News Digest 21.06.2024 — 24.06.2024
Regulators
The State Duma approved the bill on tax changes in the first reading
The State Duma approved the bill on improving the tax system in the first reading. Representatives of the pharmaceutical industry interviewed by FV assessed the changes being made on the issues of a simplified tax system and the introduction of an excise tax on alcohol.
The State Duma adopted in the first reading bill No. 639663-8 "On Amendments to Parts One and Two of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation and Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation" on improving the tax system. The changes are planned to come into force on January 1, 2025. Earlier, President Vladimir Putin said that the changes could be finally approved as early as August.
For legal entities, the profit tax rate will be increased from the current 20 to 25%. In addition, an amnesty is being introduced for businesses willing to abandon splitting schemes. For small and medium-sized businesses, it is proposed to gradually increase the thresholds for applying the simplified taxation system (STS) for income to 450 million rubles per year (currently about 265 million rubles), and for fixed assets - to 200 million rubles (currently about 150 million rubles).
It is also planned to introduce an excise tax on the pharmaceutical substance of alcohol (ethanol). The conclusion of the Accounts Chamber indicates that the bill provides for a full deduction of excise tax when using medical alcohol for its intended purpose, which will prevent an increase in drug prices.
"Medical alcohol will be subject to excise tax at the rate of regular alcohol. This measure will help reduce the market for illegal alcohol," the conclusion says.
At a plenary session of the State Duma, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov reported that the government has determined a mechanism that will prevent an increase in the cost of drugs associated with the collection of excise tax on medical alcohol. He stated that pharmaceutical substances of ethyl alcohol for the production of medicines will be excluded from the taxation system in the amount of up to 50 thousand decalitres per enterprise. In total, about 1.5 million decalitres of alcohol will be excluded from taxation.
Market news
Chelyabinsk UFAS fined another participant in the "medical" cartel 22 million rubles
The Chelyabinsk Office of the FAS of Russia fined a cartel participant in a tender for the supply of medical equipment. Medical Technologies LLC must pay 22 million rubles, the service reported.
Fines in this case in the amount of 36 million rubles were assigned by the UFAS to 11 companies in early May 2024. Later, it became known about a similar punishment for three more cartel members in the amount of 9 million rubles. The antimonopoly agency is currently considering a case on bringing another participant in the conspiracy to administrative responsibility.
In March 2023, as MV wrote, the Chelyabinsk UFAS suspected 19 companies from Chelyabinsk, Magnitogorsk, Kurgan, Orenburg, Yekaterinburg, Moscow, St. Petersburg, the republics of Bashkortostan and Udmurtia of collusion for a total of almost 740 million rubles. Later, two of them were excluded from the list of cartel members.
companies when achieving the implementation of the anticompetitive agreement:
The companies convicted of collusion in 2020-2021 participated in tenders for the supply of medical equipment and medical products (for example, endoscopes, X-ray systems, artificial lung ventilators, etc.). At the same time, they used a single infrastructure and identical design of application file properties; had long-term stable financial relationships under loan agreements and under contracts for the supply of goods; the same persons received digital signature certificates and also used the same telephone numbers and email addresses in applications for the issuance of digital signatures; reduced the initial price of contracts by 2-4%; interacted when submitting commercial proposals, influencing the formation of the initial price of contracts.
Deputy Kurinny spoke in favor of lifting the moratorium on inspections of medical businesses
State Duma deputies will initiate the lifting of the moratorium on scheduled inspections of facilities related to food production and healthcare, that is, areas of the economy where there is an immediate threat to human life and health if technologies are violated or low-quality drugs are used, Deputy Chairman of the Health Protection Committee Alexei Kurinny said at a press conference on June 24, a correspondent for MV reports. According to the deputy, “at least preventive visits” to medical organizations should be resumed.
The latest mass poisonings of citizens are a consequence of the fact that control over the production, storage and transportation of food products has been weakened, Kurinny believes. The basis for an unscheduled inspection of an enterprise today can be either serious harm to health or death. This has led to a decrease in enterprise discipline. matel, he said.
"In my opinion, these mass cases are just the tip of the iceberg, and the government needs to move to the option of at least partially lifting the moratorium. In those areas that concern threats to life and health, systemic basic checks should be returned. We will come up with such a proposal," he specified.
The same, according to him, applies to medical clinics, especially those providing services in the field of cosmetology and plastic surgery. There are frequent cases when they use medical drugs and equipment that are not licensed in Russia. This is confirmed by periodic cases of injury or death among patients.
"If you go to a private center, half of the devices there are not approved for use in the territory of the Russian Federation, although they are purchased and used. The same thing with the quality of drugs and medical products. The same fillers, many do not pass through the state control system. The reason is the same: no checks, no control, no responsibility. All this gives rise to the desire to earn more. We see how people are periodically disfigured during cosmetic procedures, and there are also fatal cases. But again, the attention of the government, supervisory and law enforcement agencies begins to appear only after this has happened,” Kurinny emphasized.
For most organizations in the healthcare sector, a moratorium on business inspections has been in effect since March 2022. In the spring of 2023, it was extended until 2030. The moratorium does not apply only to a limited number of medical institutions, including maternity hospitals and perinatal centers. In December 2023, healthcare, social services and public catering organizations for children, as well as hospitals, clinics, and orphanages were excluded from scheduled inspections. Despite the fact that these institutions are classified as extremely high and high risk, regulatory authorities will limit themselves to preventive visits, MV wrote.
According to Roszdravnadzor, no more than 300 organizations across the country are currently subject to scheduled inspections. Of these, 34 clinics are classified as extremely high risk and 262 are classified as high risk. Despite the moratorium, by October 2022, medical institutions had already received fines for violating licensing conditions totaling almost 3 million rubles, MV calculated.
Other
Surgeons at the NMIC of Cardiology performed the third transcatheter implantation of the aortic valve for the first time
Specialists at the NMIC of Cardiology named after academician E.I. Chazov performed a unique endovascular operation for transcatheter implantation of the aortic valve on a 77-year-old patient with two previously implanted endovascular valves. He was admitted to the medical institution with failure of previously implanted aortic valve prostheses, the press service of the cardiology center reported.
Endovascular intervention is performed on patients with critical aortic valve stenosis. As the number of such operations increases, the need for re-implantation of the valve increases when its dysfunction develops for various reasons.
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