How to close a bank account for a legal entity: reasons, conditions for terminating the contract, sequence of actions, sample application, tax notification and expert advice

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

In the article, we will consider how to close a bank account for a legal entity.

Any businessman, opening his own business, hopes that he will work successfully and make a profit. To carry out settlement operations, legal entities apply to the bank in order to open an account. But sometimes situations arise when an enterprise, for certain reasons, has to terminate an agreement with a bank for servicing an account. If the head of the organization is not familiar with the nuances of closing a current account, this procedure can cause certain difficulties.

How to close a bank account for a legal entity is described below.

Reasons for terminating bank account agreements

Initiate the closure of a current account can be not only a client, but also a servicing bank. To terminate the agreement, the client does not need to warn the bank in advance, you can close the account at any time. In addition, it is also not necessary to explain to the bank the reasons for closing the account and terminating cooperation.

Among the main reasons for closing a bank account for a legal entity are the following:

1. The desire of several business partners to be served in one banking institution. Payments within one bank are much faster, their cost is lower than external ones. If an organization has few partners, service in one banking institution sometimes allows significant savings, provides an advantage associated with the speed of work.
2. Unsatisfactory reliability of the bank. Quite often, you can predict the revocation of a license from a banking organization in advance. Many individual entrepreneurs and legal entities in such situations prefer to refuse the services of a troubled bank.
3. Inconvenient for the organization of the territorial location of the bank office. Despite the fact that recently there has been an active development of remote banking, certain issues can be resolved only by visiting the bank branch in person.
4. Bankruptcy of a legal entity, its liquidation. The need to close an account may arise as part of the liquidation procedure. If a company goes out of business, its owners try to terminate the account service agreement as soon as possible so as not to pay extra money for the service.
5. Inability to receive certain services, unsatisfactory qualityservice. Quite often, small organizations and individual entrepreneurs begin to be served in other banks if they cannot get a loan in the present one.
6. High cost of services. Often, banks change tariffs, as a result of which they become unprofitable for a legal entity or individual entrepreneur. In such cases, organizations have to look for a bank where similar services will cost less.

Initiated by the bank

Also, the closure of an account may occur at the initiative of a banking organization. Banks have the right to unilaterally terminate the account service agreement. However, they must have reasons for this, regulated by law. The bank cannot terminate the contract with the organization of its own free will.

Banks close legal accounts. persons in the following cases:

1. Zero account balance, no transactions on it. If the client has not carried out operations on the account for more than two years, the banking organization will send him a notification that an operation to close the account will be carried out.
2. Violation of Federal Law-115. Banking organizations are required to monitor the transactions carried out by each client. If there is a suspicion that the client is laundering money, or terrorist activities are being financed from his account, the bank will request documents confirming the legitimacy of the operations. If the requested information is not provided to the bank within the prescribed period, the banking organization may terminate the agreement unilaterally. The bank may also closeaccount if you doubt the authenticity or legality of the documents provided.

Another reason for closing an account at the initiative of the bank may be a court decision. However, such situations rarely occur.

Is a banking organization able to prevent the termination of the contract and the closure of the account

How to close a bank account for a legal entity? This is of interest to many. In accordance with the law, banks do not have the right to refuse this to the client. However, there are situations when banks have the right to slow down the procedure for closing an account - if operations on it are suspended, or funds on it are arrested. In the event that there are no funds on the arrested account, banks close it in the standard manner. If there are funds on it, he will be able to close the bank only after the debt is written off or the decision to arrest is canceled.

So, how to close a bank account in a legal bank. face?

Required documents

To close an account, you should contact the bank with the appropriate application. In the case of an individual entrepreneur, you will additionally need to provide a passport. The representative of the organization must prepare a power of attorney that confirms the authority of the person. In some cases, banking organizations are asked to provide the Charter in the current version. In the case when the bank issued a checkbook in which unused checks remained, it will need to be returned.

Statement ofthe need to close the legal account. faces in the bank

Application for closing in each bank has its own characteristics. As a rule, representatives of a credit institution give the client a blank application form and a sample of its completion, or dictate what information should be entered where.

Application for closing a current account must contain the following data:

1. Full name of the legal entity (in the case of an individual entrepreneur - full name).
2. Details of accounts to be closed.
3. Instruction to transfer the funds remaining in the account to another account. In this case, it is important to indicate the details of the new account. In addition, there is always the possibility of receiving the remaining funds in cash.
4. Information about the checkbooks that will be returned (if they have been issued).

How exactly to close a legal account. to a person in Alfa-Bank, for example?

Sequence of actions when closing a bank account

To close an account, you should prepare and send to the bank an application, all necessary documents, corporate cards, checkbooks.

Experts recommend finding out the amount of the account balance in advance in order to draw up an order for cash withdrawal or transfer to a new account. The credit institution will have to close the account no later than the next day.

The bank then has 7 days to transfer or issue the balance.

In case of bankruptcy, the account is closed in a similar manner. However, the statement aboutclosing and order for the issuance or transfer of the balance must be completed by the bankruptcy trustee.

How to close a bank account in a jur. person by proxy?

Closing an account by proxy

A common situation is to close an account by proxy, especially if the account is closed by a legal entity. An individual entrepreneur can close an account only if there is a power of attorney certified by a notary. For a legal entity, verification by a notary is not required.

The power of attorney must contain information about the authority of the representative, allowing him to close the account. In some banks, the requirements for powers of attorney are different, so experts advise you to find out in advance what exactly needs to be indicated in the power of attorney.

Need to notify the tax office of account closure

Previously, when closing an account, the taxpayer was obliged to notify the FSS, PFR, IFTS about this. For this purpose, it was necessary to submit an application to the state authorities within 5 days from the date of closing the account. If a legal entity violated this rule, it was fined.

Currently, there is no such requirement in the legislation. Banking organizations send all necessary notifications on their own.

What tax must be paid to close a legal entity's account with Alfa-Bank?

Procedure for paying tax after account closure

In accordance with the law, individual entrepreneurs have the right to pay taxes and insurance premiums from their own accounts (or in cash) in bankbranches by filling out a specific receipt. Legal entities did not have such a right for a long time - they could make payments only from a current account. However, at the end of 2016, the legislation was changed - at present, the head of the organization, or its representative, can pay taxes through the cash desk of absolutely any bank, be it Alfa-Bank, VTB 24, Tinkoff Bank, Sberbank of Russia or any another banking institution.

We looked at how to close a bank account for a legal entity.