The tax office will not be able to charge you additional taxes due to your partner’s arrears. Have you reached an agreement with the tax office? Reap the benefits... How to negotiate with the tax inspector

We have analyzed typical errors that occur during this communication and offer some recommendations for eliminating them.

1. “Defensive strategy” for communicating with tax authorities: a balanced assessment of the situation when the taxpayer avoids confrontation with the tax inspectorate, and initiates legal proceedings only in exceptional cases when it comes to direct losses. Otherwise, the taxpayer and the tax inspectorate have a partnership relationship.
2. “Offensive strategy” for communicating with tax authorities: In this case, the taxpayer behaves more aggressively and not only does not avoid trial, but in certain cases initiates it himself.

Which of the presented positions is closer to you - decide for yourself. In practice, nothing prevents you from using a combined approach: in some cases defending, and in others attacking. In any case, remember that the main monetary gain, as a rule, is “on the flow”, which means that the most pliable people who give up easily become victims. Therefore, often the general sense of order and strength emanating from the taxpayer is more preventive than a specific request.

The overwhelming number of tax payers do not know the rules, and therefore the state, often represented by government agency employees, takes advantage of this. Payers find themselves in absurd situations due to ignorance of the situation: what the tax inspectorate can do and what it cannot; what you need to pay tax for and what you don’t. We have analyzed typical errors that occur during this communication and offer some recommendations for eliminating them.

Mistake 1. General incorrect emotional approach

It manifests itself in emotional attempts to “search for the truth”, “fight for the truth”, in chaotic attempts to “agree” with a representative of the institution directly or through friends - instead of calm, confident communication of the subject, aware of his and the tax inspectorate’s rights and responsibilities.

Here we must remember that the truth is hidden the better, the more diligently it is sought through trial and error. But the truth often comes on its own when the correct technological procedure is followed.

At the same time, if you let the tax inspector understand by your appearance or tone that you do not consider him an equal partner and do not respect him, then you will not be able to establish a working relationship. Therefore, it is necessary to deploy the technology of the attacker against the attacker himself.

Mistake 2. Believing in gifts and agreements

Mistake 2 - the assumption that it is easier to pay off. It can also manifest itself in unpreparedness to communicate according to established rules (procedural communication). Actually, this mistake is an external manifestation of a certain internal fear of the tax office.

It seems that partnerships with the tax inspectorate need to be built exclusively on a business basis. In this case, by analogy with business partners, the principle will apply according to which the more conscientiously both parties fulfill their duties, the better they will interact and, accordingly, treat each other better.

Mistake 3. Oral communication with tax authorities

Here are the most typical manifestations of this error: “I’ll ask the tax office.” Actually, the error is only in the last word. Obviously, with this formulation, you are a priori confident that the inspector’s answer will certainly be true.

Meanwhile, any accountant or entrepreneur who has been involved in real business for a long time will rightly doubt this. And the point here is not necessarily the incompetence or maliciousness of the inspector. It may be due to his usual workload. He will simply “push the problem aside”, after which he will sincerely “forget” his words (the law does not prohibit this). It may also be a matter of confusing legislation. Therefore, in most cases, you should not consult verbally with the relevant authority on the issue of interest.

If the inspector makes a mistake (even without meaning to), the consequences of your decision based on the inspector’s erroneous opinion will have to be dealt with by you, not him. Therefore, you should secure yourself with a written response. For this purpose, do not hesitate to make a written request through the inspection office, keeping for yourself a copy certified by the office.

In the future, if the answer turns out to be erroneous, this document can be referred to as a tax inspection document. At the same time, please note that following erroneous answers from the tax inspectorate will not save you from tax penalties in case of incorrect payment of taxes. Just the written request itself reduces the likelihood of an incorrect answer tax officers (who happen all the time).

Thus, the success of communicating with tax inspectors is determined mainly by your awareness of the arsenal of rights and baggage of responsibilities of a taxpayer and your confidence in the correct choice of tactics in the fight for your tax interests.

1. GENERAL PROVISIONS
1.1. The Personal Data Processing Policy (hereinafter referred to as the Policy) was developed in
in accordance with the Federal Law of July 27, 2006. No. 152-FZ “On Personal Data” (hereinafter referred to as FZ-152).
1.2. This Policy determines the procedure for processing personal data and measures to ensure the security of personal data at the Lawyer's College "Tax Lawyers" LLC (hereinafter referred to as the Operator) in order to protect the rights and freedoms of a person and citizen when processing his personal data, including the protection of rights to privacy life, personal and family secrets.
1.3. The Policy uses the following basic concepts:
- automated processing of personal data - processing of personal data using computer technology;
- blocking of personal data - temporary cessation of processing of personal data (except for cases where processing is necessary to clarify personal data);
- information system of personal data - a set of personal data contained in databases, and information technologies and technical means that ensure their processing;
- depersonalization of personal data - actions as a result of which it is impossible to determine without the use of additional information the ownership of personal data to a specific subject of personal data;
- processing of personal data - any action (operation) or set of actions (operations) performed using automation tools or without the use of such means with personal data, including collection, recording, systematization, accumulation, storage, clarification (updating, changing), extraction , use, transfer (distribution, provision, access), depersonalization, blocking, deletion, destruction of personal data;
- operator - a state body, municipal body, legal or natural person, independently or jointly with other persons organizing and (or) carrying out the processing of personal data, as well as determining the purposes of processing personal data, the composition of personal data to be processed, actions (operations), performed with personal data;
- personal data – any information relating to a directly or indirectly identified or identifiable individual (subject of personal data);
- provision of personal data – actions aimed at disclosing personal data to a certain person or a certain circle of persons;
- dissemination of personal data - actions aimed at disclosing personal data to an indefinite number of persons (transfer of personal data) or familiarizing with personal data to an unlimited number of persons, including the publication of personal data in the media, posting in information and telecommunication networks or providing access to personal data in any other way;
- cross-border transfer of personal data - transfer of personal data to the territory of a foreign state to an authority of a foreign state, a foreign individual or a foreign legal entity.
- destruction of personal data - actions as a result of which it is impossible to restore the content of personal data in the personal data information system and (or) as a result of which the material media of personal data are destroyed;
1.4. The company is obliged to publish or otherwise provide unrestricted access to this Personal Data Processing Policy in accordance with Part 2 of Art. 18.1. Federal Law 152.
2. PRINCIPLES AND CONDITIONS FOR PROCESSING PERSONAL DATA
2.1. Principles for processing personal data
2.1.1. The processing of personal data by the Operator is carried out on the basis of the following principles:
- legality and fairness;
- limiting the processing of personal data to the achievement of specific, predetermined and legitimate purposes;
- preventing the processing of personal data incompatible with the purposes of collecting personal data;
- preventing the merging of databases containing personal data, the processing of which is carried out for purposes that are incompatible with each other;
- processing only those personal data that meet the purposes of their processing;
- compliance of the content and volume of processed personal data with the stated purposes of processing;
- inadmissibility of processing personal data that is excessive in relation to the stated purposes of their processing;
- ensuring the accuracy, sufficiency and relevance of personal data in relation to the purposes of processing personal data;
- destruction or depersonalization of personal data upon achieving the goals of their processing or in the event of loss of the need to achieve these goals, if it is impossible for the Operator to eliminate violations of personal data, unless otherwise provided by federal law.
2.2. Conditions for processing personal data
2.2.1. The operator processes personal data if at least one of the following conditions exists:
- processing of personal data is carried out with the consent of the subject of personal data to the processing of his personal data;
- processing of personal data is necessary for the administration of justice, execution of a judicial act, act of another body or official, subject to execution in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation on enforcement proceedings;
- processing of personal data is necessary for the execution of an agreement to which the subject of personal data is a party or beneficiary or guarantor, as well as for concluding an agreement on the initiative of the subject of personal data or an agreement under which the subject of personal data will be a beneficiary or guarantor;
- processing of personal data is necessary to exercise the rights and legitimate interests of the operator or third parties or to achieve socially significant goals, provided that the rights and freedoms of the subject of personal data are not violated;
- processing of personal data is carried out, access to which is provided by an unlimited number of persons by the subject of personal data or at his request (hereinafter referred to as publicly available personal data);
- processing of personal data subject to publication or mandatory disclosure in accordance with federal law is carried out.
2.3. Confidentiality of personal data
2.3.1. The operator and other persons who have access to personal data are obliged not to disclose to third parties or distribute personal data without the consent of the subject of personal data, unless otherwise provided by federal law.
2.4. Public sources of personal data
2.4.1. For the purpose of information support, the Operator may create publicly available sources of personal data of personal data subjects, including directories and address books. Public sources of personal data, with the written consent of the subject of personal data, may include his last name, first name, patronymic, date and place of birth, position, contact telephone numbers, email address and other personal data reported by the subject of personal data.
2.4.2. Information about the subject of personal data must be excluded at any time from publicly available sources of personal data at the request of the subject of personal data, the authorized body for the protection of the rights of personal data subjects, or by court decision.
2.5. Special categories of personal data
2.5.1. Processing by the Operator of special categories of personal data relating to race, nationality, political views, religious or philosophical beliefs, health status, intimate life is permitted in cases where:
- the subject of personal data has given consent in writing to the processing of his personal data;
- personal data is made publicly available by the subject of personal data;
- processing of personal data is carried out in accordance with the legislation on state social assistance, labor legislation, the legislation of the Russian Federation on state pensions, and labor pensions;
- the processing of personal data is necessary to protect the life, health or other vital interests of the subject of personal data or the life, health or other vital interests of other persons and obtaining the consent of the subject of personal data is impossible;
- the processing of personal data is carried out for medical and preventive purposes, in order to establish a medical diagnosis, provide medical and medical and social services, provided that the processing of personal data is carried out by a person professionally engaged in medical activities and obliged in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation to maintain medical confidentiality;
- processing of personal data is necessary to establish or exercise the rights of the subject of personal data or third parties, as well as in connection with the administration of justice;
- processing of personal data is carried out in accordance with the legislation on compulsory types of insurance, with insurance legislation.
2.5.2. The processing of special categories of personal data carried out in the cases provided for in paragraph 4 of Article 10 of Federal Law No. 152 must be immediately terminated if the reasons for which their processing was carried out are eliminated, unless otherwise provided by federal law.
2.5.3. The processing of personal data on criminal records may be carried out by the Operator only in cases and in the manner determined in accordance with federal laws.
2.6. Biometric personal data
2.6.1. Information that characterizes the physiological and biological characteristics of a person, on the basis of which his identity can be established - biometric personal data - can be processed by the Operator only with the consent of the subject of personal data in writing.
2.7. Entrusting the processing of personal data to another person
2.7.1. The operator has the right to entrust the processing of personal data to another person with the consent of the subject of personal data, unless otherwise provided by federal law, on the basis of an agreement concluded with this person. The person processing personal data on behalf of the Operator is obliged to comply with the principles and rules for processing personal data provided for by Federal Law No. 152 and this Policy.
2.8. Processing of personal data of citizens of the Russian Federation
2.8.1. In accordance with Article 2 of the Federal Law of July 21, 2014 N 242-FZ “On amendments to certain legislative acts of the Russian Federation regarding clarification of the procedure for processing personal data in information and telecommunication networks” when collecting personal data, including through information telecommunication network "Internet", the operator is obliged to ensure recording, systematization, accumulation, storage, clarification (updating, changing), retrieving personal data of citizens of the Russian Federation using databases located on the territory of the Russian Federation, except for the following cases:
- processing of personal data is necessary to achieve the goals provided for by an international treaty of the Russian Federation or law, to implement and fulfill the functions, powers and responsibilities assigned by the legislation of the Russian Federation to the operator;
- the processing of personal data is necessary for the administration of justice, the execution of a judicial act, the act of another body or official, subject to execution in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation on enforcement proceedings (hereinafter referred to as the execution of a judicial act);
- processing of personal data is necessary for the execution of the powers of federal executive authorities, bodies of state extra-budgetary funds, executive authorities of state authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, local government bodies and the functions of organizations involved in the provision of state and municipal services, respectively, provided for by the Federal Law of July 27, 2010 N 210-FZ “On the organization of the provision of state and municipal services”, including registration of the subject of personal data on a single portal of state and municipal services and (or) regional portals of state and municipal services;
- the processing of personal data is necessary for the professional activities of a journalist and (or) the legitimate activities of a mass media outlet or scientific, literary or other creative activity, provided that the rights and legitimate interests of the subject of personal data are not violated.
2.9. Cross-border transfer of personal data
2.9.1. The operator is obliged to make sure that the foreign state to whose territory it is intended to transfer personal data provides adequate protection of the rights of the subjects of personal data before such transfer begins.
2.9.2. Cross-border transfer of personal data to the territory of foreign states that do not provide adequate protection of the rights of personal data subjects may be carried out in the following cases:
- the presence of written consent of the subject of personal data to the cross-border transfer of his personal data;
- execution of a contract to which the subject of personal data is a party.
3. RIGHTS OF THE SUBJECT OF PERSONAL DATA
3.1. Consent of the subject of personal data to the processing of his personal
3.1.1. The subject of personal data decides to provide his personal data and consents to their processing freely, of his own free will and in his own interest. Consent to the processing of personal data can be given by the subject of personal data or his representative in any form that allows confirmation of the fact of its receipt, unless otherwise provided by federal law.
3.2. Rights of the subject of personal data
3.2.1. The subject of personal data has the right to receive from the Operator information regarding the processing of his personal data, unless such right is limited in accordance with federal laws. The subject of personal data has the right to demand from the Operator clarification of his personal data, blocking or destruction of it if the personal data is incomplete, outdated, inaccurate, illegally obtained or is not necessary for the stated purpose of processing, as well as take measures provided by law to protect his rights .
3.2.2. Processing of personal data for the purpose of promoting goods, works, services on the market by making direct contacts with the subject of personal data (potential consumer) using communication means, as well as for the purposes of political propaganda, is permitted only with the prior consent of the subject of personal data.
3.2.3. The operator is obliged to immediately stop, at the request of the personal data subject, the processing of his personal data for the above purposes.
3.2.4. It is prohibited to make decisions based solely on automated processing of personal data that give rise to legal consequences in relation to the subject of personal data or otherwise affect his rights and legitimate interests, except in cases provided for by federal laws, or with the written consent of the subject of personal data.
3.2.5. If the subject of personal data believes that the Operator is processing his personal data in violation of the requirements of Federal Law-152 or otherwise violates his rights and freedoms, the subject of personal data has the right to appeal the actions or inaction of the Operator to the Authorized Body for the Protection of the Rights of Personal Data Subjects or in court .
3.2.6. The subject of personal data has the right to protection of his rights and legitimate interests, including compensation for losses and (or) compensation for moral damage.
4. ENSURING THE SECURITY OF PERSONAL DATA
4.1. The security of personal data processed by the Operator is ensured by the implementation of legal, organizational and technical measures necessary to ensure the requirements of federal legislation in the field of personal data protection.
4.2. To prevent unauthorized access to personal data, the Operator applies the following organizational and technical measures:
- appointment of officials responsible for organizing the processing and protection of personal data;
- limiting the number of persons allowed to process personal data;
- familiarization of subjects with the requirements of federal legislation and regulatory documents of the Operator for the processing and protection of personal data;
- organization of accounting, storage and circulation of media containing information with personal data;
- identification of threats to the security of personal data during their processing, formation of threat models based on them;
- development of a personal data protection system based on a threat model;
- use of information security tools that have passed the procedure for assessing compliance with the requirements of the legislation of the Russian Federation in the field of information security, in cases where the use of such means is necessary to neutralize current threats;
- checking the readiness and effectiveness of using information security tools;
- differentiation of user access to information resources and software and hardware for information processing;
- registration and accounting of actions of users of personal data information systems;
- use of anti-virus tools and recovery tools for the personal data protection system;
- application, where necessary, of firewall screening tools, intrusion detection, security analysis and cryptographic information protection tools;
- organization of access control to the Operator’s territory, security of premises with technical means for processing personal data.
5. FINAL PROVISIONS
5.1. Other rights and obligations of the Operator in connection with the processing of personal data are determined by the legislation of the Russian Federation in the field of personal data.
5.2. Employees of the Operator who are guilty of violating the rules governing the processing and protection of personal data bear material, disciplinary, administrative, civil or criminal liability in the manner prescribed by federal laws.

And inspection has always been and will continue to be. When resolving these conflicts, the parties must be guided by both the provisions of tax legislation and the norms of the Arbitration Procedure Code.

Thus, Federal Law No. 153-FZ of July 2, 2013 introduced a mandatory pre-trial appeal procedure for almost all non-normative acts of tax authorities, as well as their actions (inactions) that, in the opinion of the taxpayer, infringe or violate his rights. There are the following exceptions to this rule:

• non-normative acts as well as actions (inaction) of its officials can only be appealed in court;
• non-normative acts adopted based on the results of consideration of complaints (appeals), at the choice of the taxpayer, can be appealed to a higher tax authority or in court.

But even with this procedure in place, not all tax disputes can be resolved peacefully. Many unresolved issues end up before arbitrators. The initiator of an appeal to the court can be either the taxpayer or the inspectorate.

Disputants at any stage of the process or when executing a court decision can resort to conciliation procedures, the most of which is the conclusion of a settlement agreement.

The legal process, regardless of the reason for the dispute (for example, about collection of arrears), always takes a lot of effort and time, and also brings significant financial costs. Before making a decision, the arbitrators must study all the documents presented in the case materials, correlate their contents with the provisions of the law, and, if necessary, order various examinations (for example, handwriting). And even the decision made does not indicate that the disagreement has been resolved, since the party to the dispute that does not agree with the decision has the right to appeal it.

In this regard, the parties participating in the proceedings are given the opportunity by law to resolve the controversial issue independently. Thus, disputants at any stage of the arbitration process or during the execution of a court decision can resort to conciliation procedures, the most common of which is the conclusion of a settlement agreement. It can be concluded in any case (for example, bankruptcy), unless otherwise provided by the provisions of the Arbitration Procedural Code and other federal law. When considering a tax dispute, this procedure was used extremely rarely, since until now it was not clear whether the tax authorities had the right to enter into such agreements. However, today the Federal Tax Service has clarified that concluding a settlement agreement between the tax service and the taxpayer is possible (letter of the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated October 2, 2013 No. SA-4-7/17648).

Bargaining is appropriate

The tax authority is obliged to comply with the requirements of the law, as well as to guard the interests of the state. Accordingly, the inspectorate will never agree to make concessions that are contrary to tax legislation. However, on some issues it is still possible to reach a compromise.

Firstly, the tax office may agree to provide a deferment (installment plan) for In this case, the taxpayer will most likely have to pay all existing arrears, penalties and fines, since the condition of deferment in itself will already be a big concession on the part of the Federal Tax Service.

Secondly, agree to reduce the amount of penalties, or rather, to shorten the period for which they will be accrued. The inspectorate is unlikely to refuse to completely waive penalties if the taxpayer is in arrears in paying taxes. However, it is possible to arrive, for example, at the following option for resolving the dispute: the taxpayer undertakes to pay all tax arrears, and the inspectorate, in turn, charges penalties only for the period from the date the decision was made based on the results of the audit until the moment the claims are sent to the arbitration court.

Third, negotiate to reduce the fine. Tax legislation provides for the possibility of reducing the amount of the fine by at least two times compared to the amount for various tax offenses. At the same time, you should pay attention to the fact that the tax office, having established mitigating circumstances, almost always reduces the fine only by half, but no more (for more details, see the article “Mitigating the guilt by circumstances” in the journal “Practical Accounting” No. 2, 2013).

The mitigating grounds include the following (Article 112 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation):

• personal (family) circumstances;
• presence of threat or coercion (due to financial, official or other dependence);
• difficult financial situation of an individual brought to tax

This list is not closed, so other circumstances may also be included as grounds that may help reduce the amount of the fine.

Thus, you can refer to the following circumstances: independent identification and correction of errors in the declaration; payment of tax during the audit period; the offense committed did not entail any negative consequences; the difficult situation of the organization, etc. You can also try to negotiate a reduction in the fine by more than half. Tax legislation does not contain provisions that clearly regulate how many times the fine can be reduced.

Thus, there are many options for what you can agree on with the inspectorate. The main thing is that the dialogue be constructive, and that there is mutual understanding and a desire to find a compromise.

The procedure for concluding a “peace settlement”

A settlement agreement is a document that contains the conditions for reconciliation of the parties and termination of the dispute. The initiator of the agreement can be either the taxpayer or the tax office.

Having decided to enter into an agreement, the parties discuss all the conditions that will be included in it, as well as the concessions that they are willing to make. At the same time, its provisions must not violate the rights and legitimate interests of other persons and contradict the law.

When concluding a settlement in a tax dispute, the approval procedure differs from the generally established one. Thus, the draft agreement is first sent to the Legal Department of the Federal Tax Service of Russia for approval and only after its receipt is it submitted for approval by the court. In the absence of agreement, agreements will not be concluded.

After agreeing on all issues, the parties draw up an agreement, which must indicate information about the conditions, amount and timing of fulfillment of obligations to each other or one party to the other. It may also include the following conditions:

• on deferment or installment plan for the fulfillment of obligations by the defendant;
• on the assignment of claims;
• about full or partial forgiveness or recognition of debt;
• on the distribution of legal costs, etc.

Thus, the draft agreement must first be sent to the Legal Department of the Federal Tax Service of Russia for approval. In the absence of agreement, settlement agreements will not be concluded.

If the agreement is agreed upon, then at the next court hearing it is necessary to submit a petition for approval of the settlement agreement and submit to the court its text, signed by the taxpayer (his representative) and the tax office.

A settlement agreement is drawn up and signed for each party entering into it, as well as another copy for the court. After the court approves the settlement agreement, an additional copy is attached to the case materials.

The court, after receiving the signed version of the document, checks whether it does not violate the rights of other persons and whether it complies with the law. If there are no contradictions, the agreement is approved, and the court records the agreements reached.

If a settlement agreement is concluded in the process of executing a court decision, it must be submitted for approval to the arbitration court of first instance at the place of execution of the judicial act or to the court that made the decision.

Since the settlement agreement is a direct reflection of the agreement of the parties, its execution must occur voluntarily, as well as within the time frame and on the conditions provided for in it. If the agreement is not executed voluntarily, the injured party has the right to demand forced execution of the agreement. In this case, a petition is submitted to the court to issue a writ of execution, on the basis of which the agreement is subject to enforcement.

The settlement agreement cannot be terminated or declared invalid. Re-examination of the case between the same parties and on the same grounds after the conclusion of the “peace settlement” is not allowed.

I.D. Shilov, for the magazine “Practical Accounting”

“Tax officials came to us with an on-site audit and immediately made it clear what amount of additional assessments they wanted to receive - about a million. This is fine? Has anyone had this happen? - asks one of the entrepreneurs on the popular forum klerk.ru.

As it turns out, this happened to many people. For example, Olga, the chief accountant of an organization whose activities are related to sports, told Forbes that two out of three on-site audits were carried out according to exactly this scheme: “If tax officials are adequate people and are ready to negotiate, then we are only happy. The amounts in both cases were less than a million.” In her opinion, there is nothing wrong with such “gentleman’s” agreements: after all, inspectors do not put money in their pockets, but transfer it to the budget.

On condition of anonymity, a former tax inspector told Forbes how he and his colleagues determined which entrepreneurs could come to an agreement with: “Such techniques are practiced with “compliant” companies that are afraid of identifying serious violations or simply do not want to quarrel with the tax office. The easiest way is to allegedly lose the “primary”, that is, acts of acceptance and transfer of goods, work or services, delivery notes or invoices. In some cases, a draft on-site tax audit report is prepared by the company’s accountant, who finds it easier to “find violations” for a pre-agreed amount.”

This practice has become especially widespread in the last three years. The fact is that in May 2007, the leadership of the Federal Tax Service developed a Concept for planning on-site inspections. The essence of the document boils down to the fact that inspectors, guided by special criteria, must select only suspicious ones from the entire mass of companies and assign an audit to them. There are eleven criteria, and they are also officially published. Among them are low salaries in the organization, losses, a significant share of tax deductions (relative to revenue), building a chain of intermediaries, and frequent “migration” of the company between different inspectorates and even regions.

Officials are very pleased with their concept. Now they are punishing tax officials whose audits did not bring much money to the budget - because this means that the auditors made a mistake with the object. Very quickly the call of the authorities “Go where there are violations” in the territorial inspections was transformed into “Once you go, come back with the money.”

“The leadership of the Federal Tax Service apparently imagines these kind of egg-headed intellectual inspectors who click on the keyboard and mathematically accurately identify violators. But this is a complete utopia! - says Mikhail Orlov, tax lawyer, chairman of the expert council under the State Duma Committee on Budget and Taxes. — In the “territories” there are people whose intelligence makes one doubt that they have a higher or even secondary education. What kind of pre-test analysis, what are you talking about? They randomly select a company from the database, say to themselves: “I have to get 5 million here according to the order” - and they walk briskly. It is clear that they go to decent companies. Then, you see, it’s much better to sit in the office of a reputable company and sort through neat files of primary documents or study electronically generated tax registers than to look for an underground vodka factory that pays no taxes at all, and its director looks like a criminal and from which they are not alive will come out."

Formally, the inspector’s salary does not depend on the results of the audit. But only formally. In addition to salary, there are so-called means of financial incentives for employees.” For those who work in the field or desk inspection department, increasing coefficients directly depend on the size of the arrears found. The amount of “material incentive” can be many times greater than the basic salary.

How much do inspectors get paid? For example, a state tax inspector in the field inspection department of the Moscow Federal Tax Service No. 6 receives up to 12,000 rubles (data from the website nalog.superjob.ru). Obviously, “material incentives” are the only reason to work in such a position. To receive a bonus, the taxman must fulfill the plan for arrears. And these numbers come down to him “from above.” According to the Glavbukh magazine, in 2009, measures up to and including an internal investigation were even taken against inspectors who accrued additional charges of less than a million rubles based on the results of one inspection.

“We have a very strange system. First, the Ministry of Economic Development makes a forecast of what economic development will be next year. Conventionally, let it be 1%. Then the Ministry of Finance “overlays” tax legislation on the forecast and says, I emphasize, conditionally - with economic growth of 10%, tax revenues will increase by 1 billion rubles,” explains Orlov. — And then this figure, 1 billion rubles, is scattered among regional departments. Roughly speaking, Moscow should give 200 million more than last year, Tyumen - 100 million, etc. That is, each inspection receives a specific task. The tragedy is that if the amount does not accrue, there can be two reasons: either the inspectors did a bad job, or the Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of Finance made errors in the calculations and made an erroneous forecast. But the second version is never considered: the tax service is always to blame for the shortfall in taxes.”

Against this background, the tax authorities’ proposal for a “gentleman’s” agreement looks quite friendly. After all, if the company refuses, the inspectors will still collect this money, even if they have to come up with some imaginary violations. According to tax lawyers, the phrase “economically unjustified expenses” has been in use lately. This means that auditors refuse to recognize the plant’s purchase of equipment abroad as expenses on the grounds that similar equipment could be purchased cheaper in Russia. “If the inspectors offered to negotiate and the amount is adequate, it is obvious that the taxpayer will choose this path. If we are talking about an amount in the range of 3-5 million rubles, in my opinion, it is better to agree,” continues Orlov. “The tax authorities will still not leave empty-handed, and even an unfair decision will have to be challenged in court for many months.”

To give or not to give gifts to tax officials, where to go in case of “lawlessness” and why now it is not at all necessary to be personally acquainted with the head of the local Federal Tax Service - these questions still concern many accountants.

Klerk.ru carefully studied the experience of colleagues, and also took advantage of the opinions of Mikhail Bryukhanov, managing partner of BCG Informauditservice, member of the expert council of the State Duma Committee on the Financial Market and head of the tax practice of BMS Law Firm David Kapianidze.

What's happened?

With the introduction of electronic services for interaction with the tax inspectorate, there is no longer a need to take into account the “human factor” and “build relationships.” However, despite the technology, it is important to know the basic rules of communication with tax inspectors in particular and the Federal Tax Service in general.

So, now what should you consider when interacting with tax authorities?

Of course, you must communicate with the tax inspector politely, correctly and competently. Tax officers are professionals in their field, so before answering questions you need to read the Tax Code. This will allow you to speak the same language with the tax inspector. It is also useful to know that the norms and rules for the Federal Tax Service inspector himself are determined by the Federal Law “On the State Civil Service of the Russian Federation” and in Chapter 5 of the “Tax Code of the Russian Federation”, which talks about the responsibility of the tax inspectorate and its officials.

You can answer phone calls if they are general questions regarding activities without going into depth. For example, you can answer a question about the contract that there was a service or product. What the company does, how it operates.

In all other respects, it is mandatory to receive the request and an official response to it. It is also necessary to distinguish between the concept of a desk tax audit and an on-site tax audit. In both cases, they can only require those documents that are relevant to the correctness of tax calculation and accounting. For example, during a desk audit, they may request documents only for a specific tax and no more. For example, if it is VAT, then they have the right to request an invoice agreement.

But, for example, they have no right to request a salary slip.

You need to understand that even in a small city, hundreds of legal entities are registered with the tax office. The head of the tax office often simply does not have time to communicate with you. At the same time, the heads of tax inspectorates take decisions on issues within their competence. For example, it makes sense to contact the head of the Federal Tax Service if it is necessary to obtain a copy of the interrogation protocol, as well as regarding the performance of their duties by his subordinates. Tax managers try to maintain smooth and professional relationships with all visitors.

Are there any tricks in communicating with Federal Tax Service inspectors?

The most important trick in communicating with an inspector of the Federal Tax Service is your knowledge of tax, civil laws and the basics of accounting. So that the inspector’s questions do not seem strange to you, it is better to invite your accountant to a survey and conversation with the inspector.

There are a number of tips that can be given, but they are not a panacea. When you receive a decision from the tax inspectorate on the need to conduct an audit of your company, you need to carefully study it and try to eliminate possible shortcomings in a timely manner.

If you have any questions or suggestions for inspectors, you must express them in writing. This is generally a universal rule - all relationships with tax authorities and their representatives must be documented.

Appoint a person responsible for conducting the inspection on the part of the enterprise, who will communicate with the inspectors, and ensure that the company’s personnel do not say unnecessary things. This is important: answer only the questions asked; no off-topic comments are allowed.

When talking with the inspector, carefully consider your answers; you don’t have to rush to formulate them; it’s better to always take a pause of a few seconds.

Record all violations committed by the inspectors themselves during inspections in special acts, which will be signed by several people - company employees.

Don’t be afraid to argue with the tax inspector, of course, do it tactfully and politely.

Be sure to remember that all doubts should always be interpreted in favor of the taxpayer, and not vice versa.

Is it necessary to give gifts to the inspector?

Tax inspectors are indifferent to gifts. You must understand that your gift may simply confuse the inspector. As a last resort, you can give them souvenirs with corporate symbols. Exactly the same as you give to your partners and clients.

Is there now, in the context of the introduction of electronic services, a problem of communication between business and the tax inspectorate?

With the introduction of electronic services, the efficiency of communication with the tax office has only increased. Tax officials can receive answers to all requests for desk audits remotely through the electronic exchange system; reconciliation reports and certificates from the tax office can also be ordered remotely.

A short reminder from the experienced

User Klerk.ru titova-tlt I’ve made my own list of how to combat excessive attention from the Federal Tax Service. According to the editors of Clerk, the list contains dubious advice, but it is a rather interesting experience:
What am I doing(edit: titova-tlt):

• I never submit documents again to the Federal Tax Service (I keep a register of documents provided) - this is a legal right and you must use it. There were no problems with refusal on my part.
• Without the counterparty’s TIN, I’m writing this: I ask you to provide a specific TIN because there are a lot of documents.
• I don’t respond to mailings, webinars, seminars and other nonsense that is sent to everyone (not the LLC personally).
• If the requirements duplicate each other (for VAT and profit), I call the inspector and visit. By the way, the higher-level Federal Tax Service reacts to repeated demands - this is a signal of non-synchronization of the Federal Tax Service, and this should not happen.
• Blocking of accounts. I communicate with the arrears department - after complaints they don’t just block, but carefully look at the amounts. True, recently a bank account I knew was blocked for 60 kopecks.
• I don’t respond to any requests (send a purchase book in Excel - it’s so convenient for us at the Federal Tax Service) and ask for an official letter. You need to do it better as yourself, and not as the Federal Tax Service, since no exsel Tax Code is provided.
• The Federal Tax Service manages to lose (not register) applications (I recently sent them to personal income tax via TKS) - a complaint about inaction, notifications to the simplified tax system (court practice in favor of the taxpayer).
• I do not respond to telephone calls from the Federal Tax Service. They are forbidden to call work (corruption, etc.) - only letters. So let them send letters.
• When traveling, I agree to an inspection only on the territory of the Federal Tax Service. In practice, the test is faster and smoother. The Federal Tax Service doesn’t like this (you have to wait and sit for six months during an inspection), but who has it easy now?
• When visiting, I provide dockets on the last day. This is good for me (since the deadline starts from the moment the decision on travel is provided to me) and I don’t carry anything without a registry.
• If I see that verbal chaos begins on the part of the Federal Tax Service, I record the conversation.
• For the inspectors, they kept a log of checks and conducted instructions (although no one has come yet), but this inspires confidence that the incoming inspectors will be cooled down: when you get a scab in your face, they say “Check”... And you respond - “Tax, let me sign you up and I’ll take a copy of the ID...” Sign here that you visited us.
• To be honest, I don’t like to complain, but in light of the lawlessness of the Federal Tax Service (a lot of demands, clarifications, explanations, documents, loss of applications and other things), it remains to write complaints so as not to be a nightmare. Otherwise, we will be fined immediately and the account will be blocked.

On a note:

Federal Tax Service: communication with taxpayers should become completely contactless. This was announced by the head of the tax department, Mikhail Mishustin. According to him, the Tax Service has long been working on the development and implementation of new technological solutions. The Federal Tax Service website operates 47 electronic services that are aimed at all categories of payers. “A line of “personal accounts” has been opened, in which more than 23 million individuals, almost 500 thousand individual entrepreneurs, and over 200 thousand companies are registered. Services allow you to resolve almost all tax issues online,” said the head of the department.

Since 2017, the Federal Tax Service has been introducing a new online service “VAT Office” for remote interaction between foreign organizations and Russian tax authorities. It will be intended for foreign Internet companies providing electronic services to Russian consumers, and will cover the entire cycle of interaction: from registration with the tax authority to filing a declaration and checking the status of settlements with the tax authority.

At the end of November 2016, the Federal Tax Service website received the 2016 Runet Prize in the “State and Society” category. This award, which is decided by almost a thousand experts, is already recognized as a national recognition in the field of high technology and the Internet.