Purchase book: how to maintain and fill out?

From October 1, 2021, a new purchase ledger form must be used (to determine the amount of VAT). What exactly has changed in the purchase ledger form? Why did the adjustments need to be made? How have the filling rules changed? How can I keep a new purchase book now? In this article you will find answers to these and other questions, and you will also be able to familiarize yourself with and fill out the new book. Let us remind you that from October 1, 2021, a new invoice form will also be used.

Who should keep a purchase book and why?

To determine the amount of VAT to be deducted, an organization must maintain a purchase ledger. In the purchase book, buyers register electronic and (or) paper invoices issued by sellers (including adjustments, corrected ones). This approach to bookkeeping continues to apply after October 1, 2021.

The purchase book for the purpose of determining the amount of VAT can be kept in paper or electronic form according to the established format (clause 1 of the Rules for maintaining the purchase book).

All VAT payers must keep a purchase book, except for those who (clause 3 of Article 169 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation):

• received exemption from the duties of a VAT payer;
• conducts only VAT-free transactions (in particular, for the sale of goods, works or services, the place of sale of which is not recognized as the territory of the Russian Federation).

Who keeps the purchase book?

Clause 1 of the Rules for Maintaining a Purchase Book states that the document must be maintained in accordance with the established format in order to determine value added tax. All VAT payers are required to keep a purchase book, with the exception (based on paragraph 3 of Article 169 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation) of the following categories:

• received exemption from the obligation to pay VAT;
• conducting operations that are not subject to value added tax (regarding the sale of services, goods or work, the place of sale of which is not recognized as the Russian Federation).

The book can be maintained in one of the following two ways:

1. On paper.
2. In electronic version.

Changes from October 1

The form and procedure for maintaining the purchase ledger are defined in Appendix 4 to Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated December 26, 2011 No. 1137. However, from October 1, 2021, the form of the purchase ledger and the rules for maintaining it will change. This is due to the entry into force of Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated August 19, 2017 No. 981. Next, we will consider in detail the most important changes.

Import of goods from other countries

The amendments stipulate that when importing goods from countries outside the EAEU, the cost of these goods should be indicated in column 15 as in accounting. Previously, there was no clear position on this matter. For example, in the Letter of the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated September 20, 2016 No. SD-4-3/17657, it was noted that when reflecting in the purchase book the cost of goods imported into the territory of the Russian Federation, it is recommended to indicate in column 15:

• the cost of goods stipulated by the agreement (contract);
• if there is no value in the agreement (contract), the value indicated in the shipping documents should be indicated;
• if there is no value in the agreement (contract) and shipping documents, you need the value of the goods reflected in the accounting.

There shouldn't be any more questions. From October 1, 2021, the book must record the accounting value of goods imported into the territory of the Russian Federation (except for imports from the EAEU countries).

Import of goods from EAEU countries

From October 1, 2021, amendments will be made to the Rules for filling out the purchase book on how to fill out the fields when importing goods from the EAEU countries. So, for example, in column 3 “Number and date of the seller’s invoice” you should indicate the number and date of the application for the import of goods and payment of indirect taxes (with marks from the Federal Tax Service on the payment of VAT).

Registration of invoices for prepayment

From October 1, 2021, when registering prepayment invoices in the purchase ledger, you will no longer need to mark “partial payment.” Previously, the requirement for the need for this phrase was directly stated in the order of filling out the purchase book:

How to register advance invoices

Starting from October 1, 2021, you can enter advance invoices into the purchase book for non-cash payments. Before October 1, this could not be done.

From October 1, 2021, subparagraph “d” of paragraph 19 of the Rules for filling out the purchase log is declared invalid. In this regard, apparently, there will be no more claims from the Federal Tax Service regarding deductions on such documents.

Tax authorities' claims for deductions, which are based on “non-cash” advance invoices, were not large even before October 1, 2021. Indeed, in the Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation dated May 30, 2014 No. 33 (in paragraph 23), it was explained that the Tax Code of the Russian Federation does not contain any indication that the right to deduct tax arises exclusively upon payment of the price of purchased goods (work, services), property rights in monetary form. Consequently, the buyer cannot be deprived of the right to a deduction if the advance was paid by him in non-monetary (in-kind) form. Thus, changes in the procedure for filling out the purchase book from October 1, 2021, in fact, only consolidated the position of the judges of the Presidium of the Supreme Arbitration Court, which was expressed back in 2014.

Registration number of the customs declaration

From October 1, 2021, column 13 of the purchase book should indicate not the serial number, but the registration number of the customs declaration. Let us remind you that this column is filled in if the goods are imported, and its customs declaration is provided for by the law of the Eurasian Economic Union. It is worth noting that VAT declarations also record the registration numbers of customs declarations (on lines 150 of Section 8 and its appendices).

Changes from October 1, 2021

Previously, Appendix 4 to the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 1137 of December 26, 2011 determined the procedure and form for filling out the purchase book. Now, starting from October 1, 2021, Russian government decree No. 981 of August 19, 2017 has come into force, according to which not only the form of the document has changed, but also the procedure for its maintenance.

Now let's look at all the changes in more detail.

Change No. 1: import of goods from the EAEU

From October 1, 2017, amendments were made regarding the columns of the purchase book in the case of importing goods from the EAEU. In particular, in the field “Number and date of the seller’s invoice” (column 3) you need to indicate such data as the number and date of the application:

• on the import of goods;
• on payment of indirect taxes.

An example of filling out column 3 of the purchase book is given below in the form of a document fragment:

Please note that a tax office stamp confirming VAT payment is required!

Change No. 2: import of goods from other countries

If goods are imported from other countries that are not members of the EAEU, then in accordance with the amendments made to the purchase book, the price of these imported goods should be indicated in the document in the same way as in the accounting record.

This information must be reflected in column 15 of the purchase book (fragment of the purchase book):

Note that previously the position on this column was ambiguous. Here are some recommendations in this regard from Letter No. SD-4-3/17657 of the Federal Tax Service dated September 20, 2021, which stated that when indicating the cost of goods that were imported from the EAEU, the following information must be reflected in column 15 of the purchase book:

• the price of goods established by contract or agreement;
• if there is no price in the contract (agreement), then you need to indicate the cost of goods from the accompanying documents;
• if the accompanying documents do not indicate the price, then the cost of the goods is reflected from the accounting data.

Thus, starting from October 1, 2017, the price of goods imported into Russia from other countries (except the EAEU) should be entered into the purchase book in accordance with the accounting.

Change No. 3: registration of an invoice for prepayment

From October 1, 2021, when registering prepayment invoices in the purchase ledger, you will no longer need to mark “partial payment.” Previously, the requirement for the need for this phrase was directly stated in the order of filling out the purchase book:

From October 1, 2017, there is no need to mark “partial payment” in the purchase book of invoices for prepayment. Previously, this was required to be done (in accordance with paragraph 19, subparagraph “e” of the Procedure for filling out the purchase ledger). With the introduction of new amendments from October 1, 2017, this requirement has become invalid.

Change No. 4: customs declaration number: registration, not serial

Changes to the purchase book also affected column 13 of the document. In this column you need to indicate the registration number, not the serial number of the customs declaration.

Column 13 looks like this:

Column 13 must be completed if the goods are imported into the territory of the Russian Federation and its declaration at customs is provided for by the law of the EAEU.

Let us remind you that VAT declarations also reflect the registration numbers of customs declarations. This is done in section 8 on lines 150 and appendices to the section.

Making corrections

How to make corrections to the purchase book? This question is relevant to everyone. Effective October 1, 2021, the customer will cancel and record the corrected invoice on a supplemental purchase ledger sheet in the same quarter the first invoice was received. This follows from the new edition of paragraph 6 of the Procedure for filling out an additional sheet of the purchase book.

From October 1, 2021, the rules for registering corrected invoices in the purchase book have been changed. Now they can be registered in the purchase book for the tax period in which the invoice was registered before corrections were made to it. Previously, the question of in what period to register a corrected invoice did not have a clear answer. The tax authorities believed that the buyer should register the corrected invoice in the quarter in which it was received from the seller. However, the courts resolved such disputes in favor of taxpayers (see, for example, Resolution of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Moscow District dated October 5, 2012 No. A40-2529/12-90-12).

Purchase book 2021: form and sample filling

To summarize, it can be noted that the changes to the form of the purchase book are not significant.

In fact, adjustments were made to the names of two columns of the document:

New form and sample filling

From October 1, 2021, the name of two columns in the purchase book form has changed:

• the column “Information about the intermediary (commission agent, agent)” will be called “Information about the intermediary (commission agent, agent, forwarder, person performing the functions of the developer);
• The column “Customs Declaration Number” will be called “Registration Number of the Customs Declaration”.

We can say that the changes in the form of the purchase book are minor. However, despite this, the purchase ledger form will have to be updated for all taxpayers from October 1, 2021. Therefore, we suggest downloading the necessary documents.

new form of purchase book, applicable from October 1, 2021, in Excel format.

a new form of an additional sheet for the purchase book (as amended by the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of August 19, 2017 No. 981.

You can also fill out a sample purchase ledger on the form, which should be used from October 1, 2021.

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30.05.2017

Where can I download the 2021 shopping book (form)?

It is easy to find purchase books on the Internet, for example, on the websites of legal reference systems.
If necessary, you can see not only the form, but also samples of filling out the 2021 purchase book. When searching for current forms and samples of a purchase ledger, please note that forms posted on the Internet do not always take into account changes in legislation that have occurred. That is, the form you found for the request “Purchase Book 2019” may not be in the current form. The form currently used is approved. Government Decree No. 1137 dated December 26, 2011, as amended by Government Decree No. 981 dated August 19, 2017.

To avoid unnecessary searches and eliminate the possibility of using outdated forms, download them from our website. We'll tell you how to do this in the next section.

You will always find the latest tax and accounting news, as well as current document forms, in the materials prepared by our specialists:

• “Is it possible for an individual entrepreneur to work without a cash register in 2019?”;
• “Form 4-FSS for the 2nd quarter of 2021 - sample filling.”

Rules for maintaining a purchase book and a sales book

There have been no changes in maintaining the purchase ledger in 2021. With the change in tax rates, the rules for maintaining a sales book and processing returns of goods/services have changed somewhat. Now, when returning inventory items, the buyer does not need to put the invoice for return sale and register it in the sales book. The seller must accompany the return of the goods with an adjustment form, regardless of whether the buyer accepted the goods for accounting or not. Based on the received adjustment SF, the buyer will restore the VAT previously accepted for deduction.

The updated rules for processing the return of goods also officially begin to take effect in the second quarter of 2021, but companies have the right to apply them in the first quarter and regardless of the date of shipment of the goods. For example, a buyer who returned in the 1st quarter of 2021 a product that was purchased in 2021 can act according to the algorithm described above, based on the relevant clarifications of the Federal Tax Service No. SD-4-3/20667 dated October 23, 2018 (clause 1.4) .

Books are kept in “paper” or electronic form. Changes to previously entered data are reflected in additional sheets to the books.