Tax authorities pay particular attention to checking the amount of VAT on exports. Since operations on 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 upon export. What is it, read on.
Tax principles
In the country of destination, taxes are levied on all imported goods. It is paid by the end user. In the country of origin, VAT is levied on all local goods, regardless of where they are consumed. The absence of export duties indicates signs of free trade. Although Russia has not entered the WTO, it is nevertheless necessary to take into account these principles of taxation of foreign economic operations. In the Russian Federation, all export operations 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 surplus tax that is refundable.
Secondly, after the submission of documents, 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 verification, a final decision is made.
Thirdly, VAT refunds for exports from Russia are carried out by transferring the amount to the taxpayer account or by crediting the amounts paid to future payments.
Bid application
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 take advantage of the preferential scheme, you must provide the tax package of documents within 180 days after crossing the border. Another 20 days of the next tax period are allocated to provide a “zero” declaration.
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 September 1 to September 20.
The application of a zero rate is a duty, not a taxpayer right. If the documents are not collected on time, then the organization will have to pay tax at its own expense.
Base calculation
The determination of the tax base is carried out at the time of the sale of goods on the last day of the month of the collection of documents. Revenues are translated into rubles at the Central Bank rate on the date of payment for shipment. Advance payments for export deliveries are not included in the base.
The list of documents confirming the right to receive a VAT refund for exports 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 the receipt of revenue;
- customs declaration ;
- shipping documents with marks of customs authorities.
Contracts
Export operations are carried out on the basis of a contract of sale, delivery or exchange. You cannot include any tax clauses in any of the documents. It is legally allowed to conclude contracts with branches of foreign companies that are located in the Russian Federation. If the transaction goes through a commission agent, then you must additionally provide a copy of the contract with the agent.
Statement from the bank
Although the bank statement is a supporting document, it does not contain all the information on the transaction. An additional payment order or swift message needs to be attached to it. The Federal Tax Service requires an extract only during the exchange of goods.
If the proceeds came from a third party, it is necessary to submit an order 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 the marks of the customs authorities that released the goods. In case of loss of documents, the exporter can receive a written confirmation of the fact of export of goods.
Shipping Documents
International transportation can be carried out by different means of transport. For each of them, a corresponding invoice is drawn up:
- bill of lading is governed by the Convention on the Carriage of Goods by Sea;
- air waybill was developed by the Convention on the Unification of Air Transport Regulations;
- CMR is issued for each auto delivery;
- frachtbrief original is compiled in accordance with the rules of the Federal Law No. 18 “Charter of the railway transport”.
Copies of shipping documents must contain marks of the customs authority.
Deductions
VAT refunds for exports from Russia are carried out in the amount of deductions. Since the rate on such operations is 0%, the entire amount of “input” VAT is refundable.
The amount of tax paid for purchased goods in the territory of the Russian Federation is subject to return. At the same time, the exporter must keep separate records of “incoming” VAT. Usually, for these purposes, sub-accounts are opened to account 90 “Sales” and 19 “VAT”. Distribution of general business expenses is carried out in proportion to export revenue or its cost in total.
Example
In August 2013, the LLC acquired goods worth 200 million rubles. VAT included. All the conditions under which VAT is refunded when exporting from Russia have been fulfilled. The organization filed a “zero” declaration and made the following entries in the BU:
- DT68 KT19 - 30.508 thousand rubles. - The tax is deductible.
In September 2013, the LLC entered into an international contract, and on September 6 received an advance payment of $ 50 thousand. The first shipment of goods passed customs on September 26. 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. tax paid on the September account is not included in the current reporting period.
If the initial declaration had already been submitted, then an adjustment would have to be made. For this, a DT19 KT68 record is made in the control unit - 70 thousand rubles. The amount of VAT on the September account should be transferred to the sub-account of the “input” VAT: DT19 KT19 - 170 thousand rubles. Here is a brief summary of the procedure for refunding VAT refunds when exporting goods.
Export not confirmed
If on the 181st day from the date of shipment the organization did not collect a package of documents, it should calculate the tax on export earnings at a rate of 18 or 10%. At the same time, revenue is translated into rubles at the official exchange rate. Payment was supposed to go to the budget on the 20th of the next month after the sale. For past periods, the Federal Tax Service filed a “clarification” with a 0% rate. If the necessary amount of VAT is not available on the “internal” account, then the organization will also need to pay a fine. It is charged from the 21st day of the next month for shipment. All fees must be paid at the expense of the organization’s profits.
The following entries are made in the control unit:
- DT91 KT68 - VAT calculation.
- DT68 KT51 - transfer of tax to the budget.
Additionally, it will be necessary to transfer the “input” VAT between sub-accounts.
Overpricing
To apply for a VAT refund when exporting a car from Russia, an overvaluation scheme is used. The higher the price is indicated in the documents, the more VAT will be refundable. At the same time, there is one indispensable condition - the foreign exchange earnings must go exactly to the exporter's account. In this case, an additional expense item will appear. It is necessary to pay a percentage of the foreign exchange earnings to the state. This is how VAT is refunded when exporting a car from Russia.
Intellectual Property Export
Export of work is not subject to declaration. The exception is cases when it is necessary to return the listed advance payment from the buyer. In such cases:
- an agreement is made to provide marketing services,
- the results are recorded on a disc, which must be conducted through customs;
- the declaration records the fact of the presence of one disk.
The declaration then indicates the amount of several thousand dollars for VAT refunds when exporting from Russia. This scheme also applies to the import of goods.
The consequences of using such schemes are stricter requirements in the law. In order to avoid money laundering, new tax accounting rules are introduced. Not so long ago, a rule appeared that a tax refund could 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 for exports from Russia.