State duty is a tax or fee: characteristics, comparison, legal definition

Definition

First, let's define the key features of the payment in question. State duty is a sum of money that is charged by specially authorized organizations and institutions for carrying out legally significant actions in favor of citizens or citizens. We are talking, in particular, about the issuance of documents, the provision of public services, certification of contracts, powers of attorney, wills, other expressions of will, state registration of transactions or enterprises, etc. The authorized institutions are: judicial, law enforcement, financial authorities, notary offices, civil registry offices and so on.

In Russia, the procedure for paying state duty is regulated by Chapter. 25.3 NK. The Code provides a more detailed definition of the payment we are interested in. According to the Tax Code, a state duty is a monetary fee that is levied on organizations and individuals when they apply to government agencies, local government structures or other institutions, as well as to officials authorized by federal, regional and local legislation to carry out legal actions established by the Tax Code , except for those carried out by consular offices of the Russian Federation. The issuance of documents and duplicates is recognized as legally significant actions, but the provision of copies will no longer be considered as such.

How are they similar?

A tax or fee is an amount levied on individuals, organizations and individual entrepreneurs and sent to the budget.

Without going into details, then, undoubtedly, state duty refers to taxes and fees that have common features:

• enshrined in the Tax Code of the Russian Federation;
• amenable to clarification and change of amount at the local level;
• the amounts paid go to the treasury.

A little history

The term "toll" comes from the word "to go." At first, the concept meant “what came from goods.”

The history of the duty began a very long time ago. For example, in the Middle Ages this payment was used very often. A fee was then called a fee collected for the use of bridges and roads. Feudal lords were paid for performing judicial functions, maintaining order and implementing other important management tasks. However, the most popular were fees for entry and movement within the state, principality or individual city. Foreign merchants also paid for the right to sell their goods.

How did it happen that the duty became a state tax? By the 17th century State borders were clearly defined. Customs houses were created to control the movement of people from one country to another. It was from this time that duties began to be considered as one of the instruments of economic regulation.

In Ancient Rus', they collected the so-called myt - an analogue of customs duty. The gathering took place in places where carts and boats were parked. Already in the 12th century. Myt became an official state tax. But all this relates to the customs sphere. How were things going in other areas of public life?

In the 12th century. the system of state and local government was quite extensive. The ruler of Rus' was considered the Grand Duke, whose relatives sat in appanages, and therefore were called appanage princes. In addition, there were governors (in cities) and volosts (in volosts). They dealt with issues of territorial significance and received a kind of reward for their work - food. It could be either in monetary terms or in kind. At the same time, the population paid for almost everything: weddings, divorces, trials. The governors received payment even for arriving in the city. They lived, of course, very well.

Is a state fee a fee or a tax?

This question arises for many people. It is quite reasonable. The fact is that state duty is a payment included by law in the country’s tax system. Accordingly, it can be considered as a special type of tax. The similarity lies in the mandatory contribution to the budget and the application of all general rules to payment. The difference lies in the targeted nature of the payment and remuneration. After all, in return for paying the state fee, the applicant receives a counter-provider - the required service. This does not happen with taxes.

From the above information comes the answer to another burning question - where does the state duty go? Amounts are transferred to the federal, regional or local budget depending on the level at which the body to which the payer applies is located. Each such structure issues a receipt indicating the details for paying the state duty. Today, you can make a deduction in a variety of ways. Recently, online payment has become a popular option. If for some reason the applicant was not issued a receipt, you can obtain details for paying the state fee from the office of the relevant authority. In this case, the applicant will have to enter them into the receipt form with his own hand.

State duty is a payment established by federal law. Consequently, it is obligatory for deduction throughout the entire territory of the state. Amounts, in accordance with Art. 50, 56, 61, 611, 612 BC are credited according to the standard of 100% to the budget of the corresponding level.

The difference between state duty and tax

The main difference between a state duty and a tax is its target orientation. Despite this, it should be noted that, being a federal tax, the state duty is payable throughout the entire territory of a single state. The funds received from such payment are used to replenish the federal budget, regional budgets, as well as the budgets of subjects of state importance.

When performing most actions of legal significance, it is necessary to complete the mandatory procedure for paying state duty. The list of specific events is quite wide and is noted in the legislation. There is also a closed list of objects for collecting duties, which can be found in the Tax Code.

Regarding transactions involving individuals, the above list may be somewhat shortened. Most often, payment must be made when performing notarial transactions, applying to arbitration courts and courts of general jurisdiction, issuing driver's licenses and registering vehicles, as well as when registering acts of civil status. This list is not complete and is provided as an example only.

Payment functions

The object of state duty is legal actions, services of local, regional, state authorities, other authorized structures and officials. The list of such services is fixed by the Tax Code and is closed. In total, it provides more than 200 types of services. They can be divided into 4 groups and correlated with payment functions:

1. Notary fee. It is established for all notarial actions established by law.
2. Judicial state duty - for statements of claim, complaints, petitions, and other appeals filed in courts.
3. Registration fee - for state registration of legal entities, individual entrepreneurs, transactions, computer programs, databases, civil status acts, etc.
4. Administrative state fee. It is established for the issuance of documents upon acquisition/renunciation of citizenship, entry into the Russian Federation or exit from the country.

From December 29, 2010, no fee is charged when corrections are made to a document for errors made by the official or body that issued it when performing a legal action.

Tax law norms

To calculate the taxable base, either the cost of the service provided to the applicant or the cost of the claim is taken into account. There is usually no tax period. This is due to the peculiarities of the payment deduction deadlines provided for by the Tax Code.

Typically, the state fee is transferred before the required legal action is performed. However, there are exceptions to this rule. In these cases, a tax period is established, and the duty is levied after the action is completed:

• Within 10 days after the court decision comes into force, if an individual or organization is the defendant, the decision is not made in their favor, and the plaintiff is exempted from paying the fee.
• Until March 31 of the year following the year of registration of the vessel in the register of the Russian Federation or (when applying for annual confirmation of registration) the last year of registration.

Exemption from payment of state duty

There may be certain situations in which individuals are exempt from paying state duty.

• For example, for issuing a certificate confirming the right of inheritance, provided that by the day the inheritance is opened, the successor is a minor or suffers from mental disorders.
• An exception may also be if the inheritance passes from an employee who was insured in case of death at the expense of the enterprise and died as a result of an accident at work.

Rates

The Tax Code provides for tariffs used in calculating state duties depending on the body performing the legal action, the nature of the document being drawn up or the specifics of the transaction being registered.

According to the Code, the rate can be expressed in a fixed amount, mixed - proportional or progressive.

The system for calculating the proportional rate on property documents depends on the degree of relationship. A progressive rate implies an increase in the payment amount as the tax base increases. The amounts of these tariffs may be additionally limited by maximum and minimum limits. In some cases, the rate takes into account the unit of document volume (for example, with a page-by-page certificate).

How to pay the state fee at a discount?

In ch. 25.3 of the Tax Code provides for about 90 benefits provided to fee payers. Their types are established depending on the actions performed, the category of subjects, etc.

The benefit for paying state duty can be conditional or unconditional. To receive the first one, a certain condition must be met. For example, when preparing inheritance documents, an exemption on payment of state duty is provided for persons who lived with the testator until the moment of death. An unconditional benefit (for example, a discount on payment of a fee of 50%) is established for disabled people 1, 2 gr.

In addition, there is a complete exemption from transferring payments to the budget. This benefit, in particular, is provided to cultural institutions and other organizations and bodies receiving budget funding. Certain categories of citizens are also exempt from the obligation to pay state duty: disabled people and participants of the Second World War, Heroes of the USSR and the Russian Federation, full holders of the Order of Glory.

It should also be said about the benefits provided depending on specific legal actions. For example, plaintiffs may not pay the fee:

• on applications for recovery of wages, benefits and other claims arising from labor law;
• public organizations of disabled people acting as applicants and respondents.

Comparison

To understand whether a state duty is a tax or a fee, it is necessary to analyze these two concepts according to the following criteria:

1. Target. Any fee is intended to ensure the activities of those bodies that provide a service or register the right to something. The tax is not directed towards anything specific.
2. Regularity. The fee is paid one-time, and the tax is paid at regular intervals.
3. Legislative support. The need for collection is determined individually. It depends not on the subject, but on the nature of the service provided. Taxpayers are determined at the legislative level.
4. Sum. For collection, the fee is fixed; for tax, it depends on the base, rate and possible benefits.
5. Date of. Fees are not tied to time, but are determined by the need of the payer. Taxes are paid at the end of the reporting period within a limited period.
6. Termination of obligations. Taxes are collected from legal entities until the company ceases to exist. Individuals pay for them for life. An exception is a number of taxes that are not levied on certain categories of citizens, for example, property tax on pensioners. Fees are one-time amounts for services.
7. Individual characteristics of the payer. Counted for taxes and not relevant for fees.
8. Result. Paying a tax only saves you from unpleasant consequences, but collecting a fee gives you the right to something.
9. Failure to pay: the tax threatens to be subject to forced collection along with penalties and fees - will lead to non-receipt of the service.

Refund

The grounds for refund or offset of state duty are set out in Art. 333.40 Tax Code. The fee is refunded to the payer, in accordance with the norm, in whole or in part if:

1. The applicant paid an amount exceeding the amount provided for in Chapter 25.3 of the Tax Code.
2. The complaint, application or other appeal was returned, their acceptance was refused or the requested notarial actions were refused.
3. The proceedings in the case were terminated or the application was left without consideration in the arbitration court or instance of general jurisdiction.

If the amount of the fee has not been returned to the payer, it will be counted towards the payment of the fee upon re-application, unless the three-year period from the date of the previous decision has expired and the applicant has presented the original receipt.

If a settlement agreement is concluded before the arbitration court makes a ruling, 50% of the paid state duty must be returned to the plaintiff. However, this rule does not apply to situations where the said agreement was drawn up at the stage of execution of the decision.

Exceptions

The Tax Code stipulates cases when the state duty is not refundable. We are talking about the following situations:

1. The defendant voluntarily satisfied the plaintiff’s demands after his claim was accepted for proceedings in the arbitration court.
2. The settlement agreement was approved in a court of general jurisdiction.

In addition, the fee amount is not refunded for applications for registration/divorce, change of name or making other corrections to the record of the registry office if they were not satisfied, i.e. the authorized bodies did not perform these actions.

A similar rule applies if a person refuses state registration of a right, encumbrance (restriction) after contacting the relevant government agencies. Moreover, if the registration of rights, restrictions (encumbrances) on real estate was terminated, based on the application of the parties, 50% of the paid fee is returned.

Differences

To determine whether a state duty is a tax or a fee, you need to consider their main characteristics. The first concept is more capacious, because a tax is the obligation of all payers to transfer part of their income or profit to the treasury. The collection is not mandatory. Such a contribution is necessary for the state to carry out any actions against the payer.

The main characteristics of the tax are:

• obligation;
• gratuitousness;
• coercion;
• the need for calculation;
• belonging to budgets of various levels.

To correctly calculate the payment amount, you need to decide on the object, know its base cost, tax rate and period. It is also necessary to understand what the tax collection procedure is, so as not to miss the established deadlines.

Different rules apply regarding collection. It is paid one-time and for a specific service by authorized bodies. This means that it is optional and cannot be forced. However, the main difference between a fee and a tax is that after payment, the implementation of legal actions to obtain certain rights is guaranteed.

When it becomes necessary to pay a state duty, whether it is a tax or a fee, the individual does not care. Having a receipt in hand, he deposits the amount established by law. It doesn’t matter to him at all what such an action is called.

For a legal entity, everything is more complicated. The form of payment order, with which it is possible to transfer funds, requires a precise definition of the purpose of the contribution and entering this information in the appropriate field. However, it is enough for the bank to know that a state fee has been paid. Whether it is a fee or a tax, you do not need to specify in the payment purpose field.

Organizational matters

Refund of the overpaid/collected amount of duty is carried out at the request of the payer. It is submitted to the body or official who is authorized to perform the relevant legal actions for which payment was made. If the refund must be made in full, the original payment receipts should be attached to the application, and if partially, copies. The decision to grant the request is made by the relevant body or official.

Direct refund of the amount is made by the Federal Treasury department at the place of payment.

If a subject wants to return the state duty in a case being considered in court, including a magistrate’s court, he submits his application to the Federal Tax Service at the location of the relevant court.

You can send an appeal before the expiration of three years from the date of payment. Refunds are made within a month from the date of sending the application.

Is it possible to return the state fee?

The law allows for the return of only overpaid amounts. It is not possible to receive a full refund. However, there are cases when the state fee is counted for similar actions if it was not used for its intended purpose. To do this, you should write an application to the authority where you expected to receive the paid service. The time limit for filing a request for set-off is limited to three years.

As a result of a painstaking analysis of the concepts of tax and fee, we can make an unambiguous conclusion that state duty belongs to optional payments. Of the two categories under consideration, this condition is satisfied only for the latter.

Thus, the state fee is a fee.

State duty offset

The possibility of its implementation is also provided for in the Tax Code. With offset, the excess amount previously paid for a specific legal action is offset against payment for a similar service.

To exercise his right, the payer must submit an application to the body or official to whom he previously applied. You can also send an appeal within three years from the date of the decision to return the excess amount or from the date of its transfer to the budget.

The offset is carried out in the manner prescribed in Chapter. 12 NK.

Additional guarantees

In accordance with the Tax Code, persons applying to authorized bodies may be provided with an installment plan or deferment of payment of state duty.

To take advantage of this opportunity, the interested person submits a request. Deferment/installment plan can be provided within the period specified in clause 1 of Art. 64 NK. At the same time, the Code provides another important guarantee. No interest is accrued on the amount of state duty for which a deferment/installment plan has been granted throughout its entire term.