FINES FOR ILLEGAL CURRENCY TRANSACTIONS MAY BE REDUCED

The Ministry of Finance has prepared a draft law providing for a significant reduction in fines for a number of financial offenses.  The initiative is connected with the sanctions imposed on Russia and the resulting difficulties for entrepreneurship.  It is assumed that the foreseen financial liability for companies may be reduced threefold.

The bill is already under consideration of the government. The position of the Ministry of Finance is that in the current sanctions situation, the adoption of the proposed measures should serve to mitigate the negative impact on the exporters.

The document has already received the support of the government commission - its further consideration is planned after the finalization of some provisions.

The text refers to the Article 15.25 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, which establishes liability, among other things, for illegal foreign currencies transactions, as well as non-repatriation of ruble proceeds during export. In the first case, it is proposed to reduce the amount of liability to 20-40% (now it reaches 100%), and in the second, the sanction may be reduced to 3-5% (now this figure reaches 10%), RBC reports.

The draft law also contains a proposal to abandon the concept of the “professional participant in foreign economic activity", introduced two years earlier. Such people were provided with reduced rates of fines for a number of offenses.

At the same time, it was separately noted that the government was not going to change the measures of responsibility established by law for non-return of advances on imports, as well as on the loan agreements.