PRACTICES

Tax Practice

Providing legal assistance to clients in the area of taxation has been a substantial part of the Bureau’s activity since its establishment. Therefore, it is no coincidence that four lawyers of our team are certified members of the Chamber of Tax Consultants.

Tax issues arise in virtually every project Bureau conducts with its legal support: asset repatriation, sale of business or property, management restructuring within a group of companies, complex financial transactions, protection during bankruptcy proceedings and many other situations.

Constant complication of tax legislation and accounting laws requires incessant development of our skills and competences in the interest of providing qualified assistance to clients with regard to any tax-related problem.

Advising on taxation and regulation of financial transactions

Tax solutions for taxpayers
  • legal support of audits of enterprises from various sectors of the economy
  • structuring the business of our clients in order to optimize costs, as well as the ease of making management decisions;
  • recommendations on organization of the process of construction of large office and retail complexes, taking into account the optimal tax burden;
  • assessing the company’s restructuring actions with regard to claims related to splitting the business;
  • transactions with related parties: identification of signs of controlled transactions, as well as preparation of recommendations on the procedure and conditions of their declaration;
  • assessment of transactions or business operations for potential tax risks;
  • preparation of recommendations for mitigating existing tax risks in the activities of companies;
  • evaluating the quality and composition of the company’s activities in order to exercise due diligence in selecting counterparties;
  • assistance in development of internal acts regulating the procedure of carrying out activities with tax consequences.
Consultations on taxation of personal income of individuals
  • analysis of composition and size of personal income, including that received from foreign sources, for the purpose of taxpayers’ compliance with Russian legislation;
  • assistance in declaring income from transactions in financial instruments, including transactions on foreign stock exchanges;
  • tax deductions or expenses related to the receipt of income: assistance in choosing, recommendations on the composition of supporting documents;
  • counseling in declaring income of controlled foreign companies;
  • assistance in preparation of individual income declarations.
Identification of financial transaction risks, consulting on currency legislation issues

In addition to tax issues, lawyers of the tax practice help the principals in solving a wide range of legal issues in the field of currency regulation: from determination of residency status to assistance in structuring settlements related to currency transactions. In particular, we advise the principals on:

  • the use of accounts with foreign financial institutions, including the preparation of reports on transactions using such accounts;
  • repatriation of proceeds from foreign trade contracts;
  • passing inspections by currency control agents.
Experience
  • providing legal support in conducting audits of major players in the market of construction materials production, as well as mining;
  • support of the procedure for attracting budget financing for a group of companies providing marine cargo transportation;
  • assistance in organizing activities on the territory of the Russian Federation, taking into account the optimal tax burden of the first low cost company in the field of air transportation;
  • identification of controlled transactions based on the results of the completed restructuring in the financial and shipping sectors of the group of companies for the implementation of sea cargo transportation;
  • support of the reorganization of a group of companies in the field of food retail during the transition to a single share;
  • support of the reorganization of a group of companies in the field of food retail during the transition to a single share;
  • development of a financing structure for the construction of retail and office complexes in Moscow and the Southern region of Russia for optimal tax burden;
  • consulting and calculation of the tax burden in the distribution of non-residential premises in Moscow between foreign partners;
  • preparation of a comprehensive plan of measures to reduce the tax risks of a large coal trader from the Siberian region when organizing supplies to foreign markets;
  • assistance in organizing the activities of an Internet operator in the field of delivery of goods in Moscow (courier service);
  • development of a comprehensive regulation on due diligence of a major player in the retail market with an annual turnover of about 100 billion rubles;
  • declaration of income of persons controlling foreign companies in the amount of over 500 million US dollars;
  • declaration of income of a Russian tax resident (individual) from portfolio investment management; the use of the mechanism of the so-called “amnesty of capital” for the purpose of legal use of accounts in foreign banks.

Representing clients before the tax authorities

Tax audits
  • assisting from the pre-inspection stage;
  • assessing the risk of tax claims and elaboration of risk mitigation plan;
  • consulting on complicated issues of tax accounting;
  • full legal support of tax audits, including correspondence with the tax authorities on the composition of documents and written explanations, as well as collection of evidence, including
  • appointing and conducting expert examinations,
  • participation in the inspection of the territory,
  • document seizure,
  • arranging examination of witnesses.
Protection during interrogations
  • advising executives and key employees of the principal about the rules of conduct during interrogations and the procedure and peculiarities of interrogations;
  • participation as a representative during the interrogation of the top management, assistance in formulating answers to questions posed by the tax inspectors.
Experience
  • support of the procedure of pre-verification analysis of the activities of one of the largest players in the retail market, as well as the market leader in the equipment of entrance groups;
  • support of tax audits (from the date of delivery of the decision on the appointment of an on-site audit to the date of drawing up a certificate of the audit) of large enterprises from various industries and agriculture;
  • support of tax audits (from the date of delivery of the decision on the appointment of an on-site audit to the date of drawing up a certificate of the audit) of large enterprises from various industries and agriculture;
  • participation in interrogations of top managers of large companies in the retail market, mining and construction and installation works on railway transport.

Participation in disputes on taxes and fees

Representation in administrative procedures
  • elaboration of taxpayer’s legal position refuting arguments of inspectors stated in the act of tax audit;
  • preparing written objections to the act of tax audit/addendum to the act of tax audit;
  • representation of a taxpayer’s interests in the course of consideration of materials of a tax audit;
  • appealing decisions on the results of tax audits in the higher tax authorities – departments of the federal tax service of Russia in the region, as well as the federal tax service of Russia.
Challenging acts of tax audits in court
  • filing applications to courts (arbitration courts and courts of general jurisdiction) claiming to invalidate the decisions of tax authorities on the results of tax audits
  • challenging in courts other non-normative acts of tax authorities, as well as actions / inaction of its officials;
  • judicial representation in all court instances;
  • appealing to higher courts against decisions made as a result of consideration of tax disputes on the merits.
VAT refund disputes
  • assessment of documents from the point of view of their sufficiency for tax deductions;
  • verification of the measures taken by the taxpayer in terms of due diligence;
  • challenging in the administrative order (to the higher tax authorities) decisions to deny vat refund and the refusal to bring to responsibility for committing a tax offense;
  • the choice of the most optimal way of protection: filing an application for invalidation of a non-regulatory act or a statement of claim for damages
  • full support of a dispute in all court instances;
  • accompaniment of the procedure for the return of funds to the bank accounts of the principal, along with accrued interest.
Experience
  • successful challenging of the results of on-site tax audits of a group of companies selling non-food products (the group included over 900 stores in almost all regions of Russia);
  • judicial representation in tax disputes of a major player from the Siberian region in the mining market;
  • successful conduct of judicial work on challenging tax claims in the Central, Ural and Southern regions to subsidiaries of a large holding company for the production of construction materials;
  • successful completion of disputes on VAT refund in connection with the conduct of export activities by an enterprise from the extractive industry;
  • successful support of disputes of an enterprise from the Ural region on VAT refund in connection with the creation and debugging of a production line for the processing of toxic waste;
  • support of a legal dispute related to the refund of VAT levied on the import of food products from the territory of the Union state.