Dmitry Milovantsev, Russian deputy minister for IT and communications
Photo: Mikhail Pochuev
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The State Invites Programmers
The Russian Ministry of IT and Communications proposes drastic changes to be introduced to the market of electronic commerce. The ministry is going to draw up rules that will enable companies to place currency earnings from the Internet sale of software at Russian banks. Over $600 million, written off from the plastic cards of foreign buyers, now lands at the accounts of overseas companies. But market watchers say that even after the improvement not everyone will return the export proceeds to Russia, as the companies will have to pay taxes.
The annual sales volume of Russian software through the Internet totals $1 billion, according to estimates of the ministry. Almost two thirds of the sum is paid by foreigners. Russian producers first faced problems with the sale of the software through the Internet (the reception of the payment by plastic cards, to be more exact) after a law on the currency regulation and control was adopted December 2003. Software producers were stripped of an opportunity to transfer money from the plastic cards of the clients of on-line shops to Russian banks. As a result, the state coffers were losing up to $100 million annually. The IT and Communications Ministry sent a letter to the Russian Central Bank mid-July proposing to create a task force to amend the law. Representatives of other ministries were skeptical about the initiative claiming that the money will still be flowing to foreign banks. Yet the communication ministry says that large companies, which are interested in getting investments, will not try to use murky schemes and hide a part of their revenues.
Participants of IT market view the ministry’s initiative as sound, saying now it is difficult it is for Russia-based companies to sell goods through the Internet in full compliance with the Russian practice of customs regulations and provisions on currency control.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Aug. 02, 2005
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