How should the results of a desk tax audit be presented? Submission of documents during desk and counter tax audits

Desk tax audit is one of the most common types of audit carried out by the tax service. Moreover, it applies to absolutely all taxpayers. What are the features of this procedure? What does a taxpayer need to know?

What is a tax audit?

Everyone knows that conducting own business almost always accompanied by risks for the entrepreneur. The Tax Inspectorate often inspects organizations.

A tax audit is a specific form of control, which is carried out both on-site and in office conditions. It is carried out by officials of the Federal Tax Service in order to monitor compliance with Russian tax legislation. Not only taxpayers themselves can be audited, but also tax agents and persons paying various fees.

Desk audit: definition of the term

A desk tax audit is a form of audit by the Federal Tax Service. During this process, declarations and financial statements submitted by both individual entrepreneurs and organizations are checked. Distinctive feature desk audits is that they do not require a direct visit from the tax inspectorate.

A desk tax audit is carried out by an inspector. The list of documents being verified includes previously filed tax returns, settlement transactions on advance payments, various certificates and statements. Thus, all documentation related to the calculation and payment of taxes is analyzed. The desk tax audit report is prepared in paper or in electronic format. Organizations with more than 100 employees have been reporting electronically since 2008.

Goal, objectives

A desk tax audit is carried out for the purpose of:

• Monitoring compliance with the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.
• Identification of the amount of unpaid or partially repaid tax collections for current violations.
• Collection of unpaid or partially repaid debts to the tax authorities.
• Bringing the violator to tax or administrative liability.
• Preparation of information to ensure rational selection of taxpayers for on-site audits.
• Checking the legal use of benefits and deductions.

To achieve these goals, the tax inspectorate has been assigned a number of tasks:

• Checking the correctness of registration financial statements.
• Calculation of tax indicators that are transferred to the state treasury.
• Monitoring the timely provision of calculations to the tax inspectorate.
• Identification of distorted information in reporting documents.
• Checking the consistency of values ​​in accounting and tax reports.
• Identification of facts of violations of tax discipline.

The legislative framework

A desk tax audit is a form of audit by the Federal Tax Service, conducted on the basis of the current Tax Code of the Russian Federation. Information on the procedure and rules for its implementation is contained in Articles 31, 87 and 88 of the tax legislation.

Document requirements

Based on the documentation received from the organization, a desk tax audit is carried out. Documents may be additionally requested tax inspectors. The volume of the document package is usually quite substantial. Therefore, questions often arise related to the need to certify all documentation, and not individual copies.

The certified copy must fully convey all the information reflected in the original document. Tax legislation does not provide for rules for submitting certified copies to the Federal Tax Service. Therefore, both individual sheets and multi-page folders can be certified.

There are some requirements for document binding:

• The text must be easy to read.
• When examining a folder, there should be no possibility of its mechanical destruction.
• It must be possible to freely copy each sheet.
• All sheets must be numbered, and when certified, their total number must be indicated.

Stitches are provided to the tax office along with a covering letter.

Deadlines for desk tax audits

Article 88 of the Tax Legislation establishes general rules conducting desk audits. According to this article, verification of documents provided by the taxpayer must be carried out by inspectors within 90 days from the date of filing the declaration and the latest reports, confirming their correctness and legitimacy. Sometimes situations arise when the 90-day period begins to count from the date the tax authority receives the documentation or from the moment the decision is made to conduct an audit. However, such actions of the tax inspectorate are considered unlawful and can be challenged in arbitration court. If inspectors have identified violations of tax laws, they go to court. To submit statement of claim a 6-month period is allocated. If this period is missed, penalties cannot be applied to the violator.

Risk criteria

If violations of tax legislation were revealed in the activities of an individual entrepreneur or individual based on the results of a desk audit, tax office has the right to charge fines, penalties, and surcharges. Fines may be assessed for the following actions:

• Evading tax payments in the amount of 20% of unpaid funds.
• Refusal to submit tax return and accounting documents.
• Others administrative offenses(the amount of penalties is 500 rubles).

If an entrepreneur or the management of an enterprise hid significant amounts from the tax authorities sums of money, they face criminal liability.

Order of conduct

Formally, the Tax Code does not distinguish separate stages of desk audits. However, based on articles 88-101, the entire process can be logically divided into 4 stages.

1. Reception of documentation from the taxpayer.
2. Organizing and conducting desk audits.
3. Presentation of results.
4. Analysis of the results obtained, making a final decision.

At the first stage, the tax office checks the availability of all necessary documentation that must be attached to the declaration or calculations in accordance with the law. When the fact of reporting is confirmed, the verification procedure itself starts.

If benefits were declared in the tax return, the Federal Tax Service will request documents from the payer confirming the legality of their application. This is followed by a desk tax audit on VAT; the inspection has the right to request documents confirming the right to apply this benefit. If the declaration contains a number of errors, or the data in it contradicts each other or diverges from the information received by the tax office, the Federal Tax Service informs the entrepreneur or organization about this and asks to make the appropriate changes. The taxpayer is obliged to submit documents at the request of the Federal Tax Service within 5 days.

After this stage, the verification results are compiled. If violations of the law have been identified, a corresponding act is drawn up. If no violations were found, the inspector puts a note in the tax return about conducting a desk audit.

Desk and field tax audits: differences

There are two types tax audits– office and away. Unlike desk audits, on-site audits are carried out on the basis of Article 89 of the Tax Code. What are their main differences?

Desk inspections are carried out on the basis of Article 88 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, as mentioned above. They are dealt with by the department of desk audits of the Federal Tax Service. They are carried out on the basis of each submitted reporting document or declaration. At the same time, the taxpayer himself is not informed about this procedure, and special permission from the head of the inspection is not required. The procedure takes 3 months; within 5 days, at the request of the tax office, changes can be made to the declaration. An inspection report is drawn up only if violations are detected.

On-site inspections are carried out randomly during different reporting periods and according to various types taxes. The location of the procedure is either on the territory of the taxpayer, or, at his request, at the Federal Tax Service branch. To start the procedure, permission from the head of the tax office is required. The taxpayer himself must be notified of the audit. The inspection period can be from 2 to 6 months, and the frequency is no more than 2 times a year. On the day the procedure is completed, the taxpayer is issued a certificate of the activities carried out, a report is drawn up and a decision is made, regardless of whether violations were identified or not.

results

If errors and inaccuracies are discovered in the declaration, the service inspector is obliged to inform the taxpayer about this within a three-day period. The inspector will also require some changes to be made to the documents. The period for making changes is no more than 5 working days. This applies to situations where errors in the declaration caused underpayment of taxes.

If a fact of underpayment is revealed, the inspector makes a decision within a 10-day period to hold the organization or entrepreneur accountable. Additionally, the tax inspectorate is given 10 days to send notifications about the payment of fines, penalties, and changes to documents.

There are some discrepancies in tax legislation regarding the issues of drafting the act. Supreme Court Russian Federation takes the position that this is not directly necessary. Arbitration courts believe that the decision of a desk tax audit must be documented, otherwise the rights of taxpayers are violated. Therefore, there is no need to rush into paying fines if the act has not been drawn up.

In order to successfully pass a desk tax audit, it is necessary to strictly adhere to the deadlines for submitting reporting documents and declarations and respond to requests from the Federal Tax Service in a timely manner. When conducting inspections, a mathematical model taxpayer, which takes into account the scope of activity of the enterprise, turnover, financial operations. Often a so-called portrait is drawn up, which reflects information about the nature and amount of taxes paid, compliance with deadlines, and whether VAT was reimbursed. They also check legal formalities - whether all the necessary documentation is available, which banks interact with the organization, whether it carries out non-core activities. The Federal Tax Service has long developed a system for identifying shell companies based on a number of criteria. It is almost impossible to find out about desk audits in advance.

Desk tax audit is one of the integral parts of doing business. Taxpayers are always under the control of the Federal Tax Service. Inspections can always have negative consequences, so the organization’s activities must strictly comply with Russian legislation.

According to Article 88 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, desk audit is a verification of the income tax return that the taxpayer has completed and submitted. An employee of the department studies the document, checks the accuracy of the facts and the correctness of the calculations. And if everything is in order, then he makes no complaints. If he finds errors or shortcomings, he asks them to correct them or explain them. What else you should know about this type of tax audit, we will tell you in this article.

State for the purpose economic security monitors every step of entrepreneurs, no matter how large a business they own. This control is manifested in the requirement to regularly file income tax returns. The requirement applies to everyone without exception: individual entrepreneurs, LLCs, JSCs. As soon as the “cherished” document reaches the Federal Tax Service, department employees, without leaving the walls of their building, immediately check it. In other words, they conduct a desk tax audit.

The goal of the “tax authorities” is to find out whether the taxpayer tried to transfer a smaller amount to the budget: whether he concealed income, whether he indicated correctly tax rate. The taxpayer, along with the declaration, submits settlement transactions for advance payments, various certificates and applications.

In this case, the inspector may request other documents of the person being inspected in order to get a complete picture of the person being inspected. financial activities entrepreneur. Documentation is submitted in paper or electronic form. The exception is companies with over a hundred employees. The head of such a large organization submits reports only electronically.

Goals and objectives of the audit

The inspector who conducts the desk inspection has the following goals:

• monitor compliance with current tax legislation;
• identify the amounts of outstanding or partially paid fines;
• collect these amounts;
• bring the offender to justice (depending on the severity of the act committed, it can be administrative or criminal);
• determine whether an on-site inspection is worthwhile;
• check whether the person being checked can count on receiving tax benefits and deductions.

To achieve these goals, he needs to complete the following tasks:

• check whether the financial statements are prepared correctly;
• calculate the amount of all taxes that must be paid;
• control the timely submission of all calculations to the tax office;
• identify false information;
• check whether the figures in tax and accounting reporting match;
• identify facts of violation of tax laws.

Order of conduct

The Tax Code does not specifically mention the stages of a desk audit, but conditionally four can be distinguished:

• at the first stage, tax inspectors accept declarations, financial statements and other documents;
• on the second, a desk audit is carried out;
• on the third - they draw up an act;
• on the fourth, they analyze the information received and make a decision (complete the audit or hold the taxpayer accountable for the violations committed).

If errors or inaccuracies are found in the declaration, the inspector must report this within three days. They have 5 days to correct them. If these violations led to the fact that the person being inspected paid less taxes, within 10 days the inspector must decide what the punishment for the violator will be.

Executive authorities are not unanimous in their opinion on how significant the act of a desk audit is. Supreme Court The Russian Federation assures that it is not necessary. Arbitration courts they believe that its absence violates the rights of taxpayers. And if the violations identified during the desk audit were not documented, then there is no need to rush into paying fines.

Differences from on-site inspection

The tax inspectorate conducts not only a desk audit, but also an on-site audit. They should not be confused. They differ from each other in the following parameters:

• duration (office – 3 months, on-site – 2-6 months);
• permission to conduct (for desk work - not necessary, for off-site - permission from the head of the department is required);
• frequency of conduct (office - for each submitted document, on-site - no more than 2 times per calendar year);
• the presence of an act (in case of a desk office, this document is drawn up if violations were identified, in case of an on-site visit - in any case).

Punishment for violations

If individual entrepreneur violated the norms of tax legislation and during a desk audit the tax inspector found documentary evidence of this, the businessman will have to pay a fine. In addition, he will be charged penalties and surcharges. Those who:

• evades tax payments, the amount of which is 20% of the debt amount;
• refuses to submit declarations and financial statements for verification;
• commits other administrative violations.

So, a desk audit is a type of audit by the Federal Tax Service, the purpose of which is to identify violations of tax legislation and call for their elimination. You can learn more about desk audits by reading articles on our website or from a consultant. You can contact him through the feedback form.

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Chief accountant-consultant 1C-WiseAdvice

On-site audits terrify absolutely all taxpayers. However, most company managers and business owners know only by hearsay about desk audits, which absolutely all companies and entrepreneurs face, and much more often.

Meanwhile, how well the company has prepared for the audit depends on its financial well-being and the absence of the need to conduct exculpatory correspondence with the Federal Tax Service, give explanations to tax commissions and submit updated declarations after the desk audit.

In this publication we will tell you everything about the desk tax audit.

General information about desk audit

You have submitted your tax return to the inspectorate - that’s it, the camera room has begun.

Desk audit - what is it?

A desk tax audit is a check of compliance with the legislation on taxes and fees on the basis of a tax return and other documents that the taxpayer independently submitted to the tax office, as well as documents that are at the disposal of the Federal Tax Service.

In other words, a desk audit is a check tax reporting companies, individual entrepreneurs and individuals. The camera room begins immediately after an organization, entrepreneur or individual has submitted a tax return to the Federal Tax Service.

A desk audit of individual entrepreneurs and companies is carried out exclusively for the tax period covered by the submitted declaration.

Unlike an on-site tax audit, a desk audit does not require any decision from the head of the Federal Tax Service. The audit begins upon submission of the tax return. Notification of the start of a desk audit is also not sent to the taxpayer.

The frequency of desk audits depends on the frequency of reporting.

Important!

Diagram 1

Where does the check take place?

The camera is held at the location of the tax authority, that is, directly at the inspectorate. Such checks are carried out by the desk audit department at the Federal Tax Service.

Stages of desk audits

The main stages of the desk audit are as follows:

1. Checking the correctness of the calculation tax base.
   At this stage, an analysis is carried out, which includes:
   • checking the logical connection between individual indicators necessary for calculating the tax base;
   • checking the comparability of the declaration data with similar indicators of the previous period;
   • interrelation of indicators of financial statements and tax returns, as well as individual indicators of declarations for various types of taxes;
   • assessment of financial statements and tax returns from the point of view of their compliance with the data available from the Federal Tax Service on the financial and economic activities of the company.
2. Checking the correctness of the arithmetic calculation of data in the declaration, based on the interrelation of indicators of rows and columns provided for by its form.
3. Checking the validity of the claims tax deductions .
4. Checking the correctness of applied tax rates and benefits, their compliance with current legislation.

Diagram 2

How a desk audit is carried out, rules and procedure

The regulations for conducting a desk audit are spelled out in detail in Article 88 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

The progress of the desk audit can be briefly described as follows.

1. The taxpayer (company or individual entrepreneur) submits a declaration.
2. The data of the submitted report is registered in an automated information system Inspectorate of the Federal Tax Service.
3. Declaration indicators are checked using control ratios - they are different for each tax.
4. Indicators for the current period are analyzed in comparison with similar indicators for the previous period.
5. The indicators of the submitted declaration are compared with indicators in other reporting, in particular, with reports on other taxes, in order to identify obvious discrepancies.
6. If after the above actions the tax authorities have not identified any errors. Contradictions or violations - the inspection does not have grounds to conduct an in-depth desk audit. This concludes the camera room successfully.
7. If contradictions, errors, or violations are identified in a tax return, a request is sent to submit documents or explanations, and only then, if the documents or explanations cannot determine the cause of the contradictions, or if errors and violations are confirmed, a desk tax audit report is drawn up.

When a desk tax audit is carried out requiring documents and explanations

Unlike on-site tax audits, during desk audits inspectors are limited in their rights to request documents and request explanations.

Inspectors have the right to demand documents and explanations not at every desk inspection, but only in certain cases.

Important!

What explanations do inspectors require during desk inspections?

	When inspectors ask for clarification	What should the company do?
Inconsistencies	Discrepancy between revenues in the company's income tax returns and in the VAT returns	The discrepancies between these reports are not errors or contradictions. It’s just that for some transactions it is necessary to recognize income tax, but they are not subject to VAT. The company itself has the right to decide whether to respond to the request or refuse.
	The data in the VAT declarations of the supplier and the buyer do not match.	If requested by the Federal Tax Service, you must submit an explanation or an updated declaration. Otherwise, inspectors will fine you 5 thousand (or even 20 thousand rubles) under Article 129.1 of the Tax Code.
Privileges	Inspectors request documents if a company uses incentives. For example, regarding property tax. Then the inspectors require acceptance certificates and invoices for the purchase of preferential fixed assets.	Provide documents or explanations. If the Federal Tax Service has requested documents, a response is given 10 working days. If there are clarifications, they must be submitted to the Federal Tax Service within 5 working days.
Expense dynamics	Inspectors will have questions if the company's expenses are growing faster income. Inspectors will suspect the company of inflating costs and will ask for estimates of material costs for each product.

So, if, during a desk audit, the Federal Tax Service finds errors, discrepancies or inconsistencies in information in the submitted declaration, it informs the company or individual entrepreneur about this and sends a request to provide explanations or make corrections to the tax return (i.e., to submit an updated declaration for a particular tax ).

Explanations can be submitted in writing in person, by mail or via telecommunication channels using an electronic signature.

The deadline for providing explanations is 5 working days from the date of receipt of the request for explanations. 10 working days are allotted for submitting documents.

Important!

From January 2017, it will be necessary to provide explanations for a desk audit regarding VAT only in electronic form according to TKS in the format established by the Federal Tax Service. Paper documents will be considered undelivered, which means liability will arise under Art. 129.1 Tax Code of the Russian Federation. The amount of the fine is 5 thousand rubles. for a primary offense and 20 thousand for a repeat offense. These are the provisions of paragraph 3 of Art. 88 and paragraph 1 of Art. 129.1 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

In any case, if tax officials have questions regarding the submitted reports, we are talking about an in-depth desk audit. The procedure for such verification depends on its grounds.

During an in-depth desk audit, tax officials study and evaluate the submitted documents and explanations, and also carry out additional activities tax control.

Diagram 4

What control measures does the Federal Tax Service carry out during a desk audit?

During a desk tax audit, inspectors have the right to carry out the following activities:

Tax control event
Call to the Federal Tax Service for clarification During a desk tax audit, the Federal Tax Service has the right to demand clarification from the organization. To do this, a notice of call is sent to the company to provide clarification. It details the purpose of calling the organization. The call can be sent via telecommunication channels.
Request for explanation During a desk tax audit, the Federal Tax Service has the right to demand clarification from the organization. To do this, a request is sent to the company to provide the necessary explanations or make appropriate corrections.
Requesting documents from the audited company To obtain Required documents, the inspection must send a request to the organization. The Federal Tax Service does not have the right to request documents by telephone. The request for the submission of documents must indicate: in accordance with which article the Federal Tax Service requires documents; within what time they must be submitted; name and details of documents, as well as the period to which they relate; full and abbreviated name of the company being inspected, its tax identification number, checkpoint; a specific tax control event during which the Federal Tax Service Inspectorate requires documents (for example, a desk audit of VAT for the second quarter of 2017). A sample requirement can be downloaded in the text of the article (under the table).
Requesting documents and information from counterparties and other persons As part of a desk audit, the Federal Tax Service has the right to request documents or information about the company being inspected from counterparties or other persons who have such information (for example, from banks).
Interrogation of witnesses Tax legislation does not contain a ban on interrogating witnesses as part of desk audits. The Federal Tax Service has the right to use protocols of interrogations of witnesses as evidence when making a decision based on the results of a desk audit.
Carrying out an examination The inspectorate has the right to order an examination as part of a desk audit. For example, handwriting examination of invoice signatures that were requested during a desk audit.
Involvement of a specialist, translator The Tax Code of the Russian Federation provides for the possibility of attracting a specialist or translator to participate in certain specific actions that are inextricably linked with tax control and caused by the need to attract a specialist. It is allowed only to the extent that there is a lack of skills, knowledge and abilities of officials exercising tax control.
Inspection of documents and objects During a desk inspection, the Federal Tax Service Inspectorate will inspect the premises of the organization: if the organization has filed a VAT return with a refund; if the Federal Tax Service has found discrepancies in the VAT returns of the company and its counterparty that indicate an understatement of the tax base or an overstatement of the deduction. In addition, there are court decisions, which are confirmed by inspections during desk audits for other taxes.

Deadline for conducting a desk tax audit

A chamber audit at the tax office is carried out within 3 months from the date of filing the declaration with the Federal Tax Service. At the same time, the Federal Tax Service Inspectorate can complete a desk audit before the three months allotted for this expire if it manages to carry out the full range of required tax control measures (letter of the Federal Tax Service dated November 27, 2014 No. ED-4-15/24606).

At the same time, during the desk audit, inspectors may begin to carry out additional tax control activities, and this is another month. Procedure for appointment and implementation additional events tax control is determined by clause 6 of Art. 101 Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

Of course, inspectors are not allowed to leave 3 months in advance, but it happens that the Federal Tax Service Inspectorate violates the deadlines. In fact, this does not threaten anything, i.e. if a decision on a desk audit was made beyond the deadline for the audit, this will not be a basis for its cancellation.

However, in practice, tax authorities often skip the three-month deadline for conducting a desk tax audit and extend it. Based on the results of the analysis of judicial acts, it can be concluded that if the deadline established for the inspection is slightly missed, this violation may be assessed by the arbitrators as insignificant. For example, in the resolution of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Moscow District dated November 6, 2013 in case No. A40-29318/13-115-126 and the resolution of the Ninth Arbitration Court of Appeal dated July 25, 2013 No. 09AP-21611/2013 in case No. A40-29318/ 1 states that missing a deadline of 2-3 months is not grounds for cancellation controversial decision, since the inspection period specified in Art. 88 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation is not preemptive, and tax code does not provide for the consequences of missing it.

Desk audit of the 3-NDFL declaration

Individual taxpayers are most interested in a desk audit of the 3-NDFL declaration. It is submitted by citizens who want to receive a tax deduction for education, treatment, when buying a home, etc.

Status of the audit and deadline for payments based on the results of the 3-NDFL audit. With the launch of the “Taxpayer Personal Account for Individuals” service, it became possible to track the status of a desk audit of 3-NDFL tax returns. The status of the desk audit can be one of the following: completed or in progress, the result of the desk audit, information on refund decisions, the amount of tax to be refunded.

The desk audit has been completed, when will the money be transferred? The period for returning the tax deduction after a desk audit of the 3-NDFL depends on how long the desk audit of the 3-NDFL declaration actually takes. According to the law, the inspection is given a standard three months for the inspection, but in practice this period may be shorter (if all documents are submitted and the inspection has no questions about the amount of the declared deductions), or it may be longer. The deadline for paying the tax deduction after a desk audit is one month. That is, 1 month is allotted to the Federal Tax Service directly to refund the tax to the bank account specified by the taxpayer in the refund application.

Thus, it is impossible to name a specific deadline for transferring the tax deduction after a desk audit. The maximum it can be is 4 months, plus 1 month the law allows directly for tax refund.

Result and objection to the result of the desk audit

If during the desk audit the inspectors did not identify any errors, discrepancies in reporting or violations of tax legislation, then the desk tax audit is automatically completed. No notifications about the successful completion of the “camera chamber” are sent to the taxpayer (with the exception of desk audits for VAT with refund).

If a desk audit reveals violations:

1. A desk tax audit report is drawn up (Tax Code of the Russian Federation) - within 10 working days from the date of completion of the desk audit
2. The desk audit report is handed over to the taxpayer no later than 5 working days from the date of preparation;
3. If the taxpayer agrees with the identified errors and contradictions that led to an understatement of the amount of tax payable, he makes corrections or voluntarily pays the amount of additional assessments by decision of the tax authority. If a clarification is submitted. After submitting an updated tax return, a new audit begins.
4. In case of disagreement with errors and shortcomings identified during the desk audit, the taxpayer files an objection to the desk audit report. Along with it, as a rule, explanations and supporting documents are provided to the Federal Tax Service - 1 month is given for this.
5. The head of the Federal Tax Service examines the inspection materials, objections to the desk tax audit report and makes a decision: to bring or refuse to bring to justice for committing a tax offense - within 10 working days after the deadline for submitting objections.

Important!

Inspectors are required to notify the company or individual entrepreneur being inspected about the time and place of consideration of the inspection materials.

Also, the head of the inspection may decide to extend the period for reviewing inspection materials (no more than one month) and carry out additional tax control measures. Most often this happens during a desk audit for VAT.

Desk audit of VAT refund declaration

Checking a VAT return, where the tax is claimed for reimbursement from the budget, is a separate category of desk audits.

A desk audit of VAT refundable is a more in-depth, detailed and problematic audit for a company compared to a desk audit of any other tax or a check of a VAT return with tax payable.

When there is tax payable in the VAT return, inspectors request fewer documents and study them less carefully and biasedly. It’s simple: VAT is reimbursed to companies from the budget, and the largest part tax offenses and crimes in tax sphere connected specifically with illegal VAT refunds.

Features of VAT refund

(VAT return check with refund)

What are the features of checking a VAT return with a refund?

As we said above, the complexity of such a desk audit lies in the fact that tax authorities are armed with a full set of control measures:

• can come to the company, visit its warehouse and production with inspection;
• may conduct interviews and interrogate witnesses;
• may request documents from counterparties of the organization being inspected (conduct counter-inspections);
• may examine handwriting on invoices and other documents;
• may seize documents, etc.

During almost any desk audit regarding VAT, you need to be prepared for the fact that the Federal Tax Service Inspectorate will request a large number of documents and will require clarification. If in primary documents and invoices, the Federal Tax Service will find discrepancies and shortcomings, and it will not be possible to receive a VAT refund.

If the inspectors have not identified any shortcomings in the documents, the tax authorities must make a decision on VAT refund within 7 days after the end of the desk audit. The refund order is sent to the treasury, which is obliged to transfer the money to the company’s current account no later than 5 days.

Important!

Such problem-free cases of VAT refunds almost never occur in practice. Especially when it comes to multi-million dollar tax refunds. Our company’s specialists have extensive experience in supporting desk audits for VAT refunds. We regularly help our clients obtain VAT refunds worth tens and hundreds of millions of rubles.

Deadlines for conducting a desk audit for VAT - 2017

In the summer of 2017, the period for conducting a desk audit for VAT was reduced from three to two months. The Federal Tax Service sent the order to reduce the period of the desk audit of VAT to lower inspections by letter dated July 13, 2017 No. ММВ-20-15/112@. New order applies to the verification of VAT returns submitted after 1 July 2017 for tax periods from 2015.

The innovation is intended only for conscientious taxpayers. According to the Federal Tax Service, there are only 12 thousand of these companies (or 60% of total number organizations that have declared VAT refund). For the first time, tax officials began to use the new, accelerated procedure for desk audits for VAT when checking VAT returns for the second quarter of 2017.

Reducing the period for conducting a desk audit for VAT became possible thanks to the ASK VAT-2 system, which allows inspectors to carry out automated control of the transactions of both the taxpayer himself and his counterparties, and apply a risk-based approach when conducting desk audits of VAT returns for reimbursement.

FAQ on desk audits

Let's look at the most popular questions related to desk tax audits.

	Answer: Right, if there are grounds. The Tax Code does not establish restrictions on the frequency of requesting explanations or documents during a desk tax audit. Restrictions are imposed only on situations in which tax authorities have the right to send demands. For example, tax authorities have the right to demand clarification during a desk audit if they find contradictions or errors in the information, if the company has submitted a “clarification” with a tax reduction. If inspectors send demands legally, then they need to be answered. Even if the company receives them every day. If the demand is illegal, you must report this to the Federal Tax Service. But in any case, it is necessary to somehow respond to the inspection request.
	Answer: Inspectors have the right to conduct inspections at warehouses and other premises of the taxpayer. But most often this happens if there is a desk audit of VAT, and the tax is declared for reimbursement in the declaration, or the tax authorities have found contradictions in the VAT declaration or discrepancies with the declarations of suppliers. It is important for inspectors to make sure that the company is actually operating, has goods in stock, staff or equipment necessary to produce the goods. To conduct an inspection, inspectors must have a resolution signed by the head of the Federal Tax Service or his deputy.
	Answer: Yes, you have the right. The Tax Code does not contain restrictions on such audits. Therefore, tax authorities can simultaneously conduct a desk tax audit and an on-site audit on the same taxes for the same period. After all, these audits are regulated by different articles - Article 88 and Article 89 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.
	Answer: The Federal Tax Service has the right to fine the company for each document that was not submitted during the desk audit. But only on the condition that the company simply must have these documents. If “optional” papers are requested, the company is not obliged to provide them, and the Federal Tax Service is not required to fine them for failure to provide them. However, you should definitely inform the tax authorities that the company does not maintain the documents required by the Federal Tax Service.

Department of Desk Inspections at the Federal Tax Service

Each Federal Tax Service Inspectorate has a department for desk audits, and, as a rule, more than one. Each office inspection department in tax service has its own direction of work. For example, one is engaged in desk audits of VAT refunds, while the other specializes in income tax.

The main tasks of the desk audit department:

• checking tax returns,
• selection of declarations and taxpayers for in-depth desk audits;
• requesting documents and explanations as part of in-depth desk audits;
• verification of updated tax returns;
• initial selection of companies and individual entrepreneurs for which an on-site inspection can be scheduled.

In addition to all the functions mentioned, employees of the VAT desk audit department can, in the course of checking the validity of a VAT refund.

One of the types of tax control is a desk audit, the conduct of which is regulated by Art. 88 Tax Code of the Russian Federation. An audit is carried out without the participation of the taxpayer, the documents that he submitted are checked, and the taxpayer may not even know about the audit being carried out. At the same time, if errors are found in the submitted reports, tax authority obliged to report this.

Inspection rules

After the taxpayer has provided established reporting, the desk inspection period begins - 3 months. Wherein official decision is not required to conduct an audit; notification of the audit is not sent to the taxpayer.

If no errors are identified, then the documents are not sent to the taxpayer. If errors are identified, a request for explanations or corrections is sent.

The function of a desk audit is not just to check the correctness of tax payment, but also to analyze the information. The detailed inspection rules and interaction regulations are established by Letter of the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated July 16, 2013 N AS-4-2/12705 “On recommendations for conducting desk tax audits” (hereinafter referred to as the Recommendations).

Thus, if there is reason to believe that the taxpayer does not pay the tax in full, and it is impossible to verify this within the framework of a desk audit due to the restrictions established by the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, then the data is entered into information resources for planning on-site tax audits (clause 1.13 of the Recommendations) .

If reporting is not submitted

The peculiarity is that a desk tax audit is carried out only on the basis of documents submitted to the tax authority. But if there is no reporting, is it possible to conduct a desk audit? The fact is that during a desk audit they check, among other things, the provision of reports. The tax authority’s database indicates within what time frame and what kind of reporting must be submitted by each taxpayer.

What is checked during a desk tax audit?

First of all, data is entered and indicators are automatically monitored. In addition, current reporting indicators are compared:

• with reporting indicators of the previous reporting (tax) period;
• with reporting indicators for other types of taxes and financial statements.

The accuracy is also checked based on all available information, an analysis is carried out tax burden, revenue, profitability, indicators are compared with indicators for similar taxpayers and with industry average indicators; in case of a significant deviation, the reason for the discrepancies is established.

If contradictions or errors are discovered, then sending a request for explanations is the responsibility of the tax authorities (clause 3 of Article 88 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

In this case, the taxpayer has the right to submit documents that confirm the correctness of reporting (Clause 4, Article 88 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). It should be noted that, even if the taxpayer is confident in the correctness of his data or believes that he is not required to submit explanations, this must be done, since otherwise a fine of 5,000 rubles may be applied (Clause 1 of Article 129.1 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation) .

For example, despite the fact that an individual entrepreneur has ceased activity, the tax authority has the right to audit the submitted reports, and refusal to respond to explanations and submit documents may lead to negative consequences.

If an updated declaration is submitted

The taxpayer has the right, guided by Art. 81 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, submit a declaration in which tax obligations can be either increased or decreased. This may be a reduction in tax from the budget due to the use of tax deductions or an increase in expenses. There may be correction of errors and reduction of deductions, respectively, increasing the amount paid to the budget. The Tax Code of the Russian Federation does not establish a restriction on the submission of updated declarations, nor does the number of updated declarations for one period.

But it must be taken into account that after submitting each updated declaration, the countdown of the period for a desk audit begins again (clause 9.1 of Article 88 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

When conducting an on-site tax audit, quite often organizations and individual entrepreneurs submit clarifications, correcting errors identified by the tax authority or, conversely, intending to take into account expenses and deductions that were not previously taken into account. In this case, the declaration is checked within the framework on-site inspection, and the result of the inspection is also documented as part of the on-site inspection (clause 3.5 of the Recommendations). An exception is if the declaration states a refund of VAT or excise tax.

The main condition, without which a desk audit simply cannot begin, is the submission by the taxpayer of a declaration or tax calculation (clause 1 of Article 88 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). It does not matter for what period the declaration was filed (tax or reporting), as well as what status this declaration has (primary or updated). Let us note that no special decision on conducting an audit is issued - the “camera room” is carried out by tax inspectors within the framework of their usual job responsibilities(clause 2 of article 88 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

This implies the first rule: a desk audit is possible only on the basis of a declaration. If the taxpayer has not submitted a return in fixed time, then the inspection does not have the right to conduct a desk inspection on the basis of other documents. In the same way, tax authorities do not have the right to conduct a desk audit of other documents that the taxpayer submits to the tax authorities, but which are not a declaration or tax calculation(for example, forms 2-NDFL).
What exactly will the inspectors check? Based on the norms of the Tax Code, the “camera chamber” consists of a simple arithmetic check of the presented data, comparing them with previous reporting and other information already available to the tax inspectorate.

This means that tax officials can require any additional documents in strictly limited cases. These include VAT returns in which the tax is declared for reimbursement (clause 8 of Article 88 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation), as well as declarations with declared benefits (clause 6 of Article 88 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). In addition, the inspectorate may require additional documents during a desk audit of tax returns related to natural resources(for example, on mineral extraction tax or excise taxes on oil, gas, etc.). In other cases, it is prohibited to require additional documents from the taxpayer (clause 7 of Article 88 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).
Thus, we derive the second rule: in most cases, a desk audit is a check of the correctness of determining the tax base and the amount of tax payable based on the data indicated by the taxpayer himself in the same declaration.

Verification deadlines

So, the declaration has been submitted, and the inspectorate has begun its desk audit. How long can the verification take? The term of the “camera chamber” is clearly stated in the Tax Code - three months from the date of submission of the declaration (clause 2 of Article 88 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). Please note that the deadline is counted precisely from the date of submission of the declaration, and not from the deadline established in the Tax Code for its filing.

In addition, it must be taken into account that in this case we are not talking about calendar months, but about a period of time (Article 6.1 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). That is, according to a declaration submitted, for example, on June 19, the period for a desk audit will begin to count from June 20 (according to Article 6.1 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, the period begins to run from the next day). The verification period expires on September 21. After all, September 20 this year falls on a Sunday, and in such cases (according to the already mentioned Article 6.1 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation), the end of the period is postponed to the next working day.

An important point: it is impossible to extend the “camera room”. Neither the tax office, nor the Ministry of Finance, nor the court have the right to extend it. Accordingly, an act drawn up outside the three-month period can be considered evidence obtained in violation of the Tax Code, and therefore invalid (clause 4 of Article 101 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

What periods can be checked?

Another important point The thing that traditionally worries taxpayers during audits is the “depth” of the audit. That is, the period that tax authorities have the right to check. In the case of a desk audit, the answer to this question is very simple. Only the period for which the declaration was submitted is always checked.

At the same time, the inspection, as part of a desk audit, has no right to “touch” either previous or subsequent periods. Moreover, if the taxpayer suddenly decides to submit an updated declaration for a period exceeding three years, then the inspectorate will be obliged to conduct a desk audit of this declaration (clause 1 of Article 88 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). This means that in relation to a desk audit there is no prohibition on studying periods that are more than three years distant from the current date. (True, filing a tax return for periods more than three years from the current date does not make sense, since it will not be possible to return or offset the tax for these periods (Article 78 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation)).

The ban on recheck the same period. After all, as we have already mentioned, the tax inspectorate is obliged to conduct such an audit on any declaration filed by the taxpayer (clause 1 of Article 88 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). So if the taxpayer submits an updated declaration for an already verified period, the inspectorate will have to carry out a “camera investigation” on it (clause 1 of Article 88 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). In other words, the number of desk audits, for example, on income tax for the first half of 2009 depends on the organization itself. How many declarations the accountant submits for this particular period, the number of desk audits will take place.

Errors detected

The inspectorate is obliged to inform the taxpayer about all errors, inaccuracies, contradictions, etc., discovered during a desk audit (clause 3 of Article 88 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). In this case, the inspection must require the accountant to provide explanations or make changes to the declaration. The Tax Code does not specify in what form the inspectorate must convey this requirement to the taxpayer. The tax authorities themselves believe that it is sent to the taxpayer in the same manner as other documents - in writing. The demand is served in person, and if this is not possible, then it is delivered by mail (letter of the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated 01.08.08 No. ШТ-8-2/320@). However, in practice such information is often communicated orally. It should be noted that the oral method of informing deprives the inspectorate of the opportunity to fine the taxpayer for failure to comply with the requirement for explanations or changes. (The corresponding fine in the amount of 50 rubles is provided for in paragraph 1 of Article 126 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

At the same time, we would not advise leaving the inspection’s verbal demand unanswered. Even if the accountant is confident that he is right, this mechanism makes it possible to convey his point of view to the inspection and justify it. And this may settle the dispute early stage, even before the inspection decision is made.

Along with the explanations, the accountant can submit additional supporting documents to the inspection (clause 4 of Article 88 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). Here we must remember that providing additional documents- a right, not an obligation, of the taxpayer. As we wrote above, the inspection does not have the right to demand the provision of such documents.

Registration of results

The presentation of the camera results depends on whether violations are identified. If the audit was successful for the organization, then no document is drawn up based on its results. If the inspection reveals violations, then within 10 working days after the end of the inspection an act is drawn up (clause 1 of Article 100 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). This act is handed over to the taxpayer within five working days, who can submit his objections.

The further procedure for reviewing the act is no different from an on-site inspection, which we will discuss in detail in one of the upcoming articles. Briefly, the procedure is as follows. The tax authority sets a date for consideration of the act, which it must inform the taxpayer about. Accordingly, the taxpayer has the right to be present during the consideration of the audit report. Based on the results of this review, a decision is made to impose liability or to refuse it. Moreover, in both cases, the taxpayer may be asked to pay additional tax and penalties. The taxpayer can appeal any of these decisions first to a higher tax authority and then to the court.