Database

According to the Federal Law "On Information, Information Technologies and Information Security", audiovisual services may be owned only by Russian legal entities or Russian citizens not having the nationality of another state, although minority stakes (maximum 20%) are permitted. Additionally, this restriction only applies to audiovisual services with a share of Russian users exceeding 50%. Those with a share of Russian users below 50% are subject to approval by Roskomnadzor.

The law “On mass media” was adopted in the fall of 2014 and certain amendments concerning the ownership limits were introduced in February 2016. According to the amendments, ownership of all media by foreign companies and citizens is limited to 20%. This has led to large-scale redistribution of property in the media market and the departure from Russia of a number of major international publishers (e.g. Finnish Sanoma, Axel Springer, the German, the American Dow Jones and FT Group). Other foreign shareholders in the Russian media either reduced their stakes in Russian media or re-registered the ownership in the Russian jurisdiction.

For a "company of strategic importance", foreign state controlled investors cannot acquire more than 50% of majority voting rights.

SAP, Symantec, and McAfee are reported to have permitted the Russian government to inspect their products' source code. Such inspection, required on security grounds, was a precondition of doing business in the country. There are concerns in the US that source code inspection would enable Russian intelligence services to find exploitable vulnerabilities the products, which are widely used in the US Government.

Russia is currently only an observer to the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement.

The Decree No. 1236 limits the procurement of foreign software. It stipulates that only Russian software will be admitted to state and municipal orders, unless Russian software does not exist or it does not fit some of the criteria. Only under these exceptional circumstances will organizations be able to purchase from foreign counterparts.

As from 31 December 2015, the Ministry of Economic Development's Decision No.155 grants preferences of 15% in relation to the contract price in public procurement auctions and tenders to participants who propose to supply goods originating from Russia, Belarus or Kazakhstan.

In late September 2016, Russia imposed a ban on the procurement of 113 different types of foreign-made radio-electronic products and components for state and municipal needs when there are at least two bids for similar items manufactured in Russia or an Eurasian Economic Union Member State.

Russia introduced amendments to the Federal Public Procurement Law granting increased preferential treatment to domestic suppliers of goods and services. Foreign producers of foreign-made products and services (as opposed to foreign brands made domestically) are not allowed to bid for public contracts if at least two domestic producers are also bidding.

In January 2012, Russia’s Supreme Arbitration Court published a ruling prohibiting tax-payers with foreign capital to deduct interest that they pay on loans ‘with a foreign element’. These include loans provided:
- by a foreign legal entity which directly or indirectly owns more than 20% of the Russian entity financed;
- by a Russian entity which is an affiliated party of a foreign entity which, directly or indirectly, owns more than 20% of the Russian entity financed;
- to a Russian entity in respect of which a foreign entity, which directly or indirectly owns more than 20% of the entity financed, or its Russian affiliate, issues a guarantee, acting as surety or otherwise securing the fulfillment of the debt obligation.

In January 2017, new Russian value-added tax (VAT) rules for electronic services (e-services) introduced an obligation for nonresident providers of e-services to register for VAT and apply Russian VAT to their services provided to private individuals. There is no registration threshold. Therefore, all foreign businesses that sell digital products to Russia-based consumers must collect VAT and report to Russian tax authorities. In effect, this means that a VAT of up to 18% is charged on online purchases in Russia.

The VAT regime for e-services will apply along with the VAT exemption for licensing of software and databases. Absent of any clear distinction between "software as a service" and software as an IP right, using this exemption for e-services would likely lead to disputes with tax authorities. This exemption is also expected to be abolished soon.

This change is due to come into force in January 2019.

Russia applies a copyright levy of 1% all devices that can record sound and/or audio. There is a wide list of devices (mobiles, computers, CDs, DVDs, etc). It also applies 1% copyright levy on all devices with recording functions of a phonogram/work.

Foreign individuals and companies can register for a .py domain, but they are required to have an authorised representative in Paraguay.

Paraguay repealed its de minimis rule in 2017. It used to allow goods with a value of up to 66 SDR / 100 USD to be exempted from taxes and duties collected by customs.