Legal support to a Polish company during modification of the contractual structure for liquefied gas shipments

Legal support to a Polish company during modification of the contractual structure for shipments of liquefied gas from Russia to Poland, analysis of consequences, elaboration of recommendations

Our client is the buyer (a gas importer in Poland) in a contract with the seller (an exporter to Russia) who pays all taxes (including VAT), duties and other charges for the gas purchased. The client asked FBK Legal for advice because the client was considering trading liquefied gas using a new contractual scheme.

Analysis and evaluation of civil law consequences of the modification of the contractual shipment scheme; determining if export shipments are allowed by the Russian laws under the new liquefied gas trading scheme (including shipments to a recipient, with which the exporter has no direct contract). Clarification of tax and customs implications for the company in accordance with the Russian laws due to the modification of the scheme, of specific aspects of the documenting of exports in the modified structure and of the confirmation of the gas recipient in Poland. Pointing out what kind of contract is deemed as a foreign economic contract for the validation of a zero VAT rate when exporting gas from Russia.