Leasing is a special case of lease relations, and for it, as well as for lease, the general rules on the lease agreement established by the Civil Code of the Russian Federation apply. But there are differences between these two types of financial instruments, for each of them has its own legal basic rule governing both rental and leasing relations.
What is leasing
In fact, leasing is a lease with the right of subsequent purchase of the leased property, it is regulated by clause 1 of Art. 28 of the Federal Law of October 29, 1998 No. 164-FZ "On Financial Lease", but the redemption of the leased property is also possible with ordinary lease (Article 624 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). According to Art. 2 ФЗ №164, leasing refers to investment activities. Today, in leasing, financial lease, a legal entity or an individual can arrange equipment, special equipment and even real estate.
It should be noted that, as in the case of a lease, the condition for the transfer of ownership of the property to the lessee is optional. The main obligation of the lessee is to transfer to the lessor only the depreciation deductions for the full restoration of the property, and not the payment for using it. Both rent and leasing are profitable to the provider of the property.
Differences between leasing and rent
Leasing will differ from lease, first of all, by the fact that the lessee does not have the right of ownership to the material assets used, accordingly, he does not have the owner's obligations in relation to the leased property. While the lessee has these obligations and he is fully responsible for the damage or destruction of the property, and is also obliged to restore it in case of breakdown. But the ultimate owner of the leased asset, including financial, is almost always the lessor and the lessor.
The lease agreement stipulates the terms of repayment, while the lessee pays not a fixed amount for the right to use, but the amount of deductions for depreciation.
In addition, only new property is leased, and in this case, not two, as in the case of a lease, become parties to the transaction, but three persons: the seller of the property, the lessor and the lessee, linked by two contracts. The sale and purchase agreement is concluded between the seller and the lessor, and the leasing (financial lease) agreement is concluded between the lessor and the lessee.
After the finance lease expires, title passes to the leaseholder. Its purchase price is the contract price.
In this case, as a rule, it is the lessee who finds the seller and negotiates with him all the conditions of the upcoming sale and purchase transaction: its price, terms and place of delivery, but he does not enter into a contractual relationship with the seller of material values. The terms of repayment are stipulated in the lease agreement. The lease agreement is concluded for 1-2 years, the leasing agreement can be concluded for 5 or more years.
