Russia may not be located on one of the islands of the Caribbean, where pirates hid numerous treasures during their heyday, but still the inhabitants sometimes have a question of what to do according to the law if they found the treasure in Russia. Can I take it to myself? Should many other factors be shared with the state, the lucky ones who have found something interesting are worrying. It is the question of what to do if I found a treasure in Russia, even if by accident and on my site, is central to the content of this article.
Treasure concept
Before you directly determine what to do if you find a treasure, you should understand what Russian law means by this word. Here there are a number of fine lines, because you can simply detect various types of property. However, not all of them can be equated with treasures. Now, by his official definition is meant buried in the ground or otherwise hidden money from detection or various valuables, the owner of which cannot be established or he completely lost any rights to this property.
But it must be borne in mind that any found treasure can fall under various types, for example, historical and cultural, so the question of if a person has found a treasure, what to do according to the law of the Russian Federation, can vary significantly, based on the situation.
The legislative framework
Even if one of the main childhood dreams was to find a huge chest of gold that was once buried in the ground, you should not plunge into these dreams at all if the cherished desire was nevertheless fulfilled. There are certain rules and laws that a person should rely on when he asks himself what to do according to the law. Found a treasure - you're done, but this does not mean that a simple person can take all the money for himself.
Although the very definition of a treasure is enshrined in article 233 of the Civil Code of the country, however, the rules on what to do with it are enshrined in completely different acts. At present, the country has a special Instruction on treasures, which was approved by the Ministry of Finance of the USSR in 1984, as well as a more modern version of the Law on treasure hunting.
Detection of treasure on someone else's site
As mentioned earlier, not everyone knows what to do if they find a treasure. Much depends on numerous nuances. One of the most important is the fact on whose lands it was discovered. It should be borne in mind that, despite the fact that officially the owner is the one on whose lands the treasure was directly buried, he may still need to share it with the person who made the find directly.
In this case, before the start of the excavation, he needs to obtain permission from the owner to search for the treasure. If such an agreement was concluded in advance, then the person who has found the treasure and the land owner share everything on the basis of the shares indicated in the agreement or in equal shares. When there is no such agreement, then all the treasures pass into the possession of the owner of the site.
A complete exception to this rule is one factor - these provisions are not fully applicable to those persons who have found a treasure as a result of the exercise of their labor or official duties. For example, service employees excavated pipes and stumbled into a treasure in the course of their activities. Based on this situation, they will not be able to receive any share.
Treasure detection on your own site
When the question arises of what to do if you find a treasure on your site, the only positive factor is that the reward you do not need to share with the owner of the land, as the seeker is.
However, in this case it is also necessary to act according to the law, namely to transfer the treasures found to the state. If it is not attributed to the historical and cultural heritage, then the bonus received will be 50%, which is calculated directly from the cost of the found.
Historical and cultural heritage
The treasury legislation becomes extremely important in cases where the find can carry historical and cultural value. Such treasures must be transferred to the police or prosecutors. Before that, it is advisable to take several clear photographs of the found and several witnesses who will confirm the fact of the person finding the treasure.
When contacting the competent authorities, you must record the location of the treasure and compile an inventory of the items found so that subsequently you do not allow the loss of items from it. The state directly appoints an examination, which decides whether the treasures found should be transferred into the ownership of the country in its historical and cultural fund.
Taxation
Although officially the question of what to do if a treasure is found is limited to what should be taken to the police, then the question of taxation for the income received as a result of this is not fully disclosed. At the moment, there are 2 options for the development of events:
- When a person who finds a treasure receives it into his ownership, he is obligated to pay the income tax on individuals.
- In cases where the treasure itself becomes the property of the state, and the person who found it receives only remuneration, then the income received is not taxed in accordance with the Tax Code.
Responsibility
Now, at the legislative level, there is no criminal liability for persons who have found a treasure, items in which can carry historical and cultural value. Therefore, simple treasures may well be withheld from the police and sold out slowly. However, if the fact of its discovery is nevertheless revealed, then through the court they can claim it from the finder, declaring him an unscrupulous owner. However, even in such a situation they cannot put him in jail.
A completely different situation exists with valuable treasures. If they are not surrendered on time, but intentionally appropriated to themselves, then the person who found him can be declared a criminal who will be convicted under article 164 of the Criminal Code, which provides for punishment for persons who have stolen items of special value to the state.
All treasures, according to the old instructions, should be stored in the tax authorities. However, under the new rules, internal affairs bodies can deal with them.
Places where it is forbidden to search for treasures
In Russia, there are a number of places in which in no case can one seek treasures if a person does not want to be convicted as a "black archaeologist." These places include those that have archaeological significance.
At the moment, if during the excavation of valuables it is possible to damage cultural monuments, natural objects protected by the state or other objects, then a person can be prosecuted with a considerable fine or even imprisonment for up to 5 years.
Conclusion
Over the past few years, several very significant treasures have been discovered around the world. Now for this a large number of technologies have been created that facilitate the search. However, a tendency was also noticed when their searches were not at all happy coincidences, as it was before, but rather by the purposeful work of many people who concluded the contract.
However, despite this, the legislation in the field of treasure hunting has for many years been in the same place not only in the Russian Federation, but also in many other countries, where only the percentages that can be obtained differ.