Why do you need to certify copies?
GOST R 7.0.8-2013 “System of standards for information, library and publishing.
Record keeping and archiving. Terms and definitions" (approved by order of Rosstandart dated October 17, 2013 No. 1185-st) divides all copies taken from documents into regular and certified. In this case, a copy is recognized as a copy of a document that completely reproduces the information of the original. And a certified copy is a copy that contains details that ensure its legal significance. Receive requests from the Federal Tax Service for free and send the requested documents via the Internet
As you can see, certification of a copy is necessary to give it legal significance. In other words, only such copies are used in official document circulation, including for submission to state and municipal authorities or for transfer to other organizations, individual entrepreneurs and individuals.
In particular, it is certified copies of documents that can confirm expenses for tax purposes (letter of the Ministry of Finance dated October 25, 2019 No. 03-03-06/1/82236). You will also have to certify copies of paper documents submitted to the tax office in response to the corresponding requirement (Clause 2 of Article of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).
Please note: you can simplify and speed up the process of sending documents to the inspection using special services, for example, the “Connector Kontur.Extern” web service. It makes it possible to prepare and send tens of thousands of electronic documents to tax authorities at a time, while approximately 9 thousand documents are processed per hour. Through the “Connector” you can transfer to the Federal Tax Service any electronic documents created in approved formats (for example, invoices, TORG-12 invoices, etc.), as well as scanned images of any documents created on paper: acts, contracts, payments and etc.
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Type of document presentation
During tax control, the taxpayer is required to submit all required documents. There are several ways:
- personally, by representative;
- by registered mail;
- in electronic form through your personal account at the Federal Tax Service or using telecommunication channels.
The organization chooses the presentation method itself. Paper copies are submitted as certified copies. The tax authority may always require the originals for review. This occurs when information inconsistencies are detected.
Certified copies are stitched in a certain way.
Guidelines for certification
Certification of copies of documents is regulated by another state standard, namely: GOST R 7.0.97-2016 “System of standards for information, library and publishing. Organizational and administrative documentation. Requirements for the preparation of documents" (approved by order of Rosstandart dated December 8, 2016 No. 2004-st; hereinafter referred to as GOST).
Also, recommendations for preparing copies of documents are given in Appendix No. 18 to the order of the Federal Tax Service dated November 7, 2018 No. ММВ-7-2/ [email protected] , in letters of the Ministry of Finance dated August 7, 2014 No. 03-02-RZ/39142 and dated October 29, 2015 No. 03-02-RZ/62336.
ADVICE. Before certifying a document, it would be a good idea to familiarize yourself with the Methodological Recommendations for certifying the accuracy of copies of documents and extracts from them (approved by the decision of the FNP board of April 25, 2016, protocol No. 04/16). Although this document is designed for notaries, it contains a lot of useful information that will be useful when certifying copies yourself.
What is a certification inscription and how to affix it correctly yourself?
Fine for not stopping at the request of an inspector
The certification, which is affixed to the copies requested by the Federal Tax Service, consists of:
- The phrases “the copy is correct”, “matches the original” or “true” (affixed to certify the validity of the paper provided).
- Signature of the person (official) who certified the copies.
- Explanation of the signature indicating the surname and initials of the person who signed the documents.
- Date of certification of copies of documents in the established format, example: 01/01/2018.
- Stamp of the seal of the enterprise (organization) or private entrepreneur.
As a rule, at large enterprises the inscription is affixed in the form of a stamp rather than written by hand
Important! If an individual entrepreneur does not have his own seal, submitting copies without affixing it is permitted and will not lead to the recognition of the certification as “inappropriate.”
When one document is submitted to the tax office, the entire certification is written directly on the copy itself. If the document is on several sheets, it is stitched. It is necessary to sew the package with a large needle, make holes with an awl or a hole punch, the holes should not touch the text, and after fastening there should be free access to completely turn the sheets and make copies from them; for this, two or three holes are made on the left side on a vertically located A4 sheet . You need to sew with strong threads (silk threads or ribbons). The ends of the threads are brought to the back of the folder, and a strong knot is tied.
You need to make a rectangle measuring 6 by 4 centimeters from white paper and glue it to the stitched folder so that the knot of threads is in the center of the glued rectangle. The ends of the rope should be a little more than two centimeters.
The certification inscription is affixed directly to the glued rectangle, which also indicates the number of stitched and numbered sheets (as a rule, organizations have forms of such certification sheets).
Important! All documents in the bound folder are numbered. It is necessary to number sheets, not pages, since a double-sided copy is not allowed when presented to the tax office.
Improper certification of copies of documents submitted to the tax authorities may result in a fine.
If several documents are stitched, then an inventory is also included in the folder indicating the number of copies, names of documents and pages in the folder on which they are located.
The location of the indicated inscriptions on the certification sheet is also important. So, the seal should cover the signature, the transcript of the signature and part of the phrase about the authenticity of the copy.
Who has the right to certify documents
Any authorized person has the right to certify the accuracy of the copy on behalf of an organization or individual entrepreneur.
Such authority may arise from the statutory documents (in particular, the head of the organization, the chairman or secretary of the general meeting, the head of the audit commission, etc. have the right to certify copies). Or it can be based on other documents - a power of attorney, an organization order, a job description, etc.
An entrepreneur has the right to independently certify a copy of a document or entrust it to another person (clause 5 of the Requirements given in Appendix No. 18 to the Federal Tax Service order dated November 7, 2018 No. MMV-7-2/ [email protected] ; hereinafter referred to as the Requirements). Please note that such a person can only be an individual entrepreneur. The position of this employee should be indicated on the certification mark affixed to the copy.
Check the counterparty for signs of a shell company and the presence of disqualified persons
Certification of documents for tax authorities
Tax authorities do not need to certify each sheet. It is enough to put signatures on the back side of all the firmware.
The tax service has the right to request documents for verification at any time. According to Art. 93 Tax Codes provide certified copies. But there is no clear indication in the certification and design of the firmware. Previously, officials required that each sheet of the file be endorsed, and signatures were placed only on multi-page documents. However, since the end of 2015, the Ministry of Finance has allowed the use of one signature to certify a file to the tax service.
Only the ends of the threads should protrude beyond the borders of the sticker. The inscription “Everything is correct, numbered, laced and sealed” is written on it. The record is supplemented with the number of sheets in digital and capital form, the position of the employee who endorsed the copy, the signature and transcript to it, and the date of certification. If a seal is used, it must capture the edges of the sticker, the date and the signature. Today, ready-made stickers with the required text are sold. The employee will only have to hand-write the number of sheets, signature and date.
If the company uses a seal, then copies can be certified by it. Some organizations use a fax signature to speed up the process. However, GOST allows only a personal signature; the inspector has the right to fine 200 rubles for each.
Tax authorities do not have the right to require notarization of any papers.
The sequence of affixing the certification details is not fixed in legislative acts, but there are a number of additional points:
- Only the head of the organization or an authorized official working in the organization has the right to certify a copy. Even a power of attorney for the right to certify the accuracy of a copy in the name of a third party does not formally allow him to certify by signature copies of documents on behalf of the company.
In order for an employee to receive certification authority, they are prescribed:
- in internal documentation (order, instruction, etc.);
- in a power of attorney;
- in an employment contract, since certification is not only a right, but also an obligation.
- Make a note of the location of the original. A copy of an organization’s documents can be certified only if the original is stored in it. For example, it is unlawful to certify the constituent documents of another organization to a third-party company.
- The accuracy of the copy is confirmed by the signature of an authorized person and a seal, if any.
How to certify copies of statutory documents
The legislation does not contain any specifics regarding certification of copies of statutory documents. Therefore, the rules discussed above should be applied. Since we are talking about multi-page documents (charter, constituent agreement), it is also necessary to take into account the procedure for binding such papers for the purpose of their certification.
Thus, the firmware must be done for 4 punctures, although for documents of small volume 3 punctures are acceptable (clause 4.21 of the Rules for organizing the storage, acquisition, recording and use of documents, approved by order of the Ministry of Culture dated March 31, 2015 No. 526). At the same time, it must be possible to freely read the text of the document, all its details, dates, visas, resolutions, other inscriptions, seals, stamps and marks. Also, the firmware must be done in such a way that each individual page can be copied using a copy machine. But at the same time, the firmware should not “fall apart” into separate sheets (clause 3 of the Requirements).
The stitching must be done with a strong thread or tape, its ends should be brought to the back of the last sheet and tied. After this, the ends of the thread (tape) are sealed with a paper sticker, on which the certification inscription is affixed in the manner indicated above - that is, part of it is on the sticker, and part of it is on the sheet itself.
Determine the likelihood of an on-site tax audit and receive recommendations on the tax burden
Deadlines for submitting documents
Documents requested by tax authorities during in-house and on-site inspections are provided within ten days (20 days for a consolidated group). If this is not possible, then they ask for a deferment. This is done the next day after receiving the request. Be sure to indicate the reasons and new deadlines. According to the law, tax authorities do not have the right to refuse to extend the deadline at the request of the taxpayer. The Federal Tax Service itself determines the extension period, taking into account the reasons, volumes, etc.
In case of counter inspection, the period is reduced to 5 days. But it can also be extended upon presentation of a petition.
How to properly certify documents using the “Copy is True” stamp
GOST does not provide for the affixing of the “Copy is correct” stamp. At the same time, you can use a combination of two stamps - “Copy” and “Correct”. The first of them will mean that the corresponding document reproduces the original, but is not itself such. The second stamp is needed to mark the certification of the copy.
ADVICE. We do not recommend using the “True Copy” stamp to certify documents. Especially if copies will be used outside the organization.
In conclusion, we note that certification of a copy of a document is a simple procedure that any taxpayer can perform independently. But at the same time, you must adhere to the rules, violation of which may lead to the fact that the copy will not be considered certified. This, in turn, will entail additional costs of time and money. And in some cases it can lead to a fine for violating the deadlines for submitting documents to the Federal Tax Service.
