Art 89 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. Field tax audit

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

In accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation, inspectors of the Federal Tax Service have the right to initiate on-site inspections of enterprises. These activities involve a fairly detailed study of the company's activities for compliance with the requirements of the tax legislation of the Russian Federation. What sources of law govern the on-site inspection? What is the procedure for this procedure?

What is an on-site inspection of the Federal Tax Service?

Field tax audits are among the main activities of the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation. This procedure is governed by Art. 89 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, other federal laws, as well as by-laws, letters and clarifications from departments related to the activities of the Federal Tax Service.

Exit tax audit - a procedure that complements the cameral. In the general case, it is a visit of inspectors of the Federal Tax Service to the territory of the taxpaying organization. It is organized for the purpose of checking documents and other significant circumstances of the company's compliance with the requirements established by the legislation of the Russian Federation.

Let's study the basic rules of the relevant events established by Art. 89 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation and other regulatory sources, more.

Basic rulesfield inspections of the Federal Tax Service

Field inspection of the Federal Tax Service is carried out on the basis of a decision signed by the head of the territorial structure of the tax service. The inspectors participating in it are also appointed by a separate local legal act - these are the requirements of paragraph 1 and paragraph 2 of Art. 89 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. As we noted above, the event in question is usually held on the territory of the taxpayer. But if it is impossible to provide it, the check is carried out in the building of the territorial division of the Federal Tax Service to which the company is assigned.

Inspectors of the Federal Tax Service during the event under consideration can request all documents related to taxes from the taxpayer or his counterparties. If necessary, the tax authorities have the right to conduct an inventory of the company's assets, inspect its premises. In accordance with paragraph 4 of Art. 89 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, inspectors of the Federal Tax Service can check documents only for 3 years preceding the one in which the check was initiated.

The activities under consideration cannot be carried out for the same types of taxes in the same year more than 2 times. In addition, the FTS can only initiate 2 on-site inspections during the year. If the company is reorganized or liquidated, then an on-site inspection can be initiated against it at any time, regardless of previous events of this type. The subject of study of the company's activities also does not matter. However, in this case, inspectors have the right to investigate a period that does not exceed 3 years before the year in which the Federal Tax Service decided to conductcheck. The duration of the event in question, as a rule, does not exceed 2 months - these are the provisions of paragraph 6 of Art. 89 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. But if necessary, the verification period can be extended up to 4 months. As an exception - up to 6.

At the end of the audit, a document is drawn up and transferred to the taxpayer - it records information about the event.

Purpose of on-site inspection

Let's take a closer look at what, in fact, is the purpose of the event in question. In accordance with paragraph 4 of Art. 89 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, an on-site audit is generally organized in order to establish the correctness of the calculation and payment of certain taxes by the company. The provisions of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation may prescribe other grounds for holding the relevant event.

Most often, the Federal Tax Service initiates an on-site audit if during the desk audit it was not possible to unequivocally establish that the company correctly complies with the requirements of the tax legislation of the Russian Federation, while there are suspicions that there are some miscalculations in its work. An on-site audit may be scheduled for the purpose of a detailed study of the sources of tax and accounting, other documents that are generally not examined during a desk audit.

What decisions can be made based on the results of the audit?

As soon as the tax audit, regulated by art. 89 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, completed - inspectors of the Federal Tax Service draw up a special act, which reflects the results of the event. The document may contain a decision to hold the company liable for violation of taxlegislation of the Russian Federation or the refusal to impose any sanctions on the company.

In the first case, the inspectors must reflect in the act all the circumstances of the offense with reference to real documents. The source that confirms the results of the audit also reflects the measures of responsibility of the taxpayer. These may include fines and pen alties.

In turn, if the act reflects the decision of the inspectors of the Federal Tax Service not to impose sanctions on the inspected enterprise, it must also be motivated by certain circumstances. The act containing sanctions should fix the period during which the taxpayer can appeal the decision made by the inspectors by contacting a higher tax authority.

Field inspection content

Let's take a closer look at what constitutes, in fact, the verification procedure - in accordance with Art. 89 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, what is its content. First of all, as we noted above, the head of the territorial structure of the Federal Tax Service makes a decision to conduct an on-site audit in relation to a particular company. This document should reflect:

- name of the territorial structure of the Federal Tax Service;

- document number and date;

- name of the company being checked;

- her TIN;

- PPC;

- reporting period for which the check is carried out;

- types of taxes, the correctness of the calculation and payment of which will be studied by inspectors;

- Full name tax service specialists involved in the audit.

The decision must be signed by the head of the Federal Tax Service. The inspectors of the Federal Tax Service, having arrived at the territory of the organization being inspected, present the relevant document to the director of the company. If the employees of the Federal Tax Service do not have permission with them, or if they cannot confirm their identities, then the head of the enterprise will have the right to prevent them from entering the territory of the company. If everything is in order with the document reflecting the decision of the Federal Tax Service to conduct an audit, the director of the company certifies with his signature the fact of familiarization with it.

If the head of the audited organization refuses to allow the FTS inspectors to enter the facility, even though the tax authorities have all the documents in order, then the representatives of the FTS draw up a separate act about this. On the basis of this document, the head of the Federal Tax Service may subsequently apply to law enforcement agencies to resolve the issue of gaining access to the territory of the taxpayer. Moreover, if the company did not allow the inspectors to conduct an on-site inspection, the Federal Tax Service has the right to make decisions on tax offenses based on the available data.

Verification deadlines: nuances

Article 89 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation includes rules according to which the duration of the event in question includes the period of the actual presence of inspectors on the territory of the company. However, this does not take into account the periods between the transfer to the taxpayer of the requirements for the need to provide documents to the Federal Tax Service. That is, the start date of the on-site inspection is determined by the moment the FTS employees receive the relevant sources from the taxpayer.

Tasks of inspectors

Let's consider in more detail what tasks the FTS inspectors solve during an on-site inspection. During the event under consideration, the tax authorities, using the available data on the taxpayer, information from the documents and materials provided to them:

- analyze the information received about the activities of the company;

- identify possible inconsistencies in the studied documents, violations in accounting and tax accounting;

- determine the degree of influence of these shortcomings on the payment discipline of the organization;

- if necessary, initiate counter checks - of other firms that are related to the activities of the company being checked;

- inspect the premises, adjacent territories;

- communicate with people working in the company, attract competent experts - in order to objectively assess the activities of the company being audited;

- determine the evidence base for detected violations of the tax legislation of the Russian Federation;

- charge additional taxes, determine the grounds for fines and pen alties;

- correctly record the results of the check.

Responsibilities of the taxpayer during the audit

Some obligations of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation are also established for the taxpayer being checked. These include: providing the inspectors of the Federal Tax Service with the necessary documents, fulfilling the requirements of the Federal Tax Service to eliminate violations of tax laws. If the company does not fulfill the relevant obligations, this may be accompanied by legal consequences that are unpleasant for it.

Tax audits and monitoring

Article 89 of the Tax CodeThe Russian Federation establishes a rule according to which the Federal Tax Service does not have the right to initiate the measures in question during those periods in which tax monitoring is carried out in relation to the company. The exception is scenarios in which:

- an on-site inspection is carried out by a higher structure of the Federal Tax Service as a method of monitoring the work of the territorial representative office of the Federal Tax Service, which conducts monitoring;

- the tax monitoring procedure in relation to the taxpayer is terminated ahead of schedule;

- the company refuses to comply with the reasoned opinion of the Federal Tax Service;

- the taxpayer submits to the Federal Tax Service an updated declaration with the amount of tax, which is reduced in comparison with that recorded in the previous reporting document.

Checking branches and representative offices

The procedure in question can also be initiated in relation to branches and representative offices of the company, if it has any. With regard to this activity, Art. 89 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation establishes a restriction for the Federal Tax Service - inspectors are not en titled to check the branches and representative offices of the company 2 or more times for the same payments within the same period. In addition, the Federal Tax Service cannot visit the relevant structures more often than 2 times a year. The term for checking branches and representative offices of the company should not exceed 1 month.

Suspend check

In the provisions of paragraph 9 of Art. 89 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation fixes the rules that regulate the procedure for suspending the event in question. So, the head of the territorial division of the Federal Tax Service has the right to initiate a pause in the audit in the event thatif:

- it is required to request additional documents from the taxpayer;

- it is necessary to obtain information from government agencies of foreign states - in accordance with international agreements of the Russian Federation;

- need to conduct an examination;

- there is a need to translate the documents provided by the audited firm to the inspectors into Russian.

Check is suspended in accordance with a separate order of the head of the territorial division of the Federal Tax Service. If the procedure in question is initiated, then for the period of cancellation of the actions of the Federal Tax Service, the original sources of those sources requested by the inspectors are returned to the taxpayer.

Recheck

In some cases, the Federal Tax Service may re-check. The decision to conduct it should be made by the higher structure of the Federal Tax Service in the process of monitoring the work of the territorial division of the Federal Tax Service, which conducted the first audit. The re-inspection of the Federal Tax Service is understood as an event that involves the inspection by the inspectors of the department of the same taxes that were investigated during the previous visit of the inspectors of the Federal Tax Service to the company. At the same time, if a new visit of inspectors of the Federal Tax Service reveals offenses that were not detected during the previous audit, then, as a rule, no sanctions are imposed on the taxpayer. Re-inspection is governed by the provisions of paragraph 10 of Art. 89 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

What will the Federal Tax Service do if a violation is detected?

If the inspectors of the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation reveal violations in the activities of the company, they will have to take all necessary legal measures infor the purpose of documenting the discovered facts. This is necessary so that subsequent decisions of the tax authorities have an evidence base.

If necessary, the Federal Tax Service may withdraw documents from the company that may confirm the violation - so that the taxpayer does not subsequently conceal them. Inspectors of the Federal Tax Service have the right to demand explanations from the audited company regarding the discovered facts characterizing the activities of the enterprise. At the same time, a request for the provision of the necessary information can be formed both orally and in writing.

If the taxpayer refuses to constructively interact with the Federal Tax Service, this may lead to the fact that the inspection interprets this or that complex issue not in favor of the organization being audited. If necessary, inspectors of the Federal Tax Service can videotape the inspection process, take pictures of the objects under study, which belong to the company.

Facts about the inspection should be recorded in a separate protocol. In the relevant document, the inspector is obliged to record the date and place of the implementation of certain actions, full name. participants in the inspection of the objects of the audited company, the content of the actions carried out by the inspectors, the facts revealed in the process of inspecting the objects. Photo and video materials, if any, are attached to the protocol.

Counter check

We noted above that along with the field check - or as part of it - a counter check can be initiated. Its essence is that the Federal Tax Service requests data on the activities of the company from third parties relatedto the audited company. It is worth noting that it is regulated by other norms of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation - different from those contained in Article 89 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. A tax audit classified as a counter audit, in particular, is regulated by the provisions of Art. 87 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

The event in question can be implemented in 2 ways. Firstly, the territorial division of the Federal Tax Service can independently request from third-party firms documents that are related to the activities of the audited firm. Secondly, inspectors have the right to interact with colleagues on obtaining the necessary information - by sending them requests about the need to demand certain documents from firms registered in the relevant territory.

Features of the interpretation of legislation in terms of tax audits

The most important nuance of tax law is the interpretation of the provisions of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation and the normative acts supplementing it. Many accountants prefer Art. 89 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation with comments, since the wording given in the Code in its pure form sometimes does not quite unambiguously allow one or another norm to be interpreted. The provisions of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation in the appropriate format can be found on the pages of many thematic portals on the net.

Article 89 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation with comments may contain explanations of experts regarding: the procedure for the actions of inspectors of the Federal Tax Service and taxpayers during inspections, the consequences of the implementation of certain activities by employees of the Federal Tax Service and audited firms, judicial practice in disputes between the Federal Tax Service and organizations. In all cases, the information reflected in the relevant sources may beuseful for businesses.

Regarding the provisions contained in Article 89 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation: judicial practice can, as in the case of expert comments, contribute to their clarification. It happens that the opinion of experts on certain norms of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation is based mainly on judicial precedents.

In cases where art. 89 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation with comments contains references to judicial practice - we can talk about the consideration of cases in different instances. But many experts still prefer to refer to the decisions taken by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation or the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation. That is, not subject to appeal. In this case, Article 89 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation with comments can be considered as a source that contributes to a more correct interpretation of the norms of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation in terms of inspections by business representatives.

For competent specialists of commercial enterprises, it is certainly important to have access to the latest edition of Art. 89 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. "Consultant" and other legal reference systems are probably the best way to keep up to date with updates to the relevant source of law.

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So, the Federal Tax Service, which did not receive the necessary result on the fact of conducting a desk audit of the company's activities, may initiate an on-site audit. This procedure is regulated mainly by Article 89 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. An on-site tax audit, however, may also be under the jurisdiction of other norms of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, federal laws and by-laws.

During the event under consideration, the task of the inspectors of the Federal Tax Service is to determine how correctly the company calculatesand pays taxes. To do this, the Federal Tax Service has the right to use a wide range of methods permitted by law - retrieval of documents, inspection of premises, interaction with third-party organizations related to the activities of the company being audited.

In some cases, a suspension of an on-site inspection is provided. Decisions to initiate the procedure in question, as well as to establish a pause in its implementation, are made by the head of the territorial division of the Federal Tax Service. He also appoints the inspectors responsible for the event.

According to the results of the audit, the tax authorities make an informed decision - to fine the company or, conversely, do without any sanctions against it. Along with studying the activities of a particular company, the Federal Tax Service may initiate a cross-check of those persons who are associated with the activities of the organization being checked.

Of great importance for accountants and other competent specialists of Russian firms is the interpretation of the norms of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation - in terms of inspections and not only. Financiers can acquire the necessary knowledge in this area by studying expert comments and public information about court hearings in disputes between the Federal Tax Service and audited enterprises.