Interest-free loan

Features and basic concepts of an interest-free loan agreement

2021 makes it clear that it is often difficult for legal entities to operate without attracting third-party funding. As for the possibility of purchasing an interest-free loan, there must be trust between the parties, because such agreements are concluded between long-term partners who support each other.

To take out a loan, especially for a fairly large amount, a legal entity prepares a complex package of accompanying documentation, including reporting and constituent documents. A loan is considered from the point of view of generating income, and accordingly comes under the attention of fiscal authorities.

An interest-free loan agreement concluded between legal entities implies the following:

one organization lends money or valuable property;
another organization accepts;
A written agreement must be drawn up.

The body of the agreement states that the lender does not receive a profit for the fact that the borrower uses borrowed funds, since this is an interest-free agreement. The agreement may imply a strict purpose for spending the loan, as well as some security - collateral.

Next, we will consider all aspects of drawing up a transaction and its written execution. You need to start by identifying the participants.

How to get rid of debts in microfinance organizations: check yourself for a lucky ticket

You can check the circumstances - you may not have to repay the loan or you will be able to pay back much less.

How to get rid of loans?

You can try to take out a loan from a bank and use these funds to cover the outstanding debts in the microfinance organization. As a rule, MFOs lend to clients at 0.5-1% per day. Bank rates are 15-25% per year.
Even with insurance, a bank loan will be a convenient solution for you. In the end, you will pay many times less.
Do banks refinance loans from microfinance organizations? No. The difference in rates is too big.
Yes, you can apply to refinance your debt to the bank, but you will only receive a positive decision if you have a large bank loan (or several), which you are servicing with all your might, but carefully. Plus a small debt to microfinance organizations.
Statute of limitations. In Russia it is 3 years. If during this period you have not paid the microloan and have not contacted the lender, you have a chance to get rid of the debt without repayment.
But at the same time, your credit history will be irrevocably damaged. Yes, and running for three years from the claims of microfinance organizations is three years erased from life.
Here we need to make a reservation: the statute of limitations matters if the microfinance organization did not have time to go to court and start enforcement proceedings during this time.
Please note that in closed proceedings the statute of limitations also applies. That is, after the bailiff closes the case, the creditor does not apply for re-initiation - in this case, you can count on a write-off.
Check the amounts owed.
Perhaps the MFO is charging you a penalty “as if you’re crazy.” This also happens. In fact, from January 1, 2021, microfinance organizations do not have the right to charge an amount of fines that exceeds the amount of the debt itself by more than 1.5 times.
That is, you can borrow 10 thousand rubles, but the microfinance organization has the right to demand you, taking into account all penalties, only 15 thousand rubles. And nothing more.
How to deal with them?
In this case, you need to file a complaint with the Central Bank (you can use the regulator’s website) or file a claim against the MFO in court. And there to defend their own interests. It doesn't work any other way.

Participants in the interest-free loan agreement

Under what conditions is a loan considered interest-free? As for legal entities, the agreement must comply with the following conditions:

the parties are companies;
the amount of the agreement should not exceed fifty times the minimum wage;
the item being transferred as an interest-free loan can be money or valuable property;
The final purpose of the loan does not imply the receipt of profit by the legal entity.

At the same time, the charter of both legal entities should not contain prohibitions on carrying out this type of activity and implies full compliance with the legislation of the Russian Federation. There should be no legal restrictions regarding the companies you are looking for.

The subject of the loan must be completely in the possession of the lender, especially if we are talking about valuable property. If the amount involved in the transaction exceeds six hundred thousand rubles, and the company issuing it is not a credit company, it is necessary to submit the relevant information to the state control authorities. This is implied by federal legislation.

The simplest examples of such cooperation between legal entities in 2021 are as follows:

an agreement between companies that are partners, among which one party has financial troubles requiring third-party intervention;
the founders of different companies are the same people who can attract capital from their companies to help each other.

In this case, there is no need to get involved with bank lending, which entails additional costs and also involves a lot of paperwork - transferring information, preparing reports, etc.

When there is a simple way - applying for an interest-free loan, it would be more correct to use it. But, since the agreement is drawn up not between ordinary people, but between companies, the obligations must be documented - that is, a legally competent interest-free loan agreement has been drawn up.

How to register correctly

When borrowing between acquaintances or friends, there is a practice of verbal agreement: all terms and nuances are agreed upon at the meeting and are not fixed in writing.

Today, this practice is gradually fading away: the larger the loan amount, the more persistently the lender offers to draw up a receipt or agreement. If problems arise, these papers will help prove that an agreement existed and was violated.

You might be interested in an article about getting a mobile loan.

How to get a loan without collateral, read this article.

Lawyers recommend drawing up an agreement for any amount over 1 thousand rubles and carefully spelling out all the conditions: repayment terms, amount, passport details of the parties, their addresses and signature. It is also necessary to mention that the agreement is interest-free and does not require mandatory additional payment.

Along with the contract, lawyers advise each party to draw up a receipt for the issuance and receipt of money that will need to be exchanged. The borrower will receive it back after repaying the last debt.

Good to know: an interest-free loan is possible between individuals only when the money is not required for investment in business activities and will not generate income for the borrower at all.

You can pay off your debt early without any penalties or overpayments. You can receive money by card or in person, depending on the agreement.

Legal aspects of the issue

In order to avoid getting into various unsightly situations, you need to familiarize yourself with a number of points regarding compliance with legal norms:

a document that is an agreement on an interest-free loan between legal entities comes into force only when the funds are transferred to the borrower;
When drawing up documents, it is necessary to be guided by the Civil Code of the Russian Federation;
if there is no confirmation of the transfer of funds or transfer of property, the agreement can be challenged in the courts;
the interest-free loan must be issued through the cash desk of the enterprise that is the borrower, otherwise legal proceedings may be initiated;
those signing the agreement must have such a right in accordance with the charter, or receive it by power of attorney, which is necessarily attached to the package of documentation accompanying the transaction.

In order to avoid possible risks, it is necessary to carefully check everything and draw up a contract that implies a way out of any situation, explaining the actions of both parties for each case that may arise in the process. Legislatively, there is no special, strict form by which a transaction for an interest-free loan is concluded. The participants are legal entities and draw it up independently.

There should not be a permanent basis for conducting such transactions, because fiscal and other supervisory authorities may suspect the parties of conducting illegal banking activities.

Typically the body of the agreement includes the following clauses:

date of conclusion and place;
parties and their representatives (as a rule, such transactions are carried out on behalf of the head of the enterprise);
it must be indicated that the loan is interest-free, otherwise the party receiving the assistance will be required to pay interest for use at the refinancing rate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation;
terms and methods of returning funds or property received;
responsibility imposed on the parties to the agreement;
some circumstances that may arise as force majeure.

Finally, the last block, as a rule, consists of details of legal entities (postal and legal addresses (if they differ), tax identifiers (TIN, KPP, OGRN), contacts), including signatures of persons confirming the agreement.

Application for an interest-free loan without refusal or checks

The procedure for obtaining loans at 0% is identical to the procedure for obtaining a standard microloan. It involves filling out an application form on the company’s website.

The borrower must fill in the following fields:

initials;
Date of Birth;
phone number;
email address;
registration address and place of residence;
series and number of the general passport;
the amount of monthly earnings;
method of transferring money.

Sometimes it is necessary to provide contact information of a third party who can confirm the citizen’s identity, as well as data from a second document. To increase the likelihood of your request being approved, you must provide correct and reliable information.

The client’s personal information is used for the scoring procedure, based on the results of which a decision is made to issue money or refuse. No other checks that require additional actions are performed.

Microloans at 0% have the following features:

limited limit;
short period of use;
non-target nature;
no collateral requirements.

Microloans at 0% are sometimes issued to persons with a damaged financial reputation, since profits for microfinance organizations come from clients who are late on such products.

Body of the contract

One of the fundamental points that must be spelled out will be the responsibility assumed by legal entities that are parties to the contract being concluded. If suddenly someone does not fulfill the terms of the agreement, he must understand all the consequences that will follow. Judicial authorities may be involved or the matter may be resolved peacefully.

For violation of the terms of the interest-free loan agreement, a certain penalty may be specified, which will be paid by the borrower in case of delay in repayment, or by the lender if the due financial resources are not transferred on time or the supposed valuable property is transferred.

As for the order that must be followed when drawing up this kind of document, it is worth paying attention to the following points:

the subject of the contract is spelled out scrupulously, whether it is the amount of funds transferred or some property of determined value;
the value of property is determined by special appraisers;
it is indicated how exactly the lender transfers to the borrower the funds due under the interest-free loan;
the return of funds (property) is strictly determined - receipt to the account, transfer to a representative, etc.;
The terms of the contract are considered from the point of view of an individual approach, since the legislation does not have a strict framework in this regard.

The contract can be concluded for one day or for several decades. It all depends on the amount, the direct agreement of the parties and the capabilities of the borrower and lender. When the term is long, it is worth taking care of some guarantees from the borrower that he will actually pay off the obligations. Moreover, if there is no separate information regarding restrictions on repayment, the interest-free loan can be repaid ahead of schedule.

The agreement can be in any currency required by the borrower and available to the lender. In this case, it is advisable to indicate the exchange rate on the day the agreement is concluded, so that in the future there will be no disputes about the return in rubles or other equivalents.

What are funds in MFOs, and what makes a person apply for a microloan?

Microfinance organizations are “relatives” of banks, but, in comparison with them, MFOs have very limited capabilities. For example, they can issue loans (but not credits), but do not have the right to accept money from the public in the form of deposits.

Only some organizations - microfinance companies (MFCs) - have the authority to accept investments from individuals, and only on condition that the amount is 1.5 million rubles or more. These are so-called investments for qualified investors who are aware of their risk.

The willingness of people to invest money in microfinance organizations is easily explained: in 2020, interest on deposits in banks fell to 4-5% per annum. Users are looking for opportunities to earn more and find microfinance organizations with their seemingly fabulous offers to receive 20% per year.

But, having decided to invest funds in the IFC, you must always remember that such an investment is not a full-fledged contribution. These funds are not included in the deposit insurance system, are not legally registered as a deposit, and in the event of the collapse of the IFC, the client will not receive the money.

Only this information is disclosed to clients extremely rarely and reluctantly. Rather, they will kindly tell you about possible profits and describe in detail how much you will earn. But they won’t tell you what will happen if suddenly the organization is excluded from the Central Bank register and cannot continue its work.

At its core, a microloan is an interesting offer for a person who is suddenly faced with unexpected expenses, but does not have the funds for them.

For example, you are used to living on a salary. It is 30 thousand rubles. And so, suddenly there was a need for an urgent trip to another city. You are missing 10 thousand rubles. What to do?

Microloans come to the rescue. These debt products have the following features:

Small amounts: you will be given around 10-20 thousand rubles, but you should not count on 200 thousand rubles or more;
Short loan terms: you will be provided with a loan for a period of 15-30 days. As a last resort - for 60 days;
High interest rate: 0.5-1% is charged per day;
Minimum list of documents: borrowers are required only to have a passport and some other personal documents;
Possibility of obtaining a loan online: the borrower just needs to register on the MFO website, provide contact information and undergo verification. He receives the money via a bank card or e-wallet.

Why do people accept high interest rates? Unfortunately, applying for a loan for a period of 1-2 years at a low interest rate is a bureaucratic procedure that involves:

collection of documents, up to ordering a 2-NDFL certificate from the employer or 3-NDFL from the Federal Tax Service;
consideration of the application for up to 3-5 days;
going to the bank in person and filling out the necessary applications;
verification of the debtor - in particular, calls from bank employees to the potential borrower himself and to the accounting department at his place of work.

People usually apply for microloans when they find themselves in the following circumstances:

Fired from work - there is not enough money to live or repay other loans.
Health has deteriorated - a person is admitted to a hospital for treatment, money is needed.
A child was born - this led to serious expenses.
A person has lost relatives - funeral services are expensive.
A person survived a natural disaster - a hurricane, an earthquake, which led to the loss of housing.

Termination of an interest-free loan agreement

Either party may attempt to terminate the contract if necessary. What might influence such a decision? There are several options:

failure to perform duties;
violation of the terms of the interest-free loan agreement;
liquidation, bankruptcy and other circumstances of a similar nature in which the legal side of the issue comes into force.

The agreement can be terminated by mutual consent or unilaterally, which must be stated in the body of the agreement. In this case, a legal entity wishing to terminate cooperation is obliged to notify the partner in the transaction in writing.

If the interest-free loan transaction is terminated at the initiative of the creditor, he may demand repayment of the entire debt. In order not to lead to a deterioration in relations between the participants, it is worth strictly observing the agreement, and first, fully specifying all possible circumstances of the event. In this case, it is necessary to take into account the timing and possible changes in the relationship.

Why do people accumulate a lot of debt in MFOs: mistakes of borrowers

People often think irrationally. In a critical situation, this becomes especially noticeable - a person acts desperately, without thinking about the consequences.

The ancient instincts of “fight or flight” come into play - the adrenaline is released equally when jumping with a parachute and when diving into a credit pit. Only the environmental conditions are somewhat different from the Viking Age or the Crusades.

What mistakes do borrowers make?

Applying for several loans at once from various banks and microfinance organizations.
You are desperately trying to extricate yourself from the web of credit slavery, and begin to cover bank loans with microloans. This is a dead end.
An avalanche is on the way, and you won't be able to cope with it unless you suddenly become rich. Add psychology here: as soon as you miss one payment, you give up and give up on the remaining monthly payments on loans and borrowings.
Ignoring debt.
This is a big mistake. On the contrary, you need to build contact with creditors and try to solve the problem together. Running away will not save you, because every bank has your passport data, residential address, information about your family and place of work.
You will ruin your reputation, bring your spouse to a nervous breakdown and thoughts of divorce, and quarrel with relatives.
Miscalculations in interest rates, in the level of overpayments.
A person takes 10 thousand rubles, and the daily 100 rubles that will be received as a bribe to an MFO seem to him to be a small, trifling amount. But if you do the math, in 30 days the MFO will earn 3,000 rubles out of the blue.
And for a borrower whose salary is 30 thousand rubles, 10% of this amount matters. It is the financial illiteracy of most people that ultimately leads to global debt overload.

Collateral as a guarantee of an interest-free loan

As mentioned above, if the agreement is long enough, the lender needs some guarantees of the return and safety of its own funds. The borrower may provide some collateral that acts as a fiduciary guarantor.

In this case, it is necessary to indicate the presence of collateral in the body of the agreement, as well as exceptional points:

transfer of collateral to the creditor;
repayment upon completion of loan repayment;
occurrence of controversial situations and actions with a return guarantee.

In this case, information about the transferred collateral, as well as confirmed ownership rights of the borrower, are added to the accompanying package. In case of failure to fulfill its obligations, the borrower can leave the collateral to the lender or return the funds. This situation is resolved through a written agreement on an interest-free loan, or with the participation of the judiciary.

Tax issues

When an interest-free loan transaction is concluded, the following is implied:

the lender temporarily transfers a certain amount of funds;
After the end of time, the same amount of funds is transferred back to the company’s accounts.

At the same time, there is no obvious benefit - there is no profit received, which means there is no need to pay taxes on profits. As for the borrower's side, she receives a fairly visible economic benefit, namely that there is no need to pay interest. The Tax Code clearly states the fact that the borrower’s profit in this case is not obvious, and therefore it is not subject to tax. Value added tax is also not paid.

All this is valid if the body of the agreement contains detailed information about the transaction being carried out. An interest-free loan between legal entities implies no benefit for the lender, but the presence of convenient receipt of third-party funds for the borrower. Speaking in the language of facts, as a result of the transaction, a financial service was issued, the results of which did not result in any material benefits.

Material benefit

To calculate material benefits, the Tax Code provides a special formula:

MB (mat. benefit) = (2/3* on the refinancing rate in force in the region where the parties to the agreement are located* on the amount of the loan under the agreement)/(365*term of actual use of the loan).

The tax rate for individuals is 35%, and for legal entities – 30%.

For example, an enterprise issues an interest-free loan to an employee in the amount of 100,000 rubles for a period of 6 months. The current refinancing rate in the city is 12%.

Material benefit = (2/3*12*100000)/(365*180)=1217.65 rubles.

The employee is required to pay tax in the amount of 1217.65/100*35=426.17 rubles.