Suspension of transactions or “blocking” of accounts by tax authorities

Among the issues with which clients turn to legal advice, a special place is occupied by complaints about the suspension by tax inspectorates of transactions on bank accounts. With the advent and deepening of the crisis, the number of such cases has only increased. Our new article will tell readers about how and why fiscal authorities can “block” an account and how a taxpayer can avoid such a situation.

The procedure for terminating transactions and the movement of funds through accounts is regulated by Article 76 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. The decision to suspend (or colloquially “block”) an account is made by the territorial inspectorate, or more precisely by its leaders.

Many citizens believe that suspension leads to a complete “freezing” of the account and the cessation of all and any transactions on it, but this is far from the case. Firstly, transactions do not take place only within the limits of the mandatory payment specified in the Decision. Further, settlements under writs of execution and court orders for compensation for harm to life, health, alimentary obligations, payments for resigning employees, intellectual property owners and wages are not suspended. And finally, transfers to budgets of all levels and to extra-budgetary funds cannot be “blocked”.

The law knows only three reasons for suspending account transactions. Let's look at them in more detail.

Termination of operations as a way to ensure payment of taxes

Typically, the Federal Tax Service “blocks” accounts in order to ensure the collection of additional tax. Moreover, most often, we are talking about debts of several million or more. Having added additional payments, the inspection immediately suspends operations on the company’s account, sending a Decision to the bank for this purpose. There are two ways to remove restrictions: pay taxes or cancel the decision in a higher authority or court.

At the same time, for some reason, many business entities are confident that if they achieve a reduction in fines and taxes in arbitration, then the Federal Tax Service will be obliged to cancel the decision to suspend operations. This is not far from the case. The law does not link the lifting of the suspension to a judicial decision that reduced the amount of tax debt.

For example, the company achieved a reduction in additional taxes through legal proceedings. However, the fiscal authorities immediately appealed the court's decision and at the same time (!) blocked the taxpayer's bank accounts. The appellate instance upheld the judicial act and only the cassation overturned it, recognizing the correctness of the tax inspectorate. All this time the account was blocked. (AC of the Udmurt Republic case No. A71-17342/2016). And only after receiving a ruling from the cassation court, the Federal Tax Service lifted all restrictions.

Thus, the suspension of operations does not depend on the fact whether the arbitration court reduced the amount of the penalty or upheld the decision of the Federal Tax Service. In this case, going to court makes sense only when it, in principle, recognizes the actions of the Federal Tax Service as illegal and unfreezes the accounts.

Suspension by the tax authority of transactions on taxpayer accounts

Suspension of transactions on accounts is one of the most effective measures to influence the taxpayer. Since 2021, there have been more grounds for using such a measure to ensure that organizations and individual entrepreneurs fulfill their obligations. About this - an exclusive interview with an expert - Sergei Razgulin, active state adviser of the Russian Federation, 3rd class.

What is the regime for suspending account transactions?

Suspension of account transactions is a special procedure for performing debit transactions on an account. All expense transactions are prohibited, except those expressly permitted by Article 76 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. Funds are credited to the account as usual.

What payments are made during the period of validity of the decision to suspend operations?

Payments to budgets for taxes and insurance contributions for compulsory social insurance and payments, the order of execution of which precedes the fulfillment of the obligation to pay tax. The order of execution of payments is established by Article 855 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation as amended by Federal Law No. 345-FZ dated December 2, 2013.

The third stage includes the write-off of funds:

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in wages (an exception to the general rule on the priority of executive documents);

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on instructions from the tax authorities and the bodies of the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation and the Social Insurance Fund for the payment of taxes and insurance premiums (in this case, we mean forced repayment of debts on mandatory payments).

Requirements relating to one queue are fulfilled in the calendar order of receipt of payment documents. This means that if instructions from the tax authority to write off funds to pay taxes were not presented to the account, the taxpayer’s payments for wages are executed without restrictions. The taxpayer's order to transfer wages will have priority in execution over the tax authority's order to write off the debt if it was received by the bank earlier than the tax authority's order.

The fourth stage is other executive documents.

The fifth priority is other voluntary payments. For example, a taxpayer’s instructions to transfer taxes are assigned to the fifth priority of execution.

From these provisions, the conclusion suggests itself that during the period of operation of the suspension of transactions on accounts, regardless of the date of presentation of the account, payments of the fifth order - the taxpayer’s orders, are not executed, with the exception of his calculations for wages and taxes (insurance contributions).

That is, the writs of execution submitted to the account and providing for the write-off of funds in favor of a commercial creditor have priority over the taxpayer’s payments to the budget?

From the clarifications of the Ministry of Finance, in particular, letter dated 03/05/2014 No. 03-02-07/1/9544, we can conclude that the phrase “payments preceding the fulfillment of the obligation to pay taxes and fees” refers to the first and second priority payments indicated in paragraph 2 of Article 855 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, that is, those payments that precede the execution of orders from the tax authorities to write off and transfer debts for taxes and fees to the budgets of the budget system of the Russian Federation.

A second approach to the interpretation of this phrase is possible, based on the fact that “a taxpayer’s order to write off funds to pay taxes (advance payments), fees, insurance premiums, relevant penalties and fines and to transfer them to the budget system of the Russian Federation” is also fulfilling the obligation to pay tax, and it is classified as the fifth priority.

In the previous edition of paragraph 2 of Article 855 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, in the articles of the federal law on the federal budget for the corresponding year, the write-off of funds under settlement documents providing for payments to the budgets of the budget system of the Russian Federation was classified as one priority (regardless of the basis for payment - voluntary or forced). Federal Law No. 345-FZ dated December 2, 2013 changed the legal regulation of the order of debiting funds from an account.

That is, payments, the order of execution of which, in accordance with the civil legislation of the Russian Federation, precedes the fulfillment of the obligation to pay taxes and fees - these are payments classified as the first - fourth priority. Thus, during the period of operation of the regime of suspension of transactions on accounts, regardless of the date of presentation to the account, payments of the fifth stage - orders of the taxpayer, with the exception of his calculations for wages and taxes (insurance contributions) are not executed.

What approach should the bank take?

The second approach seems more justified, since a different interpretation allows for priority of voluntary transfers for taxes, the payment period of which has not yet expired, before the write-off of funds under enforcement documents of other creditors of the debtor. The illegality of such an interpretation is indicated in the Resolution of the Constitutional Court of December 23, 1997 No. 21-P.

In other words, if the taxpayer’s account is presented with a writ of execution from the creditor under a business agreement and an order from the taxpayer himself to pay the tax, then if there are insufficient funds in the account, they must first be written off to pay off the debt to the creditor, and only then to pay taxes.

There is an intermediate position, according to which the suspension of debit transactions on a taxpayer’s account only due to his failure to submit a tax return, in the absence of documented debt to the budget, cannot interfere with the execution of court decisions that have entered into legal force (letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated July 6, 2015 No. 03- 02-07/1/38928).

We also draw attention to paragraph 2 of Article 70 of the Federal Law of 02.10.2007 No. 229-FZ “On Enforcement Proceedings”, according to which the transfer of funds from the debtor’s accounts is carried out on the basis of a writ of execution or a resolution of a bailiff without submission to the bank or another credit organization as a collector or bailiff of settlement documents. According to the Regulations on the procedure for acceptance and execution by credit institutions and divisions of the Bank of Russia settlement network of executive documents presented by collectors, approved by the Bank of Russia on April 10, 2006 No. 285-P, the bank draws up a collection order on the basis of the executive document.

Thus, since a collection order is a different form of non-cash payments than a payment order, regardless of the resolution of the issue, payments related to the fourth priority are subject to or not subject to execution during the period of validity of the decision to suspend transactions on the taxpayer’s accounts, liability under Article 134 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation for their execution should not be applied to the bank.

Can an organization open an account in another bank if its account in the servicing bank is blocked?

Banks, under threat of a fine, are prohibited from opening new accounts for those persons in respect of whom a decision has been made to suspend operations (clause 12 of Article 76, clause 1 of Article 132 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

The procedure for informing banks about the suspension of transactions and about canceling the suspension of account transactions (electronic money transfers) is established by Order of the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated March 20, 2015 No. ММВ-7-8/117. According to the order, information is provided by contacting the bank to the Internet service “System for informing banks about the status of processing electronic documents.”

The Internet service contains information from the decision to suspend transactions on accounts (transfers of electronic funds) in the bank, in particular, the number and date of the tax authority’s decision to suspend transactions on accounts (transfers of electronic funds) in the bank, indicating the date and time its placement (Moscow time) in the Internet service.

For opening an account in the presence of a decision of the tax authority to suspend operations on the accounts, a fine of 20 thousand rubles is collected. (Clause 1 of Article 132 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). In this case, to hold the bank accountable, only the very fact of the existence of the suspension decision is sufficient, the existence of which the bank had to check by contacting the Internet service of the Federal Tax Service of Russia.

But during the period of suspension of operations, it is permissible to extend (prolongation) a previously concluded deposit agreement, unless a new deposit account is opened (letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated November 20, 2015 No. 03-02-07/67417).

Does an organization have the right to open a deposit or nominal account?

According to Article 11 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, an account is a settlement (current) and other bank account opened on the basis of a bank account agreement.

If there is a decision of the tax authority to suspend transactions on accounts, banks do not have the right to open accounts, deposits, deposits for an organization and grant this organization the right to use new corporate electronic means of payment for electronic money transfers.

In accordance with Article 860.1 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, a nominal account is opened for the account owner to carry out transactions with funds, the rights to which belong to another person - the beneficiary. Regulation of a nominal account is carried out on the basis of the provisions of Chapter 45 “Bank Account” of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. Thus, a nominal account is a type of bank account (clause 2.8 of Bank of Russia Instruction No. 153-I dated May 30, 2014 “On opening and closing bank accounts, deposit accounts, and deposit accounts”).

Consequently, if operations on an organization’s accounts are suspended, the bank does not have the right to open a nominal account for the organization (an account whose owner is declared by such an organization).

But at the same time, the responsibility of the bank for opening a deposit in the presence of a decision to suspend operations on the accounts of a taxpayer under the Tax Code of the Russian Federation has not been established.

Under what conditions does the tax authority have the right to make a decision to suspend transactions on accounts?

Operations are suspended by the head (deputy head) of the tax authority for several reasons, which, in turn, can be combined into two groups. The first may include decisions taken as a measure to ensure the collection of tax debts. The second group includes decisions taken as a measure to ensure the submission of individual documents.

The first group includes the decision to suspend operations, taken in order to ensure the execution of the decision to collect taxes. It should be noted that in addition to the decision on collection by the tax authority, the taxpayer must also be sent a demand to pay the tax. The tax authority's order to write off funds to pay tax and the decision to suspend operations can be sent to different accounts of the taxpayer.

The taxpayer has the right to appeal the decision to suspend transactions on accounts if the tax authority violated the collection procedure. For example, a decision was not made to collect the tax or the deadline for its issuance was missed (Resolution of the Ninth Arbitration Court of Appeal dated October 7, 2013 No. 09AP-31156/2013).

If the decision of the arbitration court to declare illegal the decision of the inspectorate to bring to tax liability has entered into legal force, the tax authority is obliged to cancel the decision to collect taxes, as well as the decision to suspend transactions on accounts. The taxpayer should appeal the illegal inaction of the tax authority, which is expressed in the failure to make a decision to lift the suspension of account transactions (Resolution of the Moscow District Arbitration Court dated December 8, 2014 No. F05-14131/2014).

This group of grounds also includes a decision taken to ensure the execution of a decision made based on the results of consideration of tax audit materials (clause 10 of Article 101 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

The subsequent cancellation of the decision to prosecute (refusal to prosecute for committing a tax offense) does not in itself mean that the decision to suspend operations was made illegally. It becomes illegal if it is not canceled in a timely manner.

According to Article 16 of the Arbitration Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, judicial acts of the arbitration court that have entered into legal force are binding on state authorities, local governments, other bodies, organizations, officials and citizens and are subject to execution throughout the Russian Federation.

The taxpayer can obtain a reversal of the decision to suspend transactions on accounts by filing a petition for interim measures in the arbitration court in a dispute with the tax authority.

After the court has taken interim measures, the inspectorate must cancel the decision to suspend operations on the account in relation to the provisions of Article 76 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation (Resolution of the Presidium of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation dated December 25, 2012 No. 10765/12).

But each of the grounds for suspending account transactions is independent and can be applied independently of each other. This means that if transactions on a taxpayer’s bank accounts were suspended for two reasons, one of which ceased to be valid, this does not entail the cancellation or non-execution of interim measures taken by the inspectorate on the other basis.

The fact that the court has taken interim measures prohibiting the tax authority from taking actions to forcibly collect tax debt, in the presence of a decision made in accordance with paragraph 10 of Article 101 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation that has not been canceled by the tax authority, does not serve as a basis for the resumption of debit transactions on the taxpayer’s accounts.

What grounds for suspending operations can be conditionally classified as the second group?

First of all, this is the failure to submit a tax return.

The deadline for making a decision to suspend transactions on accounts for failure to submit a declaration since 2015 is 3 years and 10 working days from the date established by the Tax Code of the Russian Federation for the submission of a declaration. This limitation on the time limit for making a decision also applies to declarations not submitted to the tax authority before 2015.

Since 2015, for failure to submit a declaration, operations on the accounts of any person who, in accordance with the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, must submit tax returns, and not just the taxpayer, can be suspended.

Can transactions be suspended for failure to submit an income tax return at the end of the reporting period?

Suspension of transactions for failure to submit a declaration should be applied provided that a certain document is a tax return in content and not in title.

For failure to submit a tax return for corporate income tax at the end of the reporting period, suspension of operations should not be applied, since the specified document does not meet the concept of “tax return” established by Article 80 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

Failure to submit what other documents may result in the suspension of account transactions?

From January 1, 2015, another reason for blocking an account was failure to fulfill the obligation to transfer to the tax authority a receipt for the acceptance of documents sent by the tax authority in electronic form via telecommunication channels through an electronic document management operator.

The decision to suspend a taxpayer’s transactions on his bank accounts and transfers of his electronic funds is made in relation to persons obliged to submit tax returns in electronic form, who, in violation of paragraph 5.1 of Article 23 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, did not submit a receipt for the receipt of the following documents:

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requirements for the submission of documents;

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requirements for providing explanations;

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notifications of summons to the tax authority.

The receipt must be sent no later than six days from the date the documents were sent by the tax authority. The decision to suspend account transactions can be made within ten days after the expiration of the deadline established for sending the receipt.

Consequently, the decision to suspend transactions on this basis should be made no earlier than the seventh day and no later than the sixteenth day after the documents are sent by the tax authority. The specified periods are calculated in working days.

Operations cannot be suspended if the taxpayer complies with the received requirement (notification) on the merits: documents, explanations are presented, the summoned person appears at the tax authority.

In addition, the tax authority does not have the right to decide to suspend transactions on accounts if the taxpayer does not receive a receipt for other documents sent electronically that are not a requirement to submit documents, a requirement to provide explanations, or a notice of summons to the tax authority.

What has changed in the list of grounds for suspending account transactions?

Since 2021, Federal Law No. 113-FZ dated 05/02/2015 has established a new type of reporting for tax agents - calculation of the amounts of personal income tax calculated and withheld by the tax agent (clause 1 of Article 80 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

The tax agent will submit this calculation for the first quarter, six months, nine months - no later than the last day of the month following the corresponding period. For the year (tax period) - no later than April 1 of the next year (clause 2 of Article 230 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). The calculation in Form 6-NDFL must be submitted to the tax authority with which the tax agent is registered, in electronic form via telecommunication channels.

If the tax authority does not receive a calculation from the tax agent within 10 days after the expiration of the established period, then the head (deputy head) of this tax authority may decide to suspend the tax agent’s operations on his bank accounts and transfers of his electronic funds (new paragraph 32 Article 76 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

Suspension of transactions on accounts does not apply if the calculation of personal income tax amounts calculated and withheld by the tax agent is submitted within the prescribed period on paper (regardless of the number of individuals who received income from the tax agent).

The Tax Code of the Russian Federation does not establish a pretrial period for the tax authority to make a decision to suspend transactions on accounts for failure to submit Form 6-NDFL.

Before the introduction of preemptive deadlines in the Tax Code of the Russian Federation for making a decision to suspend operations for failure to submit a declaration, in judicial practice there were examples of invalidation of a tax authority’s decision made more than 3 years after the grounds for its adoption arose. The court proceeded from the fact that exceeding a reasonable time for making a decision may mean its invalidity (Resolution of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Moscow District dated 03.08.2007, 08.08.2007 No. KA-A40/7460-07).

The tax agent can be recommended to use this argument in a dispute in the case where the tax authority decided to suspend transactions on accounts not immediately (after 10 days from the date established for submitting the calculation), but after some time.

How does an organization learn about decisions made regarding account blocking?

From the tax authority. Copies of all decisions made by the tax authority are sent to the organization no later than the day following the day of their adoption. The bank will also notify the client organization of the decision.

Taxes are paid in rubles. Is it possible to suspend transactions on a foreign currency account?

The tax authority has the right to suspend transactions on all accounts that are opened on the basis of a bank account agreement. That is, the tax authority does not have the right to suspend operations on a deposit account. And for a current (current) account, including a foreign currency account, you have the right.

If the suspension of operations ensures the collection of tax, then the amount in the foreign currency account within which operations are suspended is calculated as dividing the debt specified in the decision by the ruble exchange rate to the desired currency, established by the Central Bank on the day the bank received the decision.

What if the account details change during the validity period of the decision?

The previously made decision remains in effect and is automatically applied to the account with new (changed) details, including when the name of the organization is changed.

What to do when the tax authority decides to suspend transactions in relation to all accounts of the taxpayer?

The actions of the taxpayer depend on the basis on which the decision to suspend operations was made.

For failure to submit a declaration, the Tax Code of the Russian Federation allows a decision to be made to suspend transactions on all accounts of the taxpayer and for the entire amount of funds in these accounts.

From 2015, transactions to the same extent may be suspended for the taxpayer’s failure to transmit a receipt for the receipt of a request for the submission of documents sent by the tax authority electronically, a request for the submission of explanations or a notice of summons to the tax authority, and from 2021 - for failure by the tax agent to submit Form 6-NDFL.

Suspension of operations in the event of debt collection is limited to the amount of funds collected. If operations are suspended to ensure the execution of a decision made based on the results of consideration of the audit materials, then the blocked amount is determined as the difference between the debt and the value of the taxpayer’s property, which has already been subject to a ban on alienation (pledge).

Therefore, the excess of the amount in the accounts for which transactions are suspended over the amount collected can, at the request of the taxpayer, be eliminated by the tax authority canceling the decision on suspension in the relevant part.

The taxpayer has the right to challenge the calculation of the amount in respect of which a decision was made to limit expenditure transactions.

Suppose the tax authority decides to suspend transactions on accounts without sufficient grounds, for example, if the taxpayer does not receive a calculation of advance payments for property tax or a receipt for acceptance of a decision sent electronically to extend the audit...

The grounds for making a decision to suspend transactions on accounts are defined exhaustively by the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

The decision taken by the tax authority to suspend operations in the absence of proper grounds is unlawful. In this case, on the entire amount of funds in respect of which the decision was in force, interest is accrued at the refinancing rate of the Central Bank for each calendar day the decision is valid. Let me remind you that from January 1, 2021, the refinancing rate is equal to the key rate and is 11%.

Similar consequences occur:

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when deciding to suspend operations after a specified period;

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if the tax authority fails to make a timely decision to cancel the decision to suspend operations, including when a taxpayer’s application is received that the total amount of blocked funds exceeds the amount of debt;

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if the decision to cancel the suspension decision is not sent to the bank in a timely manner. The tax authority must cancel the decision to suspend operations no later than the day following the day the reasons that led to its adoption are eliminated (repayment of arrears, submission of a declaration, etc.). No later than the next day, the decision to cancel must be sent to the bank.

In all of these cases, the taxpayer has the right to make claims for payment of interest.

How can a taxpayer receive interest?

Interest is payable to the taxpayer upon his application. If the tax authority refuses to pay interest, it is recommended to go to court.

Interest is calculated based on the period that begins from the day the bank receives the decision on suspension and ends on the day the bank receives the decision to cancel it or the occurrence of other circumstances provided for by federal laws (in such situations, the adoption by the tax authority of a special decision to cancel the suspension of transactions on accounts is not required).

The Tax Code of the Russian Federation provides for the accrual of interest on the amount in respect of which the actual suspension was in effect, and not on the amount specified in the decision on suspension (Determination of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation dated May 15, 2013 No. VAS-5501/13). Therefore, if there is an actual absence of funds in the accounts during the entire period of suspension of operations on the accounts, there are no grounds for charging interest.

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Failure to submit declarations as a basis for suspension of operations

This is a very common violation. The Code clearly allows fiscal authorities to “block” accounts when a business entity does not file a declaration within the time limits established by law. The courts, as a rule, support the “tax authorities” in this matter (AC of the Kemerovo Region Case No. A27-23305/2016).

At the same time, tax authorities often suspend transactions on accounts as a result of frankly weak interaction between territorial Federal Tax Service Inspectors. Too often in the state tax system, various bases are changed and updated and program failures occur. As a result, this leads to the fact that individual taxpayers receive two (or even three TINs), and individual entrepreneurs are surprised to learn about “tax violations” that they have never committed. As a rule, this is associated with entrepreneurs who have changed their place of residence.

A person submits a declaration at the address of his residence, and the tax authority at the place of his former registration, without waiting for the reporting, suspends operations on the account (AS Moscow Region Case No. A41-34968/15). This is the absolute fault of the inspection and arbitration always recognizes such decisions as illegal.

Blocking for failure to submit declarations

If the blocking of an account is caused by late filing of a tax return, a decision to suspend operations can be made no earlier than 10 business days after the expiration of the deadline established for filing reports. This right is retained by the inspectorate for three years. This follows from subparagraph 1 of paragraph 3 of Article 76 and paragraph 6 of Article 6.1 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. At the same time, there are no restrictions on the blocking amount (letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated April 15, 2010 No. 03-02-07/1-167).

Since paragraph 3 of Article 76 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation deals specifically with tax returns, the inspectorate does not have the right to block an organization’s account for late submission of tax calculations. For example, the inspectorate cannot suspend transactions on the bank account of a tax agent who has not submitted a calculation of the amounts of income paid to foreign organizations and taxes withheld. But if the tax agent (including in a special mode) does not report on the amounts of VAT withheld (does not submit Section II of the VAT return), then the inspectorate will have grounds to suspend transactions on the current account. Such clarifications are contained in letters of the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated December 11, 2014 No. ED-4-15/25663 and dated August 22, 2014 No. SA-4-7/16692.

Situation: does the tax inspectorate have the right to make a decision to suspend transactions on an organization’s bank accounts if the organization has not submitted calculations for advance payments on time (other documents serving as the basis for the calculation and payment of taxes)

No, it doesn't.

The tax office has the right to block an organization's bank accounts if the organization is late in filing a tax return. The account may be blocked after 10 business days have passed from the deadline for filing a return for a particular tax. The inspectorate may make such a decision within three years from the date of failure to submit the declaration. This follows from subparagraph 1 of paragraph 3 of Article 76 and paragraph 6 of Article 6.1 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. At the same time, there are no restrictions on the blocking amount (letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated April 15, 2010 No. 03-02-07/1-167).

Since paragraph 3 of Article 76 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation directly states that an account can only be blocked for failure to file a tax return, the tax inspectorate does not have the right to suspend transactions on accounts if the organization is late in submitting calculations for advance payments.

Similar conclusions are contained in letters of the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated December 11, 2014 No. ED-4-15/25663, Ministry of Finance of Russia dated July 12, 2007 No. 03-02-07/1-324.

Violation of the electronic document flow procedure

This disorder is also quite common lately. The state is actively transferring interaction between taxpayers and government agencies to the sphere of digital technologies. Thus, since 2015, all business entities submitting reports in electronic form are required to confirm receipt of notifications and requirements from the Federal Tax Service by sending them receipts. This receipt is also sent in electronic form through the electronic document management operator. The law also establishes a deadline for sending it: 6 days from the date of receipt of the notification/demand from the fiscal authority. It doesn't seem complicated. However, they are directed by real people, not robots. And people tend to make mistakes and forget. Therefore, having recorded the non-receipt of the receipt, the inspection has the right to block transactions on the account. Most often it doesn't come to this. The Federal Tax Service specialist simply calls the taxpayer and he, having come to his senses, sends a confirmation. If this does not happen, the tax service suspends operations. And when such a case comes to court, the arbitration always takes the side of the fiscal authority (AS of the Sverdlovsk Region. Case No. A60-10890/2017).

The offense in this case is formal in nature and does not require additional evidence.

Interim measures based on the results of an on-site inspection

As a matter of fact, this is not even a reason for “blocking” the account, but rather the result of a kind of analysis by the Federal Tax Service, based on the results of a visit to the office, they come to the location of the company, check the documents and come to the unambiguous conclusion for them that the legal entity is “creating conditions for bankruptcy”, and also makes it impossible to collect penalties, fines and mandatory payments.

Therefore, they first of all prohibit the alienation, as well as the pledge of the owner’s property, and additionally “block” the company’s accounts. In this case, the suspension of operations comes, as they say, “in addition” to the main prohibition, when the value of the property is clearly not enough to pay off the arrears.

However, in practice, it is very difficult for fiscal authorities to formulate and present to the court or taxpayer specific grounds for applying the above measures. If an organization has large turnover, assets, and real property, then the actions of the Federal Tax Service often look unlawful. Therefore, the number of such cases has sharply decreased in the last two or three years, and the courts, as a rule, take the side of taxpayers (AC of the Kemerovo Region Case No. A27-23458/2015).

How to check account suspensions on the Federal Tax Service website

Checking for blocking of funds in bank accounts is carried out on the website of the Federal Tax Service online. A request is sent to the system in the section: “Current decisions on suspension”, then enter data about the company - TIN or BIC of any bank. The system of informing banks about the suspension of operations will be useful not only to credit institutions, but also to companies that want to obtain information about the counterparty, whether he has been subject to account blocking by the tax authorities.

Checking the client by TIN

Today, tax authorities can provide information on any taxpayer, including information about the blocking of his accounts at the request of the Federal Tax Service. You can use a service such as informing banks about the suspension of operations. To do this, you need to know the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) in order to enter it in the section on information about current decisions on sanctions on funds from bank accounts.

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Checking the counterparty's current account on the tax website

The FMS website contains more than ten services with which you can obtain information about the counterparty - to do this you need to know his INN and BIC. Using the system for informing banks about the suspension of operations, it is determined whether the account of an enterprise or individual (IP) is working or whether it is blocked following a request from the tax authorities for reasons of non-payment of taxes or failure to submit a declaration. Find out about the service for calculating taxes in the Federal Tax Service and generating reporting documents online.

Suspension of account transactions and violations by credit institutions

Banks are direct participants in the process of “blocking” accounts. After all, all current accounts are located in credit institutions that service them. Fiscal authorities send decisions to suspend operations to banks, and the latter, in turn, are obliged to execute it. Moreover, the law (Article 132 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation) threatens financiers with sanctions if they open a new account for a taxpayer when all transactions on his existing accounts are suspended. A credit institution can check the fact of “blocking” using the BANKINFORM system, which contains all the necessary information. For violation of these requirements, the tax inspectorate does not hesitate to fine banks, and the courts, as a rule, uphold the decision of the Federal Tax Service (AS of the Ulyanovsk Region Case No. A72-1801/2017).

However, in recent years the number of such violations has increased sharply. Apparently, in the struggle for the client, employees of credit institutions “turn a blind eye” to such “little things”, and the sanction of the article, frankly speaking, is too small for a wealthy financial institution.

Blocking for non-payment of taxes

If the blocking of an account is caused by the collection of debt to the budget, the decision to suspend operations is made no earlier than a decision has been made to collect taxes (fees, fines, penalties) (paragraph 2, clause 2, article 76 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). In this case, debit transactions are suspended only within the amount specified in the decision to suspend account transactions. If the decision to suspend operations indicates several accounts, the bank must block each of them for the amount specified in the decision. The inspection may suspend debit transactions on a foreign currency account for an amount equivalent to the amount in rubles specified in the decision. Recalculation is carried out at the rate of the Bank of Russia established on the date of commencement of the suspension of operations on a foreign currency account. This procedure is provided for by the provisions of paragraphs 3 and 4 of paragraph 2 of Article 76 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation and is explained in the letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated January 14, 2013 No. 03-02-07/1-6.

The organization has the right to use funds that are in bank accounts in excess of debt amounts at its own discretion (letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated April 15, 2010 No. 03-02-07/1-167).

How to “unblock” accounts?

There really aren't many options here. The first of them is to pay all taxes, penalties and fines, send declarations or an electronic receipt to the Federal Tax Service. In other words, remove the reason that served as the basis for suspending account transactions.

The second option involves appealing the decision of the fiscal authorities in court. If a business entity is confident that it is right, then it is quite possible that it will be able to prove it to a higher tax authority or in arbitration and overturn the decision of the territorial Federal Tax Service.

When can the Federal Tax Service block an account?

The rules for imposing restrictions on expense transactions, as well as on the transfer of electronic funds, are given to the Tax Service by Article 76 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation . The decision to block an account is made by the head of the tax authority or his deputy. There are several reasons for this :

the taxpayer did not comply with the inspection’s request to pay the tax, penalty or fine;
the taxpayer did not submit a tax return within 10 days after the deadline for its acceptance;
the taxpayer did not provide explanations or documents requested by the Federal Tax Service within the prescribed period.

Having made a decision, the tax authority issues a resolution and sends it directly to the bank. Information about account blocking will appear on the Federal Tax Service website the very next day.

If there are not enough funds in the account, then the payment according to the decision of the Federal Tax Service will be put in a queue. In this case, all payments incoming to the account will be accepted without restrictions, and write-offs will occur in accordance with the priority established by Article 855 of the Civil Code. Tax arrears according to tax regulations are paid off in third place.

Brief conclusions

So, suspending account transactions is a common measure to ensure proper behavior on the part of the taxpayer. Its main function is to encourage a legal entity or entrepreneur to perform certain actions: pay taxes, submit returns, or send an electronic receipt. And it cannot be said that territorial authorities use it all the time. As a rule, the Federal Tax Service suspends movement on accounts when the amount of debt for taxes and other obligatory payments amounts to millions of rubles, or the organization does not send declarations for a long time or does not respond to requests.

However, even a short-term “blocking” of an account can lead to fatal consequences for the company. Therefore, when such situations arise, we advise you to immediately seek help from professional lawyers who will help resolve this problem.

How to pay when your account is suspended

Suspension of movement on an account in case of non-payment of tax is structured in such a way as coercion to fulfill the legal requirements of the tax authority. At the same time, it is assumed that the constitutional principle of protecting property is observed and that the infliction of unreasonable damage to the taxpayer is limited.

Article 76 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, the suspension of transactions does not entail a prohibition, but a limitation of expense transactions. At the same time, the flow of money into the account is not limited at all. Yes, and debit transactions from a bank account are not completely prohibited.

Expenditure transactions from a “tax blocked” bank account are allowed, which, in order of priority, are earlier than the payment of taxes under civil law. (Part 1 of Article 76 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation)

For example, in accordance with the Civil Code of the Russian Federation (Article 855), if there are limited funds in a bank account and their insufficiency to satisfy all requirements for the account, these requirements are satisfied in the following order:

primarily according to executive documents providing for the transfer or issuance of funds from the account to satisfy claims for compensation for harm caused to life and health, as well as claims for the collection of alimony ;
secondly, according to executive documents providing for the transfer or issuance of funds for settlements for the payment of severance pay and wages with persons working or who worked under an employment agreement (contract), for the payment of remuneration to the authors of the results of intellectual activity ;
thirdly , according to payment documents providing for the transfer or issuance of funds for settlements of wages with persons working under an employment agreement (contract), instructions from tax authorities to write off and transfer debts for the payment of taxes and fees to the budgets of the budget system of the Russian Federation , and also instructions from the bodies monitoring the payment of insurance premiums to write off and transfer the amounts of insurance contributions to the budgets of state extra-budgetary funds ;
fourthly , according to executive documents providing for the satisfaction of other monetary claims ;
fifthly according to other payment documents in calendar order.

Taking into account the above rules of Article 855 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, even in the case of suspension of transactions on a bank account, Article 76 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation allows writing off from a blocked tax account (conducting expense transactions) for:

Compensation for damage to life and health
Collection of alimony
Payment of severance pay established by law and payment of wages to employees registered under employment contracts
Payment to authors

IMPORTANT: All of the above payments are possible only according to writs of execution . The concept of an executive document is given in Article 12 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On Enforcement Proceedings”. , the following can be accepted as :

For compensation for harm to life and health - writs of execution issued by courts of general jurisdiction on the basis of judicial acts adopted by them;
For the collection of alimony - 1) writs of execution issued by courts of general jurisdiction on the basis of judicial acts adopted by them, 2) court orders; 3) notarized agreements on the payment of alimony or their notarized copies;
For the collection of severance pay and wages - 1) writs of execution issued by courts of general jurisdiction on the basis of judicial acts adopted by them, 2) court orders;
Regarding payments to the authors - 1) writs of execution issued by courts of general jurisdiction on the basis of judicial acts adopted by them, 2) court orders.

To collect funds from accounts under enforcement documents at the time of suspension of debit transactions on the account, the relevant enforcement documents must be presented to the bank. According to the rules of Article 8 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On Enforcement Proceedings”, the claimant himself has the right to present an executive document on the collection of funds to the bank or this is done by a bailiff.

IMPORTANT:

In order to prevent causing unreasonable harm to the tax payer and the protection of private property, the tax inspectorate DOES NOT have the RIGHT to limit the use by the payer of funds in the account in an amount exceeding the amount of claims to the account specified in the Suspension Decision. This rule is directly established by Part 2 of Article 76 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

Compliance with the rules on “expense limit” requirements depends primarily on the bank, since it is the bank that implements the prohibitive function.