VAT refund when exporting from Russia: procedure and schemes

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

The tax authorities pay special attention to the verification of VAT amounts when exporting. Since operations for the sale of goods abroad are subject to VAT in a different manner. The tax is calculated twice: in the country of destination and in the country of origin. In Russia, VAT is refunded on exports. What is it, read on.

Principles of taxation

In the country of destination, tax is levied on all imported goods. It is paid by the end user. In the country of origin, all local goods are subject to VAT, regardless of the place where they will be consumed. The absence of export duties is indicative of free trade. Although Russia has not joined the WTO, one still has to take into account these principles of taxation of foreign economic transactions. In Russia, all export transactions are subject to a zero rate.

VAT refund on export: differences from the general order

Firstly, to confirm the fact of export operations, the taxpayer must submit a declaration to the Federal Tax Service. It provides a calculation of the excess amount of tax that is refundable.

Second, after providingdocuments, a detailed check of the organization for compliance with the stated requirements is carried out within three months after the collection of documents. Based on the results of the check, the final decision is made.

Thirdly, VAT refunds for exports from Russia are carried out by transferring the amount to the taxpayer's account or crediting the amounts paid against future payments.

Apply rate

The list of goods to which the zero rate applies is presented in Art. 164 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. You can use this rate only if the goods are located on the territory of the Russian Federation before shipment. To use the preferential scheme, you need to submit a package of documents to the tax within 180 days after crossing the border. Another 20 days of the next tax period are allocated to provide a "zero" return.

Example

LLC signed a contract for the supply of equipment to Iran. The organization prepared the documents on August 24, 2014. The deadline expires on August 27, 2014. The exporter must provide documents from 1 to 20 September.

Application of the zero rate is a duty, not a right, of the taxpayer. If the documents are not collected on time, then the organization will have to pay tax at its own expense.

Calculation of base

Determination of the tax base is carried out at the time of sale of goods on the last day of the month of collection of documents. The proceeds are converted into rubles at the exchange rate of the Central Bank on the date of payment for the shipment. Advance payments for export deliveries are not included in the base.

The list of documents confirming the right to receive a VAT refund when exporting from Russia is presented in Art. 165 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. These include:

• contract with a foreign company;
• bank statement confirming receipt of proceeds;
• customs declaration;
• shipping documents with customs marks.

Contracts

Export operations are carried out on the basis of a contract of sale, delivery or exchange. No tax clauses may be included in any of the documents. It is legally allowed to conclude contracts with branches of foreign companies located on the territory of the Russian Federation. If the transaction goes through a commission agent, then you must additionally provide a copy of the agreement with the agent.

Bank statement

The bank statement, although it is a supporting document, does not contain all the information on the transaction. Additionally, you need to attach a payment order or a swift message to it. The Federal Tax Service requires an extract only when carrying out barter transactions.

If the proceeds came from a third party, then it is necessary to submit an agency agreement between the foreign company and the payer. By the way. Since 2006, all export operations must be paid by the buyer from the current account.

Customs declaration

This document must contain marks of the customs authorities that released the goods. In case of loss of documents, the exporter mayreceive written confirmation of the fact of export of goods.

Shipping documents

International transportation can be carried out by different modes of transport. A corresponding invoice is issued for each of them:

• bill of lading governed by the Convention on the Carriage of Goods by Sea;
• air waybill was developed by the Convention for the Unification of Air Transport Rules;
• CMR is issued for each auto-delivery;
• frachtbrief original is drawn up according to the rules of Federal Law No. 18 "Charter of Railway Transport".

Copies of shipping documents must contain marks from the customs authority.

Amount of deductions

VAT refund when exporting from Russia is carried out on the amount of deductions. Since the rate for such transactions is 0%, the entire amount of "input" VAT is refundable.

Refundable amounts of tax paid for purchased goods in the territory of the Russian Federation. In this case, the exporter must keep separate records of "incoming" VAT. Usually, sub-accounts are opened for these purposes to account 90 “Sales” and 19 “VAT”. The distribution of general business expenses is carried out in proportion to export earnings or its cost in the total volume.

Example

In August 2013, LLC purchased goods worth 200 million rubles. VAT included. All the conditions under which the VAT refund is carried out when exporting from Russia have been met. The organization filed a "zero" declaration and made the following entries in the accounting records:

- DT68 KT19 - 30, 508 thousand rubles. -tax deductible.

In September 2013, LLC signed an international contract, and already on September 6th received an advance payment in the amount of 50 thousand dollars. The first batch of goods passed customs on September 26th. On the same day, the organization began collecting documents.

The accountant prepared invoices for the purchased goods in the amount of 327,778 thousand rubles. (VAT 50 thousand rubles), 131, 111 thousand rubles. (VAT 20 thousand rubles) in August and 655,556 thousand rubles. (VAT 100 thousand rubles) in September. In the tax return, the amount of VAT must be reduced by 70 thousand rubles. the tax paid on the September invoice does not fall into the current reporting period.

If the primary declaration had already been filed, an adjustment would have to be drawn up. For this, an entry is made in the BU DT19 KT68 - 70 thousand rubles. The amount of VAT on the September account should be transferred to the sub-account of "input" VAT: ДТ19 KT19 - 170 thousand rubles. This is how the procedure for refunding VAT refunds when exporting goods looks in brief.

Export not confirmed

If on the 181st day from the date of shipment the organization has not collected a package of documents, it must calculate tax on export earnings at a rate of 18 or 10%. In this case, the proceeds are converted into rubles at the official exchange rate. Payment was to be received by the budget on the 20th day of the month following the implementation. For past periods, a “clarification” with a 0% rate is submitted to the Federal Tax Service. If the required amount of VAT is not on the “internal” account, then the organization will also need to pay a pen alty. It is charged from the 21st day of the next month after the shipment. All fees must be paid from the organization's profits.

The following postings are made in the BU:

- DT91 KT68 - VAT calculation.

- DT68 KT51 - transfer of tax to the budget.

Additionally, you will have to transfer the "input" VAT between sub-accounts.

Overcharge

In order to issue a VAT refund when exporting a car from Russia, an overpricing scheme is used. The higher the price in the documents, the more VAT will be refundable. At the same time, there is one obligatory condition - foreign exchange earnings must go exactly to the exporter's account. In this case, an additional expense item will appear. You will have to pay a percentage of foreign exchange earnings to the state. This is how VAT is refunded when exporting a car from Russia.

Export of intellectual property

Export of works is not subject to declaration. The exception is cases when it is necessary to return the transferred advance from the buyer. In such cases:

• a contract for the provision of marketing services is concluded,
• the results are recorded on a disk, which must be carried through customs;
• the fact of having one disk is fixed in the declaration.

The declaration then indicates amounts of several thousand dollars for VAT refunds when exporting from Russia. This scheme is also applied when importing goods.

The consequences of using such schemes are tightening the requirements in the legislation. Into prevent money laundering, new rules for accounting for refundable tax are introduced. Not so long ago, a rule appeared according to which a tax refund can be made to each exporter, provided that the previously paid amount of VAT should actually go to the budget.

The option of opening special accounts is also being considered, to which VAT refunds will be transferred when exporting from Russia.