Regulation of cryptocurrencies in Russia is moving fast. On April 28, Alexey Yakovlev, Director of the Finance Ministry's Financial Policy Department, announced at the Alpha Summit that the draft law on taxation of digital asset transactions had passed the government's legislative activity commission and would be submitted to the State Duma next week.
"Just yesterday, the government's legislative activity commission reviewed legislative initiatives on tax regulation, and next week they will be submitted to the State Duma," Yakovlev said.
The bill covers several blocks. For VAT: The services of digital depositories and cryptocurrency exchangers are exempt from VAT. Non-deliverable foreign digital rights certifying only monetary claims are also excluded from VAT.
Personal income tax: a new article 214.12 of the Tax Code is being introduced, which regulates the procedure for collecting taxes on income from the sale and other disposal of digital currency, including exchange transactions.
According to the CFA, this is the norm most expected by the market: expenses on digital financial assets can now be taken into account in the general tax base. "Among other things, it provides for the long—awaited norm for the CFA market for accounting for CFA expenses in the general tax base, which is expected by all, probably, issuers of debt CFA without exception," Yakovlev emphasized.
Additionally, foreign digital rights are equated to digital currency, which removes legal uncertainty for companies working with foreign platforms.
An important point in terms of timing: the head of the State Duma Committee on the Financial Market, Anatoly Aksakov, previously confirmed that the tax changes for the CFA will be retroactive — they can be applied by 2026.
For businesses using cryptocurrency in foreign economic activity settlements, this law is the next step after the July resolution of crypto settlements in foreign trade contracts. With its adoption, a clear tax framework will appear.: how to calculate income, how to account for expenses, what is exempt from VAT. Working with crypto in foreign economic activity will become more legally predictable.
