An interesting situation arose among our clients who approached us to optimize their tax base.
As is known from tax legislation, a payer of value added tax, unlike those who are subject to the VAT tax system, can be absolutely any person or any company.
When buying products in stores, citizens see on receipts information about 18% VAT, which is included in the price.
Consequently, even without carrying out business activities, buyers ease the tax burden of mega-corporations by paying for them the value added tax, which they include in the price. But that's not what we're talking about.
Having understood the essence, we can trace who is the VAT payer. The answer is simple! Who has it “in his pocket”. The VAT holder must give it to the state. This is the state’s income, which it protects with its entire fiscal apparatus.
How to politely refuse a counterparty who asks for the DAM, VAT return, KUDiR?
Counterparties request a VAT return, a DAM with an acceptance mark, and a Book of Income and Expenses. How can I politely refuse them and what can I refer to?
They ask at the “Red Corner of an Accountant”.
“The counterparty, in the package of documents necessary for concluding the contract, stated the provision of a VAT return, including a book of purchases and sales. I know that you are not required to provide books, but what text should I answer this correctly in order to be convincing, but I also don’t want to spoil the relationship. Maybe someone has samples of such letters/responses, please share your experience. They also ask for RSV, and there is a 3rd section with passport data and SNILS of all employees, and it is impossible to unfasten it. But still, I’m more concerned about the book of purchases and sales.”
Here's what they write in the comments:
“I don’t remember the exact wording now, but we once made a notarized extract from the local regulatory act on trade secrets and working with personal data. What blah blah blah, at the request of partners, receipts for sending and receiving declarations are provided, since the rest contains trade secrets, and the average payroll and SZV-M are provided for the state, from which the personal data of employees is removed (blacked out), due to the fact that any employee has the right to apply to refuse to transfer personal data to third parties.”
For RSV with a mark of delivery, it is advised to print them out and then scan them without the third section. Or convert to PDF in the doPDF program and delete pages with personal data.
They also write that you can refer to a trade secret:
“The list of suppliers and customers and trade turnover with them at our enterprise are classified as a commercial secret. We cannot provide the required information for this reason. Try citing a trade secret. It’s none of their business who you work out with, and books of purchases and sales cannot be considered due diligence. RSV, photocopy the required sheets and that’s it. Or remove unnecessary sheets through PDF processing. There are programs for correcting the PDF format.”
And after that, they recommend a program for processing PDF:
“PDF2GO is PDF processing. Using it, you will remove unnecessary sheets and all the blue tax marks will remain. Perhaps you will find another PDF processing. Choose what you are comfortable with."
And someone advises to provide only the first sheet of the declaration and a notice of delivery:
“The first sheet of the declaration, the notice of delivery. The rest is a trade secret."
The counterparty has not filed a VAT return - who is responsible?
Imagine that they sell you several wagons of flammable material for 5 million rubles. Introduced? At the same time, VAT, which should go to the state, is already included in these 5 million.
If a fuel seller receives his 5 million from your company into his bank account, then he must pay 18% VAT to the state (and soon all 20%).
It would seem that everything is simple and clear. However, not entirely.
This is where legal casuistry arises. I would say tax legal casuistry. If a counterparty fails to file a VAT return, the consequences could be detrimental to you.
VAT: discrepancies with the counterparty
The Federal Tax Service has always had and will continue to have questions if the VAT claimed for deduction does not correspond with the calculated tax amount in the partner’s declaration, i.e. the counterparty did not reflect VAT. These issues are regulated in Art. Tax Code of the Russian Federation, according to which the inspector is obliged to send the payer a request to provide explanations or make corrections to the declaration if a desk audit reveals inconsistencies or contradictions between the information available in the documents of both parties.
In a situation where VAT counterparties have not reported on the declaration and have not paid the tax, accepting a deduction on their invoices is considered by tax authorities as an unjustified tax benefit of the purchasing enterprise, and interaction with such partners is considered an imprudent action.
Often the consequence of this is the additional assessment of tax to be paid, the accrual of penalties and the imposition of a fine, but at the same time the Federal Tax Service must prove that the implementation of the deduction will entail the receipt of an unjustified tax benefit, and the company, intentionally or through negligence, entered into an agreement with an unscrupulous partner (clause p. . , , Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation dated October 12, 2006 No. 53). Tax authorities believe that VAT refunds should be made from the source that arose when the counterparty-supplier paid the corresponding amount of VAT. Its absence (if the counterparty has not paid VAT) does not give the buyer the right to deduct tax.
