Agenda: progress of the Nationwide Population Census, preliminary results of the 2021 harvesting season, draft federal laws, budgetary allocations.
Opening remarks by Mikhail Mishustin:
Government meeting
Good afternoon, colleagues,
Today, we will finalise the legislative framework underlying additional measures to support businesses amid rising coronavirus cases.
Last week, the President approved our proposals on this matter. The loan support programme, FOT 3.0, for companies and organisations from the most affected industries will resume since it has proved its value. Over 16,000 loan agreements worth about 60 billion roubles were concluded by 1 July 2021. The main focus of the programme is to keep people employed and organisations operational. Indeed, even during the period of restrictions, companies must pay salaries, rent and utility bills.
Under the amended FOT 3.0, a loan can be obtained for a term of 18 months at a rate of one minimum wage per employee for 12 months. The actual repayment period will double from 6 months to 12 months. Importantly, the first six months are a grace period when you do not have to pay back any interest or principal payments, and then you will repay the loan within 12 months in equal instalments at a low APR of 3 percent. New loans under FOT 3.0 will be available from 1 November until the end of the year. We will additionally allocate up to 20 billion roubles from the budget to implement this programme.
Also, today, we will approve the level of funding needed to pay grants to small- and medium-sized businesses from the hardest hit industries and socially oriented non-profit organisations. This is yet another measure approved by the President. The total aid will amount to about 38.5 billion roubles and it will be used to support about 3 million workers.
Furthermore, we will expand this support. Businesses and non-profit organisations that will receive this grant will be subject to a one-time exemption from revenue tax and employee payroll contributions to non-budgetary public funds. In turn, employees will be exempted from paying income tax on these amounts.
Another support mechanism is the social contract. Starting this year, by the President’s decision, this government aid is available nationwide to people in a difficult financial situation. It is particularly sought after in certain regions. The Government will additionally allocate almost 750 million roubles to ten such constituent entities. The budgetary funds will make it possible to make payments under at least 7,000 social contracts. More people will be able to benefit from this aid by, for example, starting a business or learning useful skills, or improving their qualifications in order to find a new job and ultimately improve their financial status.
We will also review today a number of amendments to the law On Insurance of Deposits in Banks of the Russian Federation. They will allow depositors who have lost their money in bankrupt banks to recover their money without hassle and red tape.
Under the current rules, a depositor must file a personal request to the Deposit Insurance Agency or to a duly authorised bank and sign documents in person. The amendments will make it possible to do all this online. Now, a request can be submitted online through the public services website. This approach will not only save time but also upgrade the deposit guarantee system, while also mitigating the pandemic-related risks.
The Government meeting agenda also includes amendments to customs legislation, which will expedite the delivery of goods from foreign online stores, both for individual customers and e-commerce businesses. Next year, we will launch a pilot project to create bonded warehouses which will be used as temporary storage facilities in cross-border e-commerce. Foreign sellers will be able to create a merchandise inventory there and to store it for three years without customs clearance, that is, without paying import duties, VAT or making other mandatory payments. This will significantly reduce the delivery time to the buyer to one or two days from the date of online purchase. This project will expand online shopping sites’ capabilities, while customers will be able to receive their items more quickly and easily.
There is one more important issue. The Nationwide Population Census is currently underway. This year, you can take part in it both in person and online. In today's circumstances, this is not only faster and more convenient, but also safer for everybody involved.
The Nationwide Population Census started almost two weeks ago and will end on 14 November.
