The Government Presidium of the Russian Federation at its meeting on September 15, 2008 adopted the following decisions on the items on its agenda:
1. Federal budget results in the first half of 2008
The Government Presidium heard a report by Alexei Kudrin, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation and Minister of Finance, on the issue.
The Government Presidium approved a report on the federal budget execution in the first half of 2008 and decided to forward it to the State Duma, the Federation Council and the Audit Chamber.
Russia's federal executive bodies responsible for the distribution of federal funds were instructed at the meeting to take appropriate action to ensure stable and effective allocation of federal subsidies to the constituent entities of the Russian Federation to co-finance construction of capital facilities to be owned by the regions, and to provide regional subsidies to municipal governments for construction of capital facilities - property of cities and towns.
The Ministry of Regional Development was put in charge of coordinating this work.
2. Progress of targeted federal programmes and the federal targeted investment programme in the first half of 2008
The Presidium of the Government heard a report on the issue by Elvira Nabiullina, Minister of Economic Development.
Russia's federal executive bodies, state customers of federal targeted programmes, construction projects, and facilities for federal state needs, were instructed at the meeting to take appropriate actions planned under the programmes within the 2008 schedule aimed at reaching the planned levels and indicators, to ensure the required financing in the second half of 2008 from all sources and a timely commissioning of the completed facilities.
The federal executive bodies, state customers of federal targeted programmes, are required to finalise the programmes adjusting them for the changes in 2008 financing schemes, and, if the programme's completion is after 2011, for the newly-introduced scheme for issuing federal subsidies to the regions for co-financing of construction of capital facilities to be owned by the regions and/or for providing regional subsidies to municipal governments for construction of capital facilities - property of cities and towns.
Russia's Ministry of Economic Development will report the results of its work to the Government before October 25, 2008.
The Ministries of Economic Development, Finance, Regional Development, Communications, and Education and Science were instructed to take appropriate action to ensure more effective implementation of the targeted programmes, Development of Nano-Industry Infrastructure in Russia from 2008 to 2010, Electronic Russia 2002-2010, and Social and Economic Development of the Chechen Republic from 2008 to 2011.
The Ministries of Regional Development and Economic Development will submit proposals to the Government on termination of the targeted programme to support municipal development and create an environment for local governments to exercise their constitutional authority.
The Ministries of Regional Development and Finance, along with other federal executive bodies concerned and the governmental commission for the defence industry, were instructed to analyse the application from January to September 2008 of the new scheme for financing the capital construction projects controlled or managed by the federal state unitary enterprises. The results are to be reported to the Government before December 10, 2008.
The Ministries of Economic Development and Finance were instructed to draft bills regulating federal financing of capital construction projects controlled or managed by federal state unitary enterprises. The drafts are to be submitted to the Government before October 15, 2008.
The Ministry of Finance, together with the federal executive bodies concerned, will draft proposals for spending the unused federal funds earmarked for state capital investments in the federal targeted programmes in 2008, and for the same purposes in 2009.
The proposals are to be submitted to the Government within 10 days.
The Ministries of Regional Development, Economic Development, and Finance were instructed to draft proposals on monitoring the regions' appropriate spending of federal subsidies to co-finance construction of capital facilities to be owned by the regions and/or to provide regional subsidies to municipal governments for construction of capital facilities - property of cities and towns.
The proposals are to be submitted to the Government within two weeks.
The Ministries of Education and Science, Economic Development, and Finance, and federal executive bodies - state customers of federal targeted programmes - were instructed to draft proposals to ensure more effective implementation of R&D projects as part of federal targeted programmes, especially projects that are crucial for meeting the programmes' goals.
The proposals are to be submitted to the Government before December 1, 2008.
The federal executive bodies, state customers of the federal targeted programmes, were instructed to take action to accelerate the drafting of bills regulating federal budget investments in capital construction projects that are not part of federal targeted programmes after January 1, 2009.
The Ministry of Economic Development is to report the results of this work before December 1, 2008.
The federal executive bodies, state customers of the federal targeted programmes, were instructed to draft proposals listing the federal targeted programmes to be implemented starting in 2010, with federal financing estimates; planned changes in the approved federal targeted programmes; the most important planned state properties that are not part of federal targeted programmes to be discussed by a government commission on budget planning for the next fiscal year and planning period.
The proposals are to be submitted to the Ministries of Economic Development, Finance, and Regional Development before November 1, 2008.
The proposals submitted will be initially considered by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Alexei Kudrin.
The Economic Development Ministry will draft and submit to the Government before November 1, 2008 proposals on possible exemption of the capital construction projects of high social, defence, political, or other significance, fully or partly financed by the federal budget, from inspection of appropriate use of budget funds in a capital investment project, compulsory under the Federal Law On Investment Activity in the Russian Federation in the Form of Capital Investment.
The Ministries of Economic Development and Finance will submit to the Government, before December 10, 2008, proposals on redistribution schemes for the federal funds earmarked in 2009-2011 to finance construction projects and facilities with specifications and estimates unfinished or unapproved as of April 1.
The Ministries of Economic Development and Finance were instructed to submit proposals to the Government on keeping a single register for works under the federal targeted programmes and capital construction projects starting January 1, 2009, and proposals to simplify the procedures for implementing federal targeted programmes, such as adjusting the programmes only after adopting or changing the federal law on the federal budget for the next year and the next planning period.
3. The Draft Federal Law On Amending Chapter 25.3 of Part 2 of Russia's Tax Code and several other laws, and invalidating the Federal Law On Fees Charged for Licences Issued to Produce and Deal in Ethyl Alcohol and Alcohol-Containing Products.
The Russian Government Presidium discussed and approved the draft federal law and decided to forward it to the State Duma.
4. The Draft Federal Law On Amending Articles 333.33 and 333.35 of Part 2 of Russia's Tax Code
The Russian Government Presidium approved the draft federal law and decided to forward it to the State Duma.
5. The Draft Federal Law On Amending the Administrative Offenses Code
The Russian Government Presidium approved the draft federal law and decided to forward it to the State Duma.
6. The Draft Federal Law On Amending Article 11 of the Federal Law On State Borders
The Russian Government Presidium approved the draft federal law and decided to forward it to the State Duma.
September 23, 2008
Moscow
* Decisions on the items on the agenda are made with due account of the remarks and proposals expressed at the Government meeting and are issued as official documents of the Government.