Alexander Bychkov — Melling, Voitishkin & Partners

Practice Focus

Practices

Industries

Biography

Alexander Bychkov is the head of the International Trade, Customs & Sanctions practice group, and an advocate. In addition, Alexander actively participates in the Tax practice group, and Compliance and Investigations practice group. He is also a member of the Healthcare & Life Sciences practice group.

Alexander focuses his practice on advising local and multinational clients on the broad array of international trade and compliance matters, as well as indirect tax and general commercial matters, with a particular emphasis on Russian distribution structuring, customs regulatory matters, product valuation and classification, VAT, US/UK/EU/Swiss and Russian trade compliance, import and export control requirements and sanctions, WTO and anti-dumping issues, internal investigations and dispute resolution in the spheres of trade compliance, customs, anti-bribery and corruption (including representation of clients in related administrative and criminal investigations).

Rankings

Recommended in Sanctions

Leading individual in Foreign trade activities, Sanctions law, Compliance

Leading individual in Foreign trade activities, Sanctions law, Life sciences & Healthcare

Recommended in Compliance

Leading expert

Tax Controversy Leader and Indirect Tax Leader

Recommended

Representative Legal Matters

Advised Juniper on various legal aspects related to the importation and distribution in Russia of the client’s products.
Advised Schneider Electric on sanctions compliance in the framework of a project for establishing a joint venture between the client, a Russian investment company, and a number of co-investors.
Prepared a comprehensive legal advice describing the scope of applicable Russian laws and regulations in the sphere of export control and export licensing procedures for Oerlikon OSS CIS LLC, a world-leading provider of surface technologies.
Provided complex support to several international companies during a scheduled inspection of their export and import operations conducted by the FSTEC.
Elaborated a defense strategy and provided a comprehensive legal support to a multinational clothing-retail company aimed at terminating the criminal investigation on the alleged customs evasion on the inclusion of license payments in customs value of imported goods.

Advised and represented several multinational companies before customs authorities and in courts on the inclusion of royalties (license fees) and dividends into the customs value of imported products.
Assisted multinational corporations manufacturing construction, mining, forestry and military equipment on confirmation of the country of origin of goods manufactured in China from components originating from China and various other countries, including the US.
Represented a Russian subsidiary of the global heavy lifting and transportation company in a criminal case related to alleged violation by the company of the temporary import regime while supplying and using equipment for construction projects in Russia.
Provided legal support to a global high-technology equipment distributor originating from Japan in an administrative case on the shipment of goods containing restricted substances, as the goods were imported without an import license.
Assisted a multinational e-commerce corporation in designing a multi-jurisdictional business model for cross-border e-shopping operations targeting Russian clients.

Professional membership

member of the Moscow City Bar since 2003
member of the New York State Bar
legal adviser to the Association of International Pharmaceutical Manufacturers in Russia

member of the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia’s Tax and Customs Committees
member of the Franco-Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Education

New York University School of Law, LL.M. in International Taxation, 1999.

Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO), Law Degree, 1994.

Publications

01

Presidential Decree on temporary management of assets

Melling, Voitishkin & Partners

april 2023