On 21 February 2025, the official website of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation published* an updated application form for obtaining the Government Commission permit for transactions subject to “counter-sanctions” restrictions.
The primary change in the application form concerns the validity period of valuation reports prepared by independent appraisers for the subject of the transaction. It is worth mentioning that, in practice, the validity of valuation reports has been a significant challenge for applicants, as they frequently need to update their reports during the application review process due to their formal expiration.
According to the updated requirements, a valuation report must:
For example, in compliance with these requirements: a valuation report with a valuation date of 31 December 2024 must be prepared no later than 30 June 2025 (report date). This report will remain valid for review by the Government Commission within 3 months following the report date.
It is also important to note that all valuation reports must be accompanied by an expert opinion from a self-regulatory organisation of valuers (the “SRO”), confirming compliance with the applicable legal requirements. This requirement remains unchanged.
Regarding the SRO expert opinion, we reasonably believe that the timing requirements apply solely to the valuation report and do not formally extend to the SRO expert opinion date. However, we acknowledge that alternative interpretations may arise in practice.
When preparing documentation for the Government Commission approval of transactions, we recommend ensuring compliance with the updated requirements concerning the validity period of valuation reports.
We continue to monitor developments in the legal framework and regulatory practice on this matter.
* In Russian
Publication is also available in Russian.
Authors:
Maxim Boulba, Partner, Head of Antitrust & Regulatory
Elena Andrianova, Senior Associate, Antitrust & Regulatory
Ksenia Voloshchenko, Associate, Antitrust & Regulatory