RS From problem to solution ICLC services for representative offices of foreign companies

ICLC services for representative offices of foreign companies

March 2011

Opening a representative office in Russia is often fraught with considerable complications for foreign companies, which are chiefly related to the specifics of the tax, civil and labour law, as well as the formalities pertaining to financial accounting. This is hardly surprising considering that every state has its own laws and regulations in the afore-mentioned domains.

Given their clear realisation of the scope of this problem, the ICLC experts suggest various services in this field to representative offices of foreign companies operating in the Russian Federation. The actual form in which such services are provided depends on wishes and needs of the customer and may range from specific consultations to outsourcing of business processes.

Registration and accreditation of a representative office of a foreign company:

  • obtaining accreditation required for opening a representative office from one of the relevant accrediting authorities (depending on the nature of the company’s operation). The accrediting authority may be a relevant ministry, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the State Registration Chamber of the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia, etc;
  • registration by all state authorities involved (tax inspectorate, the Pension Fund, the Social Insurance Fund, the Medical Insurance Fund, etc).

Liquidation (closedown) of a representative office of a foreign company:

  • preparation of all documents necessary for the liquidation (closedown) of a representative office;
  • removal from the registers of various state authorities (tax inspectorate, the Pension Fund, the Social Insurance Fund, the Medical Insurance Fund, etc).

Calculation of wages, taxation, completion and submission of accounting statements and reports of a representative office of a foreign company:

  • preparation, completion and submission of quarterly and annual tax declarations, reports on compulsory payments, statistical reports of representative offices of foreign companies;
  • preparation, completion and submission of annual reports concerning current operation of the representative office;
  • preparation, completion and submission of statements of income of individuals, completion and submission of personal income tax return;
  • calculation of wages, leave allowances, sick leave certificates for the representative office staff;
  • completion and submission of reports to the Pension Fund in respect of each officer of the representative office, in compliance with the rules and requirements of personalised record-keeping;
  • consulting in taxation and financial accounting;
  • examination of specific aspects of the financial and business operations of the representative office;
  • preparation of accounting statements of the representative office in the required format for subsequent submission to the head office.

Full-package legal support of the representative office’s operation:

  • project development and analysis of current agreements with provision of written recommendations and guidelines;
  • HR administration;
  • legal counseling;
  • participation in negotiations with customers and the authorities;
  • representation of the interests of the representative office and its staff before the Russian authorities;
  • representation of such interests in courts (regular, arbitration) and before state authorities;
  • monitoring and verification of the compliance of local acts (decrees, orders, etc) of the representative office with the existing law.