Tech firms request inclusion on Russia's domestic software list -RBC

Ozon Holdings

08/06/2022 09:59

June 8 (Reuters) - Russian online lender Tinkoff and
e-commerce firm Ozon are among a handful of companies with some
foreign ownership seeking government approval to participate in
state tenders and access preferential tax rates, the RBC
newspaper reported on Wednesday.
    Companies with more than 50% Russian ownership can be
included on Russia's register of domestic software, allowing
them to take part in state procurement processes and access some
 benefits in the application of value-added tax.
    Moscow's access to technology imports has been strangled by
Western sanctions, supply chain issues and companies abandoning
the Russian market since Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops
into Ukraine on Feb. 24.
    Maksut Shadaev, minister of communications and mass media,
on Tuesday said the barriers to entry into the register,
primarily the 50% ownership threshold, needed to be reduced and
the whole process simplified.
    "We believe this criterion needs to be changed slightly
because we have a lot of Russian companies where less than 50%
of shares are owned by Russian citizens, but Russian citizens in
fact control the company's activities," agencies quoted Shadaev
as saying at a forum on Tuesday.
    A letter asking Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin to support
the digital ministry's proposed changes was sent in late May,
RBC reported. In addition to TCS-owned  TCSq.L  Tinkoff and Ozon
 OZON.O , signatories included recruiter Headhunter  HHR.O ,
real estate database Cian  CIAN.N , telecoms firm Vimpelcom and
online marketplace Avito.
    "For a number of Russian companies which are leaders in the
digital economy, which conduct business only in Russia and
which, thanks to their successful development, have attracted
significant foreign investment, this requirement is a block,"
RBC quoted the letter as saying.

 (Reporting by Reuters)