The Russian government plans to exempt foreign banks belonging to the same international group of companies as Russian financial institutions from the obligation to notify the tax service about the opening, closing, or modification of account details. The proposal, prepared by the Ministry of Finance, is outlined in a draft resolution dated 17 November obtained by Izvestia. The authorities also intend to extend the deadline for submitting foreign account statements from 30 calendar days to 30 business days after the end of a reporting quarter or half-year.
According to experts, the measure is driven by difficulties in obtaining supporting documents from non-residents and is expected to streamline procedures and facilitate business operations. The changes will affect groups with foreign banking subsidiaries, including VTB, Sberbank, and Gazprombank.
Separately, the European Union has approved new sanctions prohibiting transactions with several Russian banks. Effective 2 December, the restrictions will apply to the Belarusian branches of Alfa-Bank, VTB, and Sberbank, as well as VTB’s branches in Kazakhstan and China.
