VAT on reimbursement of transportation costs: Ministry of Finance clarifies!

Methods for reimbursement of transportation costs under a supply agreement

The supply agreement may provide for several options for reimbursement of transportation costs by the buyer. For clarity, we presented them in the form of a diagram:

When reimbursement of transportation costs using method No. 1, the supplier does not participate in the transportation of goods. He simply gives the goods to the buyer or the carrier hired by him. This is where his obligations end. Therefore, this method of reimbursement of transportation costs is not taken into account in any way in the accounting and tax accounting of the seller.

But the options for reimbursement of transportation costs provided for in method No. 2 require their reflection in the supplier’s accounting. Let's look at each of them in detail.

How is the resale of goods from a commission agent reflected?

The intermediary, depending on the terms of the contract, receives remuneration before fulfilling obligations, during the sale of goods, or after completion of the transaction. The goods accepted by him on commission are taken into account off the balance sheet, since they are not his property. The commission agent's accounting is reflected by the following entries:

Thus, goods (for resale or not) in production or trading organizations are always reflected on balance sheet accounts, in companies specializing in intermediary services - behind the balance sheet.

Reimbursement of expenses for own transport services

Agreement

Before delivering the goods, the seller needs to decide on the method of accounting for transport services:

• in the cost of goods - in the supply contract;
• a separate amount - in the contract for transport services.

When taking into account the costs of transporting goods in the cost of goods, fix the amount of transport costs in the supply agreement. In particular, you enter the cost of the goods including VAT and indicate below that it includes the costs of transporting the goods to the buyer in the amount of NNNNN,NN rubles. If you wish, please note that when returning the goods, payment received from the buyer in relation to shipping costs incurred will not be refunded.

If the seller does not highlight the conditions and amount of reimbursement for the transportation of goods, but simply indicates the cost of the goods, then he may encounter troubles:

• firstly, when returning the goods, the buyer will have to return the entire cost specified in the contract, including the cost of delivery added to it;
• secondly, tax authorities can exclude the costs of transporting goods from the calculation of income tax on the principle “there are no conditions in the contract for the delivery of goods, i.e. the seller does not have to make it, and therefore the costs of transporting goods are not justified in any way” .

The best option for reimbursement and confirmation of transport services provided would be to form a separate contract (or additional agreement) for the transportation of goods. It will clearly indicate that the buyer is provided with services for the delivery of goods to the address specified by him. And he must pay them within a certain period. With this option, the seller maintains separate records for the sale of goods and the provision of transport services.

Source documents

When taking into account the services for transporting goods in its cost, the supplier issues a consignment note. The cost of transport services should not be indicated separately from the cost of the goods. This is due to the fact that the delivery note is intended to confirm the sale of goods and materials. And services do not belong to inventory items.

You can familiarize yourself with filling out the consignment note in our article “Unified form TORG-12 - form and sample.”

To confirm to the tax authorities that the goods have been transported, the supplier must issue a waybill. Details about the rules for filling it out are set out in our article “What is the procedure for filling out waybills (sample, form)?”

If the seller highlights the cost of transportation in a separate agreement (additional agreement), then the paperwork can be completed in 3 options:

• waybill;
• waybill and transport bill of lading;
• consignment note and certificate of provision of transport services.

Invoice

If the cost of transporting the goods is already taken into account in its cost, then the seller draws up 1 invoice for the entire amount intended to be paid by the buyer. There is no need to issue a separate invoice for transportation services.

But if the cost of transport services is taken into account in a separate agreement (additional agreement), then in this case you need to generate 2 invoices:

• by goods sold;
• for transport services provided.

All invoices issued by the supplier must be noted in the sales ledger. Invoices for materials and services received by the seller (fuels and lubricants, accompanying services, loading and unloading services, etc.) are recorded in the purchase book.

Find out how to take VAT into account from the seller when receiving reimbursement of transportation costs from the buyer in ConsultantPlus. Get free demo access to K+ and go to the Ready Solution to find out all the details of this procedure.

For details of the calculation of VAT on transport services, see our article “What is the procedure for assessing VAT on transport services?”

Civil Code of the Russian Federation part 2

Article 706. General contractor and subcontractor

If the law or the contract does not provide for the contractor’s obligation to perform the work provided for in the contract personally, the contractor has the right to involve other persons (subcontractors) in the performance of his obligations. In this case, the contractor acts as a general contractor.

A contractor who has engaged a subcontractor to perform a work contract in violation of the provisions of paragraph 1 of this article or the contract shall be liable to the customer for losses caused by the subcontractor’s participation in the execution of the contract.

The general contractor is responsible to the customer for the consequences of non-fulfillment or improper fulfillment of obligations by the subcontractor in accordance with the rules of paragraph 1 of Article 313 and Article 403 of this Code, and to the subcontractor is responsible for the non-fulfillment or improper fulfillment by the customer of obligations under the work contract. Unless otherwise provided by law or contract, the customer and the subcontractor do not have the right to make claims against each other related to the violation of contracts concluded by each of them with the general contractor.

Article 780. Execution of a contract for paid services

Unless otherwise provided by the contract for the provision of paid services, the contractor is obliged to provide the services personally.

Article 801. Transport expedition agreement

Under a transport expedition agreement, one party (the forwarder) undertakes, for a fee and at the expense of the other party (the client - the shipper or consignee), to perform or organize the performance of services related to the transportation of goods specified in the forwarding agreement. A transport expedition agreement may provide for the forwarder’s obligations to organize the transportation of cargo by transport and along the route chosen by the forwarder or the client, the forwarder’s obligation to conclude on behalf of the client or on his own behalf an agreement (agreements) for the carriage of goods, to ensure the sending and receipt of cargo, as well as other obligations related with transportation. As additional services, the transport expedition contract may provide for the implementation of operations necessary for the delivery of cargo, such as obtaining documents required for export or import, performing customs and other formalities, checking the quantity and condition of cargo, loading and unloading it, paying duties, fees and others. expenses imposed on the client, storing the cargo, receiving it at the destination, as well as performing other operations and services provided for by the contract.

The rules of this chapter also apply to cases when, in accordance with the contract, the duties of the forwarder are performed by the carrier.

Vladislav Volkov answers:

Deputy Head of the Department of Taxation of Personal Income and Administration of Insurance Contributions of the Federal Tax Service of Russia

“Inspectors will compare the income of individuals in 6-NDFL with the amount of payments calculated for insurance premiums. Inspectors will begin to apply this control ratio starting with reporting for the first quarter. All control ratios for checking 6-NDFL are given in. For instructions and samples of filling out 6-NDFL for the first quarter, see the recommendations.”

Services are the same object of civil rights as things, and they can be freely alienated by one person to another person (Articles 128, 129 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). We will tell you in our consultation what entries need to be made in accounting when providing services.

Reimbursement of expenses for transport services of third parties

When the buyer reimburses expenses for transport services that are provided not by the seller, but by a third party in the form of a carrier, in essence, transport services are rebilled to the buyer through the seller according to the following scheme:

We described in detail the seller’s procedure for this option of reimbursement of transportation costs, in particular about the execution of contracts, documents and accounting entries for them, in our article “The procedure for rebilling transportation costs to the buyer.”

Do I need to issue a waybill when picking up goods from the supplier’s warehouse? The answer to this question is in ConsultantPlus. If you do not have access to the K+ system, get a trial online access for free.

Postings reflecting reimbursement of transportation costs by the buyer

We have already written about the preparation of entries for reimbursement of transport services provided by specialized carriers in the article “The procedure for rebilling transport costs to the buyer.”

Therefore, now we will use a simple example to look at postings that reflect the procedure for reimbursement of only our own transport services.

Example

During August the following operations were performed:

1. Products sold:

• for method 1 - in the amount of 96,740 rubles. (including VAT 16,123.33 rubles), of which the cost of transporting goods including VAT is 19,965.60 rubles;
• for method 2 - in the amount of 76,774.40 rubles. (including VAT RUB 12,795.73).

1. The purchase price of goods sold was written off - RUB 56,420.
2. An invoice was issued for payment of transport services in the amount of RUB 19,965.60. (including VAT RUB 3,327.60). Note: This is the condition for method 2.
3. The cost of transporting the goods amounted to 17,740 rubles. (including VAT on loading work provided by a third party - 820 rubles).

Results

Reimbursement of shipping costs by the buyer can be made in two ways. First: the buyer himself organizes and pays for the delivery of the purchased goods. Second: the buyer only pays for delivery, and the seller organizes it. In the first method, the seller does not record reimbursable costs at all. When using the second method, accounting for reimbursable transportation costs depends on how the seller transports the goods: himself or through a specialized carrier.

You can find more complete information on the topic in ConsultantPlus. Free trial access to the system for 2 days.

Legal information

The commission agent's remuneration is 3,300 rubles. (RUB 22,000 × 15%), and the compensation received is RUB 5,546. (RUB 2,021 + RUB 3,540). Despite the fact that Alfin LLC applies the simplified tax system with the object of taxation being income minus expenses, it does not have the right to take into account the cost of storage and transportation in expenses. These expenses will be included in the tax base of Marlet CJSC. On July 13, 2021, only 3,300 rubles need to be reflected in the commission agent’s income. The amount of compensation received is not income (subclause 1, clause 1.1, article 346.15 and subclause 9, clause 1, article 251 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

• 3000 rub. (3540 rubles - 540 rubles) - the cost of delivery of goods without VAT (subclause 23, clause 1, article 346.16 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation);
• 540 rub. — VAT on the cost of delivery of goods (subclause 8, clause 1, article 346.16 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation);
• 1700 rub. (2021 rub. - 306 rub.) - rent excluding VAT (subclause 4, clause 1, article 346.16 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation);
• 306 rub. — VAT on rent (subclause 8, clause 1, article 346.16 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation);
• 3300 rub. — remuneration to the commission agent (subclause 24, clause 1, article 346.16 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

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