What will change in Russia from December 1: housing and communal services, compulsory medical insurance policies, taxes

Increasing utility tariffs

From December 1, unscheduled indexation of tariffs for housing and communal services for the population will be carried out. Its maximum size will be 9%, while the final decisions on the level of increase will have to be made by the regional authorities. Indexation will affect fees for cold and hot water, electricity, heating, gas and garbage collection.

The Ministry of Economic Development explains that the postponement of the next tariff increase from July 1, 2023 to December 1, 2022 will ensure the uninterrupted operation of housing and communal services throughout the country and the development of infrastructure, as well as maintain the quality of services for the population. And they want to carry out the next indexation at the usual time – July 1, 2024. The department calculated that from December 1, the amount in the payment for a family of three will increase by an average of 324 rubles per month.​

Andrey Loboda, economist, director of communications at BitRiver, comments: “The increase in housing and communal services tariffs by an average of 9% at the end of the year is not very good news. Of course, with double-digit inflation in the country, an increase in tariffs is inevitable, but a lot here depends on the regional authorities, who have been trying to smooth out price fluctuations as much as possible in recent years.

Against the backdrop of the global energy crisis, changes for the worse are quite tolerable; in two years, housing and communal services tariffs for many items have increased by 3-5 times in western neighbors. Nevertheless, for almost 20 years, the cost of utilities in Russia has continued to grow steadily; in large cities, in winter, a monthly payment for utilities for a small two-room apartment can amount to more than 7 thousand rubles.

Meanwhile, citizens’ debts for housing and communal services may reach 800 billion rubles by the end of this year. In this regard, it would be right to carry out a new increase in tariffs simultaneously with incentive discounts for the most responsible payers, which could be 10%.”

Hammams and solariums in apartments

From December 1, Russians will be allowed to install hammams and solariums (infrared cabins) in apartments of residential buildings. Corresponding changes have been made to the order of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia on fire protection systems. At the same time, the ban on equipment in the housing of baths and saunas will continue to apply.

Pavel Sigal, First Vice President of Opora Rossii, comments: “The permission to install hammams and infrared cabins in the apartments of residential buildings suggests that the population will be more aware of the fire safety requirements to carry out the necessary procedures.

Modern residential complexes are often equipped with the ability to install structures such as a hammam, so there is a need to fix this possibility at the legislative level. Before installation, it is worth familiarizing yourself with the fire safety rules in more detail, since not every living space may be suitable for mounting the necessary equipment.

Tax registration through the State Services

On December 1, a law will come into force that allows citizens to submit an electronic application for registration with the tax authority through a single portal of public services. The tax authority itself will also be able to provide a certificate of registration through the State Services.

Yaroslav Petryk, Senior Associate at Padva & Epshtein, comments: “Currently, an application for registration can be submitted by an individual to the tax authority in several ways: in person, by registered mail, in electronic form, signed with an enhanced qualified electronic digital signature, or through the MFC.

From December, individuals will have the opportunity to apply for registration with the tax authority through a single portal of State Services. That is, there will be another and at the same time a simpler remote way to apply.

At the same time, it is important to understand that in many cases tax registration of an individual is carried out by the tax authorities on the basis of information provided by the registry office and the migration service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Often – without the participation of the citizens themselves. A citizen may only need to file an application for tax registration if, for some reason, he has not yet been registered with the tax authorities. That is, the innovation will not affect a significant number of citizens.”

Financial assistance to the mobilized: exempt from taxes

Mobilized citizens, contractors and volunteers participating in a special military operation, as well as their families, will be exempted from paying personal income tax (PIT) and insurance premiums for property received free of charge. The transfer of such property will also not be subject to value added tax (VAT), and the related expenses of the organization will be taken into account when determining the taxable base for income tax.

Ivan Samoylenko, managing partner of B&C Agency, comments: “For businesses, this innovation means that the taxable base will decrease by the amount of VAT (20% on each product). That is, enterprises that purchase something for mobilized citizens will reduce their costs in taxes paid. This is done to ensure that businesses more actively provide assistance to citizens who are mobilized. For the citizens themselves, who purchase something for mobilization at their own expense, the tax burden is also reduced – by the amount of personal income tax (13%).”

Government agencies will be obliged to conduct public in social networks

From December 1, state bodies, local governments, subordinate organizations and courts are required to create and maintain their official accounts in the domestic social networks VKontakte and Odnoklassniki. The Ministry of Digital Development should develop a special system based on the State Services portal, with the help of which government agencies will be able to manage their accounts, publish and edit information, reporting on their work.

Officials will also be there to answer questions from citizens. It is assumed that the innovation will make it possible for citizens to receive complete and reliable information about the activities of state institutions in an understandable and accessible form.

Andrey Loboda comments: “More than 55 million Russians are users of social networks. Moreover, most of the subscribers of VKontakte and Odnoklassniki are young people under 34 years old.

How young people are ready to communicate and subscribe to public bodies of state bodies will be shown by the art of marketing communications from ministries and departments. But in general, the launch of public pages in social networks is another step to be closer to the people and hear them in a period of rapid development of the digital economy.

A new step in communication between the state and the people will certainly increase the level of transparency of public administration, give the public easy access to the necessary information in an understandable format.

By the way, the heads of regions have been tacitly competing with each other in terms of activity in social networks for several years, even various ratings of the activity of governors, heads of republics and mayors in the digital environment are compiled. I am sure that the federal and regional ministries will be able to take a worthy baton in the race for the minds of Russians in social networks.”

New restrictions for foreign agents

All norms on foreign agents are united in one law, which comes into force on December 1. Instead of four existing registries of foreign agents, one will be created.

Foreign agents are organizations and people engaged in political activities in Russia, publishing information materials and collecting military intelligence and receiving funding and other support from abroad. Foreign agents will be prohibited from teaching in state and municipal organizations, receiving state support for creative projects and investing in strategic enterprises.

They will also be deprived of the right to a simplified taxation system. They will not be able to organize rallies, pickets and other public events, make donations to the election funds of candidates and political parties. Foreign agents will be required to report the presence of such a status to their employees and label the materials they publish.​

Ivan Samoylenko comments: “This is a purely administrative measure to bring together many disparate registers and documents. As a result, a complete register of foreign agents will appear, which will allow different organizations to avoid mistakes in identification and marking. Everything will be consolidated into one document.

Compulsory medical insurance policy is converted into a barcode

​Starting from December 1, when applying to hospitals and clinics, Russians will no longer need a “paper” policy of compulsory medical insurance (CHI): this document will go into digital format. The new form of the document will be “a unique sequence of characters in a machine-readable form”. It is planned to assign a barcode in the unified register of insured persons in the CHI system. It will be possible to store the document, for example, in a smartphone. Those who already have a “paper” policy do not need to do anything additional.

The compulsory medical insurance policy is a document that gives Russians the right to receive free medical care. It allows you to call a doctor at home, undergo examinations, be treated in a clinic and hospital. Now, when visiting a doctor, it will be enough to present a passport or other identity document, the doctors themselves will find information about your CHI.

Pavel Sigal comments: “The transition from a paper CHI policy to an electronic version is a very timely initiative. This measure can simplify and speed up the process of obtaining medical services in clinics and hospitals. The electronic version contains the same information as on paper, but the digital format still has a number of advantages: it cannot be lost, and you can quickly get all the necessary information both for attaching to new medical institutions and for recording with the right specialists. .

Protection of the rights of convicted teenagers

From December 2, a package of laws comes into force, according to which issues related to the stay of juvenile convicts in special educational and educational institutions of a closed type will be considered not in criminal, but in administrative proceedings.

So, in an administrative order, it is prescribed to resolve issues related to the early termination, extension or restoration of the period of stay of a teenager in a special institution, as well as transfer to another special institution. In addition, minors will be able to personally participate in a court case, receive qualified legal assistance and appeal against decisions. The court will also be obliged to inform the regional Commissioner for Children’s Rights about the initiation of proceedings in such a case, who has the right to participate in its consideration and give an opinion on it.

Ivan Samoylenko comments: “Administrative proceedings, more than criminal ones, are aimed at the assimilation of convicted citizens in society. Such an approach will probably make it possible to assess the stay of adolescents in closed boarding schools in a more multifaceted way. And later there is hope that this will lead to the fact that it will be possible to soften the conditions for teenagers to stay in such institutions.

And also:

– Starting from December 1, for banks and financial organizations from several days to 20 hours, the period for taking measures to block money in the accounts of suspected terrorists will be reduced.

– From December 1, it will be possible to apply for the provision of individual measures of social support to people exposed to radiation through a single portal of State Services.​

– From December 2, adopted children will be given the preferential right to enroll in a kindergarten or school where their brothers and sisters study.