FBK Legal Experts Attend Russian Tax Week

From 10 to 18 April 2025, Moscow hosted the 15th anniversary Russian Tax Week, a spring session organised by the Chamber of Tax Consultants.

Russian Tax Week is a professional platform for open discussion of relevant issues in tax and levy legislation, related legal fields, and emerging judicial practices, with the aim of developing a unified professional stance on debated topics.

Alexander Grigoriev, Partner, Tax Services Department, Eduard Giulbasarov, Director, Transaction Tax Structuring Department, and Ekaterina Subbotina, Head of Cross-Functional Projects Practice, Tax Services Department, participated in the event:

April 10
Eduard Giulbasarov gave a speech titled “The Price of Popularity: Tax and Non-Tax Consequences of Advertising Expenses in 2025” at the Russian Tax Congress “Tax and Legal Reality in 2025.” In his speech, Eduard highlighted practical challenges related to online advertising expenses and the payment of mandatory fees for online advertising.

April 11
Alexander Grigoriev’s report “The GPTLEGAL.PRO Virtual AI Consultant Platform: A Lawyer, Accountant, and Tax Advisor with Expertise in Legislation and Practice” was presented on the Russian Tax Congress day dedicated to the Russian IT business in the context of industry and tax regulation.

Alexander shed light on the following topics:

• Efficiently managing tasks and saving time using AI agents when handling large files and complex issues.
• Practical examples of using the platform for document generation and contract risk analysis.
• AI-driven research on applying IT tax incentives, including analysis of practices, clarifications from the Federal Tax Service and the Ministry of Finance.
• Leveraging specialised Internet search tools and rapid query processing.
• Limitations to consider when working with AI.

On 11 April, Alexander also spoke at the session “Anti-Crisis Opportunities of Conciliation Procedures” held during the day focused on “Conciliation Procedures in Tax Relations and Bankruptcy: Business Preservation Opportunities 3.0.”

April 17
Ekaterina Subbotina hosted a session titled “Positions of the Ministry of Finance and FTS of Russia in Clarifications, Letters, and Motivated Opinions: Practical Applications” as part of the seminar “The Three Pillars of a Tax Consultant’s Success: Analysing Legal Norms, Positions of the Ministry of Finance and FTS, and Judicial Practice. Implementation Recommendations.” Ekaterina discussed the pros and cons of traditional methods for obtaining clarifications from the Ministry of Finance and FTS of Russia, shared recommendations for building a defensive position in tax disputes considering “positive” or “negative” stances of these agencies, and explained the practice of requesting motivated opinions during tax monitoring. She also highlighted how motivated opinions can effectively address gaps and flaws in tax legislation and achieve significant tax savings.