Judgment of the Constitutional Court of 23 May 2013 № 11-П on the review of constitutionality of paragraph 1 of Article 333.40 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation in connection with the complaint of the limited liability company “Vstrecha”


Legal issue: the constitutionality of the rule, which precludes the reimbursement of the amount of dues paid for the license for retail sales of spirits, when the license has been denied.

Ratio decidendi: the Court deemed the rule to be not contradictory to the Constitution. It pointed out that legislative requirements to the license seeker are sufficiently certain and do not allow for making arbitrary decisions; therefore, the imposition of the risks, including financial ones, on the applicant in his capacity of an entrepreneur does correspond to the criterion of constitutional proportionality. The designation of such license due consists not only in the replenishment of the public budget or compensation of the expenses of licensing body, but also in the creation of a fiscal barrier for entering the market of retail sales of spirits.


Dissenting opinion:
  • An economically justified right of the State to exact the amount of the due emerges only when an action of legal significance – in this case the issuance of the license – has been actually perpetuated.

Document (364.71 Kb)
Subject area:
Economic activities, finances licensing