The tax control forms listed in Article 82 of the Tax Code primarily include tax audits. These are the procedural actions of the tax structure related to the control over the correctness of the calculation, the completeness and timeliness of the transfer (payment) of taxes and fees. In our article, we will talk about the types, requirements, terms and rules of such inspections.
Features of tax audits. Legislative aspect
It is worth noting that they are implemented by comparing actual information obtained as a result of tax control with information from tax returns that are submitted to the tax authorities. The right to conduct such inspections is granted by the tax structure (Article 31 of the Tax Code). It is regulated by ch. 14 under the name "Tax Control".
When the Tax Code became relevant, the tax authorities did not lose their right to conduct non-tax (other) inspections. So, at present, according to the Law of the Russian Federation of June 18, 1993 N 5215-1 "On the use of cash registers when implementing cash settlements with the population", tax structures carry out inspections related to the use of cash registers. In addition, in accordance with the Federal Law of November 22, 1995 N171- "On State Regulation of the Production and Turnover of Ethyl Alcohol, Alcohol-Containing and Alcoholic Products", verification of the production and subsequent turnover of the alcoholic product is relevant. Such examples can be arbitrarily many.
Classification
The scope of powers of tax structures, as well as restrictions related to certain procedural actions (access to a room or territory, inspection, documentation, seizure of objects and papers, inventory, examination, etc.), depends on the type of verification carried out. Consider what tax audits of taxes and fees can carry out the appropriate structure. It should be borne in mind that they can be classified according to various reasons.
Office and field checks
According to the volume of checked documents and the venue, they are classified into office and exit. A desk tax audit is an audit of tax returns and other documents submitted by a taxpayer and serving as the basis for the calculation and subsequent payment of taxes. In addition, in this case we are talking about checking other securities held by the tax structure. 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 discovered during tax audits directly in the justification of benefits and in tax returns give a significant increase to payments to the budget. A desk audit is carried out by officials of the tax structure who are authorized, according to 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, which serves as the basis for the calculation and subsequent payment of a tax by the taxpayer if the relevant legislation does not provide for other terms. 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, the identification and prevention of offenses in this area, the recovery of amounts of taxes that have not been fully paid or have been paid at all, and if there are grounds for the procedure for collection of sanctions in a certain order, as well as preparation of the necessary information to ensure the competent and rational selection of taxpayers (this is necessary for ealizatsii site inspections).
An on-site tax audit should be considered as a set of actions related to the verification of the primary accounting and other accounting documents of the taxpayer, accounting registers, tax returns and financial statements, business and other contracts, acts regarding the fulfillment of contractual obligations, internal orders, orders, protocols, and other documents. Such a tax audit is an inspection of the examination of various items that a taxpayer applies in order to generate income. In addition, it may be related to the maintenance of taxation objects of warehouse, industrial, commercial and other territories and premises. A desk check is a check on the implementation of an inventory of a property complex owned by a taxpayer. It is advisable to include other actions of tax structures or individual officials, which are carried out at the location of the taxpayer (location of the object, place of business of the taxpayer), as well as in other places where there is no tax structure.
The most important aspects of the on-site inspection
An on-site tax audit is a category that requires special attention. It is worth noting that the named term introduced the Tax Code of the Russian Federation into the routine of control work. Previously, checks that were carried out subject to a visit by the taxpayer were called documentary. Nevertheless, the difference between these concepts ("documentary" and "exit") is by no means terminological. There is a very common point of view that documentary and field tax audits are not the same thing. Thus, an on-site audit is an event that is usually held at the taxpayer’s premises. Under the documentary it is advisable to understand the audit, covering the primary accounting documents, as well as taxpayer accounting registers. It is important to note that no legislative act specifies the place of implementation of such an audit.
Key participants in a field audit of tax authorities: the company or individual entrepreneur being audited, 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, as a rule, can be determined by the initiative of the tax structure.
Dates and rules
For 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, it is a question of exercising control over the calculation literacy, timely and complete payment of taxes and fees to the state budget, full compliance with applicable laws, recovery of penalties and arrears of taxes, and prosecution of perpetrators of offenses tax plan, the prevention of such offenses. Nevertheless, the presented goals are achieved through other means specific for field events. For example, the seizure of documentation and objects within the framework of tax control can be implemented exclusively during an off-site event.
The term of the tax audit in this case is three years of taxpayer activity, which immediately precede the year of the audit. It is worth noting that the tax structure does not have the right to conduct two or more field events during the same year for the same tax payments for the same time period. The term for such an inspection is no more than 2 months. Nevertheless, there are cases, exceptions, when the higher tax structure increases the duration of the audit to 3 months. The deadline for the implementation of an on-site tax audit in the Russian Federation is the presence of inspectors in the building of the audited enterprise upon the fact. However, in the indicated period, the time between the delivery of the documentation to the taxpayer and the presentation of these documents does not count.
Requirements and grounds for conducting
In accordance with the procedure for tax audits, during the on-site audit process, it often becomes necessary to inspect territories and premises that are used to generate income or are related to the maintenance of taxable objects. In addition, sometimes there is a need for an inventory of the property complex, seizure of documentation, items and so on. In some cases stipulated by the Code in force on the territory of the Russian Federation, protocols should be formed when implementing control actions.
The basis for conducting an on-site tax audit of taxes and fees is the relevant decision of the tax authority or a 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 making a decision (decision) by a higher tax authority on the implementation of the audit, as well as the current requirements for the form of the document are regulated by the order of the Minister of Taxes and Duties of 10.10.1999 "On Approving the Procedure for Assigning Exit 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 takes place not in one copy, but in several. It is advisable to include papers by means of which the receipt or issue of valuables of a material nature (invoices, invoices, etc.) is made out. It should be noted that copies of the documentation are either in different organizations, or in various structural divisions of the same company. In the case of the correct reflection of economic activity, different copies of the paper are endowed with the same content. In other circumstances, the paper is executed in a single copy or have different contents. It must be added that when comparing the documentation, the following elements may not coincide: the number of marketable products, their price, unit of measurement, etc. The absence of a copy of the paper may indicate a 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 the offense.
Comprehensive checks
In accordance with the volumes of the questions being checked, the checks can be divided into comprehensive, targeted and thematic. Under the comprehensive it is necessary to understand the audit of the financial and economic activities of the structure for a given period of time, associated with all issues of compliance with legislation in the field of taxes and fees. Today, the frequency of such checks has not been established. It should be noted that if there is reason for the tax structure to assume that accounting and subsequent payment of taxes are implemented in violation, checks 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 reputation, as a rule, are not subject to comprehensive verification at all.
After the introduction of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, almost all on-site inspections are implemented as comprehensive. This may include issues such as the literacy of the calculation and transfer of taxes by the taxpayer, the implementation of the functionality of the tax agent, the use of cash register, the correct debiting of amounts from the accounts of tax payers and fees, the opening of accounts by tax payers, the procedure for selling alcohol-containing products, and so on. It should be remembered that an exclusively field audit allows you to apply the full range of rights that are granted to tax authorities.
Thematic check
It is advisable to consider a thematic audit as an event on certain issues of the organization’s financial and economic work (for example, checking literacy of the calculation and subsequent payment of VAT, income tax, property tax, other payments). Such events are organized as necessary, which is determined by the leadership of the tax authority. It should be noted that the 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 Russian Federation, based on current monitoring of taxes and fees. The decision of the tax audit in this case can be drawn up as a separate act, or as part of a comprehensive audit act. When it becomes necessary to implement a comprehensive audit on the basis of the thematic, an additional decision should be made that expands the range of issues to be checked.
Target Verification and Requirements
Targeted audit is nothing more than an event aimed at compliance with tax laws in accordance with a certain area or financial and business operations. This includes issues of mutual settlements with buyers and suppliers of the product, certain transactions, export-import operations, placement of temporarily free money, the correct use of benefits and other financial and economic operations. The results in this case can be presented both in acts and as separate applications. Targeted checks are often carried out as independent. However, there is a danger of incomplete verification of some issues related to compliance with tax laws.
In conclusion
So, we examined the main types of tax audits, requirements for them, features and rules of the organization, as well as the timing. In conclusion, it should be noted that events can be both planned and unscheduled. The second case involves a type of check of the exit type, which is carried out without prior notice to the taxpayer. The purpose of a sudden verification is to establish the fact of an offense. The fact is that it can be hidden in case of the implementation of the usual check. Unscheduled events are held quite rarely. However, many non-tax type checks, for example, on the use of cash registers, are usually carried out suddenly.