Moscow business: Online services and offline support

Government services for business

The city began by transitioning to online applications for licences and permits, as well as other procedures. The Business catalogue of the government city services portal pgu.mos.ru offers over 90 services that are divided into several categories, including Architecture and Construction, Land Use and Real Estate, Transport and Special Vehicles, Trade, Advertisement and Licensing, and Other Services. The latter includes the submission of applications for subsidies, benefits and specific activities, such as the registration and operation of amusement equipment.

The biggest demand is in construction: According to the Urban Development and Construction Complex (Stroicomplex), 83 percent of applications (15,400 of 18,600) were filed online over the past eight months. Overall, 11 of 12 government services in construction are provided online.

There are many advantages to receiving government services online. First, applicants do not need to go anywhere: they can monitor the progress of their applications via user accounts. Second, the list of documents they must provide has been minimised because government agencies may not request the documents they have at their disposal or can receive from other government agencies. And third, owing to automated information handling, users can receive the required government services, such as construction permits, very quickly, within seven business days.

Accessibility is another major advantage. For example, information about filing applications or processing them is available at any nearest My Documents government service centre. Also, legal and financial consultation services are available to sole proprietors and legal entities at 12 specialised service centres for businesses.

Supplier Portal

In February 2013, the Supplier Portal subsystem was launched at the integrated automated information system of the Unified Register of Contracts and Tenders (EAIST). In keeping with Federal Law No. 44-FZ On Contractual System of Purchasing Goods, Works and Services for State and Municipal Purposes, all relatively small purchase contracts (up to 400,000 roubles) are signed online.

Modern information technologies, above all online document management and business intelligence tools (ratings, reports and planning calendars), simplify urban client interaction with small and medium-sized businesses. These companies publish their offers of goods, works and services on the government services portal, so that potential clients can assess them and hold tenders to choose reliable contractors.

The number of suppliers registered on the portal in 2016 increased by 25 percent to over 66,000. A total of 257,000 offers have been posted online. Since the portal opened, it has been used to sign over one million contracts.

In the first six months of 2016, about 9,000 suppliers and 8,000 clients registered on the portal. They signed some 100,000 contracts. Over 2015, the number of suppliers increased to 40,000 and the total value of the implemented contracts exceeded 19 billion roubles. As of early December 2016, over 66,000 suppliers published more than 220,000 offers on the portal, and over 41.5 billion roubles’ worth of contracts were implemented in January through November 2016.

The portal has detailed navigation instructions.

The Tender Exchange

The Tender Exchange project was launched at VDNKh in December 2014 and has since been incorporated into the Smart City centre of information. It was organised by the Moscow Competition Policy Department jointly with the above Supplier Portal and the largest companies on Moscow online trading platforms: Roseltorg United Electronic Market Place, Sberbank-AST, RTS-Tender and MICEX.

The project aims to increase the transparency of and bolster the fair competition of procurement procedures and investment tenders.

Tender Exchange participants receive information about municipal procurement plans and upcoming tenders for municipal land and real property. The portal also offers consultations and training for start-up businesses.

The Tender Exchange never stops looking for new forms of operation and regularly holds conferences on issues of interest for the business community, from launching start-ups to developing a competitive environment in the various segments of the city’s economy.

For example, business people attend the Competitor Club to discuss important issues with other market operators and the buyers of their goods and services.

The Adults and Children workshops launched in August 2016 offer team business games for teens aged 10 to 15 and their parents and grandparents.

The Young Investor’s School helps kids learn the skills of strategic thinking, substantiated marketing and financial decisions and property management. The Competition game is a fun way to learn about procurement and competitive advantages. This game also offers information about who makes school desks and pills.

Training for business people

Moscow offers many opportunities for starting and developing a business. If you are not sure of yourself or lack the necessary skills, you can take classes. As an old saying goes, “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.”

The Federal Tax Service’s Create Your Business service for emergent entrepreneurs describes the basic legal forms of business (sole proprietors and legal entities) and offers step-by-step instructions for establishing a business.

Business services centres offer individual consultations and comprehensive training in legal and financial issues, including subsidies and benefits for businesses. Over 160,000 people have attended these classes in the past few years.

Moscow’s departments and agencies also hold seminars on the provision of online services. From July through September 2016, personnel from the Moscow Committee for Architecture and Urban Development, the Committee for Investment Project Support and Participatory Construction Oversight, the Committee for State Oversight in Construction, and the Committee on State Examination of Projects and Pricing in Construction held over 20 meetings with developers. The participants discussed the processes for receiving construction permits, opening newly built or renovated housing, checking project documentation, submitting online reports and other issues. The quarterly schedule of seminars is available on Stroicomplex’s portal.