Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin chaired a meeting with his deputies to discuss measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus and support the economy, including small and medium-sized businesses, website of the government reports.
As Mishustin noted, “Shopping malls and entertainment centers have already shut down. Only shops that sell food and essential goods are still open, and cafes and restaurants only offer takeaway or delivery. The punishment for violating the quarantine has also been stiffened.”
Since March 30, “temporary restrictions on all movement across the Russian state border, including the land border with Belarus” were effected, he said.
He specifically detailed the measures to support real economy, mentioning “access to preferential loans and interest-free loans for businesspeople, primarily for paying employees.” Small and medium-sized enterprises are offered “a six-month grace period for all taxes, other than VAT. Insurance payments for micro businesses have been postponed. We have deferred government property lease payments and will establish a moratorium on charging penalties and bankruptcy procedures. All payments for servicing existing loans will be delayed by six months for small companies operating in the affected sectors. A third of such payments will be assumed by the state through subsidies and another third by the banks.”