On February 24, 2021 the President of Russia signed a law which allows conducting of general meetings (including also annual) in 2021 for JSCs and LLCs by a form of absentee voting.

According paragraphs of Federal Law No. 208-FZ of 26 December 1995 “On Joint Stock Companies” and Federal Law No. 14-FZ of 8 February 1998 “On Limited Liability Companies” which do not allow holding general meetings of shareholders/participants in form of absentee voting on several issues, were herewith suspended till the end of 2021.

Thus, the general meeting of LLC participants, the agenda of which includes approval of annual reports and annual balance sheets, in 2021 can also be held in the form of absentee voting (by questioning).

Meanwhile, the new regulation does not extend the deadline for annual meetings, as it was done in 2020 (at that time the deadline for annual meetings was extended up to September 30).

In this regard, when planning the annual meeting and approval of the financial statements for 2020, standard terms stipulated by the legislation should be taken into account: the general annual meeting shall be held not earlier than 2 months and not later than 4 months after the end of the financial year (i.e. within the period from March 1 to April 30).

Proceeding of the annual meeting by a form of absentee voting shall be approved by the executive body of the LLC. The procedure for convening the meeting and its protocol shall fully comply with the conditions applicable for the year 2021.

 We will be glad to answer your questions and to support you on the issue if needed!

RECOMMENDATIONS

• Due to the continuing restrictions on cross-border travel, we recommend to consider the possibility of holding general meetings (including annual meetings) in 2021 by absentee voting.

• When planning the meeting to approve the results of 2020, please note that the deadline (differently than in 2020), remained standard: from 01.03. to 30.04.2021.

• We also recommend to pay special attention to the execution of the relevant documents when holding the general annual meeting in the form of absentee voting.

Decree № 5-UM of the Mayor of Moscow suspends from January 27, 2021 the obligation of Moscow employers to transfer at least 30% of employees to remote work.

Decree № 5-UM of the Mayor of Moscow dd. January 27, 2021 (hereinafter – the Decree) suspends from January 27, 2021 the obligation of Moscow employers to transfer at least 30% of employees to remote work. Nevertheless, employers are advised to keep in force the measures taken on transferring employees to remote working mode.

Please note that the requirement for Moscow employers to transfer all employees over the age of 65 to remote work, as well as citizens with diseases, the list of which is determined by the Department of Health of Moscow, except for citizens whose presence in the workplace is critical, remains in force.

Also, the requirement to submit data on changes in the number of employees transferred to remote mode in electronic form using a personal account on the official website of the Mayor and Government of Moscow in accordance with clause 2.4.3. of the Decree remains in force.