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- Counting by warehouses: business asked for a tax delay due to attacks on WB until the end of the year
Counting by warehouses: business asked for a tax delay due to attacks on WB until the end of the year
The business has identified a priority in supporting entrepreneurs whose goods were damaged during the attacks on Wildberries warehouses. Companies are asking to introduce a tax break at least until the end of the year. Deferral of fees is one of the measures currently being worked out by the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Energy, the Federal Tax Service and the Central Bank after a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak. In addition, the business proposed not to fine him for late reporting and to create a system of insurance of warehouses and goods against military risks with the participation of RNPC and state support. Who will be affected by the measures and how much damage is estimated is in the Izvestia article.
How tax breaks will help businesses
In recent weeks, more than a dozen Wildberries logistics centers and warehouses in several regions of Russia have been affected by drone attacks. For example, strikes were carried out in the Moscow, Tambov and Vladimir regions, Krasnodar and Stavropol territories, and Crimea. As a result, sellers who sell goods on the marketplace suffer significant losses due to destruction and damage to property. In this regard, Opora Russia proposed to introduce measures to support the affected entrepreneurs. The organization sent a letter with such an initiative signed by Alexander Kalinin, President of the business association, to Mikhail Mishustin, Prime Minister (Izvestia has it).
The editorial board asked the government, they recommended contacting the Ministry of Finance. The department reported that they had received business offers. Support measures are being worked out, the press service told Izvestia.
The agencies have another week to do this. On July 30, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak held a meeting, following which he instructed to work out measures to support the affected entrepreneurs. The Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Finance, the Federal Tax Service, together with the Central Bank and business associations, must submit draft regulations by August 10. Among the proposals are deferred payment of taxes and insurance premiums, credit holidays, and a program to stimulate lending.
According to Opora Russia, there is now a risk that sellers will violate their tax obligations due to the attacks. It will take time to determine the volume of losses and the future fate of the goods. Therefore, the business may find itself in a difficult financial situation.
Deferral of federal, regional and local taxes, as well as insurance premiums, is relevant for businesses, the association believes. As Alexander Kalinin explained in a conversation with Izvestia, it is worthwhile to grant a postponement at least until the end of the year, so that it works within the framework of the current budget cycle. He explained that there seems to be a mechanism for granting deferrals now, but it is so bureaucratic that decisions take months to make. For the affected business, assistance may already be overdue by this point.
In addition, the business association recommended that entrepreneurs be relieved of responsibility for late submission of tax reports, notifications and explanations. The editorial board contacted the Federal Tax Service with a question about how they evaluate this initiative.
What business risks due to attacks on warehouses
Under normal conditions, a fine of 5% of the unpaid amount for each full or incomplete month of delay is provided for late filing of a tax return or calculation of insurance premiums, but not more than 30% and not less than 1 thousand rubles, said Alexey Nezhivoy, head of the operational staff of the independent trade union Novy Trud. Penalties are also charged for late payment of taxes.
For many sellers, the loss of goods in a warehouse means an actual business shutdown and a cash gap, but the obligation to pay fees remains, said Oleg Abelev, head of the analytical department at the Rikom-Trust investment company. Therefore, the postponement will give entrepreneurs the necessary time to restore logistics and avoid the risk of blocking accounts.
It is important to prevent the business from suffering double losses: first due to the loss of goods and the suspension of sales, and then due to tax sanctions, said Alexey Nezhivoy. Therefore, granting a deferral without accruing penalties and fines upon documentary confirmation of damage is a necessary support measure, the expert believes.
Is it possible to insure the risks of UAV strikes
Another urgent problem for entrepreneurs in Opora Russia was the lack of a mechanism for insuring goods, equipment and real estate against military risks, including those related to drone attacks.
As noted in the letter of the association, Russia now has a mechanism for covering military risks during cargo transportation. It provides for the provision of subsidies from the federal budget to the Russian National Reinsurance Company (RNPC, a 100% subsidiary of the Central Bank) to reimburse the costs of payments. However, there is no similar program that would apply to the rest of the property of entrepreneurs yet. The business association is already negotiating with the Bank of Russia to create such an insurance product with the participation of RNPC.
The business association asked Mikhail Mishustin to instruct the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank to expand the instrument of war risk insurance. The editorial board requested the regulator.
As Izvestia wrote earlier, in Russia it is possible to buy insurance against UAV strikes, such programs are available to both businesses and citizens. However, the content of such a policy for companies depends on the terms of a specific contract. In addition, the purchase of property protection policies remains voluntary, so the conditions and scope of coverage depend on the specific insurance company, the All-Russian Union of Insurers (VSS) explained. They added: As a rule, basic products include the risks of terrorism and sabotage, which allows you to receive compensation in case of damage from drone attacks if the incident is classified as a terrorist attack. At the same time, for an additional fee, organizations can include coverage of any military risks in the contract — then the qualification of the criminal case no longer matters.
Even if the cost of the policy increases several times against the background of drone strikes, for most entrepreneurs such costs will not be comparable with the loss of all goods, said Alexey Molodykh, CEO of the International Association for the Development of Marketplaces and Entrepreneurs (MARMP). According to him, the losses of sellers on the platform have already reached about 280 billion rubles.
How else can we help Russian businesses
The marketplace itself has already introduced support measures for affected sellers. They said that they had started making payments to them. According to the press service of Wildberries & Russ (RWB), the company conducted the first stage of compensation for more than 88 thousand businessmen. The second stage, which began on July 30, has already included over 97,000 representatives of small and medium-sized businesses.
In addition, sellers have been granted deferred repayment of loans from WB Bank and the micro-credit company WB Finance. Also, starting from July 30, WB Bank canceled account maintenance fees and fees for ruble transfers for Wildberries sellers. Ruble transfers within the bank and to other credit organizations to the accounts of companies, individual entrepreneurs and individuals will be available without additional fees, the press service added.
However, affected sellers may need other support measures. For example, legal and accounting assistance. Most of the victims are individual entrepreneurs and small companies that do not have full—time specialists, Alexey Molodykh reminded. They need support in fixing losses, preparing documents for insurance payments and arranging assistance measures.
Also, entrepreneurs who have lost goods should be provided with preferential loans for the purchase of new batches of products — with subsidized interest rates by the state or a long repayment period — for example, up to 10 years, Natalia Milchakova from Freedom Global suggested. Another option may be payments from regional authorities where warehouses have been damaged. Their size could make it possible to cover at least part of the cost of the lost goods, she added.
It is important for the economy that after such incidents, sellers do not leave marketplaces and do not stop their activities, said Alexey Nezhivoy from the independent trade union Novy Trud. Platform trading provides jobs, tax revenue, small business development, and consumer access to goods across the country. Therefore, the support of the affected sellers becomes a matter of sustainability of the entire e-commerce model.
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