian operating systems and processors.

The final list of measures should be approved by the government, the Deputy Minister of Digital Development did not specify when this could happen and what other proposals would fall into the final document.

When implementing a measure to sell software to small businesses, the load will fall on the program operators, says Andrey Sholokhov, deputy general director of Softline. They will receive 50% of the cost, and the remaining 50% will go to them from the state after a while, the businessman explained.

The proposed measures will help more accurately bring state support to the companies that deserve it, says the creator of Yandex.Market Dmitry Zavalishin.

It is easy to make a mistake when deciding on support, there are many opportunities for abuse. In the case when it is the purchase of software by customers that is financed, users automatically become some filter that determines which software has value and which does not, "he told RBC.

The head of the DZ Systems Group of Companies and the creator of Yandex.Market Dmitry Zavalishin considers the described measure "generally useful, because the support of domestic application software developers in this way will be tied to the real needs of the market."^[12]

Mishustin approved the rules for subsidizing IT projects

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin signed a decree on the rules for providing subsidies for the accelerated development of technologically projects in Russia. This was announced on December 26, 2020 by the press service of the Cabinet.

We are talking about providing so-called acceleration support to developer companies in the development of innovative projects and assistance in bringing their products to the domestic market, the report said. By the end of 2020, programs for this are being developed by the Internet Initiatives Development Fund. Funds in the amount of 750 million rubles will be directed in 2021-2023 within the framework of the national program "Digital Economy," the Government of the Russian Federation said in a statement.

They also noted that support for startups is among the solutions aimed at developing the IT industry. On behalf of the President of Vladimir Putin the Russian Federation, the Government of the Russian Federation has developed a set of measures state to support the industry. These include new tax regimes, programs to stimulate demand, the development of public-private partnerships and the expansion of the personnel base.

As the Deputy Prime Minister noted, the Dmitry Chernyshenko coronavirus pandemic COVID-19 pushed the state to accelerated digital transformation, making it one of the national priorities outlined by the president until 2030. At the same time, the pandemic revealed "bottlenecks," including Russia's dependence on foreign developments in the region. software

We have felt more dependence on foreign technologies than ever, and the issue of the country's sovereignty has become quite acute. A blatant case when some universities did not renew licenses for some types of software, "Chernyshenko said, adding that the state faces the task of quadrupling investments in domestic IT solutions[13]

Mishustin expanded measures to support digital platform developers

Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin signed a decree expanding support for digital platform developers. This was announced on November 13, 2020 by the press service of the Cabinet.

The document makes changes to the rules for subsidizing companies engaged in the development of platforms for high-tech products of various industries - the production of cars, radio electronics, railway engineering and aviation.

In particular, the amount of compensation for the organization's expenses on employee remuneration is increasing. If earlier it depended on the average salary in the region, now - on the average regional salary of specialists engaged in the development of computer software, the provision of consulting and other related services in this area.

In addition, interest restrictions on the cost of purchasing equipment and on contracts for the performance of scientific and design work are canceled. Thus, organizations will be able to independently choose the volumes of state support in each direction, depending on the project.

As noted on the website of the Cabinet, at least 2 billion rubles are spent from the federal budget every year to support developers of digital platforms for the production of high-tech industrial products. Thanks to these subsidies, IT companies can cover up to half of the costs of creating digital products. For example, you can get compensation for the cost of employee remuneration, equipping new jobs, purchasing equipment and obtaining licenses necessary for the project.

In a government decree of November 12, 2020, it is reported that not only organizations directly involved in the implementation of research, development and technological work in order to implement a comprehensive project, but also individuals and individual entrepreneurs can apply for subsidies.^[14]

Ministry of Digital Development has prepared a second package of measures to support the IT industry

On November 13, 2020, the Ministry of Digital Development proposals for a new package of measures to support the IT industry became known. Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko instructed the department to give the finished document to the government.

As Kommersant writes with reference to the materials of the Ministry of Digital Development, the project included 88 support measures for 12 market segments.

Among them, it is proposed:

• Remove currency controls for the IT sector and hold intergovernmental talks to facilitate Russian game developers' access to the Chinese market.
• Introduce a VAT deduction when licensing software by foreign users (the so-called "tax on Google"), if the software is included in the domestic register.
• Create a Russian app store for games. For games under a foreign license, the threshold for payments to copyright holders is planned to be increased from 30% to 70%.
• Extend benefits on social contributions (7.6%) and income tax (3%) to Russian Internet services in terms of advertising revenue.
• Introduce a tax on online advertising for the largest foreign Internet companies, providing access to marketplaces and selling data generated by Russians.
• Oblige to post film and TV content created on subsidies on Russian online platforms.
• Reduce the VAT rate to 10% for subscriptions to online cinemas, legislate an "anti-piracy memorandum" and allow advertising of prescription drugs and alcohol in online services and on TV.

The tax service and the Bank of Russia, however, do not support the abolition of currency control for IT and the reduction of VAT for online cinemas, the Ministry of Health and the Antimonopoly Service object to the lifting of restrictions on advertising drugs, the newspaper points out with reference to the reviews of departments.

The deduction of the "tax on Google" will whitewash the market and keep IT companies in Russia, said Karen Ghazaryan, an analyst at the Russian Association of Electronic Communications.^[15]

The Ministry of Digital Development of Digital Industry supported the division of criteria for software developers applying for preferences in public procurement and preferential VAT

At the end of October 2020, it became known about the proposal of the Internet Initiatives Development Fund (IIDF) to divide the requirements for software developers applying for preferences in public procurement and for maintaining VAT benefits as part of the "tax maneuver." The Ministry of Digital Development and IT-Business supported this idea, the relevant regulatory legal acts were prepared, said the director of the fund Kirill Varlamov. Read more here.

The Ministry of Digital Development is preparing a package of support measures for creators of Internet content

At the end of September 2020, it became known that the Ministry of Digital Development will support content producers for the Runet. According to the head of the department Maksut Shadayev, the new initiative will be included in the second package of support for the IT industry.

We are preparing a second package of measures to support our industry. And there one of the measures concerns stimulating the production of precisely Russian content for the Internet audience, - said Shadayev on the air of the RTVI TV channel. What specific support mechanisms are in question, he did not say.

According to the minister, after content producers can "feel confident in our audience," it is possible to export it abroad.

Earlier, Maksut Shadayev said that a new package of support for the domestic technology industry could be presented in mid or late October 2020.

Shadayev told TASS that Russian IT services can be exempted from marketing expenses abroad as part of the implementation of the second package of measures to support the industry from the Government of the Russian Federation.

At the end of August 2020, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko said that the Russian government plans to prepare a second package of legislative measures to support the IT industry, which will be aimed at protecting the interests of Russian manufacturers. He then refrained from providing any details.

The first package of support for the IT industry, approved by Russian President Vladimir Putin, was met with approval by the IT community, but concerns were also expressed about the lack of measures, as well as that they could not be used by those to whom they are intended.

If somewhere is gone, then somewhere else will arrive and vice versa, this principle is held under different names at school. In his speech, Vladimir Putin spoke about an integrated tax maneuver for the IT industry. In response to Vladimir Putin's proposals to reduce the income tax rate for IT companies from 20% to 3%, the Ministry of Digital Development immediately put forward a proposal to abolish preferential VAT for the sale of exclusive rights to software and rights to use it under a license - just in order to compensate for lost budget revenues, - said Georgy Lagoda, Deputy General Director of Software Product Group of Companies.[16]

The Russian government has prepared new concessions for IT and telecom companies

In early September 2020, it became known about the plan prepared by the Government of the Russian Federation to achieve the national development goals of Russia until 2024 and for the planning period until 2030. Among other things, the document, developed on behalf of President Vladimir Putin, refers to concessions for IT and telecommunications companies.

According to RBC, the government offers the following indulgences:

• establish a deferral until October 30, 2022 to require the mandatory transfer of servers on which personal data of Russians are stored to the country;
• suspend until September 2022 the requirement of the "Spring Law" on an annual increase of 15% in the capacity of technical means for storing Internet traffic, abandon the requirement to store heavy content/video traffic;
• provide holidays in 2020 to pay rent for state real estate facilities to accommodate communication infrastructure;

ensure the access of telecom operators and data centers to the wholesale electricity market, etc.

Representatives of telecom operators interviewed by the publication positively assessed the measures discussed within the framework of the plan for national development goals. So, MTS in said that the initiatives will help companies save a lot of money. "" VimpelCom considers it necessary to take system measures aimed at optimizing traffic storage requirements and reducing the cost of building and operating communication networks.

According to Konstantin Bochkarev, a lawyer in the field of personal data, a large number of companies have made efforts to organize the storage of data of Russians in Russia, primarily those who work with government customers, such as SAP and Microsoft. But of the large services that work with consumers, including Google, Facebook and Twitter, no one has publicly reported on the transfer of servers to Russia - it is costly and technically difficult, and Russia is not the main market for them, he explained.^[17]

Ministry of Communications: Russia headed for the creation of unprecedented conditions for IT companies

Deputy Head of the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications Maxim Parshin during the meeting of the Ministers of Digital Development of the G20 countries, which took place on July 23, 2020, announced a new course on information technology taken by Russia.

Russia has headed for creating unprecedented conditions for IT companies, thus emphasizing the priority importance of the digital technology industry, Parshin said.

According to him, in the near future the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation will become one of the most attractive in the world for the development of the IT industry, and this should be facilitated by the tax maneuver introduced in it.

Also, the Deputy Minister outlined the priority topics for Russia, which were recorded in the G20 International Ministerial Declaration adopted in 2020. First of all, these are issues of protecting the rights of consumers of digital services and the safety of personal data.

In his speech, Maxim Parshin emphasized the importance of recognizing the role of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in building confidence and security in the use of digital technologies.

According to TASS the press service of the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications, the department plans to bring to one of the G-20 meetings 2021 year the issue of improving the international working conditions of IT companies.

The discussion was attended by the ministers responsible for the digital economy,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, and Great Britain France Spain Canada USA Japan Italy Saudi Arabia Germany Australia, Mexico Brazil China India as well as Indonesia Turkey Argentina South Korea REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA representatives, the Organization for European Union Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and ITU. Due to restrictions due to the spread of the new infection, the event coronavirus was held in a remote format, the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications noted. Maxim Parshin^[18] to^[19]

Mishustin: We will double the demand for Russian software

On July 22, 2020, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin announced the government's plans to double the demand for Russian software.

We are going to double the demand for Russian software products and services, and create conditions for the emergence of about a thousand new Russian startups. This is what we focus on, - said the head of the prime minister, answering questions from deputies in the State Duma after the report on the work of the government.

He also noted that within the framework of the IT industry development strategy, it is planned to increase the number of specialists working in it by 1.5 times.

During his speech, Mishustin stressed that the IT-Business not badly affected by the pandemic. However, IT companies asked the Ministry of Communications to include the industry in the list of industries most affected by the pandemic and the crisis. In a letter, Nikolai Komlev, executive director of the Association of Computer and Information Technology Enterprises, said that in the context of the crisis, the IT industry was one of the first to suffer due to a decrease in the purchasing power of customers and their costs for non-core activities.

We implement the IT maneuver for a very important task - if one of the young people, no matter young or not young, creates a technology that, in principle, is sold or exported to the West, then very quickly these people, the owners of this technology, end up in the West itself, "he said.

Mishustin explained that it is simply unprofitable for specialists to conduct their activities according to a simple criterion - it is cheaper there if they become non-residents of Russia and implement their software developments there.

Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin noted the important role of the tax maneuver in the IT sphere in order to double the demand for Russian software products and services and create conditions for the emergence of about 1,000 new Russian IT startups.^[20]

The government has changed the rules for issuing subsidies for the promotion of Russian IT products abroad. The fastest have the advantage

The government approved changes to the rules for the distribution of subsidies for the promotion of exports of cinema and IT products. The corresponding decree was posted on the government website on July 19, 2020. The funds are allocated within the framework of the federal project "Export of Services" of the national project "International Cooperation and Export" implemented by the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade for the promotion, certification and adaptation of Russian products abroad.

Financing is also provided through the Ministry of Economic Development, which acts as the recipient of federal budget funds to support projects to increase competitiveness and increase sales in foreign markets.

The initial rules for the distribution of subsidies were approved by a government decree of December 5, 2019. Then it did not indicate in what proportion funds will be distributed between industries for projects to increase competitiveness. Now the government has clarified this point: up to 70% of state support funds will be directed to projects in the field of cinema and animation, up to 30% - to IT products. It is understood in the document as programs for electronic computers and databases produced in Russia.

For one project to increase competitiveness and increase the volume of sales of products in foreign markets, a subsidy can be directed in an amount not exceeding 30% of the total budget allocated by the Ministry of Economic Development for subsidies. At the same time, if initially subsidies were provided to projects with a implementation period of up to five years, now they will be received by projects for a period of up to two years.

Also, initially, for promotion - advertising, legal support of export transactions, marketing research of foreign markets - projects were supposed to provide funds in the amount of no more than 80% of the total amount of subsidies allocated, now - no more than 50%.

Among other costs for which the received funds can be directed, according to last year's decree:

• Design and interface of IT products
• development of documentation for IT products, including technical, user manuals, license agreements;
• registration and renewal of product trademarks in foreign markets, including payment of duties, services of patent attorneys.
• certification of products in foreign markets.

The selection of applicants for subsidies takes place at least once a year. To obtain, an organization must meet several requirements:

• works for at least 3 years;

• its export revenue from sales of products in the year preceding the year of granting the subsidy is at least 7 million rubles and (or) the amount of payments for the use of the results of intellectual activity is at least 1 million rubles;

• its project to improve the competitiveness of products was approved (signed) by the head or authorized person.

At the same time, the allocated subsidies do not exceed 20% of the total planned volume of the company's export revenue from the sale of IT products.

The results of the project, to which subsidies are allocated, should be:

• bringing the product to foreign markets;
• growth of total sales volume;
• increase in the volume of exports of products.

Assistance in the development of the IT industry will weaken Russia's dependence on oil - Siluanov

The development of the IT industry will help Russia depend less on oil. On July 16, 2020, the Minister of Finance of the Russian Federation Anton Siluanov at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers.

Today, economic activity is increasingly moving into online mode, we hope that the IT industry will be a driver of economic development. The development of this sector will reduce the "oil" dependence of our economy on energy resources, "he said at a meeting at which amendments to the legislation necessary to conduct a tax maneuver in the IT market were considered.

Despite the fact that the authorities are convinced that oil will remain the main energy resource for another 50-70 years, its importance will gradually decrease. According to Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin, in the future the oil industry will cease to be the main source of income for Russia.

The Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation has prepared amendments to tax legislation for a tax maneuver in the IT industry. The corresponding bill, according to Siluanov, will create a favorable environment for the intensive development of the IT industry and form the resources of technology companies to invest in new projects. As a result, new jobs will appear, business will be interested in working white, the cost of digital developments for consumers will decrease, he stressed.

It is noted that the proposed draft law tax conditions should become one of the most comfortable in the world and will ensure the competitiveness of Russian companies in the international market.

According to Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin at a meeting with ministers, the indefinite measures to support the IT industry proposed by Russian President Vladimir Putin will ensure the lowest tax rates in the world. Such a tax maneuver is designed to stop the emigration, physically or infrastructurally, of domestic entrepreneurs.^[21]

Mishustin called new measures to support the IT industry at a meeting with 1C, Kaspersky and others

Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin announced a number of new support measures that will be provided to the IT industry. Market players voiced their views on his further support. The meeting of the head of government with representatives of IT companies took place on July 9, 2020.

Existing and new IT support measures

Speaking about measures to support the IT industry, the Prime Minister first drew attention to those that had already been announced earlier:

• Lowering the premium rate from 14% to 7.6%;

• Reduction of income tax from 20% to 3%.

This benefit is planned to be extended, today we made this decision to design centers in the field of micro- and radio electronics. I really hope that this will make Russian jurisdiction more attractive for companies that successfully operate in the global IT market. Benefits will be provided to Russian companies, 90% of whose revenues come from the implementation of software and services for its development and support, as well as cloud services. At the same time, the existing value added tax benefits will apply to the implementation of rights to use software products, which will be included in a special register of software, including the SaaS cloud model, - said Mikhail Mishustin.

The Prime Minister also spoke about the support measures that the IT industry will soon receive:

• programs of digital transformation of companies with state participation and their subsidiaries, providing for the priority use of domestic software solutions, which will be approved by the government commission on digital development;
• creation of a unified technological platform for the development of information systems of authorities;

It is open for embedding Russian software products and it is necessary to limit development at the budgetary expense of new platforms, if there are corresponding similar ready-made solutions on the market. In this case, we will encourage their use by allocating funds to end consumers and encouraging competition between the providers of these solutions. For this, a mandatory examination and coordination of the architecture of the systems being created will be introduced, - said Mikhail Mishustin.

• Providing Russian IT companies with grants for new developments in the amount of up to 250 million rubles per year, but not more than 50% of the expenses of such organizations;

This year, grants can cover 80% of the costs of developing and releasing new products due to coronavirus infection. The corresponding government decree has already been signed, - said Mikhail Mishustin.

For the provision of grants, according to the Prime Minister, the Digital Economy national program provides for the allocation of 20 billion rubles until 2024.

• Grants to start-ups to develop prototypes of new products and bring them to market;

The allocation of both those and other grants, according to the head of government, will take into account the prospects and needs of the market within the framework of state and industry digital transformation programs.

• Implementation of various acceleration programs for IT developers;

• Connecting Russian companies to the e-government infrastructure and embedding its services in their ecosystems.

For example, marketplaces, recruiting portals and private announcement portals will be able to authorize their users using a single identification and authentication system. This will significantly increase confidence in the information posted. Users of the public services portal will also be able to certify various documents with an electronic digital signature. With the permission of a specific person on the portal of public services, business can open access to his personal data - said Mikhail Mishustin.

• An almost 2.5-fold increase in the control figures for admission to universities in IT specialties - from 50 thousand in 2020 to 120 thousand in 2024, as well as providing training for highly qualified IT architects.

To implement these measures, according to Mikhail Mishustin, funds will be allocated from the Digital Economy national program.

• Co-financing the expenses of both citizens and companies for the passage of accelerated training programs and the formation of digital competencies.

All of these measures, according to Mikhail Mishustin, will allow by 2024 to increase the number of people employed in the IT industry by 50%, increase the demand for Russian software products and services in the domestic and foreign markets by 2, as well as stimulate the emergence of more than 1 thousand new promising startups.

Market Player Offerings

During the meeting with the Prime Minister, the leaders of a number of IT companies voiced their ideas on further support for the industry. Thus, Boris Nuraliev noted that universities need to increase up to 60 thousand admissions for budget places in 2020, and in 2021 - up to 80 thousand in accordance with the national program "Digital Economy." The achievement by universities of these admission indicators requires support from the state, since the plans for 2021 are only 70 thousand.

In addition, the head of "1C" proposed creating digital departments in universities by analogy with the military and reorganizing the bachelor's training program: to increase the share of internships in student education, starting from year 3, and in the training program of the first two courses - special disciplines and mathematics. Another proposal of the head of 1C was to exempt applicants wishing to receive an IT specialty from the entrance exam in physics in order to give them the opportunity to have a higher level of knowledge in the field of information technology.

Boris Dobrodeev asked the Prime Minister to support the implementation of solutions in schools, co-financing additional vocational education for industry companies, as well as choose a market player whose products would act as a guideline for developers of applications for government services.

Dmitry Eremeev drew the attention of the head of government to the need to extend benefits to insurance premiums and income tax to Russian companies operating in international markets engaged in the sale of services and services abroad, as well as their advertising. In addition, according to Eremeev, it is necessary to resolve the issue related to the so-called "personal income tax agent."

When a Russian company makes operations, in particular payments - for example, payments to individuals, it is an agent for the payment of personal income tax. While a foreign company in this case is not an agent for the payment of personal income tax and actually pays a little more, - explained Eremeev.

Also, according to him, international companies should be given the opportunity to open accounts in Russia without unnecessary effort for various operations.

Evgeny Kaspersky proposed to solve the problem with incoming VAT.

Ilya Sachkov said that "in the field of VAT, I would like the list of domestic software to be checked to the ultimate beneficiaries on the ownership of foreign companies," adding that this is relevant specifically for the field of information security. In addition, he proposed extending VAT benefits to IT services, extending the 7% benefit to all residents of Skolkovo and Innopolis, as well as improving currency control and intellectual property protection. Another proposal is to help the Russian Export Center issue loans to customers for large infrastructure projects. In addition, according to Sachkov, it is necessary that in Russia, starting from school, additional professional training in the field of IT and create clusters on the basis of leading technical universities with business participation.

Dmitry Dyrmovsky noted the need to create industry AI transformation programs, where the key element would be guidelines for the implementation of solutions based on artificial intelligence. In addition, in his opinion, for the development of AI, "specialized financial instruments are needed that would be targeted to be adapted for FNIV, private business, etc.," as well as the creation of impersonal databases for training AI with the accompanying regulation necessary for this.

Putin approved new instructions to support the IT industry

Russia Vladimir Putin In early July 2020, the President approved the list of instructions following a meeting on the development of information and communication, which took place on June 10, 2020. The list was posted on the Kremlin website.

List of assignments

The government was instructed until August 3, 2020 to work out issues related to:

• Increasing purchases of domestic software and the share of its use by public authorities and organizations with state participation in 2020 and 2021. This issue is required to support the demand for domestic products and services of the information and communication technology industry;

• Improving the legal framework to ensure sustainable development and competitiveness of organizations in the information and communication technology industry, including taking into account leading international practices;

• Identification of certain areas of ICT, activities within which are largely related to the sale of goods and services to affected sectors of the Russian economy, including through the creation of separate codes in the All-Russian Classifier of Economic Activities. It is necessary to work out this issue in order to make a decision on including them in the list of sectors of the Russian economy most affected by the worsening situation as a result of the spread of a new coronavirus infection (COVID-19);

• Support the acquisition and/or implementation of software of domestic production by small and medium-sized businesses;

• Development of a set of measures to promote the introduction of innovative software, including based on artificial intelligence technologies, into the activities of medical organizations;

• Expanding measures to support innovative ICT technology startups provided by development institutions;

• Providing organizations that are data center operators with preferential access to the electricity and power market;

• Ensuring non-discriminatory access of telecom operators to the infrastructure of apartment buildings for the placement of networks and telecommunication facilities. The study of this issue is necessary to increase competition and expand the supply of telecom operators in the market for providing access services to the Internet to the owners of premises of apartment buildings;

• Inclusion of conditions on mandatory equipment of apartment buildings under construction, reconstructed or subject to major repairs with modern broadband Internet access infrastructure;

• Use a single portal of state and municipal services to organize the exchange between employees and employers of electronic documents related to the regulation of labor relations and information about labor activity.

Mikhail Mishustin has been appointed responsible for the execution of this order.

and

In addition, the government was instructed to take "exhaustive measures to approve a separate federal project" Artificial Intelligence "by August 31, 2020, providing the necessary funding" from the federal budget, including the funds of the national program "Digital Economy of the Russian Federation." Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has also been appointed responsible for the execution of the order.

And the State Duma, together with the government, must until July 26, 2020 ensure the adoption of the federal law "On experimental legal regimes in the field of digital innovation in the Russian Federation." The Chairman of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin and Mikhail Mishustin were appointed responsible for the execution of the order.

Vladimir Putin voiced some of the listed instructions during the meeting itself on June 10. They concerned measures to support the demand for products of domestic IT companies, the federal law "On experimental legal regimes in the field of digital innovation in the Russian Federation," the federal project "Artificial Intelligence," and the study of the possibility of providing operators of data centers with preferential access to the electric energy and power market.

The most resonant instruction, which the head of state gave during the meeting on June 10, concerns the elaboration of a decision on a comprehensive tax maneuver in the field of IT. After that, on June 23, during a televised address to Russian citizens, he proposed to reduce the rate of insurance premiums for IT companies from 14% to 7.6%, and the income tax rate from 20% to 3%. At the same time, Putin noted that these measures should not be temporary, but indefinite.

At a meeting on June 10, Vladimir Putin said that in Russia as a whole, it is necessary to create conditions "for the accelerated development and introduction of domestic technologies in the field of communications and IT, which will serve as the basis for creating high-quality, demanded products and services." He also noted the importance of taking into account the difficulties faced by both the IT industry itself and the Russian economy as a whole.

First of all, it may be a forced reduction in real sector spending on innovation, software and related services. Due to objective financial and economic restrictions - we see this, even in numbers you can count - many simply will not have enough resources for such development programs, - stated Vladimir Putin.

As a key for the development of the field of communications and IT, he noted the issue of training professional personnel. It is the specialists, their knowledge and experience, in his opinion, determine the competitiveness of Russian companies, the success of domestic products and developments on the market.

We all know that the field of information technology is characterized by very high mobility of employees. And global. But this does not mean that it is necessary, as in previous times, to grab and not let go. On the contrary, it is necessary to create open, attractive competitive conditions for the work and implementation of ideas and here, here, in Russia. Form incentives to preserve the realization of the potential of domestic software developers, technologies in the field of communication. Attract professionals, promising young people from other countries, - said Vladimir Putin.

The meeting was attended by:

• Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin;
• First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov;
• Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko;
• the head of the presidential administration, Anton Vaino;
• First Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Sergey Kiriyenko;
• presidential aide Maxim Oreshkin;
• Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov;
• Finance Minister Anton Siluanov;
• Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media Maksut Shadayev;
• Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Oleg Bocharov;
• Governor of the Moscow Region, head of the working group of the State Council in the direction of "Communications, Communications, Digital Economy" Andrei Vorobyov;
• President and Chairman of the Board of Sberbank German Gref;
• Boris Dobrodeev, General Director of Mail.Ru Group;
• managing director of the Yandex group of companies Tigran Khudaverdyan;
• InfoWatch CEO Natalya Kasperskaya;
• Rostelecom President Mikhail Oseevsky;
• Director of 1C Boris Nuraliev;
• General Director of Platform Third Opinion Anna Meshcheryakova;
• Valentin Makarov, President of the Non-Profit Partnership of Software Developers Russoft;
• MegaFon CEO Gevork Vermishyan;
• President, Chairman of the Board of MTS Aleksei Kornya;
• General Director of VimpelCom Alexander Torbakhov.

Market Player Offerings

During a meeting with President Vladimir Putin on June 10, 2020, some of the company representatives voiced their views on supporting the IT industry and communications.

Thus, Valentin Makarov drew the attention of the head of state to the following support measures necessary for the IT industry:

• Exemption from insurance premiums of IT companies until the end of 2020;
• Provision of targeted support measures for IT companies serving the industries most affected by the pandemic;
• Reduction of insurance premiums for IT companies to 7.5% and indefinite extension of benefits for them for these premiums after 2023;
• VAT exemption of service IT companies;
• Reduction of income tax to 2% for IT companies exporting software, as well as exemption from VAT of foreign marketing costs;
• Accelerating the passage of the Digital Sandboxes Bill and the overall development of digital regulation.

Tigran Khudaverdyan also supported the idea of ​ ​ improving such regulation.

Boris Dobrodeev supported the idea of ​ ​ Valentin Makarov to support service IT companies and noted the need to take the measures developed Mail.ru.Group the package to equalize the regulatory tax regime for the gaming industry and, in general, "high-tech companies that have achieved success in the international arena."

Mikhail Oseevsky drew the attention of the president to the need to develop data centers.

Based on the scale of this business in Russia, there is a need to give us the opportunity to enter the wholesale electricity market. We applied to the government with such an initiative, we would ask to support this appeal, - said Mikhail Oseevsky.

As another necessary initiative, he noted the improvement of legislation regulating remote work.

Obviously, not only the format when a person works remotely all the time will be in demand, but also mixed remote work when part of the time is spent in the office. Such a mechanism is not provided for by law. In this regard, a change in the interaction between the employee and the employer will be required, since the current legislation requires the signing of a large number of different documents both in the field of labor protection and various notifications, - said Mikhail Oseevsky.

He also noted the need to translate part of such document flow into electronic form - to support the possibility of remote work.

It seems to us that it would be advisable to use a single portal of public services for this, where more than 100 million people have already been registered, their accounts are available and such processes could be organized quite easily, quickly. In the coming days, the proposal of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs will be sent to the government. We ask them to consider and support, - said Mikhail Oseevsky.

In addition, he stated the need to continue supporting startups by both state institutions and private companies.

Natalia Kasperskaya outlined the OKVD problem in the IT industry. According to her, she has a very wide OKVD.

Anything passes through 62 OKVDs. A huge number of companies. It turns out that a large industry. Perhaps when this OKVD was done, the industry was small, the situation was different, - said Natalya Kasperskaya.

She suggested that the president narrow or break down the OKVD, which applies to software development.

We really have a lot of software development and some of our companies are really affected. We have companies that have a drop in revenue to 100%. It is very difficult for them to survive in these conditions and they, if this situation lasts for several more months, will be forced to go bankrupt. If you gave such permission to work out, clarify the OKVD for the software development industry and allocate those companies that could be recognized as victims, this would be a good help, "said Natalya Kasperskaya.

Letter of the Commercial and Industrial Board of Russia to the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications with proposals to support software developers

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) of Russia sent a letter to the Ministry of Communications, in which it announced the need to launch preferential credit programs for software developers. This was reported on June 16, 2020 by the TASS News Agency of Russia, referring to this letter signed by the head of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Sergei Katyrin and addressed to the Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation Maksut Shadayev.

To introduce special banking (credit) products for software companies, services providing services for the creation and maintenance of Internet projects, subject to lending secured by intellectual property, at a minimum percentage with a simplified procedure for providing borrowed funds, the document says.

The measures proposed by the CCI included the following:

• exemption of software manufacturers from income tax;
• exemption from payment of insurance premiums until January 1, 2021, followed by installments for two years;
• development of special rules of currency regulation and control for companies and self-employed in the field of IT with the establishment of a threshold value for revenue for their application;
• introduction of reduction coefficients of income tax, VAT for IT companies and self-employed citizens working under export contracts;
• development and launch of a program for promoting domestic IT services and companies to foreign markets;
• creation of high-tech parks in the regions for novice IT companies and self-employed in this area.
• simplifying the procedure for inclusion of software companies in the register of Russian programs for electronic computers and databases.

According to Sergei Katyrin, the voiced proposals of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry are aimed at preserving existing high-tech jobs and highly qualified specialists, to support and develop the industry as a whole.^[22]

Financial indicators of the ICT industry in Russia collapsed by 35%. For the meeting, Putin developed support measures

On May 15, 2020, the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications sent to the government information and reference materials on measures to support the ICT industry, prepared for a meeting with President Vladimir Putin.

On May 18, 2020, the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications also prepared and sent proposals to the Ministry of Economic Development to a national action plan to normalize business life, restore employment, citizens' incomes and economic growth in the context of the phased abolition of restrictions related to the spread of a new coronavirus infection.

Both letters were signed by Deputy Minister Maxim Parshin. TAdviser has reviewed the documents and retells their content.

Deterioration of the financial condition of the ICT industry

Based on the data of the Central Bank, the Ministry of Communications draws the government's attention to the deviation of the volume of incoming payments of ICT companies down from the "normal" level for four non-working weeks from March 30 to April 24. The indicators are as follows:

• in telecommunications: -35.3%;
• In the development of computer software (software), consulting services in this area and other related services: -34.8%;
• in the field of information technology: -26.9%;
• in the production of computers, electronic and optical products: -23.6%.

The Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications also notes the results that the consequences of the crisis due to the pandemic will lead to in the medium term.

Non-working days announced in Russia from March 30 to May 11, and a 30% reduction in the Russian software market will lead to a loss of opportunities for digital transformation of Russian industries, according to the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications. The reduction of personnel in IT companies to 50% and the termination of contracts sold in 10-20% of cases will lead to a decrease in the quality of services provided in digital remote format.

Non-payments for the work of companies under 50% of contracts and an increase in traffic on communication networks by 54-80% will, according to the ministry, lead to a decrease in the pace of software development and the development of digital infrastructure.

The emergency costs of telecom operators in the amount of the annual volume of planned investments and the emergence of additional (free) social obligations and costs in them will make it impossible for these companies to invest their own funds in the development of communication networks and infrastructure.

Necessary ICT support measures

The support measures requested for the ICT industry are divided by the Ministry of Communications into anti-crisis and systemic.

The Ministry includes the following anti-crisis measures to support the IT industry:

• cancellation by the end of 2020 of payment of insurance premiums to the payroll fund;
• deferral until the end of 2020 of payment of personal income tax (NDFL);
• Grant support through development institutions for developers of software solutions, as well as subsidizing demand;
• launch of a concessional lending program for IT organizations;
• reduction by the end of 2020 of the VAT rate to 0 percent on online education services, telemedicine and food delivery services.

The department considers the system measures to support the IT industry:

• Lowering the top profit tax bar for IT companies from 20% to 12%
• Elimination of Value Added Tax (VAT VAT) on development, modification software , and access services;
• extension of the preferential rate of insurance premiums (14%) on the payroll to a number of IT organizations;
• Ensure that legally relevant actions are taken using a cloud-based qualified electronic signature.

Anti-crisis measures to support the communications industry of the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications mean:

• deferral until the end of 2020 for taxes and fees for telecom operators;
• rental holidays until the end of 2020;
• suspension for 1 year of the norm on an annual 15% increase in the capacity of information storage equipment (TSNI);
• simplification of the procedure for importing radioelectronic equipment (RES) and high-frequency devices;
• cancellation by the end of 2020 of the mandatory re-registration of the RES in connection with the re-registration of licenses.

As a systematic measure to support the communications industry, the ministry notes:

• ensuring that telecom operators and data centers enter the wholesale electricity market.

The ministry lists the same measures in proposals sent on May 18 to the Ministry of Economic Development in a national action plan. However, these proposals included another 16 additional measures, taking into account the decisions taken at the meeting held on May 15, 2020 under the leadership of Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov.

Additional support measures have been provided for the IT industry, such as:

• Preferential VAT tax regime for the export of ICT solutions;
• Taxation of profits received by foreign tax residents from the provision of "digital services" in the Russian Federation;
• Introduction of tax agent function for foreign companies paying remuneration to Russian individuals;
• Reduction in the cost of duty-free import of goods purchased in foreign online stores;
• Exemption of Russian taxpayers from income tax in relation to income received from foreign sources as a result of activities in the field of IT;
• Clarification of the tax regime for income of individuals who are tax residents of the Russian Federation in terms of establishing the tax status of an individual, which excludes taxation of income from foreign sources;
• Addition of the list of industries most affected by the deterioration of the situation as a result of the spread of the new coronavirus infection by activities in the field of communication based on wired technologies and wireless technologies and activities in the IT sphere.

The following additional support measures have been identified for telecom operators:

• Creating conditions for telecom operators to implement the provision of data communication services to citizens free of charge and access to the Internet in Russia for the use of domestic socially significant Internet services;
• Concessional loans to telecom operators at a rate not higher than the refinancing rate of the Central Bank of Russia for investment projects for the construction and modernization of communication infrastructure, increasing the capacity of data centers;
• Granting telecom operators the rights to apply an investment tax deduction to calculate corporate income tax in the event of investments in the development of communications infrastructure, including the development of promising technologies;
• Suspension of account transactions as a mandatory unconditional measure - to make such decisions not automatically, but based on the results of an analysis of the financial situation of the taxpayer;
• Ensuring non-discriminatory access of telecom operators to the object of state and municipal property;
• State regulation of the fee charged by business entities for leasing power transmission line supports to telecom operators for communication;
• Simplification of access for operators to place communication networks to objects of common house ownership of apartment buildings in order to place communication networks to ensure the provision of communication services to residents;
• Definition of telecommunication infrastructure, including cable sewerage and in-house infrastructure as mandatory in the creation and/or reconstruction of apartment buildings, establishment of requirements for such infrastructure;
• Clarification of requirements to norms (standards) in the construction (repair/reconstruction) of federal roads and railways in the formation of the necessary infrastructure of power supply systems and communication lines.

Effects of ICT support measures

The Ministry of Communications speaks of the following effects, which will lead to measures to support the ICT industry:

• 146 thousand created/saved jobs in the IT industry by 2024, 1 million 694 thousand - in the economy as a whole;
• additional gross additional value (GVA) of IT industry products in the amount of 1 trillion 276 billion rubles in 2020-2024, the economy as a whole - in the amount of 7 trillion 459 billion rubles.

In addition, the ministry shows how measures to support the IT industry will affect the revenues of the federal budget and extrabudgetary funds. When they are provided in the second half of 2020, the revenues of the federal budget and extrabudgetary funds will decrease by 198.7 billion rubles. In particular, due to the relaxation of the IT industry on value added tax - by 83.7 billion rubles, on income tax - by 0.9 billion rubles, on personal income tax - by 65.1 billion rubles, social contributions - by 49.1 billion rubles.

However, in 2024, when providing measures to support the IT industry, the situation will be completely different. Revenues of the federal budget and extrabudgetary funds will increase by 344.6 billion rubles. Due to the relaxation of the IT industry on VAT, they will still decrease by 231.7 billion rubles, as well as thanks to income tax - by 4.7 billion rubles, but due to the relaxation of personal income tax and social contributions, they will increase by 27.5 billion rubles and 41.4 billion rubles, respectively.

Draft Presidential Instructions

The Ministry of Communications proposes to issue measures to support the ICT industry in the form of instructions from the president to a number of departments:

The Ministry of Finance of Russia, represented by Anton Siluanov, together with the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications, to submit draft federal laws providing for:

1. Cancellation of insurance premiums calculated from payments and other remuneration in favor of individuals by the end of 2020 for organizations included in the list of accredited companies operating in the field of information technology (hereinafter referred to as IT organizations);

2. Provision to IT organizations until the end of 2020 of a deferral of payment of personal income tax with a preferential repayment period for 3 years);

3. Reduction by the end of 2020 of the value added tax rate to 0% on online education services, telemedicine and online food delivery services.

The Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications of Russia, represented by Maksut Shadayev, together with the Ministry of Finance of Russia, the Bank of Russia and the state corporation "ВЭБ.РФ," to amend the passport of the federal project "Digital Technologies" of the national program "Digital Economy," providing for the optimization, taking into account the current economic situation, of existing tools to support projects for the development and implementation of domestic software that ensure the launch of mechanisms in the second quarter of 2020:

1. Issuance of preferential loans to IT organizations, including for the purpose of ensuring the fulfillment of obligations under the contracts being implemented (using the factoring mechanism), as well as for the launch of projects, related to the implementation of highly available domestic IT solutions;

2. Support Software Developers and Demand for the implementation of domestic solutions, including in the following areas:

• provision of social distancing;
• improving efficiency and stimulating the transition to remote work, study and leisure;
• increasing the availability of online employment;
• development of recommendation and communication services;
• development of online services and platforms;
• development of diagnostic, health monitoring and vaccination systems;
• increasing the availability of medical care by developing telemedicine.

The Ministry of Finance of Russia, represented by Anton Siluanov, together with the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications of Russia, to submit draft federal laws to the government of the Russian Federation in accordance with the established procedure, providing for telecom operators modernizing communication networks in order to expand the capacity of communication networks, as well as organizations operating in the field of providing computing power services:

1. Deferral until the end of 2020 for tax payments and fees (income tax, property tax of organizations and land tax, insurance premiums) for telecom operators and data processing centers that modernize communication networks in order to expand the capacity of communication networks;

2. Provision of rental holidays for facilities until the end of 2020 state and municipal property.

The Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications of Russia represented by Maksut Shadayev together with interested federal executive bodies to ensure (with the submission, if necessary, of draft acts to the Government of the Russian Federation) suspension for 1 year of the norm on the annual 15% increase in the capacity of technical means of information accumulation, established within the framework of the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of April 12, 2018 No. 445, and exclusion of video traffic from the calculation of the TSNI capacity (subject to the allocation of released funds for investment projects for the construction and (or) modernization of the network infrastructure).

The Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications of Russia, represented by Maksut Shadayev, together with interested federal executive bodies, shall ensure (with the submission of draft acts to the government of the Russian Federation, if necessary):

1. Simplification of the procedure for importing radio-electronic and high-frequency devices by submitting applications to the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia for licenses for the import of telecommunication equipment - radioelectronic means and high-frequency devices (RES and HF) - on the principle of "one window";

2. Extension until the end of 2020 of the RES registration period, in case of no change in the location coordinates and technical characteristics of the RES registered on the basis of permits for the use of radio frequencies, which are re-issued or extended during a special period (an application for re-registration of such RES must be submitted no later than 30 days after the end of the special period).

The Ministry of Finance of Russia, represented by Anton Siluanov, together with the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications of Russia, to submit in the prescribed manner to the government of the Russian Federation a draft federal law providing for:

1. Reduction in corporate income tax rate from 20 percent up to 12 percent for IT organizations, providing for the possibility by the laws of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation of reducing the tax rate to be credited to the budgets of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation to 0 percent;

2. IT organizations exempt from added tax cost of software and database development services, its adaptation and modification (reworking), as well as to provide access to such software.

The Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications of Russia, represented by Maksut Shadayev, together with interested federal executive bodies, to ensure and, if necessary, submit draft acts to the Government of the Russian Federation, providing for a change in the list of activities in the IT sphere, the implementation of which by the organization is the basis for providing it with tax benefits and preferences, specified in subparagraph 1.1 of paragraph 2 of Article 427 and paragraph 6 of Article 259 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, to complement these with cloud-based services, data analytics, and machine learning.

The Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications of Russia, represented by Maksut Shadayev, together with interested federal executive bodies, submit to the Government of the Russian Federation a draft act on conducting an experiment providing for the possibility of legally significant actions by organizations, including concluding contracts, including on a single portal of state and municipal services (functions), when using cloud qualified electronic signatures obtained remotely after authorization through a single identification and authentication system and a single biometric system.

The Ministry of Energy of Russia, represented by Adeksandra Novak, will ensure that telecom operators and organizations operating in the field of providing computing power services enter the wholesale electricity market, including by including a mobile radiotelephone network in the list of unified technologically indivisible energy facilities for the purpose of combining energy-consuming equipment of mobile radiotelephone networks into single groups of supply points.

The Ministry of Communications and ВЭБ.РФ presented new measures of state support for the IT industry

On May 8, 2020, it became known about the measures to support the IT industry, which were proposed by the Ministry of Communications and Mass Media and ВЭБ.РФ. One of the initiatives is the provision of preferential loans to buyers of Russian IT equipment and software at a rate of 1-5% in the amount of 25 million to 10 billion rubles. At the same time, the state is ready to subsidize 90% of the key loan rate.

It is also proposed to introduce a factoring mechanism with a financing period of up to a year to support IT companies. Market participants commented on the proposed support measures to Kommersant.

25 million rubles is already a major project, says Renat Lashin, executive director of the Association of Software Product Developers (ARPP) Domestic Software. In his opinion, federal and regional authorities or large businesses, for example, state corporations, will be able to take advantage of the measures. ARPP considers it necessary to indicate in the proposals the possibility of concessional lending not only to customers, but also to developers of domestic solutions.

Executive Director of Akronis Infozashchita Elena Bocherova also sees a positive impact in the initiatives of the Ministry of Communications and ВЭБ.РФ, but it is stipulated that they will improve the position of the industry if accompanying changes to the Tax Code and other regulatory documents are adopted that will make them really available to IT companies and their customers.

The Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications believes that the IT industry may be unprofitable as early as the second quarter of 2020, if the support measures developed by the department are not taken.

The Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications believes that, subject to the implementation of support measures, additional funds will appear that will be used to invest in fixed assets, preserve 2020 and increase the average number of industry workers from 2021 while maintaining a decent level of remuneration, as well as stimulate demand by reducing prices for industry products.^[23]

The Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media proposed to the government 15 measures of support of the ICT industry

On April 23, 2020, the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications sent proposals to Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and his deputy Dmitry Chernyshenko on measures to support the ICT industry amid the worsening situation caused by the spread of coronavirus in the country. TAdviser has read the ministry's letter.

The Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications, together with specialized industry associations, has prepared a package of priority measures that are aimed both at supporting companies in a crisis and at developing services - 10 anti-crisis measures, and at stimulating their accelerated development - 5 systemic measures, the letter says.

The proposals of the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications included the ideas of such organizations as:

• Association of Computer and Information Technology Enterprises (APKIT);
• Association of Software Developers "Domestic Software";
• Non-profit partnership of developers of professional ammo support "Russoft."

The list of anti-crisis measures to support information technologies of the Ministry of Communications includes the following:

• cancellation of payment of insurance premiums to the wage fund by the end of 2020;
• deferred payment of personal income tax until the end of 2020 with preferential repayment for 3 years;
• reducing the VAT rate to 0 percent on online education services, telemedicine, food delivery services until the end of 2020;
• launch of a concessional lending program for IT organizations that occupy leading positions, including using the factoring mechanism, as well as organizations of the real sector of the economy implementing domestic solutions;
• Grant support through development institutions for developers of software solutions, as well as subsidizing demand for such solutions in priority areas, including social distancing, remote work, study, leisure, online employment, advisory and communication services, telemedicine.

Among the five anti-crisis measures to support the communications sector, the Ministry of Communications, in particular, proposes to introduce a deferral for income tax, property tax of organizations, land tax, as well as insurance premiums for telecom operators modernizing and expanding the capacity of communication networks, as well as rental holidays for objects state and municipal property until the end of 2020.

As measures aimed at the advanced development of the ICT industry, the Ministry of Communications proposes the following:

• reduction of the upper income tax bar for ICT companies from 20% to 12% with the possibility of making decisions by the regions on its further reduction;
• elimination of VAT on services for development and modification of software and databases, as well as for providing access to them;
• Extending 14% preferential rates to pay premiums to cloud-based organizations, data analytics, and machine learning
• ensuring the implementation of legally significant actions, including the conclusion of contracts, using a cloud qualified electronic signature for remote identification and authentication through the ESIA and the Unified Biometric System;
• ensuring that telecom operators and processing centers enter the wholesale electricity market.

In an explanatory note to the proposed support measures, the Ministry of Communications notes that the largest customers have either already announced a reduction in previously announced investment budgets, including ICT, by an average of 20%, or are considering the possibility of taking such measures in the near future.

At the same time, the situation is complicated by the fact that telecom operators and Internet companies bear high material costs for fulfilling the requirements of the current legislation in terms of solving problems of countering terrorism, protecting public safety, ensuring the sustainable operation of the Internet, providing citizens with access to it free of charge for the use of domestic socially significant information resources within the framework of the project "Accessible Internet," - notes the Ministry of Communications.

According to industry associations, the situation with non-payments for work performed by IT companies is also aggravated - approximately in the case of 50% of contracts. In addition, the termination of contracts being implemented is increasingly taking place - in 10-20% of cases, the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications says.

According to forecast estimates of industry representatives, under an unfavorable scenario for the development of the current situation and without taking support measures, the reduction in the Russian market for software and services for its development may reach about 30%, which will reduce the revenue of IT companies from 1.2 trillion rubles to 700-800 billion rubles. Taking into account that the wage fund is about 80% of the expenses of IT companies, the decline in the industry will lead to a reduction in personnel, and in a number of areas up to 50%, a decrease in the real incomes of the remaining IT specialists, which in the medium term can lead to the outflow of the most qualified IT specialists abroad, - the Ministry of Communications draws attention.

IT companies asked the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications to allow them to cut salaries for employees

The Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation Maksut Shadayev and the Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, IT and Communications Alexander Khinshtein held a meeting at which they discussed with the industry additional measures to support the IT sphere in the context of the spread of COVID-19. This was reported by the Ministry of Communications on April 14. The Ministry^[24].

Among the support measures offered by the associations "Domestic Software," Russoft, APKIT and the largest companies in the industry, the following are highlighted as the most priority:

• the establishment until the end of 2020 of a deferral for the payment of personal income tax and the zeroing of all insurance premiums from the wage fund for personnel of IT companies;

• giving the employer the right to temporarily reduce employees' salaries until the end of 2020 (by no more than 20%), or to release employees, in agreement with them, on forced leave, taking into account a decrease in their wages by 50%;

• reducing the VAT rate on some IT activities that are most in demand during the spread of the new coronavirus infection;

• ensuring the possibility of carrying out legally significant actions using the account of the public services portal;

• increasing the value of the maximum turnover of the company for the application of a simplified taxation system;

• up to 50% increase in the share of advance payments to IT organizations performing contracts for the supply of goods, works and services for state needs.

The deputy head of the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications Maxim Parshin reported on the support measures developed by the ministry within the framework of the federal project "Digital Technologies" of the national program "Digital Economy." He noted that the department advocates the development and optimization, taking into account the current economic situation, of existing tools to support projects for the development and implementation of domestic software, providing for:

• issuance of preferential loans to IT organizations for the purpose of paying salaries, compensation for cash gaps and rent, completion of projects being implemented (using the factoring mechanism);

• Support for software developers and demand for implementation of domestic solutions.

Support operators organize the selection of projects based on weekly collection, evaluation of applications and summing up. Winning companies will also receive advance payments for the implementation of projects. The values ​ ​ of mandatory extra-budgetary co-financing of projects will be revised from the current 50% to 20%.

These funds will be allocated for the development and implementation of Russian solutions in the following areas:

• ensuring social distancing;

• improving efficiency and stimulating the transition to remote work, study and leisure;

• increasing the availability of online employment;

• development of recommendation and communication services;

• development of online services and platforms;

• development of diagnostic, health monitoring and vaccination systems;

• higher availability of medical care by developing telemedicine.

Following the discussion, it was decided that the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications will form final proposals and send a corresponding report to the government of the Russian Federation.

IT companies asked the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications to include the industry in the list of the most affected by coronavirus

Association of Computer and Information Technology Enterprises (APKiT) asked to Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media include the IT industry in the list of industries most affected by the pandemic coronavirus COVID-19 and the economic crisis. This is stated in a letter from the executive director of the APKiT sent to Nikolay Komlev the head of the ministry Maksutu Shadayev on March 27, 2020.

According to Komlev, during the crisis, the IT industry suffers one of the first, since the purchasing power of customers and their expenses for non-core activities are reduced. The decline in the industry will lead to an outflow of highly qualified programmers from Russia, a reduction in the possibilities of digital transformation of the economy, a decrease in the quality of digital services, in particular, state ones, the executive director of the association explained.

Komlev added that it is not known how long the crisis will drag on, but many IT organizations will not be able to hold out for long without additional support measures. 

Among other support measures proposed by the Agro-Industrial Complex:

• postponement of the execution of the law on the pre-installation of domestic software on smartphones and computers from July 1, 2020 to January 1, 2021;
• suspension (until the end of the epidemic or the end of 2020) of the development, discussion and adoption of bills and amendments to laws "worsening the situation of the IT industry" (in particular, we are talking about expanding the powers of the FAS to the results of intellectual activity);
• the introduction of a green corridor for the transportation of foreign goods (primarily from Southeast Asia) necessary for the IT industry (in particular, to ensure the remote operation of organizations);
• cancellation of fines and penalties for late deliveries under contracts "caused by force majeure circumstances";

Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed until April 1, 2020 to determine the list of industries that were most affected by the spread of a new type of coronavirus.^[25]

Russian software manufacturers asked for 3% cashback for software exports

On February 1, 2020, it became known about the letter that Russoft sent to the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications and which refers to the proposed measures to support Russian software manufacturers. In particular, companies are asked to introduce cashback in the form of subsidies in the amount of 3% for the export of software, which, according to the operating director of Positive Technologies Maxim Pustovoy, will allow them to increase their net profit.

Also, the developers propose to make an indefinite benefit for insurance premiums - they pay 14% of the wage bill instead of 30%, like other companies. For IT companies, the main expense is staff salaries and related payments, explains Vladimir Rubanov, member of the Russoft board.

The lack of benefits will affect the profitability and survival of software developers, believes the head of the company "BASEALT" Alexey Smirnov.

Another proposal of Russoft is to abolish VAT on software development services in order to stimulate the digital transformation of public and private organizations and enterprises, the development of the domestic IT services market, as well as to discourage insourcing.

According to experts, if these proposals are implemented, they will support high salaries of developers and prevent a "brain drain" abroad, will have a positive effect on the financial results of IT companies.

However, in their opinion, the proposed benefits will contribute to the growth of companies already operating in the market, but are unlikely to stimulate the emergence of new players.

The proposals will contribute to the development of existing companies, but will not attract new ones to the market, says Aleksei Solovyov, founder of the investment company A. Partners. According to him, the "barriers of entry" are rather in the technological and organizational plane.^[26]

2018

The government proposed to subsidize the development of special software

Ministry of Industry and Trade Russia proposed introducing subsidies for the development software used in the production of high-tech industrial products. On October 31, 2018, the corresponding document was posted on the portal of regulatory legal acts.

Developers are invited to return from the budget 50% of the incurred and documented costs of developing digital platforms and software products in order to create and (or) develop the production of high-tech industrial products.

As a result, the authors of the project believe, domestic digital platforms and software products competitive in global markets will be developed in the field of digital design, testing, production, life cycle management and post-sales product maintenance, which will make it possible to replace foreign solutions (more expensive, as the authors of the bill indicate) and ensure the necessary level of information security of the Russian industry.

In addition to the economic effect, the authors of the bill expect to solve "a number of important tasks to meet the needs of the economy in high-quality industrial goods as a result of a decrease in the time for their development and production, and launch on the market.

State support for the development of software products can only be welcomed both in the context and import substitution outside it, - said the Dmitry Gvozdev general director of the company. " Information Technology of the Future- In the set with the priority of domestic products state procurements , this can really help, however, in order to achieve the stated goals, comprehensive measures of state support are important. Such, for example, as Belarus the preferential regime in force in the Republic for high-tech developers - "High-Tech Park," whose residents are exempted from all corporate taxes. A good example is where India government it allocates huge funds for the development of domestic IT infrastructures and R&D.

By November 14, 2018, the public discussion of the document is expected to end, and the planned date for the entry into force of the draft regulatory act is December 2018. You can get acquainted with the bill npa = 85432 here.

St. Petersburg authorities compensate companies for the cost of attracting IT specialists from the regions

At the end of June 2018, it became known about the program of payments to St. Petersburg companies of compensation for attracting qualified IT specialists from the regions. Thus, the city administration wants to reduce the shortage of IT personnel in the market.

According to Kommersant, citing Nikolai Rogachev, First Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Labor and Employment of St. Petersburg, in 2018, 99.6 million rubles were allocated for the launched program of subsidizing expenses related to the relocation of hired employees from other regions. We are talking about the costs of tickets, rental housing for six months, as well as labor during 2018.

Organizations included in the innovative territorial cluster "Development of information technologies, radio electronics, instrumentation, communications and information telecommunications of St. Petersburg," which incurred the costs associated with the relocation of the hired employee, can take part in this program.

You can get a refund provided that the salary of a specialist is at least 150 thousand rubles a month, and the vacancy is posted on the website of the city employment service for at least two months. The maximum subsidy will be 1 million rubles, of which 30% will have to be provided by the company. The competitive selection is carried out by the commission, which half consists of representatives of IT companies - in particular, these are members of a non-profit partnership. "Russoft"

As noted by the CFO of Dell EMC Natalya Baskakova, one of the shortcomings of the Smolny initiative is that it is impossible to keep a vacancy open in the IT industry for two months. Many companies close the vacancy in a month and a half, she stressed.

According to Nikolai Rogachev, if the pilot project is successful, the amount of subsidies in 2019 may increase. St. Petersburg will return the allocated funds through the return of personal income tax, he added.^[27]

2011: The beginning of accreditation of IT companies in the Ministry of Communications for obtaining benefits. 1.5 thousand firms accredited

Main article: Accreditation of IT companies in Russia

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.

See also

• IP (individual entrepreneur)
• Russian economy
• Budget of Russia
• Taxes in Russia
• Simplified Taxation System (SST)
• Offshore accumulations of IT companies
• Offshores
• Pensions in Russia
• Unemployment in Russia

Notes