The minister summarised the results of performance monitoring on measures to support SMEs amid sanctions.
Briefing by Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov
Maxim Reshetnikov: Today, I would like to focus on measures to support small-sized and medium-sized enterprises, what has been done so far and how.
The first major block of measures includes a moratorium on both planned and surprise inspections for small, medium-sized companies, as well as larger corporations. To date, we have suspended or cancelled over 200,000 audits. We are receiving weekly statistics on inspections. Last week, 3,000 of them were carried out across the country. Is this a lot? It is eight times less than the number carried out in the same period of 2021. This means that the moratorium is working.
What kinds of inspections were banned, specifically? Take, for example, a major restaurant chain in Moscow or the Moscow Region: the Federal Service for the Oversight of Consumer Protection and Welfare (Rospotrebnadzor) planned about 50 inspections but withdrew all of them. A major retail chain operating across the country is another case in point. The Emergencies Ministry cancelled more than 360 inspections it had planned. If we look at manufacturing, Rospotrebnadzor and the phytosanitary authority in charge of agriculture intended to hold five inspections at a fertiliser producer’s facilities in Central Russia but cancelled all of them. This works, and we can see that this process is real. If you see inspectors showing up at your premises or trying to launch an audit, stay calm and call the prosecutor’s office. The Prosecutor General’s office is very strict when it comes to enforcing these processes.
The second essential component deals with lending and providing working capital to SMEs. As we have been saying, there are four programmes to this effect, and all of them have been launched. For example, today we can see that within just over two weeks, the Central Bank and the SME Corporation approved more than 1,500 contracts worth almost 34 billion roubles under a joint programme designed to promote investment and enable SMEs to undertake investment projects. Our colleagues have been quite proactive in their efforts.
I have specific positive cases to share with you. Regional manufacturers working in the machine building sector and producing various components have actually received working capital loans. This enables them to keep investment flowing and continue to develop. A textile company in the Chelyabinsk Region which produces and sells garments also took out a loan, using part of it as working capital, while investing the rest in new equipment. After all, the demand has been on the rise as everyone has been trying to replace imports. These specific examples show that companies in the regions are receiving these loans.
As for Programme 1764, it is gaining momentum, although perhaps, not as fast as we would like it to. Still, the first loans have been issued. In fact, the programme has been in operation for only a few days, because it takes time for the money to reach the banks, and for the banks to launch their products, and so on.
Admittedly, the banks are not active enough. We understand this too. Previously, they were quick to join anti-crisis efforts, but now, only six banks out of about a hundred, have become involved. This does not suit us. It is clear that they are assessing the risks of these programmes, they are watching, I mean, they remain vigilant, and we are trying to get them out of this credit hibernation as quickly as possible.
The Central Bank programme is up and running; it exceeds 300 billion roubles, and about 160 billion worth of loans have already been reissued. Unfortunately, there are no new ones, but old loans are being restructured, especially those with variable interest, with the rate lowered. That is, the programmes have been launched, but the pace should be accelerated. We are working closely with the business community, with banks, institutions, and the SME Corporation, to promote all these projects as much as possible. It is good that the SME Corporation is providing its umbrella guarantee, because this way, the corporation – in fact, the state – takes on part of the risks involved in lending to small and medium-sized businesses. Of course, we do not remove the risks from the banks, but we take the risk of lending to a specific type of enterprises. Earlier, we had a 4.5 percent limit on the portfolio, while now, we have agreed to cover 10 percent, that is, we have doubled the amount of risk that the state assumes. The total amount is 200 billion roubles, the loan portfolio is being developed now... When these programmes reach their ceiling, we will think about what to do next, we will look at options, increase these limits. But now it is very important to get the process going, so we will work intensively with the regions, hold several meetings, and discuss all this. Now the support effort has been launched, and support “from the ground” and setting things up with banks are extremely important. This was the second point.
And the third point, we are facilitating networking between small and medium businesses, and between medium businesses and large businesses, and among state customers themselves. The SME Corporation has launched two services. The first one helps find reliable service providers. Over the years, the corporation has collected a large database of SMEs that are engaged in production, more than 9,000 companies that have been in business for 10–12 years, that is, trusted suppliers. Our colleagues have created a service that will help customers find suppliers, on the one hand, and assist suppliers in locating customers, that is, to stitch up these chains.
They have also made an aggregator of all the small orders of our large companies – everything that goes through tendering platforms, making it easier for businesses to find and participate in all these government procurement orders under the federal laws 44-FZ and 223-FZ – something state customers do, and large corporations as well. Again, to stitch together all these chains. This was actually part of our planned work from the start, but in the current situation, it is of particular importance. We are accelerating the programme, constantly interacting with businesses, and preparing new, additional initiatives.
Question: Gleb Fyodorov, Объясняем.рф website.
What IT companies will be exempted from inspections, and what criteria will be used here? What should an IT company do if inspectors have, nevertheless, arrived?
Maxim Reshetnikov: Indeed, the Presidential Executive Order stipulates a strict moratorium on scheduled and unscheduled inspections for IT companies. This concerns IT companies accredited with the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media and listed among the 22,000 national software manufacturers. This is a long list and not just a select few companies. Criteria have now become more lenient, and it has become easier to join this list. These specific companies are not subject to any scheduled and unscheduled inspections for the next three years.
If inspectors have decided to check an IT company, its management can always complain to the Ministry of Digital Development, the Ministry of Economic Development and the Prosecutor-General’s Office.
Question: How can companies that have stayed in Russia transfer abroad their proceeds from the sale of goods and services in Russia?
Maxim Reshetnikov: If a foreign company has a subsidiary, then this subsidiary has the status of the Russian Federation’s resident and is subject to general regulation.
Here is how general regulation works. At the first stage, it was decided to stipulate that a 30-percent prepayment is the maximum level for imported goods and services. But we received numerous appeals, primarily from transportation companies or from importers that have to order separate forwarding services, transportation services, etc. Companies have started requesting bigger prepayments, drivers often need money to buy petrol, oil and lubricants, and it is also necessary to pay for merchant ships’ fuel. We collected and analysed all these appeals, submitted them to the Central Bank and discussed them with our colleagues. Our colleagues also analysed this, and an additional decision stipulating a 100-percent prepayment for transport and logistics services was adopted on 1 April. We also provide for more lenient reinsurance restrictions.
If a foreign company has an office or subsidiary here, we need to see which country it comes from. If a company comes from an unfriendly country, then all transfers to such a country are banned. If a company is sited in a neutral country, then it is possible to transfer money there. This means a clear system of regulation, restrictions and bans. At the same time, we carefully analyse all these aspects together with the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance, so that the economy can function normally, our partners can import goods and reserves of consumer and production goods can be made. There are great many nuances in the field of currency control and currency transfers which must be analysed together with businesses; after that, they can be listed in our regulatory database. This is exactly what we are doing now.
