VAT to be reimbursed from the budget in 2021 - what to do

In what cases can VAT be refunded from the budget?

VAT payable is the difference between input and output tax. That is, between the VAT that you charged on your goods and services, and the VAT that you yourself paid to your suppliers. You can read more about the VAT mechanism here.

In most cases, the accrued tax will be greater than the input tax. But in some cases the opposite may be true.

1. You bought an expensive fixed asset or a large batch of goods. In this case, you can immediately deduct VAT from the entire purchase amount. And if there were few sales this quarter, then the accrued VAT will be less than the deductions.
2. You work at preferential rates of 0% or 10%. However, if suppliers charge you input VAT at the usual rate of 20%, the deductions may be higher.

In such situations, you will pay more VAT to suppliers than you receive from customers. This means that you can return from the budget the difference between incoming and accrued VAT.

Causes

Table. Three reasons for refunding VAT from the budget.

What to do to return VAT

First of all, fill out the declaration and submit it to the Federal Tax Service.

If the deductions are greater than the accruals, then submit an application for VAT refund along with the declaration. You can send the application later, but then you will receive the money later. The return application form can be downloaded from the Federal Tax Service portal.

Before tax authorities make a decision on a refund, they will conduct a desk audit of the declaration. And be prepared for the fact that your tax return will be checked especially carefully.

A desk audit of a VAT return generally lasts up to 2 months, but inspectors have the right to extend the period up to 3 months (Clause 2 of Article 88 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

If at this time you submit an updated declaration, the deadline will begin again. It is necessary to submit an amendment only if it does not contain the necessary information, or errors have led to an underestimation of the tax amount. Therefore, for minor violations, for example, a typo in the invoice number, it is better to simply provide an explanation.

Typically, desk inspections are carried out at the inspection premises, but if the report states the amount to be reimbursed, or inconsistencies are identified during the inspection, the inspectors have the right to inspect your premises (Clause 1 of Article 92 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

Most likely, during the inspection, inspectors will have questions and will ask you for clarification and additional documents. All exchange of information when checking a VAT return must be carried out electronically. If you send a response to the tax authorities on paper, it will be considered unsubmitted.

Upon receipt of a request from the Federal Tax Service, send a receipt confirming the receipt of documents within 6 days, and respond to the request itself within 5 days.

If you violate the deadlines, there will be fines:

• if you miss the deadline for sending the receipt by more than 10 days, tax authorities may block your accounts (clause 1.1, clause 3, article 76 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation);
• If you violate the deadline for responding to a request, you will be fined 5,000 rubles (Clause 1 of Article 129.1 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

And most importantly: if the tax authorities do not receive explanations that suit them, they will refuse a VAT refund.

During a desk audit, you may be called to the so-called “tax base legalization commission.” The general goal of such events is to convince the taxpayer to increase payments to the budget, and in our case, to refuse VAT refunds.

Remember that if the declaration is completed without errors and all supporting documents are in order, the tax authorities have no legal grounds for refusing a VAT refund. But the manager or employee of the company who goes to the commission must have psychological stability to withstand the pressure.

If you do not want unnecessary attention from tax authorities, you can change the declaration so that the amount to be reimbursed is not included. To do this, transfer a large deduction to the following periods or break it into parts. You have the right to use the deduction within three years after the registration of material assets or services (clause 1.1 of Article 172 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

But it is not always possible to transfer or split deductions. If you bought a fixed asset or an intangible asset, then the deduction must be declared in full in the period when you registered the object. You also cannot carry forward deductions for advances issued or for amounts paid as a withholding agent. The Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation points to this in its letters dated 04/09/2015 No. 03-07-11/20290 and 03-07-11/20293.

When you are a VAT tax agent

Cases when the state assigns the duties of a tax agent for VAT to you are listed in Art. 161 Tax Code of the Russian Federation. Let's translate them into a more understandable language.

You will be a VAT tax agent if:

• you buy goods, works or services from foreign persons who are not registered in Russia. In this case, the place of implementation is our state of the Russian Federation (we will consider this nuance in detail below);
• rent state property from the authorities themselves or buy it as your own.

The following are cases that are much less common:

• sell confiscated property, treasures, purchased valuables and other wealth;
• buy property of a bankrupt;
• as an intermediary you sell goods, works, services of foreign persons who are not registered in Russia;
• if you built a ship and within 46 days, after the transfer of ownership, did not register it in the International Register of Ships (suddenly there are such among our users).

Let's take a closer look at the most common operations, purchasing from foreign companies and leasing state property.

When will VAT be refunded?

If tax officials find no violations, the desk audit will last no more than 2 months. Then, within 7 days, the head of the Federal Tax Service must make a decision on tax refund. The law gives the Treasury another 5 days to transfer funds.

To receive money within these deadlines, you must submit a VAT refund application in advance, preferably along with your declaration. If on the day the decision on reimbursement is made, the tax authorities do not have such an application, then you will receive the money a month after you submit the application (clause 11.1 of Article 176 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

If you have arrears on VAT or other federal taxes, the inspectors will first pay off this debt. You will receive the amount remaining after closing the debt to your current account (clause 4 of Article 176 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

If inspectors find violations when filling out the declaration, the VAT refund period will be more than doubled. The table below shows the maximum periods provided for by the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. Theoretically, each stage can go faster. But usually, when returning funds from the budget, tax authorities fully use all the time limits established by law.

When will VAT be refunded?

If you find violations and the amount to be reimbursed changes, do not forget to write a new application for a refund. It is convenient to submit it along with objections to the act.

Purchasing goods and ordering work from foreigners

You may not even intend to build any kind of ship. But buying an imported product from a foreign company or ordering a service may well be necessary in your work.

A transaction with a foreigner will only result in VAT reporting and remittance if the following three conditions are met:

1) Your foreign supplier is not registered with the tax authorities in Russia. Always check this fact when concluding a contract with a foreign seller. If a foreign company has a branch in Russia, then you will not have to report VAT. Also, if you order goods or services from an individual, then you will not be a tax agent.

2) The product you buy or service is subject to VAT. A complete list of transactions exempt from VAT is given in paragraph 3 of Art. 149 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

3) The place of sale is the Russian Federation.

Features of VAT refund for exporters

For many exporters, the VAT refund procedure will be even more complicated. We are talking about those who sell raw materials abroad, the list of which was approved by Government Decree No. 466 dated April 18, 2018. These are oil and oil products, metals, wood, etc.

Exporters of primary goods cannot declare input tax based on invoices alone, like all other VAT payers. They must attach to the VAT return documents confirming exports: contracts, customs declarations, invoices, etc. (Article 165 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). Therefore, for them, the VAT refund period will increase by the time required to collect all the documents.

Conditions

To receive VAT compensation from the treasury, a company must meet the following conditions:

• be a value added tax payer;
• diligently maintain tax records without errors in calculations;
• have grounds for return;
• have a package of documents to confirm completed transactions.

The key condition is that the purchased goods (services) are correctly delivered to the parish and paid for in full. Equally important is the correct preparation of the application.

Read the article when dividends will be paid. How to receive dividends from RusHydro? More details here.

Who and how can return VAT in an accelerated manner?

Some businessmen can return VAT from the budget much faster than described above (Article 176.1 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). The following taxpayers are eligible for an accelerated refund.

1. Large taxpayer organizations. We are talking about legal entities that over the previous three years have paid income tax, excise taxes, VAT and mineral extraction tax for a total amount of at least 2 billion rubles.
2. Residents of the territory of rapid socio-economic development or the free port of Vladivostok. The management company of the territory or port must vouch for the businessman.
3. Any taxpayers who have provided a surety or bank guarantee, if the legal requirements for a surety or guarantor are met. The guarantor, in particular, must transfer to the budget at least 2 billion in taxes over the last three years, and the guarantor bank must have an authorized capital of at least 1 billion rubles.

You can return VAT from the budget in an accelerated manner within 15 days, that is, you do not need to wait for the results of a desk audit. The process looks like this.

1. Within five days after filing the return, the taxpayer submits an application for an accelerated refund.
2. Tax officials make a decision within five days.
3. Within five days, the treasury transfers the money.

But the declaration will still be checked. If it turns out that the tax was reimbursed unreasonably, it will have to be returned to the budget. During the use of budget funds, you will need to pay penalties at double the refinancing rate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation (clause 17 of Article 176.1 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

Who are tax agents

In some cases, the tax to the state budget is paid not by the taxpayer himself, but by another company. As a rule, this company is a source of income for the taxpayer himself. This very same company pays the tax not from its own pocket, but from the money owed to the taxpayer. Therefore, she withholds the amount of tax from income in advance and transfers it to the tax office herself. The company that pays the tax for the taxpayer is called the tax agent. In other words, it acts as an intermediary between the taxpayer and the state. This whole scheme arose due to the fact that there are situations when the taxpayer himself, for some reason, cannot pay the tax.

What to do if tax authorities violate refund deadlines

If you did everything as it should, but still don’t have the money, contact the inspector who conducted the inspection. It is possible that there was a technical error and the money will arrive soon.

If you were unable to resolve the issue with the inspector, send a letter to the head of the Federal Tax Service. Well, if this doesn’t help, write to a higher tax authority. If you are unable to reach an agreement with the tax authorities at all levels, your only option is to go to court.

If the VAT refund deadline was violated unreasonably, you have the right to receive not only the principal amount, but also interest during the delay, based on the Central Bank refinancing rate (clause 10 of Article 176 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

Why may a refund be denied?

The tax office refuses for various reasons. Most often they become:

• lack of documents confirming deductions, errors or unacceptable corrections in them;
• missed deadline - the declaration was submitted more than three years after the end of the corresponding quarter;
• the tax office's opinion on the unreasonableness of the refund.

The tax office will tell you the exact reason for its refusal in the decision it will issue after checking your declaration. If you do not agree, you can contact higher tax authorities or court.

Keep VAT records in Kontur.Accounting. Take into account input tax and tax payable, prepare returns and exchange with electronic tax reporting. Also in the service you can make settlements with employees, create a primary account, check counterparties and receive expert advice. All new users receive 14 days of work as a gift.

Methods of obtaining

There are two options for value added tax refund:

• in general - for any company that pays VAT if the relevant documents are available;
• by application - for large organizations whose tax payments to the budget over the last 3 years exceed 10 billion rubles, as well as companies that have issued a bank guarantee for this tax.

The submission of documents in both cases is no different, but in the second case the company has the right to submit an application for early payment from the treasury even before the end of the desk audit.

Invoice: preparation

An invoice is one of the main documents in matters of VAT payment.

Such a document is extremely necessary in the process of filing a return for the deduction of accrued tax.

In the process of transferring property rights or selling certain products, tax is calculated by issuing an invoice.

For example, a buyer, upon receiving an invoice, must make all the necessary entries in his transaction book, thereby confirming the right to receive a tax deduction in the future. The amount of funds indicated in the invoice is taken into account when preparing and submitting a declaration to the tax service.

The procedure for drawing up this type of document by legal entities is prescribed in the letter of the Ministry of Finance dated May twenty-sixth, 2015 and Article 169 of the Tax Code of Russia. Only those companies and businessmen who have certain tax preferences do not have to issue an invoice.

What you should pay attention to

Confusion may arise in the process of checking addresses, because many enterprises indicate their actual location in the documentation, and not their legal address. Also, errors may be made in the process of issuing payment documentation numbers and in the company name.

Possible errors when processing a return

The most likely grounds for refusal of VAT refund from the budget:

• A desk audit revealed gross violations;
• The application was generated using an invalid form;
• The tax refund period, which is limited to three years, has expired.

Episodes that influenced the decision to refuse a VAT refund by Federal Tax Service employees are identified during a desk audit. Many nuances are taken into account.

These may be dubious invoices from unreliable counterparties; absence of mandatory details in invoices or errors were found in the preparation of documents; availability of the total number of clarifying VAT declarations. In the convinced opinion of the tax service, these facts represent an attempt to obtain an unjustified benefit from the payer (in this case, an unscrupulous one).

If an application is drawn up using an invalid form, then the tax authorities will most likely refuse (or not accept the application at all) and there is a chance to promptly correct the applicant’s mistake. You should also avoid errors and inaccuracies when filling out company details: TIN, KPP, recipient's name, bank name, company current account.

The moment when the condition for a tax refund to a company arises is considered to be a declaration, or rather the day when it is transferred to the Federal Tax Service and accepted for accounting. From the moment/date of its submission to the Federal Tax Service, a three-year period is counted, after which the budget debt to the taxpayer is leveled.

Package of necessary documents

Minimum list of documents for submission:

• application (preferably in the form of a specific INFS authority);
• tax return;
• invoices;
• documents that confirm payment of tax when importing goods into the Russian Federation or the territory of Russian jurisdiction;
• documents that confirm tax withholding by the tax agent.

The above list is not complete - the inspector may require at his discretion any documents or reports in order to make a decision, for example, a copy of the charter or financial statements.

When exporting goods, the following documents will be required:

• export contract;
• application for import of goods and payment of indirect taxes;
• transport documents for the transportation of goods;
• bank statements confirming receipt of payments from a foreign buyer.

Having collected all the documentation, you can count on confirmation of the zero VAT rate.

Tax rates

As stated above, the current taxation system in Russia for legal entities and individuals assumes the following VAT percentage rates:

• Zero rate . May apply to exporting companies. Confirmation with a full package of documents for export-oriented transactions is required.
• Ten percent . Used for the vast majority of children's and food products.
• Eighteen percent . The largest amount of VAT established for the vast majority of individual entrepreneurs and enterprises.