Since February 18, 2021, the order of the Federal Archive of December 20, 2019 No. 236 has been in force, which approved the List of standard management archival documents generated in the course of the activities of government agencies, local governments and organizations, indicating their storage periods. In particular, it regulates the terms of storage of contracts of various types and nature in the organization. The main positions are given in this material with explanations.
Also see:
- How long to keep constituent documents: new deadlines from 2020
- How long to store documents related to property accounting: terms from 2020
What changed
New terms for storing contracts from 02/18/2020 are prescribed in various paragraphs of the mentioned order of the Federal Archive.
First, let's summarize the main changes.
| DOCUMENT TYPE | CHANGE OF SHELF LIFE FROM 02/18/2020 |
| Agreement of donation of real estate and movable property | Now - until the liquidation of the organization instead of permanent storage |
| Leasing agreement | 5 years after expiration or redemption of the property. If there is a disagreement, the agreement must be kept until a decision is made on the case. As before, the list had to be kept constantly. Similar changes affected all leasing documents - lists of property objects, acts, calculations of deductions from profits, correspondence (Article 97 of the new list) |
| Real estate pledge documents | 10 years instead of permanent storage. As for leasing, the period is calculated from the moment the contract expires or the property is purchased. In case of a dispute, documents are kept until a decision is made on the case. |
| Real estate exchange agreement | Until the liquidation of the organization, not 5 years. It is clarified that they are counted not only from the expiration of the agreement, but from the termination of obligations under the agreement. |
| Agency agreement | 15 or 10 years depending on the type of property instead of 5 years |
| Credit or loan agreement with the condition of pledging property | 10 years Also applies to documents confirming the provision of funds and the fulfillment of obligations by the debtor (this is an exception to the general rule of 5-year storage of loan agreements). |
| Transaction passports | 15 years, not permanently. Does not apply to credit organizations: for them it is still 15 years |
If any agreement/agreement/contract, document (acts, protocols of disagreements thereto) is not specified in individual articles of the order of the Federal Archive, the general rule applies: it is stored for 5 years with the right to then be taken into permanent storage. But only after its expiration or termination of obligations under it.
Basically, the organization's contracts are related to personnel or the management and disposal of property. In the latter case, this is regulated by clause 1.3.1 of the order of the Federal Archive. Here are some important points from it:
| DOCUMENT TYPE | STORAGE LIFE | NOTE |
| Agreements on determining shares in property rights and documents (lists of property, acts) to them | Before the liquidation of the organization | – |
| Correspondence about the division of shared joint property of legal entities | 5 years | – |
| Documents (acts, balance sheets, conclusions, decisions) to confirm the succession of property rights and obligations during the reorganization of legal entities | Before the liquidation of the organization | – |
| Correspondence regarding the establishment of rights to movable and immovable property | 5 years | – |
| Documents (applications, contracts, certificates, resolutions, orders, plans, passports, extracts) for registration of land plots as property | Before the liquidation of the organization | – |
| Correspondence on land issues | 5 years | – |
| Contracts for the purchase and sale of land plots, buildings, structures, structures, premises and documents (acts, examination documents, title documents, construction permits (1) and commissioning) to them | Before the liquidation of the organization | (1) In bodies and organizations issuing construction permits - 15 years after the commissioning of the facility |
| Purchase and sale agreements for the property complex and documents thereto (decisions, protocols, acts, audit reports, registers of all obligations, balance sheets, notifications) | Before the liquidation of the organization | – |
| Documents (applications, appraisal reports, correspondence) for the sale of movable property | 10 years (1) | (1) After sales |
| Agreements for trust management of property, including securities | 10 years (1) | (1) After the expiration of the contract; after termination of obligations under the contract |
| Acts on the transfer of property into trust management | 10 years (1) | (1) After the expiration of the contract; after termination of obligations under the contract |
| Documents (acts, decisions) on the transfer by the owner of property to operational management, economic management of the organization | Before the liquidation of the organization | – |
| Agreements (contracts) for lease (sublease), gratuitous use of property; documents (title documents, acceptance certificates, technical passports, plans, cadastral plans, diagrams, calculations) for them: | (1) After the expiration of the contract; after termination of obligations under the contract (2) Under lease (sublease) agreements (contracts), gratuitous use of state and municipal property - 15 years EPC (can be taken away for permanent storage) (3) Cultural heritage sites - Permanently (4) Nature protection zones – Permanently | |
| a) real estate; | 10 years (1) (2) (3) (4) | |
| b) movable property | 5 years (1) (3) | |
| Notices of termination of lease (sublease) agreements (contracts), gratuitous use of buildings, structures, structures, premises, land plots and other property | 10 years | – |
| Pledge agreements; documents (applications, title documents on pledged items, cost calculations, conclusions, acts, correspondence) to them | 10 years (1) | (1) Upon expiration of the contract or redemption of the property; if disputes arise, disagreements remain until a decision is made on the case |
| Exchange contracts: | (1) After the expiration of the contract; after termination of obligations under the contract | |
| a) real estate; | Before the liquidation of the organization | |
| b) movable property | 5 years (1) | |
| Rental agreements | 5 years (1) | (1) After the expiration of the contract; after termination of obligations under the contract |
| Agency agreements: | (1) If disputes arise, disagreements remain until a decision is made on the case | |
| a) on real estate; | 15 years (1) | |
| b) on movable property | 10 years (1) | |
| Agreements for representing the interests of the state in the management bodies of joint-stock companies, the shares of which are state-owned | 5 years EPC (1) | (1) After the expiration of the contract; after termination of obligations under the contract |
| Directives on the voting procedure for the representative of the interests of the Russian Federation in the management bodies of joint-stock companies whose shares are state-owned | Constantly | – |
| Voting instructions for representatives of joint stock companies in the management bodies of subsidiaries and affiliates | 5 years (1) | (1) After the sale of shares of subsidiaries and affiliates or their liquidation |
| Powers of attorney (copies of powers of attorney) for participation in the general meeting of securities owners, participants (founders), shareholders | Constantly | – |
| Powers of attorney for participation in management bodies (boards of directors, annual and extraordinary meetings of shareholders) of joint-stock companies, the shares of which are in state and municipal ownership | 5 years (1) | (1) Upon expiration or revocation |
| Agreements for the purchase and sale of securities, shares, shares | Before the liquidation of the organization | – |
| Documents (certificates, transfer deeds, securities account statements, registrar statements) confirming the transfer of ownership rights to securities | Before the liquidation of the organization | – |
| Documents (voluntary offer, mandatory offer, competing offer, notice, demand, bank guarantees, copies of the appraiser's report, recommendations, information, statements, reports on acceptance of the offer, decisions, requirements, instructions) relating to the acquisition of more than 30 percent of the shares of the joint-stock company | 5 years (1) | (1) For transactions with shares and other securities in state and municipal ownership - Constantly |
| Documents (decisions, statements, reviews, notifications, reports, lists of security holders, messages, demands, information, conclusions) relating to the acquisition and repurchase of placed securities by their issuer | 5 years | – |
| Documents (applications, orders, certificates, schedules, acts) on payment, exchange, acceptance and transfer of bills | 5 years | – |
| Documents (signature sheets, applications for the purchase of shares, confirmation sheets, shareholder income cards) for corporatization | 5 years EPC | – |
| Shareholder agreements, agreements on management and disposal of shares | Before the liquidation of the organization | – |
| The decision on the issue (additional issue) of securities, the securities prospectus (main, additional part), the bond program and the terms of the issue (additional issue) of bonds within the bond program, as well as changes in them; a report on the results of the issue (additional issue) of securities, a notification on the results of the issue (additional issue) of securities, an application for obtaining permission to place and (or) organize the circulation of issue-grade securities of Russian issuers outside the Russian Federation; notifications of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation on state registration (registration) at the stages of issue, on the qualification of financial instruments, notification on the issuance of permission for the placement and (or) circulation of securities outside the Russian Federation, notification on the cancellation of the individual number (code) of an additional issue of issue-grade securities papers | Before the liquidation of the organization | – |
| Issuer reports: | (1) Reports of the issuer for the 1st quarter sent for information - Until the need has passed. (2) In the absence of a report for the 1st quarter - Constantly | |
| a) for the 1st quarter of the (reporting) year; | Constantly (1) | |
| b) for 2 – 4 quarters of the (reporting) year | 5 years (2) | |
| Lists of persons exercising rights under securities and lists of owners of securities compiled for the purpose of fulfilling the obligations provided for by federal laws | Before the liquidation of the organization | – |
| Lists of affiliates | Before the liquidation of the organization | – |
| Registers of securities holders (1), extracts from registers of securities holders | Constantly (2) (3) | (1) The composition of information and documents contained in registers is determined by federal laws and other regulatory legal acts of the Russian Federation. (2) They are transferred for permanent storage to state and municipal archives in the event of termination or liquidation of the organization (3) Extracts from the register – 5 years |
| Agreements for maintaining a register of securities owners, an act of acceptance and transfer of documents and register information | 10 years (1) | (1) After the expiration of the contract |
| Personal accounts of securities holders | 5 years (1) | (1) After transfer of ownership of securities |
| Statements for the payment of dividends (income) on securities and other payments | 50/75 years | – |
| Correspondence about accrual (payment) of dividends (income) on securities and other payments | 5 years | – |
| Statements for the issuance of compensation to citizens for causing damage in the financial and stock markets | 5 years (1) | (1) After payment of compensation |
| Journals, accounting books, issuance of extracts from registers of securities owners | 5 years | – |
| Statements of material facts containing information subject to disclosure on the securities market | 5 years (1) | (1) If disputes or disagreements arise, they remain until a decision is made on the case |
| Lists of insiders | 5 years (1) | (1) After replacing with new ones |
| Documents (requirements, requests) that are the basis for transferring lists of insiders to trade organizers | 5 years (1) | (1) From the date of sending or receiving the demand, request of the trade organizer to transfer the list of insiders |
| Information messages confirming the transfer of lists of insiders to trade organizers | 5 years (1) | (1) From the date of transfer of the list of insiders to the trade organizer |
| Documents (requests, demands, notifications, orders) of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, the organizer of trade on the provision of information by insiders about the transactions they performed | 5 years (1) | (1) From the date of sending or receiving a request for insiders to provide information about their transactions |
| Notifications of insider transactions | 5 years (1) | (1) From the date that insiders provide information about their transactions |
| Local regulations (orders, decisions) establishing the procedure for access to insider information, rules for protecting its confidentiality and monitoring compliance with the requirements of the legislation of the Russian Federation on combating the misuse of insider information and market manipulation, internal control rules for preventing, identifying and suppressing the misuse of insider information information and (or) market manipulation, conditions for transactions with financial instruments by persons included in the list of insiders and persons related to them | 5 years EPC (1) | (1) After replacing with new ones |
| Logs (databases) of notifications about the inclusion of persons in the list of insiders or exclusion from it | 5 years | – |
| Logs (databases) of accounting, registration of notifications, requests and provision of insider information | 5 years | – |
| Agreements on the alienation of the exclusive right to a result of intellectual activity or a means of individualization | 5 years EPC (1) | (1) Upon expiration of the exclusive right |
| Licensing agreements on the transfer of rights to the result of intellectual activity or means of individualization | 5 years (1) | (1) After the expiration of the contract |
| Journals, databases of registration of lease (sublease) agreements (contracts), free use: | (1) Under lease (sublease) agreements (contracts), gratuitous use of state and municipal property - 15 years EPC. (2) Cultural heritage sites - Permanently (3) Nature protection zones – Permanently | |
| a) real estate; | 10 years (1) (2) (3) | |
| b) movable property | 5 years (1) (3) | |
| Journals, contract registration databases: | – | |
| a) on the alienation (acquisition) of real estate; | Before the liquidation of the organization | |
| b) purchases, sales of movable property | 5 years |
Besides:
- employment contracts, service contracts, agreements on their amendment, termination - must be kept for 50/75 years and then with the right to be taken into permanent storage;
- documents (agreements, acts, information) on the reorganization of the organization are stored permanently;
- constituent agreements of a company, business partnership - permanently;
- contracts, applications, evidentiary materials, declarations for the provision of services for voluntary confirmation of conformity - 5 years after the expiration of the declaration;
- agreements on the alienation of the exclusive right to the result of intellectual activity or a means of individualization and licensing agreements on the transfer of rights to their result - 5 years;
- agreements (contracts) on non-disclosure of restricted access information – 3 years after the expiration of the non-disclosure period;
- contracts, agreements between participants in information interaction - 5 years after the expiration of the contract, agreement, after termination of obligations under them;
- contracts (agreements) on procurement by certain types of legal entities - 5 years after the expiration of the contract (agreement), termination of obligations under them.
Look for the remaining positions under the contracts in the order of Rosarkhiv dated December 20, 2019 No. 236.
Read also
26.01.2021
Consequences of missing deadlines
It is important to know how long contracts are kept in the archive (5, 10 years or more), as this has implications for taxation. According to Art. 120 of the Tax Code, it is possible to bring tax liability for gross violation of the rules for accounting for taxable objects and primary documents. Although a contract usually does not refer to primary documents, in judicial practice there have been cases where it was recognized as confirmation of the fact of a business transaction. Art. 126 of the Tax Code provides for liability for failure to provide documentation for tax control.
The Code of Administrative Offenses lists the offenses: gross violation of accounting requirements (Article 15.11) and violation of the rules for creating archives (Article 13.20). These standards apply if the preservation periods established in the order of the Federal Archive are not observed.
Legal documents
- Art. 23
- Art. 283 NK
- Art. 120 NK
- Art. 126 NK
- Art. 15.11
- Art. 13.20
How to properly organize the storage of contracts?
If your company constantly interacts with third-party companies, it is recommended to store contracts in an electronic archive. After all, this is where all the papers signed by the manager are recorded. After registering the contracts, the office employee can distribute copies of them to the departments entrusted with execution. If the company is not so large and there is no responsible clerk, the storage of contracts is usually entrusted to the legal department, and copies are provided to the accounting department.
Internal registration
Be that as it may, before entering storage, any of the agreements must undergo internal registration. Whether it is an international contract for the supply of aircraft engines or a simple contract for cleaning a premises, each paper must be assigned an individual number and find a place in the archive. A modern option is to make this archive electronic. To do this, all papers are scanned and numbered, after which it will be extremely easy to find and print any of them.
Storage of contracts and their registration in an electronic archive
It is very difficult to create an electronic archive of contracts without experience in such work. One minor mistake and you will no longer be able to reconstruct the history of the company’s activities for the required period. Even if an inaccuracy crept into the information base only once, it entails a whole series of other errors in the registration and storage of contracts. The result is a “falling dominoes” effect.
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Having hired a new employee for a position, the employer draws up an employment contract with him.
All necessary information about labor transactions completed with the organization’s specialists is recorded in the journal for their accounting and registration.
Both concluded new employment contracts and additional agreements to existing contracts with changes in conditions are registered.
Typical periods
In practice, contracts can be stored for periods of:
- Limited date. When determining the period, the terms of additional agreements are taken into account.
- Not limited by date. The content of the agreement may contain, for example, wording such as “until full repayment of obligations.”
A separate category consists of documents of permanent storage. These include constituent papers, agreements on the acquisition of property, leases, etc.
