Government at work: Facts and figures

Implementation of Presidential Executive Order No. 596 of May 7, 2012 On Long-Term State Economic Policy regarding the reduction of the time needed for implementing state regulation procedures and the to cost to business by January 1, 2015

The Government has reported on the implementation of Presidential Executive Order No. 597 of May 7, 2012 On Long-Term State Economic Policy (Clause 2, Subclause “d,” Paragraph 2).

The roadmaps of the National Business Initiative aimed at improving the investment climate in Russia are being implemented to reduce the time needed for implementing state regulation procedures and  the cost to business.

The main results of implementing the roadmap are:

- the procedure of coordinating electricity supply projects of up to 150 KW with the grid company has been excluded from the list;

- the time needed by grid companies for connecting new clients to electricity supply has been cut;

- the grid companies now post information about clients who plan to redistribute their peak capacity to other users on their official websites;

- an open online information resource has been created to inform users about free capacity, redistribution rules and consumer rights;

- residents no longer need to present hard-copy product declarations to their authorized banks;

- 74 customs agencies have been connected to the online customs payment system.

The Ministry of Economic Development and the Strategic Initiatives Agency have assessed the effectiveness of these roadmaps by surveying members of the business community and presenting a report to the Government, which discussed it at its meeting on September 23, 2013.

According to business community surveys:

- 71% of respondents said the time needed for being connected to the electricity supply system in Moscow and the Moscow Region has been reduced, and 46% of respondents noted the same tendency in the regions;

- the number of procedures needed to receive a construction permit varies from eight in the Central Federal District to 37 in the Volga Federal District;

- over half of respondents said it takes up to four hours to complete the customs procedures at vehicle checkpoints, while one-fifth of respondents said it takes them more than 24 hours.

The measures implemented in customs administration include:

- the extension of reduced insurance payments to state extra-budgetary funds for the main category of payers;

- remission of the tax on movable property which was registered as a main source of income after January 1, 2013;

- lifting of the mineral extraction tax from coal bed gas;

- simplification of the procedure of conversion to special tax regimes for organisations and businesses.

In short, the federal and regional executive authorities are working to implement the measures aimed at considerably reducing the timeline and price of the relevant procedures.