A tax audit is Definition, procedure, types, requirements, terms and rules for conducting

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

The number of forms of tax control, which are listed in Article 82 of the Tax Code, primarily includes tax audits. These are procedural actions of the tax structure related to control over the correctness of the calculation, completeness and timeliness of the transfer (payment) of taxes and fees. In our article we will talk about the types, requirements, timing and rules for conducting such checks.

Features of tax audits. Legislative Aspect

It is worth noting that they are implemented by comparing the actual information obtained as a result of tax control with information from tax returns submitted to the tax authorities. The right to conduct such audits is granted by the tax authority (Article 31 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). It is regulated by 14 titled "Tax Control".

When the Tax Code became relevant,the tax authorities have not lost their right to conduct non-tax (other) audits. So, at present, according to the Law of the Russian Federation of June 18, 1993 N 5215-1 "On the use of cash registers in the implementation of cash settlements with the population", tax authorities carry out checks related to the use of cash registers. In addition, in accordance with the Federal Law of November 22, 1995 N171-FZ "On state regulation of the production and circulation of ethyl alcohol, alcohol-containing and alcoholic products", verification of the production and subsequent circulation of an alcoholic product is relevant. There can be any number of such examples.

Classification

The scope of the powers of tax structures, as well as restrictions related to the conduct of certain procedural actions (access to the premises or territory, inspection, demand for documentation, seizure of objects and papers, inventory, examination, etc.), directly depends on the type of ongoing checks. Let's consider what tax audits of taxes and fees can be carried out by the relevant structures. It is worth bearing in mind that they can be classified according to various bases.

Desk and field inspections

According to the volume of documents being checked and the venue, they are classified into cameral and field. An in-house tax audit is an audit of tax returns and other documentation submitted by a taxpayer and serving as the basis for the calculation and subsequent payment of taxes. In addition, in thisIn this case, we are talking about checking other papers available to the tax authority. As a rule, they relate to the activities of the taxpayer, which is carried out at the location and registration of the tax authority.

Today, desk audits are a significant factor in terms of replenishing the state budget. Errors found during tax audits directly in the justification of benefits and in tax declarations give a significant increase in payments to the budget. A desk audit is carried out by officials of the tax structure who are authorized in accordance with their official duties without presenting a special official decision from the management of the tax structure within three months from the date of submission of the tax return and documentation serving as the basis for the calculation and subsequent payment of a particular tax by the taxpayer unless other terms are provided by the relevant legislation. The purpose of a desk tax audit by TIN is to monitor compliance by taxpayers with legislative and other regulatory legal acts regarding taxes and fees, to identify and prevent offenses in this area, to recover amounts of underpaid or not paid taxes at all, to initiate, if there are grounds for a procedure for collecting sanctions in a certain order, as well as preparing the necessary information to ensure the competent and rational selection of taxpayers (this is necessary for the implementation of on-site inspections).

It is advisable to consider an on-site tax audit asa set of actions related to the verification of the primary accounting and other accounting documentation of the taxpayer, accounting registers, tax declarations and financial statements, business and other contracts, acts regarding the fulfillment of contractual obligations, internal orders, orders, protocols, other documents. Such a tax audit is an audit of various items that the taxpayer uses in order to extract income. In addition, it may be related to the maintenance of objects of taxation of warehouse, production, trade and other territories and premises. An in-house audit is an audit on the implementation of an inventory of a property complex owned by a taxpayer. It is advisable to include here other actions of tax structures or individual officials that are carried out at the location of the taxpayer (location of the object, place of activity of the taxpayer), as well as in other places where there is no tax structure.

The most important aspects of an on-site inspection

Field tax audit is a category that requires special attention. It is worth noting that the named term was introduced into the use of control work by the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. Previously, inspections that were carried out subject to a visit to the taxpayer were called documentary. Nevertheless, the difference between these concepts ("documentary" and "exit") is by no means terminological. There is a very common view thatdocumentary and field tax audits are not the same thing. Thus, an on-site audit is an event that is usually carried out at the taxpayer's premises. It is advisable to understand a documentary audit that covers primary accounting documents, as well as taxpayer accounting registers. It is important to note that not a single legislative act specifies the place of implementation of such a check.

Key participants in the field audit of the tax authorities: the audited company or individual entrepreneur, as well as the tax authority or relevant officials. It is worth noting that the actions of other persons, for example, translators or experts, may also be associated with this check. However, it can usually be conditioned on the initiative of the tax structure.

Terms and rules

During the period of the tax audit, one way or another, a certain goal must be achieved. In the case of an on-site audit, as in a desk audit, we are talking about the implementation of control over the literacy of the calculation, the timeliness and completeness of the payment of taxes and fees to the state budget, full compliance with current legislation, the collection of pen alties and arrears on taxes, and the prosecution of those responsible for committing offenses tax plan, the prevention of such offenses. However, the goals presented are achieved through other, specific means for field events. For example, the seizure of documents and items within the limits of tax control canbe realized exclusively during an off-site event.

The term of the tax audit in this case is three years of activity of the taxpayer, which immediately precede the year of the audit. It should be noted that the tax structure does not have the right to hold two or more outdoor events within one year for the same tax payments for the same time period. The term for such an audit is no more than 2 months. However, there are exceptions when a higher tax structure increases the duration of the audit up to 3 months. The term for the implementation of an on-site tax audit in the Russian Federation includes the presence of inspectors in the building of the audited enterprise in fact. However, the specified period does not include the time between the delivery of the requirement to the taxpayer to submit documentation and the presentation of these documents.

Requirements and grounds for conducting

In accordance with the procedure for tax audits, in the course of an on-site audit, it often becomes necessary to inspect territories and premises that are used to generate income or are associated with the maintenance of taxable objects. In addition, sometimes there is a need to conduct an inventory of the property complex, to seize documents, items, and so on. In some cases, provided for by the Code in force on the territory of the Russian Federation, protocols must be formed during the implementation of control actions.

The basis for the implementation of the exittax audit of taxes and fees - the relevant decision of the management of the tax structure or the decision of the director of a higher tax authority regarding the conduct of an on-site audit in order to control the work of the tax authority. It is worth noting that the procedure for issuing a resolution (decision) by a higher tax authority on the implementation of an audit, as well as current requirements for the form of a document, are regulated by the order of the Minister of the Russian Federation for Taxes and Duties dated 08.10.1999 "On Approval of the Procedure for Appointing Field Tax Audits".

Counter check

Article 87 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation provides for the possibility of conducting counter tax audits by TIN. They should be understood as a comparison of different copies of the same paper. Based on the essence of the methodology, it can be used exclusively in relation to documents, the execution of which occurs not in one copy, but in several. It is advisable to include here the papers through which the receipt or release of valuables of a material nature (invoices, waybills, and so on) is registered. It should be noted that copies of the documentation are located either in different organizations, or in different structural divisions of the same company. In the case of a correct reflection of economic activity, different copies of the paper are endowed with the same content. Under other circumstances, papers are issued in a single copy or have different content. It should be added that when comparing documentation, the following elements may not coincide: the quantity of marketable products, its price,unit of measure, etc. The absence of a copy of the paper may be a sign of the lack of documentation of the fact of economic activity. The consequence in this case is the concealment of income, and the result of a tax audit is the disclosure of an offense.

Comprehensive checks

According to the volume of questions being checked, checks can be divided into complex, targeted and thematic. Under complex, it is necessary to understand the verification of the financial and economic activities of the structure for a particular period of time, related to all issues of compliance with legislation in the field of taxes and fees. To date, the frequency of such inspections has not been established. It should be noted that if the tax structure has reason to believe that the accounting and subsequent payment of taxes are implemented with violations, inspections of the comprehensive plan are organized at least once every 3 years. For each of them, a tax audit report is drawn up. Taxpayers who have a positive record are generally not subject to due diligence at all.

After the introduction of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, almost all field inspections are implemented as complex. This includes such issues as the literacy of the calculation and transfer of taxes on the part of the taxpayer, the performance of the functionality of a tax agent, the use of cash registers, the correctness of debiting amounts from the accounts of payers of taxes and fees, the opening of accounts by taxpayers, the procedure for selling alcohol-containing products, and so on. It should be remembered that only an on-site inspection allowsapply the full range of rights that are granted to the tax authorities.

Thematic check

It is advisable to consider a thematic audit as an event on certain issues of the financial and economic work of an organization (for example, checking the literacy of the calculation and subsequent payment of VAT, income tax, property tax, other payments). Such events are organized as needed, which is determined by the management of the tax authority. It should be noted that a thematic audit is carried out either as an element of a comprehensive audit, or as a separate one in accordance with the established facts of violation of the legislation in force in the territory of the Russian Federation, based on the current monitoring of taxes and fees. The decision of a tax audit in this case can be drawn up as a separate act, or as an element of a comprehensive audit act. When it becomes necessary to implement a comprehensive review based on a thematic one, an additional decision should be made, which expands the range of issues to be checked.

Target verification and requirements for it

A targeted audit is nothing more than an event aimed at compliance with tax laws in accordance with a certain direction or financial and economic transactions. This should include the issues of mutual settlements with buyers and suppliers of the product, certain transactions, export-import operations, the placement of temporarily free money, the correct use of benefits and other financial transactions.economic nature. The results in this case can be drawn up both in acts and as separate applications. Targeted audits are often carried out as independent ones. However, there is a risk of incomplete scrutiny of some tax compliance issues.

As a conclusion

So, we have considered the main types of tax audits, the requirements for them, the features and rules of the organization, as well as the timing. In conclusion, it should be noted that activities can be both planned and unscheduled. The second case involves a kind of on-site inspection, which is carried out without prior notice to the taxpayer. The purpose of sudden verification is to establish the fact of an offense. The matter is that it can be hidden in case of implementation of normal check. Unplanned events are quite rare. However, many non-tax checks, for example, on the use of cash registers, as a rule, are carried out suddenly.