- carrying out tax due diligence in relation to the business acquired by Tochka including on 5 legal entities involved in internet advertising and marketing
- developing a non-recourse factoring tax accounting system for one of the largest IT equipment distributors in Russia
- conducting tax analysis of gift card issuance models for one of the world's leading FMCG companies, assessing VAT and income tax risks in a highly controversial court practice, developing optimal tax solutions and preparing documents to implement such solutions
- providing analysis of tax risks related to the implementation of new license payments for using a trademark and know-how in the AFRY group
- conducting a comprehensive analysis of Gazprombank Leasing’s planned business structure in terms of legislation of two countries simultaneously – the Russian Federation and the Republic of Uzbekistan
- advising, a leading international fashion retailer, on structuring business processes related to the procurement of goods and services from various suppliers, including preparing relevant tax policy documents
- analyzing international legislation and practice related to VAT taxation of online trade in low-value goods and the possibilities of implementing regulatory mechanisms in the Russian tax system for a leading e-retailer in Russia
- advising, a rental company, on the application of a reduced tax rate for cross-border operations in the international business structure and elaborating a position on protecting the company from any tax risks in future periods
- representing Lenovo (Russia’s largest distributor) in tax disputes relating to the bad-faith suppliers’ negligence, VAT and corporate income tax accrual during the pre-trial stage totaling over USD 25m
- advising a German multinational engineering corporation on the comprehensive restructuring of contractual relations and developing VAT recovery options for advance payments for a total amount of over USD 33m
- successfully representing Russia's largest private rail freight operator in a tax dispute over the application of the 5% rule for VAT recovery
- assisting an international construction company in tax structuring in relation to debt financing in Russia and subsequent settlements with foreign shareholders (debt push down)
- representing a major airline company in a tax dispute against the beneficial owner of financial leasing income for an amount of more than USD 25m
- drafting a new policy for a major agricultural company that is applicable to its operations with suppliers in order to reflect the new Russian General Anti-Avoidance Rules stipulated in Article 54.1 of the RF Tax Code as well as developing new methods that help to assess the company’s suppliers during tenders and to minimize the client’s tax risks
- performing comprehensive analysis of business processes and documentation for the lead lessor of tank containers in terms of emerging shortages, assessing the need to charge VAT on shortages written off as losses, and proposing specific recommendations for organizing measures sufficient to meet the conditions for not charging VAT
Practices
Tax
Business Tax Structuring Leaders, Forbes Club Legal Ranking 2023
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The Legal 500 EMEA 2021
BIRCH LEGAL’s tax team adheres to the principles of high quality and detailed analysis of the issues that our clients entrust us with, as well as providing effective business solutions. Our team specializes in complex tax projects providing our clients with the full scope of tax services, inter alia:
- Providing tax consulting on complicated VAT, corporate income tax, withholding tax and personal tax methodology issues, as well as performing the principal purpose test (PPT) of transactions and others
- Advising on the tax structuring of businesses in Russia abroad
- Advising on the tax structuring of corporate reorganizations and M&A
- Performing tax due diligence
- Preparing, reviewing and amending transaction business document packages for tax purposes (e.g., intragroup services/financing contracts) fully compatible with OECD and Russian tax methodology
- Preparing draft laws on taxation, requests to RF Ministry of Finance, RF Federal tax service, and RF Federal Customs Service
- Providing support in the application of preferential tax regimes (e.g., IT tax regime)
- Resolving pre-litigation and litigation tax disputes, performing tax investigations, and holding tax negotiations
- Preparing internal tax risk management documents together with tax business process mapping
Key contacts