Russian Federation

[RU] Cinemas are included in the list of supported sectors

IRIS 2020-5:1/19

Ekaterina Semenova

Confederation of Rightholders societies of Europe and Asia

On 10 April, the Russian Government published a Resolution "On amendments to the list of sectors of the Russian economy the worst affected in the deteriorating situation with the spread of a new coronavirus infection." According to this document, the section "Culture, leisure and entertainment" was supplemented with "activities in the field of film exhibition."

This decision was reached with the direct participation of the Association of Cinema Owners. It should be noted that the Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov called on the government to include film exhibiting organisations in the list of companies in need of priority assistance. The Association of Film Distributors also addressed the Deputy Prime Minister seeking assistance. Among the measures that can help the film industry to recover from the crisis, film distributors called for a reduction of the tax burden, the provision of loans on preferential terms, a reduction in the number of inspections carried out by state agencies, and other types of state support.

It is important to recall that initially, among the 22 business areas that have suffered significant losses and need assistance from the federal government, the industry of culture, leisure and entertainment; airway transportation; sports; tourism; the hotel industry and catering had been named. Companies from this list will be granted a six-month deferral to pay taxes other than VAT, insurance premiums and payments on loans for small and meduim-sized enterprises.