VAT refund from the budget: procedure and conditions for return

What you need to do to get a VAT refund

When to apply for a VAT refund from the budget

In most Russian regions, organizations wishing to return VAT from the budget require a guarantee from a bank or a large taxpayer. The guarantor undertakes to return the refunded funds to the budget if, following an audit, the tax inspectorate determines that there was an unjustified refund of VAT from the budget.

A guarantee is not required for companies and individual entrepreneurs that have paid a total of 7 billion rubles (VAT, excise taxes, income tax, mineral extraction tax) to the budget over three reporting years.

Other categories of taxpayers must provide one of the following documents:

• a guarantee from a bank included in the list of financial institutions on the Ministry of Finance website;
• guarantee of a large taxpayer that meets all legal requirements;
• guarantee of a specific management company.

An application for an accelerated refund must be submitted to the Federal Tax Service no later than 5 days from the date of filing the declaration. The tax office also makes a decision within 5 days. If the Federal Tax Service refuses to refund the funds, this does not mean that VAT will not be refunded. In this case, it will be returned in accordance with the general procedure - first they will conduct an audit, and then the tax office will give an answer.

You may also be interested in: Trade secrets of an enterprise: protection and penalties

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Key points for reimbursement

Situations that make it possible to obtain a VAT refund may arise not only for exporters, but also for those taxpayers who are not engaged in foreign economic activity. For exporters, the procedure is much more complicated, since they will still have to prove the existence of grounds for applying a zero tax rate.

This is discussed in more detail in the material “What is the procedure for refunding VAT at a rate of 0% (receiving confirmation)?”

There are general and declarative procedures for VAT refund. The latter allows you to receive an accelerated refund (before the completion of the tax audit), the conditions for the application of which are specified in Art. 176.1 Tax Code of the Russian Federation. The procedures for conducting the verification itself are identical for both orders.

The right to a refund arises if the amount of tax assessed for payment is less than the amount of VAT deductions. Upon reimbursement, the company receives back the amount of tax that it previously paid to the supplier in the form of adding it to the price of the goods (services, works).

Situations when the right to a tax refund from the budget arises, as a rule, arise:

• from exporters (after all, they sell goods for export at a zero VAT rate, and purchase raw materials, materials or finished products from manufacturers using the full tax rate);
• companies selling products using a 10% rate and purchasing goods (services or work) taking into account a tax rate of 20%;
• enterprises that sold fewer goods in the reporting period than they purchased, or from manufacturers who received income from the sale of their products that was less than the costs incurred (this situation can arise not only as a result of unprofitable activities of the enterprise or loss/damage to products, but also due to low demand for it);
• trading companies in case of expiration date of products and their withdrawal from sale, etc.

How is the declaration submitted?

If you pay attention to generally accepted rules, then the declaration must be submitted to the authorities responsible for taxes.

In the event that a tax payer is faced with the issue of VAT refund for a fixed period of time, the declaration indicates:

• the amount of taxes, which is determined depending on the quantity of products sold;
• the amount of VAT that must be defaulted;
• the amount of taxes that must be presented as a result.

VAT is also paid under the simplified tax system, based on Article 346.11 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, according to the standards of which, organizations that work on the simplified tax system are not recognized as VAT payers, except in situations where:

• products are imported into Russia;
• tax referred to in Article 174.1 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

In addition, VAT under the simplified tax system must be paid to tax agents for all services performed. You will have to follow the same pattern when you need to issue your own invoices, on which VAT will be clearly expressed.

Cases in which “simplified people” are regarded as agents can be clearly seen in Article 161 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. This is what is said about the export of products abroad, the execution of purchase and sale transactions and the rental of state property.

How to issue an invoice with VAT instead of documentation without VAT?

There are situations when the “simplified” agent, at the request of the buyer, has to issue an invoice where VAT will be clearly indicated, despite the fact that the agent is in fact completely under no obligation to do this.

VAT will not be refunded without a desk audit

In situations 2 and 3, inspectors will necessarily conduct a desk audit of the VAT declaration, based on the results of which they will decide whether you have the right to a VAT refund (clause 8 of Article 88, Article 176 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). In accordance with the latest amendments, the maximum period for a desk audit specifically in relation to a VAT return is, in general, 2 months from the date of its submission (clause 2 of Article 88 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

If the inspectors decide that you do not have the right to a tax refund, you can submit objections to the desk audit report within one month from the date of receipt of this report (clause 6 of Article 100 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

If you don’t want to wait 2 months (while the check is being carried out), you can try to reimburse the VAT by application (Article 176.1 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). However, it is only available under certain conditions.

Procedure for VAT refund from the budget

Let's assume that during the current period an enterprise or individual entrepreneur has incurred a tax that can be reimbursed. In this case, the taxpayer must submit a tax return at the end of the quarter, indicating the amount to be reimbursed. At the same time, you must submit an application for VAT refund from the budget. In the application, the taxpayer indicates what is preferable for him: to have the tax returned to him or to have it credited.

VAT reimbursement from the budget today is carried out in two ways:

• As usual : VAT is refunded when the desk audit is completed.
• In the application (simplified) procedure: VAT is reimbursed without waiting for the verification to be completed.

The only difference here is the timing of the tax refund. If we consider the application (simplified) procedure, then the company does not need to wait 3 months: the funds are returned to it immediately.

Ways to get a refund

1. Automatic offset of the enterprise’s existing tax debt to the budget. Such repayment of debts on taxes, penalties and fines through VAT refunds is carried out in accordance with clause 4 of Art. 176 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

The exception is cases of repayment of arrears and fines, which, in accordance with paragraph 2 of Art. 45 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, can be recovered only by court decision. A detailed explanation of this case was provided by the Presidium of the Supreme Arbitration Court in its resolution No. 15856/12 dated April 16, 2013.

In addition, the tax inspectorate will not be able to automatically pay off the debt on penalties and fines through VAT refunds if the court has suspended this collection by its decision. This is explained in the resolution of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Central District dated January 18, 2010 No. A35-1181/09-C2 (left in force by the ruling of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation dated May 24, 2010 No. VAS-5885/10).

2. At the request of the taxpayer, submitted on paper or in electronic form, an offset can be made against future tax payments to the budget (clause 6 of Article 176 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

3. At the request of the payer, funds are returned to his bank account in the manner specified in clause 8 of Art. 176 NK.

Expedited procedure for VAT refund from the budget

Companies whose total tax payments to the budget over the last 3 years amounted to more than 10 billion rubles, as well as enterprises that have a bank guarantee, have the right to reimburse taxes from the budget in an accelerated manner.

Why do you need a bank guarantee? It ensures a return of funds to the budget if the result of the audit is negative. In this case, the guarantee period must be more than 8 months from the date of submission of the reports, and its amount must exceed the amount of VAT claimed for reimbursement.

In the application, the payer must indicate his bank details for transferring funds, as well as security obligations in case of possible refusal. You have 5 days to submit your application after the declaration.

The application is considered within 5 days from the date of receipt. In addition, the Federal Tax Service checks the taxpayer for the absence of fines and errors in the past. Upon completion of the inspection and failure to comply with the established deadlines, activities are carried out in the standard manner.

If the tax authorities violated the VAT refund deadline

Then for each day of delay they must pay interest, the amount of which depends on the amount due for return, the period of delay and the Central Bank refinancing rate in force during this period.

Interest is accrued on the day of the actual tax refund (Letter of the Federal Tax Service dated 02/08/2013 No. ND-4-8/ [email protected] ).

See Interest calculator for late refund of overpayment of taxes and insurance premiums

How the Federal Tax Service checks the right to VAT refund from the budget

Regardless of the chosen method, the tax office will conduct a desk audit of the tax return, where the applicant indicated a VAT refund from the budget. The inspection period is fixed - 3 months, but it can be completed earlier.

A desk audit of VAT refunds from the budget has its own nuances. An ordinary desk audit is carried out automatically. Inspectors are brought in only when violations are detected. But VAT reimbursement from the budget requires an in-depth audit.

As part of the audit, the tax office has the right to require the applicant to explain his position, as well as provide documentation confirming the validity of the VAT. The tax office may require papers and other information from both the applicant himself and his counterparties. Despite the fact that the inspection is desk-based, inspectors have the right to directly visit the organization being inspected to inspect documents and items on site. But for this, the taxpayer must give his consent. In addition, in some cases, witnesses are interrogated, examinations and other control procedures are carried out.

There can be two outcomes of the audit: the tax office will either reveal violations or not. If violations are detected within 7 days, the Federal Tax Service will provide a response regarding VAT reimbursement from the budget.

Reasons why the tax authority may refuse a VAT refund

The rules for the return of funds from the budget and the procedure for tax reimbursement are prescribed in Article 176 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. At the same time, reimbursement for payment of goods and services with VAT to legal entities is the right of tax payers, which must be proven. In this regard, the tax authority cannot independently refund payments from the budget.

There are two ways to return VAT:

• The regular option is used by persons who cannot use the expedited method of reimbursement.
• The declarative option is used by some categories of fee payers, and mandatory conditions must be met.

After all the documents are ready, they are sent to the Federal Tax Service. If a declaration is received from the payer, a desk audit is carried out by the inspectorate, during which the validity of deductions and collection amounts to be refunded is established.

Based on the results of the inspection, a decision is made on the possibility or impossibility of returning the payment, in full or in part. If violations were discovered during the analysis, a report is drawn up with the reasons for refusing to return the fee. The payer has the right to object to this document. If the decision is positive, the payer is informed about this within five days. After this, the funds are transferred.

Which legal entities are entitled to accelerated reimbursement:

• Companies that have paid over 7 billion rubles in taxes over three years.
• Companies and individual entrepreneurs who submitted a bank guarantee with the declaration.
• Companies and individual entrepreneurs with resident status in territories of rapid social and economic development.
• Organizations whose obligation to make payments is specified in the guarantee agreement.

The application procedure for tax refund is somewhat different from the general one. It can only be used by individual payers who meet the requirements of the Federal Tax Service. In this order, the refund of the fee is organized until the end of the tax audit.

Before returning money, the payer must familiarize himself with the provisions of the Tax Code. A person on OSN has the right to submit a declaration indicating the amount of the fee to be reimbursed. The main requirement for the payer is to submit the necessary documentation to the fiscal authorities. These include invoices, primary papers, data from purchase and sales books, and other documents.

Fiscal authorities may require supporting documentation not only in relation to transactions, but also for all financial and economic activities of the payer for the reporting period.

Based on the results of the desk audit, the authorities make a decision on refunding the payment, or draw up an act of refusal to refund. There may be a situation where the tax authority partially satisfies the payer’s demands for compensation.

If an organization received a refund based on the results of an audit, however, it was subsequently determined that the receipt was not legal, the enterprise should pay the arrears. You may also be required to pay a penalty if there is a delay.

Often the refusal to return contributions is due to incorrect documentation. It is also associated with the suspicion of the tax authorities that the real activity was not carried out. The illegality of refusal to return the fee can most often be proven by appealing to the courts.

One of the common reasons for refusal of compensation is errors in documentation. A factor in refusal to pay may be the signature of an unauthorized person on the document, if the invoice is drawn up incorrectly, the buyer's address is indicated incorrectly, or the amount specified in the contract does not correspond to that calculated by the tax authorities. The reason for refusal may be errors in the checkpoint number of the counterparties, as well as insufficient data in the invoice.

Another common reason for refusal is the lack of documentation, for example, invoices. There is also no deduction for the fee if the inspectors do not have documents from the counterparties that would prove the fact of the transaction.

Another reason for refusal to pay may be the purchase of goods using subsidies allocated from the federal budget or the lack of sales data in the relevant period. Failure of suppliers to pay fees, including VAT, may result in non-refunds to customers.

The Tax Code of the Russian Federation establishes limited deadlines for all stages preceding the receipt of a refund for value added tax by the taxpayer. It is worth noting that missing deadlines on the part of the tax office threatens it with consequences in the form of paying interest to the taxpayer.

1. After submitting a tax return for the reporting period and an application for reimbursement, the Federal Tax Service Inspectorate conducts a desk audit. Currently, the inspection period is 2 months, but if the tax office suspects violations have been committed, it can be extended to 3 months (Clause 1 of Article 176, Article 88 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

2. If during the desk audit no violations were identified, then the Federal Tax Service, in accordance with paragraphs. 2, 6 and 7 tbsp. 176 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, within 7 days (in working days) makes a decision on VAT refund in whole or in part (as well as a decision on offset against future payments or refund, if the taxpayer requested this). Wherein:

• the next day after a positive decision is made, an order to make a payment is sent to the treasury (paragraph 1, clause 8, article 176 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation);
• within 5 days, the treasury makes the payment to the taxpayer’s account, which was indicated by him in the application (paragraph 2, paragraph 8, article 176 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

In total, 2 months and 12 (7 5) days are allotted for the return of the VAT refund amount that does not raise objections with the tax authority after submitting the declaration and application for refund. If the application was not submitted before the decision on compensation was made, then the period for transferring funds by the Treasury will be increased to 1 month from the moment the Federal Tax Service Inspectorate receives this application (clause 11.1 of Article 176 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

3. If during the audit, violations of tax legislation were revealed and the company was denied compensation, then within 10 days after completion of the audit, a corresponding act is drawn up and handed over to the taxpayer.

See also the material “How is VAT refunded: return (refund) scheme?”

Taxpayers have the right to an accelerated VAT refund subject to certain conditions established by Art. 176.1 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation (in particular, this is a certain amount of taxes paid for the previous 3 years, the presence of a bank guarantee or surety).

If all conditions are met, then after filing the declaration, the taxpayer must submit an application for VAT refund within 5 days in accordance with clause 7 of Art. 176.1 Tax Code of the Russian Federation. The tax authority also, within 5 days from the date of receipt of the taxpayer’s application (subject to the latter complying with the requirements established by clauses 2, 4 and 7 of Article 176.1 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation), makes a decision on providing compensation or refusing it (clause 8 of Article 176.1 Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

If the taxpayer has arrears in taxes and penalties, then it is automatically offset against the amount of compensation (clause 9 of Article 176.1 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). No later than the day following the decision on reimbursement, the Federal Tax Service Inspectorate transmits to the Treasury an order to transfer the reimbursed amount to the taxpayer’s bank account (clause 10 of Article 176.1 of the Tax Code). Within 5 days, the territorial body of the Federal Treasury transfers funds to the taxpayer.

If on the 12th day after submitting the taxpayer’s application under the accelerated procedure, a VAT refund has not been made, then interest is charged. After receiving a notification from the treasury about the return of the refund amount, the tax inspectorate, within 3 days, makes a decision on the return of accrued interest and the next day sends a corresponding order to the treasury (paragraph 4, clause 10, article 176.1 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

The period for conducting a desk audit of the declared VAT amounts for refund is also 2 months, as with the general refund procedure. If, based on the results of the audit, it is determined that the taxpayer was not entitled to a refund, then he will have an arrears in the amount of the refund paid to him. It will have to be repaid either by the taxpayer himself or his guarantor (guarantor) within 5 days from the date of receipt of the request for a refund. In the absence of voluntary payment, collection will be carried out forcibly.

If the tax service, based on the results of a desk tax audit, drew up a report and refused to refund VAT, then the taxpayer has 1 month to submit his objections to the tax authority that conducted the audit. Written objections are submitted in accordance with paragraph 6 of Art. 100 Tax Code of the Russian Federation. The period for consideration of objections should not exceed 10 days, although it can be extended (but not more than 1 month).

If the decision of the Federal Tax Service does not suit the taxpayer, then the next step is to contact a higher tax authority with a complaint or appeal in accordance with Art. 138, 139.1–140 Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

If a refusal is received from a higher tax authority, the taxpayer has the right to appeal to the arbitration court. At the same time, you can appeal both decisions (refusal of compensation and prosecution) simultaneously - by filing one statement of claim and paying the state fee as a single claim (Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation dated July 30, 2013 No. 57).

For more details, see: “The procedure for a taxpayer if he does not agree with the decision to hold (or refuse to hold) accountable based on the results of an audit.”

As we noted above, the right to use the declarative (accelerated) procedure for reimbursement of value added tax is possible only if a number of conditions specified in Article 176.1 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation are met. Thus, in most cases, the taxpayer must provide a guarantee (bank or surety) that the guarantor will reimburse the budget for the amount of refunded VAT if, following an audit, it turns out that the taxpayer is not entitled to a refund.

Procedure for refunding VAT from the budget if taxpayer errors are detected

It happens that during an inspection the Federal Tax Service Inspectorate reveals violations committed by the applicant. In this case, the taxpayer has the right to challenge the inspectors’ findings by filing an objection. The management of the Federal Tax Service is obliged to consider this objection, the act and the inspection materials. Based on the results of studying these documents, the Federal Tax Service will determine:

1. Is it necessary to hold the applicant accountable for violations?
2. Should he be allowed to return funds from the budget?

With regard to refunds, the tax office has the right to allow the taxpayer to be reimbursed for VAT in full or in part, and may also refuse to do so. Whatever decision the inspectorate makes, it must inform the applicant about it within 5 working days from the date of its adoption.

Don't miss the deadline for your VAT refund

A certain period is allotted for the return (reimbursement) of the tax.

There is no point in contacting the Federal Tax Service outside of these deadlines - the tax authorities will refuse you a VAT refund. And the courts will support them in this (clause 28 of the Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation dated May 30, 2014 No. 33).

How is VAT refunded from the budget?

The taxpayer submitted an application for VAT refund from the budget. What procedures follow? The territorial body of the Federal Treasury transfers the refunded VAT to the taxpayer’s bank account. The Federal Tax Service instructs the Treasury to transfer this amount the next day after the decision to return the funds is made.

After receiving the order, the Treasury transfers the money within 5 business days. Having completed the order, the Treasury reports to the tax office about the transfer of funds.

Thus, no more than 12 days should pass from the date of completion of the inspection until the VAT refund.

Interest for late VAT refund

If there is a delay in the payment of compensation to the taxpayer, the tax inspectorate is unilaterally obliged to calculate interest for each day of delay based on the current refinancing rate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation (clause 10 of Article 176 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

The taxpayer does not need to submit an application for this, as was established in the resolutions of the Presidium of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation dated February 21, 2012 No. 12842/11 and March 17, 2011 No. 14223/10.

Interest is also accrued if the tax authority made a decision to refuse compensation, and the taxpayer proved his case in court, as a result of which this decision together with the act was canceled (resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation dated May 30, 2014 No. 33 and the Presidium of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation dated March 20, 2012 No. 13678/11). In this case, interest is accrued from the 12th day after the end of the tax audit.

When calculating interest, both weekends and holidays are taken into account. The courts came to this conclusion based on the fact that the Tax Code of the Russian Federation contains no references to what should be considered differently. The basis for the use of such judicial practice is the Resolution of the Presidium of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation dated January 21, 2014 No. 11372/13.

The same rules for calculating interest starting from the 12th day after the end of the desk audit also apply to cases where the tax authority has decided on a partial refund of VAT. We are talking about the amount of VAT recognized by tax inspectors for reimbursement. This is confirmed by resolutions of the Presidium of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation dated March 20, 2012 No. 13678/11 and No. 13678/11.

Other documents for VAT refund from the budget

It should be noted that the Tax Code of the Russian Federation does not indicate specific documents that the applicant is required to provide along with the tax return. However, the Federal Tax Service has every reason to require them. This right was granted due to the fact that many applicants are claiming illegal VAT refunds from the budget.

If the Federal Tax Service requires the presentation of documents confirming the validity of VAT reimbursement from the budget, then the taxpayer is obliged to fulfill this condition. As a rule, such a requirement is made when the applicant asks to refund a fairly large amount of VAT.

Neither the Tax Code of the Russian Federation itself, nor other legislative acts on this topic say what is considered documentation in this case and what documents must be presented to tax inspectors. But examples from practice show that we are talking about:

• primary documents;
• accounting lists;
• purchase/sale books;
• business contracts;
• payment documents;
• constituent documents.

This list is not standard and not the only one, but, as noted, the Federal Tax Service Inspectorate most often requires the provision of just such a set of papers. The tax office has the right to change and supplement the list of documents taking into account the declared tax deduction.

To avoid disputes with the INFS, it is better to provide a set of these documents upon request. In addition, this will allow you to speed up the process of refunding VAT from the budget. Any papers that do not prove the legality of the deduction and are not the basis for a tax refund do not need to be provided.

The Federal Tax Service In some cases asks to present documents when the tax audit is completed (after 90 days). But the legislative acts say nothing about its extension. Accordingly, the tax office has no right to request papers upon completion of an audit, since this is illegal. If such a demand is received, it is better for the taxpayer to go to court.

If the Federal Tax Service has doubts about the legality of the procedure performed, on the basis of which the applicant wants to refund the tax, it may require documents confirming the legality of the action taken.

To avoid such incidents, the taxpayer must have a folder with documents for all counterparties that contain:

• certificate of state registration, registration;
• extract from the Unified State Register;
• document on prosecution for non-payment of taxes;
• constituent documents;
• documents confirming the rights to sign any documents involved in business activities.

The deadline for submitting documents to the Federal Tax Service is 10 days. Sometimes taxpayers do not have time to prepare the necessary papers during this time. If the applicant cannot submit documents in a timely manner, then immediately after receiving a request for their submission to the tax office, he must notify the officials in writing of the impossibility of preparing a package of papers. The notification must indicate why the documents cannot be provided on time, what caused this, and also indicate the period during which the payer will transfer the documents to the tax office (clause 3 of Article 93 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

Two days after receiving such a notification, the inspector of the Federal Tax Service will make a decision on this issue: he will allow the deadline for filing papers to be extended or he will refuse to do so.

Documents required for VAT refund

As noted above, documents play an important role. Individuals need to be clear that they are needed to recoup interest. If something from the list is not provided, the deduction will be denied, as this is stipulated in the legislation of the Russian Federation.

So, the list of documentation package includes:

• Tax return. Let us remind you that you need to indicate a minus amount.
• Supply contract. It serves as confirmation of the transactions being carried out.
• Book of purchases and sales. They record all the financial flows of the company.
• Invoice. One of the main documents when carrying out almost any procedure.
• Declaration from customs, which contains all the necessary marks.
• Additional documents requested by the Federal Tax Service.

The list proves that all the certificates will be easy to collect, since when selling goods or services, these papers are already available. They are compiled and filled out by lawyers and accountants, if this situation applies to any company. There will be practically no need to make any unnecessary movements. After submitting the entire package, a VAT refund to an individual is possible.

To receive a value added tax deduction, you need to submit some documents. It is necessary to submit a declaration, application, invoices, data from purchase and sales books, etc.

Initially, in order to receive a tax refund, you need to submit a declaration, which is checked by tax inspectors within 2 months, but in some cases its study can last ¼ of a year. During the audit process, tax authorities may request additional documents.

If problems are identified, the fiscal authority draws up an inspection report, which reflects the shortcomings. Subsequently, the payer must submit written objections and explanations of the detected errors. Subsequently, the fiscal authority brings or refuses to bring the person to justice. If a person has arrears in the collection, debts on penalties and fines, the collection is counted towards the repayment of the debt.

If no errors were found, the tax authorities decide to refund the payment. If the payer has no arrears or debts, the refund process occurs. The issue of transferring payment becomes relevant when the amount of deductions becomes greater than the amount of the fee payable.

When planning to confirm the zero VAT rate for exported goods, the exporting company is obliged to submit the following documents to the tax authorities (Article 165 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation):

1. A contract (you can also have a copy) concluded with a foreign buyer for the supply of goods outside the EAEU. A contract can be either a single document or a series of documents from which all the essential terms of the transaction arise. It happens that the contract contains information related to state secrets - in this case, the tax office is not given the contract itself (or its full copy), but an extract from it, which contains the data necessary for carrying out tax control measures. Such data includes information about the product itself, its price and delivery conditions.
2. A customs declaration with notes from Russian customs officers about the export release of the goods and the place of its departure from Russia (or a copy thereof). Exceptions:

• Export of goods across the border with a member state of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), where customs clearance is cancelled. In this case, the customs declaration (its copy) may only contain a mark from the customs authority of the Russian Federation that carried out the customs clearance of the export (departure) of goods (subclause 3, clause 1, article 165 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).
• Export within the EAEU. In this case, instead of a declaration, an application for the import of goods and payment of indirect taxes is submitted to the tax office, which must be marked by the tax authorities of the EAEU country (the buyer’s country). The exporter receives this statement from the buyer.

How to correctly write a statement on indirect taxes, read here.

1. Copies of transport and accompanying papers with notes from customs officers about the place of departure of the goods outside the Russian Federation. The exception again is in cases of export:

• Goods across the border with a member state of the EAEU, where customs clearance has been cancelled. In this case, the customs declaration (its copy) may only contain a mark from the customs authority of the Russian Federation that carried out the customs clearance of the export (departure) of goods (subclause 4, clause 1, article 165 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).
• To the EAEU countries where marks are not affixed due to the lack of customs control. It is allowed to replace copies of shipping documents with their registers (clause 15 of Article 165 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation), containing all the necessary information regarding these primary documents. From the same date, it became possible to submit registers to the Federal Tax Service in electronic form.

1. When selling goods through an intermediary, an appropriate agreement (agency agreement, orders, commissions) or a copy thereof must be additionally submitted.

When placing exported goods under the free customs zone procedure, it is necessary to submit (subclause 5, clause 1, article 165 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation):

• a contract (or copy) with a resident of a special economic zone or a participant in a free economic zone;
• export contract;
• a copy of the certificate of registration of a person as a resident of the SEZ or a copy of the certificate of inclusion of the participant in the register of participants of the free economic zone;
• customs declaration with customs officers’ notes on the release of goods (or a copy).

It is worth remembering that the given list in each specific situation may be supplemented by other documents, the list of which is better to check with your tax authority.

Under what circumstances can the deadline for VAT refund from the budget be changed?

A taxpayer has the right to claim VAT reimbursement from the budget in tax periods within 3 years after he has registered goods (services, work), property rights or products imported from abroad purchased in Russia.

But, according to the Ministry of Finance and the Tax Service, a taxpayer has the right to claim a deduction only if he purchases goods (services, work, property), that is, the deductions specified in paragraph 2 of Art. 171 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

For tax deductions that are subject to a special claim procedure, the three-year entitlement rule does not apply.

Thus, legislators do not allow taxpayers to choose the period for deducting VAT at their discretion in a number of cases, namely:

• upon receipt of property that is a contribution to the authorized capital;
• for VAT paid by the tax agent;
• according to VAT, which was charged by the seller on advances received for further supplies of goods (work, services, property rights);
• for VAT, which was presented to the buyer when he transferred advances to the seller on account of further supplies of goods (work, services, property rights);
• for VAT, which the seller paid to the budget from the advances received when the conditions were changed or the contract was terminated and the advances were returned;
• for travel expenses.

The reimbursement of these deductions can be claimed during the quarter in which the corresponding right arose. The law allows partial transfer of deductions to different tax periods, but only for some transactions. If we consider fixed assets, equipment for installation and (or) intangible assets, then VAT reimbursement from the budget can only be claimed in full.

Deductions of VAT amounts that sellers present to the taxpayer upon purchase or paid when importing fixed assets and equipment for installation and (or) intangible assets into Russia are carried out in full to the extent of their acceptance for accounting.

A tax return with the claimed deduction must be submitted no later than 3 years after the end of the relevant tax period (the quarter in which the taxpayer became entitled to a VAT refund from the budget). It is very important when using the right to a tax deduction to determine when exactly the three-year period for its application began.

The period for VAT reimbursement from the budget is 3 years. This is a fixed period, it is not extended for the period of filing a declaration with the Federal Tax Service. Let’s say an enterprise submits a VAT return to the tax office on July 25 for the second quarter of 2020, which indicates its right to a VAT refund from the budget based on invoices relating to the 2nd quarter of 2014. In this case, the company misses the deadline for refunding VAT from the budget by three years. The period begins on July 1, 2020 and ends on June 30, 2020. In this regard, the tax deduction can be declared in a return filed no later than June 30, 2018.

At the same time, you can exercise the right to a VAT refund from the budget even after 3 years, if the taxpayer could not claim the deduction for good reasons. These include, for example, situations where the Federal Tax Service did not fulfill its obligations or the applicant was unable to receive a deduction, although he took all the necessary measures on time, etc.

In a separate order, you need to talk about exports. In the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, the term “tax period” is interpreted not as the moment at which tax deductions are applied, but as the moment for which the tax base is determined for the purposes of paying tax on sales transactions.

That is, the amount of tax presented when purchasing goods (work, services) that were used in export operations can be reimbursed by the exporter at the time of determining the tax base. The exception is if the taxpayer files a tax return 3 years after the relevant tax period expires.

The buyer, receiving an invoice at the end of the quarter, but before submitting the declaration (by the 25th of the next month), has the right to claim a VAT refund from the budget for the period of acceptance of goods (work, services, property rights) for accounting. Let’s say the taxpayer accepted the products for accounting on June 30, but received an invoice only on July 15. In this case, he has the right to claim a tax deduction in the declaration for the second quarter, as well as in any declaration within three years, as mentioned above.

When goods are accepted for accounting on June 30, an invoice is issued on July 5, and this document is received on July 25, the taxpayer can claim a VAT refund from the budget in the declaration for the second quarter, as well as in any declaration within three years.

But what should you do if receiving an invoice, for example, for an advance payment is delayed? After all, at the legislative level it is stated that in this situation it is unlawful to choose a tax period for deduction. Here you need to apply the general rules of tax deductions. In accordance with them, if there is no invoice, VAT refund from the budget is impossible. That is, if you have already submitted a declaration and received an invoice, for example, for an advance in the previous period, then the date of receipt will be confirmed by a postmark with a date on the envelope and a log of incoming correspondence. The right of deduction will appear during the period of receipt of the advance invoice. At the same time, other requirements must be met. Rules for registering invoices received with a delay can be prescribed in the organization's accounting policies.

If the shipped goods (work performed, services provided), transferred property rights change in price, including a change in cost and (or) clarification of the quantity (volume) of shipped products (work, services), then the seller issues an adjustment invoice to the buyer. No more than 5 calendar days are allotted for this from the date of generation of the documentation.

As you can see, the procedure for refunding VAT from the budget for other, later periods has many nuances. As a general rule, tax refunds can be claimed in any quarter within 3 years. But in each case, it is worth taking into account the private rules of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, which are in force for tax refunds on certain transactions.

Reasons why the tax authority may refuse a VAT refund

Persons who are payers can return the paid contributions. That is, in this case we are talking about organizations and individual entrepreneurs who work for the OSN. All companies and LLCs, individual entrepreneurs under special regimes, for example, the simplified tax system, which are exempt from contributions, are deprived of the opportunity to draw up deductions.

At the same time, a preferential interest rate on a tariff or a zero rate does not equate to an exemption from making payments. In this regard, those applying for a reduced rate may be able to refund the fee.

The fee is transferred upon receipt of advances, and is reimbursed if advance payment for suppliers is transferred. Based on the results of the period, the reimbursed amount is deducted from the accrued fee. Often this difference is positive.

Negative tax may arise if one-time transactions involving a significant refund of payment were performed and preferential rates of 0 or 10% were applied.

How is VAT refunded from the budget in 2020 on exports?

VAT reimbursement from the budget for export-related transactions is carried out differently. When products are placed under the customs export procedure, the period begins to count down during which the legality of using the zero tax rate must be confirmed. 180 days are given for this.

To confirm the validity of applying a zero VAT rate, export documentation is provided to the tax office, in particular:

• agreements with foreign counterparties;
• customs declarations;
• transport documentation, papers accompanying the goods, etc.

To shorten the list, the taxpayer has the right to present not the documents themselves, but their registers, which are compiled electronically in a form approved by the Federal Tax Service. Next, the tax office requests for verification individual papers from this list related to the largest transactions. If there are no shortcomings, the tax office confirms that the exporter has the right to apply a zero rate and receive a tax deduction.

If within 180 days the exporter does not have time to prepare documentation to confirm the zero rate, then the transactions are taxed in the standard manner. In such a situation, the tax deduction is not returned to the exporter.

Reimbursement of VAT from the budget in accounting: postings

Let us give an example of how VAT is applied to reimbursement from the budget. During the reporting period, the company purchased products for 236,000 rubles, including VAT of 36,000 rubles. It accepted the entire amount of input tax as a deduction. In the same period, the amount of goods sold amounted to 118,000 rubles, including VAT of 18,000 rubles. In accounting they indicate that VAT has been submitted for reimbursement from the budget - the posting looks like this:

• Dt 68 (VAT) - Kt 19, amount 36,000 rubles - tax on purchased goods is accepted for deduction.
• Dt 90 - Kt 68 (VAT), amount 18,000 rubles - tax charged on goods sold.

That is, in the debit of account 68, 18,000 rubles remain - this is refundable VAT. If the tax office makes a positive decision on the issue, then the Treasury issues the money to the taxpayer. After receiving them, make the following entry:

• D-t 51 - K-t 68 (VAT), amount 18,000 rubles - the refunded tax was credited to the organization’s account.

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Who can refund VAT

The ability to recover VAT from the budget is based on the principle of calculating this mandatory payment. Let us remind you that value added tax payable is determined as the difference between charges from sales and “input” VAT from suppliers.

It is clear that this difference can also be negative. For example, a company made large purchases of raw materials or goods, but did not manage to release products or sell goods in the same quarter.

Exporters often experience “negative VAT”. They purchase material assets and services necessary for the business, subject to VAT in the “normal” manner, and then sell the final products at a preferential zero rate. It turns out that in the “limit” case (when working only for export), such a businessman can reimburse the entire “input” VAT.

VAT rate 0% (features of application)

How to return VAT without problems

The regulations for VAT refunds provided for by law are very complex. But it is also necessary to take into account that tax authorities, in principle, are not inclined to return funds from the budget, even if there are legal grounds.

Each tax office has a plan for refund amounts and exceeding these targets, to put it mildly, is not welcomed by higher authorities. Therefore, officials will in every possible way complicate the VAT refund process.

Important!

Not only the amount to be reimbursed, but also an excessively high percentage of deductions, even when paying tax, can attract the attention of inspectors. Inspectors compare the share of deductions in the declaration with the regional average. In the 4th quarter of 2020, the safe level in the Russian Federation averaged 87%, and in most regions it fluctuated in the range of 80-95%. You can find out the exact figures for your constituent entity of the Russian Federation on the website of the regional department of the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation.

A businessman who has filed a return “for deduction” may be called to the commission and tried to “convince” him to make the corrections required by the tax authorities. Officials have no legal grounds for such demands, and if the taxpayer is confident that he is right, he can ignore them.

Further, as part of the audit, tax officials will ask many questions, doubt the authenticity of documents, the reality of counterparties, etc. It is important here that all suppliers indicated in the declaration are real companies, pay taxes and submit reports. And finally, even if the decision to return has already been made, officials may delay its implementation.

Taxpayers often manage to defend their rights only in court. Therefore, many businessmen are “afraid” of declaring deductions, especially when it comes to large amounts.

At the same time, funds in the budget or, at best, deductions are “spread out” and transferred to subsequent periods (clause 1.1 of Article 172 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). The latter option is better than a complete refusal of compensation, but still, the money is returned to circulation later and its value decreases due to inflation.

Our clients are free from all of these difficulties. Already at the stage of checking contracts, we guarantee the elimination of not only tax, but also financial and reputational risks. An unparalleled method of working with the “primary” allows you to quickly and reasonably answer all the questions of the inspectors.

In addition, we fully support the reimbursement procedure and solve all problems that arise.

What is VAT, what are its features?

In tax reference books, VAT is defined as a tax on the profits of enterprises that they receive by setting prices for their goods above market prices.

The difference between the old and new prices for goods becomes the object of taxation. In other words, we can say that the tax is charged on the difference between the proceeds from the sale of goods and their original price (the cost of raw materials for its production or the funds spent on its purchase).

Value added tax is credited to the federal budget. It is considered an indirect tax due to the fact that it is paid in full by buyers (or consumers of the product).

An organization engaged in sales must keep accounting and record taxes that it itself pays to suppliers.

To determine the tax, you must use the tax base, which is determined by the price of the product. At the same time, the cost of such a product increases by 10-18 percent with each purchase. These numbers must be indicated on the invoice.

Who is obliged to pay VAT

The obligation to pay VAT falls on:

• organizations;
• individual entrepreneurs;
• persons who transport certain goods across the state border of the Russian Federation.

Legal entities (individual entrepreneurs and organizations) may, in certain cases, be exempt from paying value added tax. To do this, revenue for the previous three months should not exceed two million rubles. But this applies only to those organizations that sell non-excisable goods.

There is no need to pay VAT to the following types of taxpayers (except for those transporting goods across the border):

• who pay the Unified Agricultural Tax and the simplified tax system. How to draw up a notification about the transition of the simplified tax system - read here.
• who use UTII in their activities.

These are special tax regimes that are exempt from VAT.

You can find out what the value added tax is in this video:

https://youtu.be/k9c0T6pkunc

When and at what point does the obligation to pay arise?

Since tax is paid on the proceeds from the sale, the obligation to pay it arises from the very moment of sale. This can be either unloading or direct payment of money for the goods provided.

Moreover, tax payment occurs in several stages:

• when an enterprise purchases raw materials for the manufacture of goods from another organization, it pays VAT, which is included in its cost;
• when determining the cost of goods, the cost of VAT is added, but in this case it fits into the tax credit;
• When determining the final cost of a product, it also includes the amount of VAT, which buyers will then have to pay.

VAT rates and amount

In most cases, the VAT tax rate is 18 percent. But for the sale of special goods (children's products, food, some types of medicines), the legislation provides for a reduced rate of 10 percent. Also, when exporting goods, a 0 percent rate is often used.

A zero rate is applied to those goods that are exported for sale abroad. It can also be used for services aimed at international transportation.

Formula for calculating VAT. Photo: web-dl.ru