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- Undisputed case: the tax authorities will be able to collect debts from citizens without a trial
Undisputed case: the tax authorities will be able to collect debts from citizens without a trial
The tax authorities will be able to collect debts from individuals without a trial - if the person does not contest the additional charge. Such a bill was prepared by the Ministry of Finance, the government commission approved it on November 25, as "Izvestia" found out. Now the out-of-court mechanism applies only to businesses and sole proprietorships, but with the development of self-employment it is becoming relevant for citizens. The new measures will fill the budget, reduce the costs of control services and reduce the burden on the courts. On the other hand, ordinary Russians may suffer in case of technical errors and unfairness of tax officials.
How tax debts will be recovered from individuals
Russia plans to introduce a simplified procedure for collecting tax debts from citizens without a court. The mechanism will work if a person does not challenge an additional charge. The changes will apply to those Russians who declare liabilities independently - for example, when submitting a declaration or using the self-employment regime.
This initiative was prepared by the Ministry of Finance on the instructions of the President of the Russian Federation (Izvestia has the materials for the government commission on legislative activity). On November 25, the government commission approved the amendments, a source in the Cabinet told the editorial board. They may come into force in November 2025. "Izvestiya sent an inquiry to the Ministry of Finance and the Federal Tax Service.
Now tax debts of individuals are collected through the court, recalled Alexander Zelinko, an expert on tax and civil law disputes of the Association of Lawyers of Russia (ALR). He specified: controlling authorities file lawsuits and after receiving a court decision can seize the necessary amount through seizure of bank accounts or imposing restrictions on real estate transactions.
To collect debts, the tax authority files an application to the court within six months from the day when the person had to pay the fee, said Vasily Vayukin, lawyer, managing partner of Tax & Legal management. He noted: the Federal Tax Service may appeal to the judicial authorities only if the amount of arrears exceeds Br10 thousand.
According to statistics, most often such cases arise from non-payment of personal income tax, as well as property and transportation taxes, said the lawyer. In addition, with the development of self-employment increases and underpayment of tax on professional income.
- As a rule, individuals and, in particular, the self-employed do not always fully declare their income. Many of them tend to hide their earnings to avoid paying taxes, especially when it comes to small amounts. In addition, not all citizens are aware of their obligations," emphasized Alexander Zelinko.
According to the proposed rules, if the tax office sends a notice of debt collection without a court, but the citizen will not agree, he will be able to file an application for recalculation or complaint - both before and after the due date, follows from the documents to the right committee. If the objection is rejected, and the individual in the next month can re-express disagreement - then the proceedings will move to court.
At the same time, the bill provides procedural guarantees, including the protection of the minimum necessary property and income (for example, the subsistence minimum can not be withdrawn), it follows from the materials. In addition, operations on bank accounts of individuals will not be suspended.
According to the expectations of the Ministry of Finance, the changes may bring to the budget system an additional 22.5 billion rubles (the documents to the Pravcomission do not specify whether we are talking about annual revenues).
Annually, more than 95% (4.5 million) of administrative cases considered by the courts relate to the collection of tax payments, said the press service of the Ministry of Finance. They added: about 1.1% of them are canceled at the request of the debtor - out of this number only the court confirms the legitimacy of collection in 96% of cases. Thus, the statistics shows the expediency of the implementation of the amendments, the ministry said.
What threatens for tax violations in Russia
Now the out-of-court procedure of debt collection is valid for individual entrepreneurs and legal entities, noted Ekaterina Golubtsova, associate professor of the Department of State and Municipal Finance of Plekhanov Russian Economic University. She clarified: the tax service forms a document on the arrears and sends the debtor a notice with the amount of non-payment.
- If the debt is not paid, within two months the Federal Tax Service makes a decision on collection and sends an order to the bank to write off the funds. At the same time, if it is not possible to write off the money from the accounts within a year from the date of receipt of the notice, the property may be seized. Then the arrears will be paid off by selling the payer's property," the expert explained.
In Russia there are different measures of responsibility for tax violations - depending on their severity. Individuals are usually fined 20% of the amount of arrears, reminded Vasily Vayukin from Tax & Legal management. In case of willful non-payment, the sanctions increase to 40%.
If the debt for three years exceeds 2.7 million rubles, then criminal liability is imposed, he continued. The punishment will range from a fine of Br100 thousand to imprisonment for up to three years (in case of arrears of Br13.5 million).
- Criminal liability can be avoided if you fully pay the amount of arrears and penalties, as well as all fines, - said the lawyer.
Along with monetary sanctions, tax authorities may block assets or seize property, added Alexander Zelinko from the UBA. As a rule, this applies to entrepreneurs.
What are the advantages and risks of out-of-court collection of tax debts?
Judicial procedures are not a quick process. Inaddition, people and businesses must pay the state duty, said Alexander Isaevich, CEO of SME Corporation. Therefore, the introduction of out-of-court collection of arrears from individuals will reduce the time of settlement of such issues and eliminate additional costs, he said.
The purpose of introducing out-of-court procedures is to collect unpaid taxes as soon as possible and "patch up holes" in regional budgets, as well as to reduce the burden on the judiciary, said Natalia Milchakova, a leading analyst at Freedom Finance Global.
She added: In addition, it is much more profitable for the Federal Tax Service to collect debts without a court decision. First of all, it takes months to review cases. And secondly, the service has to incur additional costs, including the cost of lawyers, to recover very small amounts.
- Taxes are the most important component of state revenues. The measure on out-of-court collection of fees from individuals will increase revenues, and thus strengthen the fiscal function of the treasury and increase the sustainability of the budget system, - assessed Andrei Girinsky, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Economics of PFUR.
Natalia Milchakova believes thatdebt collection without a court decision is more of a minus than a plus for citizens. According to her, there is a small but still a probability to win in court. Whereas without such proceedings for unscrupulous tax officials will open the door to corruption and lawlessness (for example, cooperation with "black" collectors), the expert believes.
Technical errors and failures of the information system are also likely, due to which artificial debts may be formed, added Vladimir Gromov, senior researcher of the Tax Policy Research Laboratory of the IPEI of the Presidential Academy. And these arrears in case of inattention of a citizen will be repaid automatically, he added.
However, such measures may encourage Russians to delve more into tax issues and raise awareness of their obligations, the expert believes.
The advantages of the out-of-court procedure also include the reduction of expenses for the payment of penalties, as they are accrued for each day of delay and stop accumulating after the arrears are paid, added Ekaterina Golubtsova from Plekhanov Russian Economic University.
