What is it about
In tax law, there is a distinction between the statute of limitations for bringing to liability and the statute of limitations for paying taxes, the main differences are given in the table:
Who makes the decision | Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation (FTS of Russia) | Judicial bodies of the Russian Federation |
Sources of law | Art. 113, paragraph 4 of Art. 397, art. 70 Tax Code of the Russian Federation | 45 – 48 Tax Code of the Russian Federation |
Meaning | Extrajudicial collection procedure | Collection based on a court decision (order) |
Duration | 3 years (or 3 tax periods) | 6 months, 2 years - for individual cases |
The Russian Tax Service uses a number of effective tools to collect unpaid taxes and arrears out of court. If officials of the Federal Tax Service apply to the judicial authorities, the statute of limitations has legal significance.
In what order are taxes collected from legal entities?
Collection of tax debts from legal entities begins in the same way and within the same time frame as from individuals - with the issuance of a demand for tax payment.
If the requirement is not fulfilled, in most cases the Federal Tax Service Inspectorate collects the debt from the organization, as well as from the individual entrepreneur, without going to court. Cases where recovery is possible only through judicial proceedings are listed in paragraph 2 of Art. 45 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation and are exceptions to the rule of indisputable recovery. For example, a tax payment accrued in connection with the tax authority’s re-qualification of a taxpayer-organization transaction is recovered through the court.
Types of statute of limitations for paying taxes
Payment of accrued taxes and fees is the direct responsibility of the taxpayer . The Tax Code of the Russian Federation clearly regulates the procedure for determining the amount of tax and the timing of its payment.
By missing these deadlines, failing to pay the tax or paying it in full, the taxpayer commits a tax offense . Accordingly, the tax authorities have every right to recover this amount within the framework of current legislation. However, there are certain time limits.
The civil law establishes a statute of limitations - this is the period (maximum 3 years) during which a violation of the right can be challenged in a claim. However, civil legislation regarding the limitation period does not apply to tax relations - the Tax Code is more important here.
The Tax Code of the Russian Federation establishes 2 types of limitation periods for taxpayers:
- the statute of limitations for bringing to justice for committing a tax offense means that if the offense occurred more than 3 years ago, then it is no longer possible to be held accountable for it;
- statute of limitations - means that the tax office can sue to collect the debt within 6 months or 2 years (subject to certain conditions, which will be discussed later) after notifying the debtor.
Therefore, it is important to understand the difference between the statute of limitations and the statute of limitations for liability.
These 2 periods are counted independently of each other. For example, if the trial lasts more than 3 years, the case will be closed - the court simply will not be able to make a decision on collection. At the same time, the obligation to pay tax does not disappear even after 3 years - the debt continues to be registered with the taxpayer, but it will not be possible to collect it.
The debt can be completely written off, for example, if the court decides that it is impossible to collect it. Then the debt is considered uncollectible, after which it is written off in accordance with the Tax Code.
It is worth noting that the period of 3 years applies not only to debts on taxes, fines and penalties. This period applies to liability for various tax offenses, including:
- violations of registration rules;
- failure to report;
- filing a declaration in a manner inconsistent with the law;
- violations of tax accounting rules, etc.
The statute of limitations of 6 months or 2 years relates directly to the collection of tax arrears.
Regulations
In accordance with Art. 2 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, tax obligations are not limited by the statute of limitations, but there are regulated measures for which, within a specified period, the claimant has the right and obligation to bring claims to resolve the dispute in court.
In 2021, the obligation to pay a certain amount to the budget arises within the time limits described in Art. 57 of the Tax Code, an individual procedure is applied for each type of fee. Article 79 of this law establishes time limits for filing claims for reimbursement of funds from the state budget for overpaid contributions: the period of time cannot exceed three years.
An additional explanation of the application of the claim period is provided by the Federal Tax Service letter No. SA-4-7/ [email protected] dated 04/04/2017, which states that when providing a tax deduction based on an erroneous decision of the authority, the period for claiming arrears should not exceed three years from the moment the decision comes into force.
A similar period applies to situations where the taxpayer, on his own initiative, misled the Federal Tax Service, which resulted in an erroneous reduction in the contribution base. The beginning of the period is determined by the day the illegal actions of the tax subject are detected.
Despite the fact that the taxpayer’s obligation is considered indefinite, there are regulated periods for debt collection, after which the inspectorate will not be able to protect interests in court. After the end of the claim period, arrears are recognized as hopeless and must be written off.
An additional temporary restriction applies to the tax service in relation to fees, the amount of which is calculated directly by the inspectorate. For example, the Federal Tax Service has the right to reflect the amount payable for transport and property tax of an individual no later than a three-year period.
Collection is carried out in accordance with established standards
The statute of limitations for bringing the debtor to justice is thirty-six calendar months from the date of the offense (Article 113 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). Therefore, inspectors are active in order to maximally satisfy requirements, as well as promote the timely implementation of legal norms.
The concept of tax limitation
The tax limitation period refers to the period during which the Federal Tax Service can compulsorily collect the resulting debt.
It follows that tax authorities can collect debt from debtors only if the application to the court occurred before the expiration of the time intervals provided by law. However, there is one caveat here. The tax statute of limitations is set to bring violators to justice. The main provisions on this issue are disclosed in Art. 113 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. This means that punitive sanctions provided for by the provisions of the Code of Administrative Offenses or the Criminal Code cannot be applied to a person/organization that has violated the procedure for paying taxes. At the same time, the obligation to repay the resulting debt does not disappear anywhere.
If we refer to clause 1 of Art. 113 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, it can be understood that the tax limitation period is defined as 3 years from the date of commission of a tax crime or from the next day after the end of the billing period. The second point concerns offenses falling under Articles 120, 122, 129.3 and 129.5 of the Tax Code.
Important! The calculation period is understood as a calendar year or another time interval relevant for certain types of taxes. It follows that for different types of tax offenses, the statute of limitations will be calculated differently. In addition, the procedure for compulsory collection and the period for carrying out this procedure directly depends on the status of the offender: an individual or a legal entity.
Limitation period for tax violations
This limitation period is similar to that discussed above (when collecting a tax debt) in terms of rules and duration. The limitation period for prosecution is the time period when the Federal Tax Service imposes a fine. It is equal to three years from the moment the violation was committed or after the end of the tax period, if we are talking about Art. 120, 122 NK.
Legal documents
- Ch. 9 NK
- Art. 75 NK
- Ch. 12 GK
- Federal Law dated 02/07/2011 No. 1
- Art. 45 NK
- 47 NK
- Art. 120
- 122 NK
Types of statutes of limitations
The current legislation of the Russian Federation, residents of the country are not only required to pay taxes, but also must make deductions strictly within the time limits established by law.
If this does not happen, a tax offense is formed. This gives the Federal Tax Service the right to collect debts forcibly, through the courts, and to bring those responsible to justice within the framework of current legislation. However, the statute of limitations for such actions varies. It looks like this:
- Statute of limitations - collection of debt for unpaid taxes through the court. Such claims are filed within a period of 6 months to 2 years from the moment the debtor is notified of the identified violation.
- Prosecution is the imposition of punishment for tax crimes. The maximum period for prosecution is limited to 3 years. After this period of time, the offender is no longer subject to punishment.
Both statutes of limitations operate independently of each other. For example, if the trial lasts more than 2 years, the court cannot make a decision regarding the forced collection of debts. But it will be able to hold the debtor accountable for the offense committed. Despite the fact that it will not be possible to collect the debt based on a court decision, the tax debt continues to be registered with the violator. It can only be written off if the debt is deemed uncollectible.
Important! The general obligation to pay taxes has no limitations on limitation periods!
Limitation periods for an individual
Much depends on the amount of debt and the type of tax. In particular, if we are talking about filing a claim for non-payment of taxes to an individual, this can be done within six months from the date of expiration of the deadline for making such payments. If, within 3 years from the date of formation of a tax debt, the amount of unpaid taxes exceeds 3,000 rubles, the Federal Tax Service has the right to send a claim to the court for forced collection of the debt. This is done within a six-month period from the moment such a right arises.
However, there are a number of nuances here. For example:
- Land and property taxes can only be collected for the last 3 years. In particular, if the Federal Tax Service goes to court with a demand to repay the existing debt, taxes are collected only for the period 2016-2018.
- Motor vehicle tax is also collected only for the last three years. However, there is an exception for vehicles used for seasonal work, for example, snow removal equipment. In such situations, partial tax exemption is allowed.
On a note! The law allows for the possibility of reinstating the expired statute of limitations. Therefore, in some cases, the court may collect tax debt, even if the proceedings on this issue take more than 3 years.
Actions of control bodies
In the Tax Code, Article 32, paragraph 3, there is an indication that after 2 months a demand is sent to the taxpayer, and if the debt is not repaid, then this action is considered a crime against the tax authorities.
If such a situation is identified within 10 days, the papers are sent to the court to open a criminal case against the debtor.
The collection period directly depends on the amount of tax arrears (Article 48 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).
- 6 months are allotted if the amount of debt is more than 3,000 rubles, from the moment of expiration of the deadline that was provided to the taxpayer upon the issued request.
- For debts of up to 3,000 rubles within six months, but from the moment when the amount of the debt and the penalties accrued on it exceed 3,000 rubles. If this amount is not exceeded within 3 years, then the appeal to the court is sent within 6 months after the end of the 3-year period.
Tax debts that have exceeded 3 years can be written off through the court. We invite you to watch the video .
Tax debts that have exceeded 3 years can be written off through the court.
Collection in court is carried out in the following sequence.
- The amount of tax arrears is debited from existing bank accounts or electronic wallets.
- If there are none or the funds are insufficient, the court obliges the taxpayer to pay the debt in cash .
- In the absence of such, the existing property of an individual is seized, and from this moment penalties are not accrued on the existing debt.
If you want to find out whether a husband can receive a property tax deduction for his wife when buying an apartment, we advise you to read the article.
Collection process
The collection period for organizations and the collection period for taxes from individuals differ at different stages of the process:
Individual | Entity | |
Voluntary payment | Makes payments based on tax notices. Includes no more than three tax periods preceding the calendar year of its direction. | The amounts payable are calculated independently, in the manner and in accordance with the periods established by the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. |
If a debt is detected | Pays based on the submitted request. It is issued no later than 3 months from the date the debt was discovered (1 year for amounts of 500 rubles or less). | Pays based on requirement. |
If the debt is not repaid within the period specified in the request | Payment is collected based on a court order or court decision. | Payment is collected in an indisputable manner based on the decision of the tax service on collection. Subject to a period of 2 months from the date provided for payment in the advance request. |
The procedure and deadline for collecting taxes from individuals differs from the process in relation to legal entities. The main difference is that penalties are applied to organizations unconditionally.
An undisputed collection is a collection order to write off funds from the company’s account to the bank in which the taxpayer-organization’s accounts are opened.
The Federal Tax Service will be able to forcibly collect funds from an individual only after a trial.
Preventive periods in tax law
The Tax Code contains many gaps, which in practice are filled through the general principles of regulating legal relations. All special cases are decided by the judge during a specific trial based on the provisions of the law and the concepts of time limits.
Let's look at the example of collecting land taxes. Tax encumbrance on owned land does not provide for periods of limitation.
Calculation of deadlines depends on their type
How does the pretrial period differ from the statute of limitations:
- violation leads to the loss of the substantive basis for going to court;
- it is impossible to restore the missed period;
- the beginning of the period from the date of sending the demand for payment of the debt amount.
In practice, this period for organizations is 2 years, for individuals – six months.
This is important to know: Statement of claim for recognition of ownership of a garage: sample
How is the statute of limitations calculated?
In order to correctly calculate the statute of limitations for non-payment of taxes, it is necessary to determine the exact date when the obligation to pay arose:
- The moment the debt is discovered is the day following the payment date, or the date following the end of the tax period.
- The demand for payment must be fulfilled within 8 days from the date of its receipt, unless another date is specified in the request itself.
- If the declaration is filed late, then the moment of discovery is the next day after filing the declaration.
- If the debt is discovered as a result of a tax audit, then the request for repayment is sent within 20 working days after the Federal Tax Service’s decision based on the audit results comes into force.
What deadlines are provided by law?
The limitation period for tax offenses has its own characteristics and differs significantly depending on the subject of the offense.
Principles of calculation
The procedure for collecting tax debt directly depends on the status of the taxpayer.
For example, from individual entrepreneurs and organizations, the Federal Tax Service can collect debts indisputably, without going to court. The legislator believes that having received a notification from the Federal Tax Service about the resulting debt, businessmen are obliged to immediately pay the debt. If payment on demand does not occur, the tax service contacts the financial institution engaged in servicing the accounts of the debtor company. If the accounts have the necessary amount to repay the debt, the bank by default transfers it according to the details of the Federal Tax Service. As mentioned above, a pre-trial resolution of this issue is possible within 2 months from the moment the arrears are identified. If the deadline is missed or the company’s accounts do not have enough funds to pay off the existing debt, the Federal Tax Service goes to court and files a claim for forced collection. Pre-trial conflict resolution in such situations becomes impossible.
In the case of individuals, the procedure for calculating the limitation period and the principles of debt collection are different. In particular, it is possible to collect tax debts from an individual only in court. Such arrears are detected automatically. This happens the very next day after the established payment period expires. After this, the Federal Tax Service issues a repayment demand to the debtor. If the amount of debt does not reach the financial limit of 500 rubles, the claim is submitted within a year. In other cases, this period is 3 months. The request shall indicate the type of tax for which the arrears have arisen, the total amount to be paid and the maximum repayment period. If specific deadlines are not specified, the debt must be repaid within 8 days.
If the amount of unpaid taxes exceeds 3,000 rubles, the tax office may forcibly recover the funds within a 6-month period. If collection is made at the expense of the debtor’s property, this period increases to 2 years. In situations where the total amount of debt does not exceed 3,000 rubles, collection is carried out within six months after the expiration of the 3-year tax limitation period.
Statute of limitations for unpaid taxes of individual entrepreneurs
An individual entrepreneur in the course of his activities is obliged to pay all necessary taxes within the time limits established by law. However, in practice, situations often arise when, during audits, tax authorities discover tax arrears. In this case, the first thing the Federal Tax Service does is send an official notice to the debtor demanding payment of the tax and penalties accrued on it. In addition to the amount of debt, this notice will specify the exact deadlines within which the individual entrepreneur is obliged to pay the tax.
If the debtor has not paid the required amount within this period, the tax authorities have the right to file a claim in court or collect the debt themselves by sending documents to the bank where the individual entrepreneur has a current account.
Not only tax authorities, but also individual entrepreneurs can go to court
The obligation of taxpayers to pay taxes, according to the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, is unlimited. But to collect the amount of debt, a strictly defined amount of time is allotted - 3 years, from the moment the tax violation was committed. This is necessary because the more time passes from the moment of such an offense, the more difficult it is to prove guilt. After three years, the taxpayer cannot be charged with a tax offense. But it is important to understand from what point in time these 3 years begin to count.
If the tax authorities have identified arrears in tax payments for the second quarter of 2021, then the three-year period begins to count not from 07/01/2017, but from 01/01/2018.
Overpayment of taxes may also be grounds for going to court
Limitation periods for overpaid taxes
Not only tax authorities file claims, individual entrepreneurs can do the same. They are allowed to make a claim to offset or refund the overpaid tax. The period for applying to the judicial authorities is the same - 3 years.
If the Federal Tax Service detects an overpayment, then it is obliged to notify the individual entrepreneur about this within 10 days from the date of detection of the overpayment. An individual entrepreneur, in turn, must write an application to offset the overpayment against future tax payments or to return this amount to the current account.
Do not miss the statute of limitations, otherwise it will be problematic to recover the overpaid tax
During what period does the tax service have the right to collect the debt?
A taxpayer, having received a statement of reconciliation of settlements with the budget, may discover a tax debt that has been owed by the enterprise for more than three years. Accordingly, every accountant is interested in what to do with this debt? Is it possible to write off debt: if so, how to do it?
This is important to know: Petition to restore the period of appeal: procedure and grounds
Having examined the norms of the Tax Code listed in Article 59 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, we can conclude that the basis for writing off tax debts is a judicial act. And only a judicial act deprives the tax authority of the right to collect tax debt due to the expiration of the established period for its collection.
Expert opinion
Kuzmin Vasily Stanislavovich
Lawyer with 6 years of experience. Specialization: criminal law. More than 3 years of experience in developing legal documentation.
But before going to court, you need to deal with the debt that is on your personal account. During what period does the tax service have the right to collect the debt? The procedure and terms for debt collection are specified in Articles 46, 47, 69, 70, 75 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.
The tax service has the right to go to court to collect tax debts from the taxpayer’s funds in the current account within six months or from property within two years from the date of expiration of the period established in the request sent to the taxpayer to pay the debt. The period is counted from the date specified in the request sent to the taxpayer.
The period during which the tax service must send a request for payment:
- if the arrears are identified as a result of a desk audit, then the demand for payment is sent within 10 working days from the date of entry into force of the Decision on the audit report;
- in other situations, the demand for payment is sent within 3 months from the date the arrears were discovered.
In what cases can the statute of limitations be extended?
So, after a debt arises within 3 months, the tax office can make a demand; if it is not paid, then after another 2 months it can sue.
But it happens that the Federal Tax Service does not sue the debtor within the prescribed period. There may be several reasons, the main one being the heavy workload of tax authorities, who cannot always find time to collect a debt of several thousand rubles.
In this case, having waited all the limitation periods (that is, 6 months from the date specified in the demand), the debtor thinks that he has been freed from his debt. However, the statute of limitations may be restored by the court.
The main condition for the court to make such a decision is that the limitation period was missed for a good reason. In each specific case, the reasons for reinstating the deadline are considered individually.
At the same time, the Plenum of the Supreme Arbitration Court indicates what reasons the court will not be able to accept to restore the statute of limitations:
- delays due to coordination with management on filing a lawsuit;
- business trip or vacation of the responsible employee of the Federal Tax Service;
- change of management or other personnel changes in the tax office;
- other internal organizational reasons.
Therefore, if the Federal Tax Service Inspectorate files a claim in court after the deadline, the court will look at how valid the reason for the delay was.
The statute of limitations for holding people accountable for tax offenses cannot be extended or restored. Therefore, if more than 3 years have passed, then in any case the tax authority will not be able to make a decision on collection, or this decision will be easy to appeal in court.
For legal entities and individual entrepreneurs
The process of collecting arrears from legal entities and individual entrepreneurs is regulated by Art. 46, 47 Tax Code of the Russian Federation. If the inspection has collected an excess amount of fees, fines or penalties from an enterprise (entrepreneur), the taxpayer can apply for a refund of the overpayment. This can be done within 30 days from the date when:
- he was notified of an overpayment of tax;
- The court's decision that the inspection collected a larger amount than necessary came into force.
If the specified period has already expired, you can contact the judicial authority. In this case, the period of time for taxes of legal entities and entrepreneurs will be 3 years from the moment when they were notified of the overpayment of the tax amount, or when the debtor learned about it. A taxpayer who has overpaid tax can skip the stage of contacting the inspectorate and immediately write an application to the court.
When collecting tax debts from individual entrepreneurs and enterprises through the court, the statute of limitations is:
- when paying a debt using funds in current accounts - 6 months;
- when foreclosure is applied to other property of the taxpayer - two years.
The application of such a concept as the statute of limitations for taxes for legal entities is the same as in relation to individuals.
Note!
It is worth noting that during the audit, enterprises consider documents only for the last 3 years. An exception is the situation if there were previously obstacles to the implementation of control actions of the inspectorate.
If the income of an individual is received in the course of business activities, the same provisions apply that regulate the activities of a legal entity. On the other hand, they are subject to the same rules that apply to individuals. There are no special standards that are suitable only for individual entrepreneurs.
The debt of an individual entrepreneur is written off only in the following situations:
- death;
- recognition as financially insolvent.
Expired tax statute of limitations
A taxpayer cannot be held accountable if more than 3 years have passed since the tax violation was committed. Exceptions include situations where a person actively interfered with an audit by tax officials.
Note!
The Federal Tax Service can go to court if the amount of a private person’s tax debt (fines, fees, fines) exceeds 3 thousand rubles, within six months from the moment when the period for fulfilling the corresponding requirement of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation has expired.
If the debt does not exceed 3 thousand rubles, the supervisory authority can apply to the judicial authority within six months after the expiration of the 3-year period. In this case, the judge has the right to renew missed statutes of limitations.
The duty of every citizen is to pay taxes on time.
The duty of every citizen is to pay taxes on time. Failure to fulfill this obligation entails liability. It is important to know that there is a statute of limitations for unpaid fees, during which the Federal Tax Service can impose a fine on the defaulter. It is correct to talk about the statute of limitations for collecting taxes. Because what is important is the period during which the taxpayer has the right to demand the unpaid amount of the fee. In Russia there are the following categories of taxpayers who are charged by the legislator with the obligation to deposit money into the treasury on time. The deadline for payment of debt has been determined - three years. For individuals (private) persons. The statute of limitations for taxes for individuals is provided for in Art. 48 Tax Code of the Russian Federation. Having studied the current norms of Russian legislation, we can conclude that tax debt is indefinite. Moreover, this period of time for contributions to the budget has certain limits. But this does not apply to all collected payments, but only to the following fees: for the property of individuals; for transport. The Tax Code of the Russian Federation determines the possibility of writing off the transport tax debt in a situation where the inspectorate has not received the required amount from the taxpayer for 3 years. The statute of limitations, which is 3 years, is also determined when collecting the amount of debt when paying personal income tax. Fiscal authorities often require a private individual to pay arrears for a specified period. If there is arrears of non-payment of personal income tax for five years, then the individual can be recovered the unpaid amount only for the last three years. The tax service has the right to file a lawsuit against the defaulter, demanding to pay not only the debt, but also fines and penalties. It is easy to understand that the amount of debt requiring repayment will increase significantly. For legal entities and individual entrepreneurs The process of collecting arrears from legal entities and individual entrepreneurs is regulated by Art. 46, 47 Tax Code of the Russian Federation.
Responsibility measures
The first thing debtors should remember is the accrual of penalties.
The fine is accrued from the next day the tax debt appears, and is 1/300 of the Central Bank refinancing rate. For organizations, this rate is valid only for the first month. Then the rate changes to 1/150, and remains at this level until the debt is repaid. In addition, the legislator provides a system of monetary fines in the amount of:
- 20% of the amount of unpaid taxes, if the offense does not involve malicious intent;
- 40% if the debtor deliberately evades taxes.
In some cases, the perpetrators may be held criminally liable under Art. 199 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Based on this document, those found guilty face a fine of up to 300,000 rubles or imprisonment for up to 2 years. If the crime is committed on an especially large scale or by prior conspiracy by a group of persons, the penalties are toughened. In particular, the fine increases to 500,000 rubles, imprisonment - up to 6 years.
Important! The basis for bringing individuals to criminal liability for non-payment of taxes is considered to be debt in excess of 900,000 rubles. For legal entities and organizations, the liability threshold is 5,000,000 rubles.
Debts of organizations
For legal entities and individual entrepreneurs, there are separate regulations for determining the amount and timing of payment of budget contributions. The time period during which the supervisory authority files a claim in court depends on the date the debt arose.
The tax inspectorate has the right to foreclose on the debtor’s funds from a credit institution within six months; if they are absent or insufficient, debt collection at the expense of the property is allowed for two years. The starting point is the date on which the demand for payment of arrears is sent to the company.
Another controversial point is whether the tax authorities can collect debts with a period of more than 3 years from enterprises. Yes, such actions are potentially possible, but they depend on the specific circumstances of the case and the court’s decision.
It is worth noting that debts will be recognized as bad only if there are grounds specified in Art. 59 Tax Code of the Russian Federation:
- Declaring the taxpayer insolvent.
- Death of an entrepreneur.
- Issuance by the court of an act on the impossibility of satisfying the claim due to the expiration of the limitation period without the right to restore the period.
- The bailiff issued a resolution to terminate enforcement proceedings under clauses 3.4 of Art. 46 Federal Law No. 229 of October 2, 2007 (lack of property or information about its location, address of the defaulter), etc.
This list is closed and is not subject to other interpretation. It is important to understand that violation of generally established deadlines for fulfilling tax obligations entails administrative and criminal liability. For example, for failure to pay personal income tax, a company faces a fine of 20% of the arrears. With a high degree of probability, the debtor will not only lose finances and property, but may also be declared bankrupt on the initiative of the Federal Tax Service.
The collection procedure from individual entrepreneurs has its own characteristics
Collection procedure
If the subject of taxation has not fulfilled the obligation within the period established by law (Article 23 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation), the measure of forced satisfaction of claims is launched. At the first stage, the debtor is sent a request in writing indicating the amount of arrears, penalties, payment period and indicating the consequences of failure to comply with the authority's order.
The claim is submitted within ten days after the supervisory authority makes a decision to verify the correctness of the formation of the collection amount or a three-month period from the moment the debt was formed. For example, an organization submitted an income tax return, and a desk audit was carried out, confirming the amount of the fiscal payment. Therefore, no later than ten days from the date of the decision based on the results of control, a demand is sent to the company. Eight working days are given for execution, unless otherwise provided by law.
From a legal point of view, the amount of arrears recorded by the specialized INFS database is subjective in nature, since it directly depends on the actions of the performers. Therefore, an enterprise has the right to file a petition to dispute the amount of the claim if an overestimation of the amount of debt is detected. An error from the Federal Tax Service can be confirmed by a certificate from the accounting department or fiscal reporting.
If the deposit account does not receive money in the established amount after the period of voluntary execution of the claim expires, the inspectorate, within two months, makes a decision to foreclose on the property of the defaulter. The document is sent to the taxpayer as a notification of the start of the enforcement procedure, as well as to the bank, which immediately begins direct debiting.
The funds in the current account are seized and written off in favor of the budget in the amount established by the decision. The intended purpose of finance is not a restriction on the repayment of a collection order.
In case of non-payment of taxes, the resulting debt will be collected in a forced form.
In practice, the tax office sends a decision to block all current accounts of the debtor, and additionally sends a collection order to one of the credit institutions. If there is insufficient money in the account, a ban on withdrawals is established until the requirements of the Federal Tax Service are fully satisfied. Firms and individual entrepreneurs may encounter this interim measure, including if they do not provide fiscal reporting on time.
Tactics in the absence of funds
In the absence of information about the taxpayer’s monetary assets, and also if no turnover has been recorded on the account for a long time, the inspector, by decision of senior management, sends an application to the FSSP with a requirement to initiate enforcement proceedings and foreclose on the property of the defaulter (Article 47 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). In accordance with Federal Law No. 229, the bailiff is obliged to take enforcement actions no later than two months from the date the inspectorate accepts the claim for processing.
If the indisputable collection procedure does not bring results or the deadlines for its application are missed, the tax service has the right to file a claim in court against the debtor. In this case, the judge will primarily check the legality of the actions and the statute of limitations. It is important that in response to demands for the collection of penalties, the plaintiff may, as part of the proceedings, increase the amount of debt on the basis of Art. 49 Arbitration Procedure Code of the Russian Federation.
If the court's decision is positive, the claimant receives a writ of execution, which is handed over to the bailiffs for enforcement. If the amount of debt is large, the tax office is authorized to initiate bankruptcy proceedings for the debtor. The order of priority for satisfying claims in relation to taxpayers who are under the process of being declared insolvent is regulated by Federal Law No. 127 of October 26, 2002.
Debate on citizens' taxes
At the first stage of challenging the amount of tax debt, citizens can send a written claim to the head of the territorial office of the inspectorate or make an appointment for a personal appointment. A thirty-day period is allotted for consideration of the complaint, after which the individual will be provided with an explanation or a reasoned refusal.
If it is not possible to resolve the conflict and establish the truth, the taxpayer has the right to file a claim in court to establish the legality of the requirements of the regulatory authority and protect the civil interests of the applicant. The taxpayer must attach to the claim documentary evidence of the existence of the taxable item, a calculation of the amount of the fee planned for payment and other evidence that allows one to understand the essence of the dispute.
Based on the results of the trial, a ruling may be made to refuse to satisfy the claims of an individual, write off part or the full amount of the debt, or bring the guilty party to justice.