MOSCOW, December 12 (RAPSI) – A bill excluding companies registered in the offshore zones from participating in Russian state procurement bids will be submitted to the State Duma, Russia’s lower house of Parliament, in the nearest future, RIA Novosti reported.

President Vladimir Putin addressed members of the Duma Thursday and raised the issue with the offshore companies. He said that companies which had been registered in foreign jurisdictions, but which operate in Russia should be banned from government support, as well as participation in state procurement bids and contracts with entities in which state has interest.

According to State Duma lawmaker Igor Igoshin, the proposal voiced by the President is a complex one, but it is quite reasonable.

“Firstly, it’s the money of our taxpayers, and they may expect that the federal budget money will be spent on the development of Russian entities, on new working places here, and not abroad. Secondly, by awarding a contract the state needs to know who the contractor will be and and whether it can be trusted. Such transparency can’t be reached in the case of offshore companies,” RIA Novosti quoted Igoshin as having said.

According to him, the president's proposal is similar to what has already been discussed by lawmakers in drafting legislation on state contracts.

A law establishing the Federal Contract System will replace the current state procurement procedures, which have been criticized for theirmany flaws. The new legislation is expected to enter into force in January 2014.