On 1 April 2025 amendments to the Russian Advertising Law come into force. Under these amendments, ad distributors and advertising system operators, as well as intermediaries between them and advertisers, will have to pay 3% of their online advertising revenue into the federal budget every quarter. 

Who pays the new advertising levy

Under the wording of the new article of the law, the levy will apply to:

  • ad distributors — bloggers, website owners, media outlets and others;

  • advertising system operators (ASO) — including, in particular, Yandex Direct and VK Ads;

  • advertisers based in Russia who have signed an advertising distribution contract with a foreign company or individual (in this case the advertiser pays instead of the ad distributor);

  • intermediaries in online advertising distribution — for example, agencies and freelancers acting in the advertiser's interests;

  • agents — companies and specialists acting on the advertiser's instructions and at their expense.

How is the levy paid?

  • Calculating the amount: Roskomnadzor calculates the amount payable based on data from the Unified Register of Internet Advertising and publishes it in the participant's account
  • Confirming the calculation: the participant has 10 calendar days to confirm the amount or submit corrections.​ After 10 days the amount is confirmed automatically
  • Paying the levy: payment must be made no later than the 5th day of the third month following the end of the quarter. For example, the levy for the second quarter (April–June) must be paid by 5 September 2025
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