Duvernoix Legal’s real estate and tax advisors provide comprehensive legal support to clients in the field of real estate and tax law. Their main areas of activity cover various issues in the field of real estate, from structuring transactions to supporting complex infrastructure projects, as well as advising on tax legislation, structuring companies’ activities taking into account tax aspects, settling tax disputes, analyzing risks and possible tax consequences, as well as maintaining accounting and tax accounting of organizations.
Such a versatile approach allows clients to receive comprehensive and professional assistance in solving complex problems related to both tax issues and legal aspects in the field of real estate. With this combined expertise, clients are confident that their interests will be effectively protected and the relevant legal requirements will be met in both areas.
The main real estate services include:
- Legal and organizational support for the implementation of projects related to the turnover of real estate, including support for infrastructure projects;
- Structuring and maintaining investment agreements, concession agreements, public-private partnership projects;
- Drawing up opinions on land law and town planning law;
- Legal support of the procedure for the formation of land plots and other real estate objects;
- Advising on the transfer of land to another category and changes in permitted use;
- Conducting Due Diligence (assessment of legal risks) when acquiring real estate objects;
- Organization of state registration of transactions with real estate objects;
- Litigation in the field of real estate;
- Conducting legal expertise of draft local regulations, draft regulations, participation in drawing up drafts of relevant acts.
The main tax law services include:
Legal entities:
- Analysis of the tax consequences of ongoing transactions, development of the best possible way to conduct the transaction;
- Advising on issues related to participation in international transactions;
- Tax structuring of investment projects and transactions;
- Maintaining accounting and tax records of Clients’ companies, making payments;
- Representing the interests of the Clients’ companies in tax authorities;
- Settlement of issues related to arrears of the Clients’ companies;
- Carrying out tax audits of the Clients’ companies with a view to presenting possible claims from the tax authorities;
- Development of options for correcting identified errors with minimal losses for the Client;
- Legal support of the Clients’ companies during the period of on-site, cameral tax audits;
- Appeal against non-regulatory rulings of tax authorities, their actions (inaction) in an administrative, judicial order;
- Development of best options for the work of the Clients’ companies with regard to tax legislation.
Individuals:
- Deal planning and development of best options for Clients;
- Preparation of notifications of participation in foreign organizations and notification of controlled foreign companies;
- Advising on tax implications in Russia arising from the presence of controlled foreign companies, investment portfolios, and other assets abroad;
- Solving issues related to transport, land tax, personal income tax;
- Preparation and submission of income tax returns;
- Representation of Clients’ interests in tax authorities.
Practice Achievements:
The practice was included in the "Best Legal Practices" rating according to "Kommersant":
- Construction and real estate: dispute resolution and advice. Regional ranking.
- Band 2. PPP/Infrastructure projects.
- In 2019, the real estate practice was included in Group 1 (Gold) in the Commercial Property/Construction category.
- In 2020, the real estate practice was included in Group 2 (Silver) in the Land/Commercial/Construction category.
- In 2021-2022 the real estate practice was included in Group 2 (Silver) in the category “Land Law/Commercial Real Estate/Construction”.
Some of the implemented projects in the field of support of real estate transactions:
- IC Holding: Legal advice to a Turkish construction company in relation to its participation in a tender for the construction of the Western High Speed Diameter section. IC Holding was selected as the general contractor for the Northern Capital Highway consortium. Full legal support for the construction of the WHSD section using PPP mechanisms;
- IC Holding: legal advice to a Turkish construction company in relation to the construction of the Pulkovo-3 airport using PPP mechanisms;
- IC Holding: full legal support for participation in the tender, subsequent legal support for the construction of the M-11 highway;
- Russian developer: legal advice as part of the preparation of the concept for the implementation of the project for the construction of the Promenade health resort complex in the Kaliningrad region (using the mechanisms of a large-scale investment project, SEZ);
- Russian developer: full legal support of the project for the construction of a multifunctional complex in St. Petersburg;
- Major Korean developer: full legal support for an investment project to modernize an area in the center of St. Petersburg;
- Russian developer: legal support in relation to the construction of an apartment complex in St. Petersburg;
- Russian developer: full legal support on the construction of housing stock in St. Petersburg and the conclusion of an investment agreement with the city;
- Major Korean developer: legal support of a development project of a Korean investment fund to modernize an area in St. Petersburg;
- Representing the interests of owners in a lawsuit on the case of unauthorized seizure of land plots in the Leningrad region;
- Legal support of the project for the privatization of land plots on the territory of St. Petersburg with a total area of up to 50 hectares for a large holding company;
- Structuring a transaction for the acquisition of real estate of an industrial enterprise in St. Petersburg for the subsequent development of the territory;
- Representing the interests of a major Korean investment company in the acquisition of a number of objects in St. Petersburg;
- Preparation of the contractual framework for the construction project of a multifunctional complex in the Krasnodar Territory.
Some of the implemented projects in the field of tax law:
- Financial amnesty of capitals and companies abroad;
- Tax-free liquidation of CFCs and tax declaration of assets in Russia;
- Advising a transnational corporation manufacturing household chemicals on tax legislation issues related to the current activities of the company;
- Legal support of the current activities of the Finnish construction group of companies on tax legislation;
- Successful completion of an arbitration dispute related to VAT refunds for a Finnish construction group of companies. For the first time, a practice has been established in favor of a taxpayer - a foreign company for the reimbursement of VAT paid before tax registration;
- Out-of-court resolution of issues related to VAT refund for one of the leaders in the global confectionery market.