On 07 February 2013, the Ministry of Finance issued Letter No. 03-08-13 clarifying whether a limited liability partnership (LLP) incorporated under the UK legislation may be considered a person for the purposes of the Russia - United Kingdom Income Tax Treaty (1994) (the Treaty).
According to article 1 of the Treaty, persons who are residents of Russia or the UK or of both states may claim the Treaty benefits. Also, article 3 of the Treaty specifies that the term "person" comprises an individual, a company and any other body of persons, but does not include a partnership. The fact that the partnerships are not considered as persons is specifically provided by the Treaty.
Therefore, the Ministry of Finance concluded that as long as the UK partnership does not qualify as a "person" for Treaty purposes, the partnership may not claim the Treaty benefits. However, the Treaty may cover the members of the partnership provided they qualify as persons under the Treaty and they are tax residents in the UK.
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Russia; United Kingdom - Treaty between Russia and UK ﾖ Russian MoF clarified whether partnerships may benefit from tax treaty provisions (27 Feb. 2013), News IBFD.
