The Federal tax service has received access to the bank secrecy

From March 17, 2021, the powers of the Federal Tax Service of Russia in the issue of access to bank secrecy have been significantly expanded. In response to the Government’s proposal, the relevant legislative amendments were implemented in the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

Thus, what has been changed?

• Tax authorities have the right to request copies of a number of documents from credit institutions, including passports and contracts;
• Banks are obliged to provide the requested documents within a period not exceeding 3 days after the request from the tax authorities;
• Data requests can now be made with the consent of the head of a higher tax authority or an authorized representative of a federal executive body.

The legislative amendments are aimed at preventing evasion of the obligation to pay taxes to the state budget, as well as to increase the effectiveness of the risk-based approach when conducting tax control measures.