Companies consider the bill on fines for not selling currency too strict

The bill provides for fines for officials in the amount of 40 thousand to 50 thousand rubles, for legal entities – from 3/4 to an amount of foreign currency profits not sold in the prescribed manner. Separate liability for non-compliance with the requirements for the sale of foreign currency is needed to monitor their compliance in practice, the explanatory note says.

The company proposes the following changes:

• Set the amount of the fine. Currently, the project provides for a fine of 75% to 100% of unsold proceeds;
• Provide for different punishment approaches depending on the duration of the delay in fulfilling the requirement, the type of product, the currency of the contract, etc. In particular, before capital punishment, a warning may be issued and a fine may be imposed in the amount of 1/150 of the key rate of the Central Bank;
• Introduce a delay of five days in the application of sanctions if profits were sold in foreign currency, but with some failure to comply with the deadline;
• Do not give retroactive effect to the new rule on fines (the authors of the document propose to sanction companies for violations committed not only after the entry into force of the amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses, but also for the entire period from the date of issuance of the presidential decree on the mandatory sale of foreign currency earnings).
• The letter also proposes to extend the moratorium on administrative liability for a number of violations of monetary legislation, if they are caused by sanctions, to 2024-2025.

Vladimir Putin signed a decree on October 11 that forces certain exporters to sell part of their earnings in foreign currency. The next day, the exchange rate of the US dollar on the Moscow Stock Exchange fell below 97 rubles. The euro exchange rate is up to 102.5 rubles. The head of Sberbank, German Gref, then doubted the effectiveness of the measure of mandatory sale of foreign currency earnings in stabilizing the ruble exchange rate. The requirement that exporters sell part of the currency in the domestic market, according to a decree signed by the president, “is unlikely to affect the situation,” he considered.