Unitary enterprise

A unitary enterprise is a government-owned corporation in Russia and some other post-Soviet states. Unitary enterprises are business entities that have no ownership rights to the assets that they use in their operations. This form is possible only for state and municipal enterprises, which respectively operate state or municipal property. The owners of the property of a unitary enterprise have no responsibility for its operation and vice versa.

Russia

The legal status of unitary enterprises in Russia is defined in Federal Law No. 161-ФЗ "On State and Municipal Unitary Enterprises", which was approved by the State Duma on October 11, 2002 and signed by President Putin on November 14, 2002 (amended July 13, 2015).

The assets of unitary enterprises belong to the federal government, a Russian federal subject, or a municipality. A unitary enterprise holds assets under economic management (for both state and municipal unitary enterprises) or operative management (for state unitary enterprises only), but does not own them. The term :unitary refers to the fact that its assets are indivisible, i.e., they may not be distributed among the participants in any way. A unitary enterprise is independent in economic issues and obliged only to give its profits to the state. Unitary enterprises have no right to set up subsidiaries, but, with the owner's consent, can open branches and representation offices.

Though unitary enterprises are owned by the government they work on the basis of commercial accounts and commercial legislation. They are under ministerial responsibility but are off budget. They may beauxiliary to a ministry's activity, such as a printing house under the Ministry of Education or a production facility for police equipment under the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Unitary enterprises have a distinct legal status, different from regular market sector corporations.

Examples

• Information Telegraph Agency of Russia (ITAR-TASS)
• Russian International News Agency (RIA Novosti)
• Goznak
• Russian Satellite Communications Company
• Russian Post
• All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (VGTRK)
• Russian Television and Radio Broadcasting Network
• TsNIIMash
• Mosgortrans (transit company)
• Mashpriborintorg
• Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center
• Krylov State Research Center
• Lavochkin Research and Production Association
• Atomflot

See also

• Civil Code of Russia