What new laws will come into force in Russia from December 1, 2023?

Reminder for retirees: due to the long January holidays, most will receive a pension in December not only for December, but also for January.

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From December 1, 2023, important laws will come into force in Russia that will affect the lives of car owners, pensioners and Internet users. We publish the main ones.

List of new laws that will come into force in Russia from December 1, 2023

REMEMBER ABOUT TAXES

December 1 is the last day for citizens to pay taxes on time for 2022. These concern transport, land and property (apartment, house or cottage, garage, parking space).

It is not necessary to tell anything personally. Even before November 1, you should have received a payment from the tax office, where everything has already been calculated, to the taxpayer’s personal account on the website of the Federal Tax Service or to a similar account on the service portal governmental. And if there is neither one nor the other, a piece of paper by mail to your permanent residence address. The main thing to remember is that failure to receive a payment does not exempt you from paying taxes. Therefore, if you understand that the tax must be paid, but have not seen the notification, urgently report it to the tax office. Preferably in writing (so that the appeal is recorded). This can be done through the taxpayer’s personal account or the feedback form on the website of the Federal Tax Service. Then there is still a small chance (if you do it before the “H” time, i.e. before December 2) that a new invoice will be sent without penalty, deeming you a bona fide taxpayer and changing the payment deadline.

If you do not pay, fines will begin to accumulate from December 2: 1/300 of the key rate of the Central Bank for each day of delay. The key rate is now 15%, which works out to be 0.05% of the accumulated tax amount per day. That is, let’s say that if you were credited with 2000 rubles, one ruble will be added to this amount every day. And if it is 10,000 rubles, then 5 rubles.

THE PENSION WILL BE PAID TWICE

Reminder for retirees: due to the long January holidays, most will receive a pension in December not only for December, but also for January. There is no need to confuse this with a mythical “pension number 13”. Everything is as usual, when the traditional payday falls on a weekend: the money is transferred to the card or can be withdrawn at the checkout the day before on a business day. And since we are waiting for the weekend of December 30 to January 8 and most banks are also closed, January pension payments will begin on December 25. And this applies to those who receive a pension from 1 to 8. It is better to check the specific schedule where you receive the money (post office, Sberbank, etc.); may vary depending on the specific region. The same applies to other social benefits.

Important: the January pension, although it will be paid in December, will already be increased for pensioners who do not work. This is a traditional annual indexation, it will be 7.5%.

MONEY FOR THE BLOCKADE

On December 1, the government decree on a one-time payment also comes into force on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade (January 27). It will be received by those who have received the medal “For the Defense of Leningrad” or the badge “Resident of the Besieged Leningrad”. This applies to both blockade survivors in Russia and those now living in Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Transnistria, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. In total, about 60 thousand people are hired.

The payment will be 50 thousand rubles and will be transferred in December-January.

THEY PROMISE NOT TO FINE FOR TIRES

Starting December 1, Russian drivers should, in theory, only drive on winter tires (or all-season tires). Since September, the list of breakdowns with which vehicle circulation is prohibited has been updated. And there were out-of-season tires: summer tires – in winter – from December to February, studded tires – from June to August (“Velcro” is possible). For violation, a fine is imposed, according to the Code of Administrative Offenses, of 500 rubles. Or a warning.

The head of the traffic police, Mikhail Chernikov, assured on November 29 that there would be no fines. Additionally, inspectors will not stop or evacuate vehicles without winter tires.

As explained by Irina Volk, a representative of the Ministry of the Interior, who published a video on her Telegram channel with these explanations from the head of the traffic police, “police officers aim to help drivers and carry out explanatory work.”

GOOGLE MAIL DOES NOT ACCESS

Attention Internet lovers: starting December 1, it will be possible to register on our websites only using a mobile phone number or exclusively Russian services. These are, in particular:

– Public services,

– Unified biometric system,

– “other information systems that provide authorization and meet the established requirements for information protection” (we translate: we are talking, for example, about VKontakte or Russian mail such as Mail.ru).

For those who do not understand what the point is: registering on a site with a Russian domain (ending in .ru, .su, .рф), say, through Google or using the popular Google mail Gmail, will no longer work.

The explanation is as follows: this is necessary to limit the access of foreign services to the personal data of Russians.

The law does not have retroactive force. So, if you have already registered somewhere, including for government services, using Gmail, you do not need to register again.

It is clear that the innovations do not apply to foreign sites.

WHAT ELSE WILL CHANGE?

– As of December 1, mandatory labeling of soft drinks in glass and polymer containers begins, except for juices, nectars, fruit drinks and drinks made from plant materials. That is, a special additional barcode will appear on them, which will allow you to track its path from the manufacturer to the counter through the “Honest Sign” system. Starting March 1, the same thing will happen with these canned drinks. As of June 1, labeling will be extended to juices, nectars, vegetable milks, compotes and other non-alcoholic beverages in any container.

– From December 11, amendments to the law on the procedure for leaving and entering the Russian Federation will come into force. They more clearly detail the list of reasons why a foreign passport may be declared invalid and, consequently, will not be released from the country. This is, for example, if the passport holder’s data has changed (say, he changed his surname, but did not change the document). Or the citizen did not deposit his international passport within the required period (5 days) in connection with mandatory military service.

– And about the most pleasant thing. This year’s New Year holidays will begin earlier than usual – on December 30. It is true that this is only because December 30 and 31 fall on a Saturday and Sunday. The vacation will last 10 days, until January 8.