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The agreement on avoidance of double taxation, concluded between the countries, allows to reduce the tax burden on taxpayers. To date, Russia has concluded more than 80 such double tax treaties with various states.

Double taxation in Russia To avoid double taxation.

the Russian government enters into agreements with the governments of other countries that help develop relations between residents of these two countries when making transactions. such agreements help relieve businesses from the exorbitant tax burden that can arise when paying income from a resident of one country to a resident of another country. in these agreements, by agreement at the international level, some types of transactions are exempted by one of the countries from paying tax, or some preferential conditions are established for the payment of this type of income tax. alt="VAT double taxation">

On avoidance of double taxation (VAT) with Moldova

We are trying to make payments under an agreement with a company in Chisinau, but the currency control of our bank, having examined the agreement, insists that we, as VAT agents, must pay VAT to the budget in Russia, while the company in Chisinau must also pay it in Chisinau. Subject of the agreement:

"The Contractor undertakes, at the request of the Customer, for a fee to provide services for the development, support and consulting of software users"

We are the Customer. In accordance with the Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Republic of Moldova on the avoidance of double taxation of income and property and the prevention of tax evasion of 04/12/1996, VAT is paid only in one of the countries participating in the Treaty.

Is it possible to do something on the merits of the bank's requirements, or agree to a VAT agency and try to count it in Chisinau?

Taxes on export and import: how to calculate VAT

VAT is a tool that allows the state to replenish the treasury at the expense of a part of the value added that occurs at each stage of the production of goods and services. The provisions related to this tax are regulated by Ch.

21 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation and apply to all VAT payers, which include:

1. Individual entrepreneurs working on OSNO, as well as "simplifiers" with revenues of over 2 million rubles. for the last 3 months;
2. manufacturers and sellers of excisable goods;
3. organizations engaged in export-import operations.
4. legal entities;

Calculation and payment of value added tax in the latter case is particularly difficult. This is due to the peculiarities of international trade transactions: goods crossing the border are subject to taxes on both sides of it.

International agreements for the avoidance of double taxation

- international agreements that states conclude between themselves in order to exclude double taxation of income and property of citizens and organizations - once in one state and another time in another.

A Russian organization pays dividends to a foreign organization. The Tax Code of Russia establishes that when paying dividends, a Russian organization, as a tax agent, must withhold and transfer tax to the budget at a rate of 15%.

Avoiding double taxation in the USA

Home > MATERIALS > Every year, 1.5 million people move to the United States for permanent and temporary residence.

A foreign country may also provide that dividends are taxed. In this case, the tax on the amount of dividends will be paid twice - once in Russia and the second time in a foreign country. International agreements determine in which state the tax must be paid and in what amount. There are plenty of reasons to do business in America:

1. transparent legislation;
2. highly skilled workforce;
3. compliance with laws.
4. favorable business environment with an entrepreneurial spirit;
5. an efficient taxation system;

However, no matter how thoughtful and competent the laws are, even in the United States, entrepreneurs face difficulties.

There are many entrepreneurs among them who want to start a business or open a branch / representative office of an operating company in the United States.

One of them is double taxation.

Why it will soon be impossible to sell a used car without intermediaries

Car dealers are trying to force Ukrainians to buy used cars exclusively in showrooms.

In this article, we will talk about double taxation and how to avoid it.

Bill No. 3046 “On Amendments to the Tax Code to Stimulate the Development of the Used Goods Market” was recently registered in Verkhovna Rada (authors: Robert Gorvat, Igor Kononenko, Andrey Zhurzhiy, Igor Didenko, and others). Although the title of the document refers to a whole category of second-hand, in fact, the authors only bothered about dealers in old cars. They propose that the salons that will accept used vehicles for sale from private traders be allowed to pay VAT only on the commission, and not on the entire cost of the car, as is the case now.

VAT transactions will eliminate double taxation

Cases of double taxation of VAT when insuring the risk of non-fulfillment of contractual obligations will be excluded. The government approved the relevant bill and sent it to the State Duma. read also

The draft federal law “On Amendments to Article 162 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation” was prepared by the Ministry of Finance in pursuance of the decision of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation dated July 1, 2015 No. 19-P.

The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation declared illegal the law enforcement practice, according to which a taxpayer - a supplier of goods, who has entered into a risk insurance contract, is required to include in the VAT tax base, in addition to the cost of goods sold, the amount of insurance payment received by him in connection with a violation by the buyer of the obligation to pay for goods, if such taxpayer calculated the tax on the operation of the sale of goods at the time of their shipment.

Taxation of companies in Hong Kong

The basic principle of taxation in Hong Kong is the collection of taxes on a territorial basis.

which means that a Hong Kong company is not subject to taxes if it operates outside of Hong Kong, and therefore the source of the company's income is outside of Hong Kong. In order to determine whether a company operates outside of Hong Kong, all transactions carried out by the company (including customer inquiries for prices, places where customer orders are sent, ordering and order processing locations, etc.) will be determined in terms of which processes are produced in Hong Kong, and which ones are not.

The location of the company's bank accounts is an insignificant feature. If the income from commercial activities is based on the receipt of commissions from the security of buyers of goods or suppliers of goods at the request of buyers, then the source of income will be determined in the place where the commission agents operate.

Double VAT taxation

Re: According to Art.

161 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, in the event of the sale of services, the place of sale of which is the territory of the Russian Federation, by taxpayers - foreign persons who are not registered with the tax authorities as taxpayers, the tax base is calculated as the sum of income from the sale of these services, including tax. To determine whether the place of sale of the service was on the territory of the Russian Federation, you must use Art.

148 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, for which the key point in determining the place of sale of the service is the type of service. If the place of sale of services is still the territory of the Russian Federation, then according to Art.

From the point of view of value added tax, the place of sale of goods is of key importance for the seller, because, by virtue of Art. 146 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, the object of VAT taxation is the sale of goods exclusively on the territory of the Russian Federation. Therefore, before calculating and paying tax, the VAT payer should determine where the goods were sold. In this article, we will consider the rules for determining the place of sale of goods, the procedure for importing goods by a non-taxpayer, and under what circumstances double taxation of VAT occurs.

If a transaction for the sale of goods is concluded between Russian business entities and the goods are initially located in the Russian Federation, then there are no problems with determining the place of sale of the goods - it is considered sold on the domestic market, and the seller is obliged to pay tax to the budget from such an operation, provided that the goods sold goods are not exempt from taxation.
The case looks different when a foreigner participates in a transaction for the sale of goods and the territory of a foreign state is involved. In this case, in order to determine the place of sale of goods, you need to refer to Art. 147 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). In accordance with paragraph 1 of this article, in the general case, the goods are considered sold in the Russian Federation in the presence of one or more of the following circumstances:
- the goods are located on the territory of the Russian Federation and other territories under its jurisdiction, are not shipped or transported;
- the goods at the time of commencement of shipment and transportation are located on the territory of the Russian Federation and other territories under its jurisdiction.

Note! From January 1, 2014, Federal Law No. 268-FZ of September 30, 2013 "On Amendments to Parts One and Two of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation and Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation in Connection with the Implementation of Tax and Customs Tariff Incentives for Activities extraction of hydrocarbon raw materials on the continental shelf of the Russian Federation" in Art. 147 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation specifies the place of sale of goods in the form of hydrocarbon raw materials, as well as products of its technological processing.
According to paragraph 2 of Art. 147 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, the territory of the Russian Federation is recognized as the place of sale of goods in the form of hydrocarbon raw materials produced at an offshore hydrocarbon field, as well as products of its technological processing (stable condensate, liquefied natural gas, wide fraction of light hydrocarbons) in the presence of one or more of the circumstances specified in paragraph 1 of Art. 147 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, or in the presence of one or more of the following circumstances:
- the goods are located on the continental shelf of the Russian Federation and (or) in the exclusive economic zone of the Russian Federation or in the Russian part (Russian sector) of the bottom of the Caspian Sea and are not shipped or transported;
- at the time of commencement of shipment and transportation, the goods are located on the continental shelf of the Russian Federation and (or) in the exclusive economic zone of the Russian Federation or in the Russian part (Russian sector) of the bottom of the Caspian Sea.

We remind you that in accordance with paragraph 2 of Art. 11 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, the territory of the Russian Federation and other territories under its jurisdiction are understood to mean the territory of the Russian Federation, as well as the territories of artificial islands, installations and structures over which the Russian Federation exercises jurisdiction in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation and the norms of international law.
Consequently, if a Russian organization purchases goods abroad and sells them there, without being imported into the territory of the Russian Federation, then it will not have an object of taxation. This is also indicated by the Ministry of Finance of Russia in its Letters dated March 14, 2013 N 03-07-08 / 7842, dated September 25, 2012 N 03-07-08 / 278, dated July 6, 2012 N 03-07- 08/173 and a number of others.
The place of sale of imported goods will be recognized as the territory of a foreign state, even if the goods purchased for sale abroad follow in transit through Russian territory. This is indicated by the Letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated October 10, 2008 N 03-07-08 / 231. Moreover, this is quite consistent with the norms of paragraphs. 3 p. 1 art. 151 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, according to which VAT is not paid when goods are placed under the customs transit procedure.
We remind you that in accordance with Art. 215 of the Customs Code of the Customs Union, customs transit is a customs procedure in accordance with which goods are transported under customs control through the customs territory of the Customs Union, including through the territory of a state that is not a member of the Customs Union, from the customs office of departure to the customs office of destination without payment customs duties, taxes with the application of prohibitions and restrictions, with the exception of measures of non-tariff and technical regulation.
In accordance with the provisions of Art. 38 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, for the purposes of taxation, any property sold or intended for sale is recognized as a commodity. For the purpose of regulating relations connected with the collection of customs payments, goods include other property determined in accordance with the customs legislation of the Customs Union and the legislation of the Russian Federation on customs affairs. At the same time, according to paragraph 2 of Art. 38 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, property refers to the types of objects of civil rights (with the exception of property rights) related to property in accordance with the Civil Code of the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). And this means that for the purposes of taxation, real estate is also recognized as a commodity, the shipment of which or transportation is impossible. Therefore, for this type of product, a special rule is provided for determining the place of sale, depending on the "registration" of the property.
If the real estate object is located in the Russian Federation and is not shipped or transported during the sale, then the Russian territory is considered the place of its sale and the seller has an object of VAT taxation.

Example. Assume that Entity A, which owns a building located in Novosibirsk, sells it to a buyer (whether the buyer is a resident of the Russian Federation or not).
Since the immovable object is located in the Russian Federation, organization "A" has a VAT taxable object.
End of example.

Example. Assume that entity "A", which owns a building located in Bulgaria, sells it to a buyer (it also does not matter which state the buyer of real estate is from).
Since the building is located on the territory of Bulgaria, the place of its sale is the territory of a foreign state and the Russian side does not have an object of taxation.
End of example.

Thus, the main criterion for determining the place of sale of goods, including real estate, is the territory of its location at the time of sale.

Note! Property exported from the customs territory of the Russian Federation under the customs regime of temporary export for the purpose of use in the production activities of the taxpayer outside the territory of the Russian Federation is not a good for the purposes of taxation of value added tax. The territory of the Russian Federation is not recognized as the place of sale of the said property, and, accordingly, the operation for its sale outside the territory of the Russian Federation is not subject to value added tax. This was indicated by the Ministry of Finance of Russia in its Letter dated April 27, 2010 N 03-07-08 / 132.

Article 130 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation determines that immovable things also include aircraft and sea vessels subject to state registration, inland navigation vessels, and space objects. These types of "special" properties are known to move and may be located outside the Russian Federation at the time of sale. How to determine the place of sale of such a product?
According to paragraph 1 of Art. 67 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the territory of the Russian Federation includes the territories of its subjects, internal waters and the territorial sea, the air sea above them.
The fact that the territorial sea is recognized as the territory of the Russian Federation is also indicated by the Ministry of Finance of Russia in the Letter of June 10, 2011 N 03-07-08 / 182.
By the way, about what is meant by the territorial sea of ​​the Russian Federation, it is said in Art. 2 of the Federal Law of July 31, 1998 N 155-FZ "On Inland Sea Waters, the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone of the Russian Federation" (hereinafter - Law N 155-FZ). By virtue of this provision, the territorial sea of ​​the Russian Federation is a sea belt 12 nautical miles wide, adjacent to the land territory or to internal sea waters, measured from the baselines specified in Art. 4 of Law N 155-FZ.
In addition, on the basis of paragraph 1 of Art. 1 of the Federal Law of December 17, 1998 N 191-FZ "On the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Russian Federation" (hereinafter - Law N 191-FZ), the exclusive economic zone of the Russian Federation is recognized as a sea area located outside the territorial sea of ​​the Russian Federation and adjacent to it , with a special legal regime established by Law N 191-FZ, international treaties of the Russian Federation and international law.
The definition of an exclusive economic zone also applies to all the islands of the Russian Federation, with the exception of rocks that are not suitable for supporting human life or for independent economic activity.
Thus, the exclusive economic zone of the Russian Federation is not recognized as the territory of the Russian Federation, therefore, the sale by a taxpayer, for example, of fish products in this territory is not subject to the object of taxation for value added tax under paragraph 1 of Art. 146 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.
The Ministry of Finance of Russia adheres to a similar approach, as indicated by its Letter dated August 10, 2009 N 03-07-08 / 180. The fact that the exclusive economic zone is not recognized as the territory of the Russian Federation, the financiers once again recalled in their Letter dated June 10, 2011 N 03-07-08 / 182.
As in the case of the provision of services (performance of work), the place of sale of goods to the taxpayer must be documented. However, if paragraph 4 of Art. 148 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation contains the composition of supporting documents for the provision of services (performance of work), then in Art. 147 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation does not say anything about this.
According to the author, such documents can be a contract with a foreign buyer of goods, primary documents evidencing the sale of goods, as well as shipping documents.
Subparagraph 4 of paragraph 1 of Art. 146 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, it is determined that the import of goods into the territory of the Russian Federation and other territories under its jurisdiction is an object of taxation. Moreover, in this case, VAT is not considered as an indirect tax, but is recognized as a customs payment. As a general rule, tax is paid at customs, and usually it is done by the declarant. If imported goods are declared by a customs broker, then the customs broker is responsible for paying the "import" tax.
Only VAT payers have the right to deduct VAT paid upon import, so a "foreigner" who is not registered with the tax authorities of the Russian Federation as a VAT payer will not be able to use it. When goods are imported by a foreign supplier for further sale, the territory of the Russian Federation is considered the place of sale of such goods, thereby the foreign seller has an object of taxation.
If a foreign supplier is registered with the tax authorities of the Russian Federation, then he independently calculates and pays VAT to the budget in the manner prescribed by Ch. 21 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. If there is no such registration, then the tax for it is paid by the buyer, who, according to Art. 161 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, is recognized as a tax agent.
Having paid the tax, the buyer - the VAT payer has the right to use the tax deduction (clause 3 of article 171 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). However, in order for the withholding agent to be able to take advantage of the deduction, the following conditions must be met:
- the tax agent is a VAT payer for his main activity;
- in the hands of the tax agent there are payment documents indicating that the amount of tax was withheld from the foreign partner and transferred to the budget;
- purchased goods (works, services) from a foreign organization are intended for use in activities subject to VAT;
- the tax agent has a properly executed invoice issued by him on behalf of the seller (clause 3, article 168 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation);
- purchased goods (works, services) are taken into account (clause 1, article 172 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).
Based on paragraph 5 of Art. 174 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, a tax agent is obliged to submit a VAT declaration to the tax office.
The form of a valid tax return submitted by a tax agent to the tax authority at the place of its registration no later than the 20th day of the month following the expired tax period was approved by Order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated October 15, 2009 N 104n "On approval of the tax return form for value added tax and the procedure for its completion.

Note! From January 1, 2014, VAT payers acting as a tax agent submit the specified declaration in the prescribed format in electronic form via telecommunication channels through an electronic document management operator.
Tax agents who are not taxpayers or who are taxpayers exempted from the performance of taxpayer obligations related to the calculation and payment of tax may submit a VAT tax return in paper form.
It should be especially noted that sect. 2 "The amount of tax payable to the budget, according to the data of the tax agent" is filled in by the tax agent separately for each foreign person who is not registered with the tax authorities as a taxpayer.
The declared amount of tax is payable to the budget. As established by paragraph 3 of Art. 174 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, the tax agent pays the amount of tax at his location. Moreover, in the case of the purchase of goods from a foreign supplier that does not have a corresponding registration in the Russian Federation, the tax is paid to the budget in the general manner - in equal installments no later than the 20th day of each of the three months following the expired tax period in which the acquisition transaction took place. goods.

We remind you that from July 1, 2010, the Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation, the Government of the Republic of Belarus and the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan of January 25, 2008 "On the principles of collecting indirect taxes on the export and import of goods, the performance of work, the provision of services in the Customs Union" .
The procedure for calculating VAT on the import and export of goods is established by the Protocol on the procedure for collecting indirect taxes and the mechanism for monitoring their payment on the export and import of goods in the Customs Union dated December 11, 2009.
At the same time, the necessary changes have not been made to the Order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated October 15, 2009 N 104n, approving the form of the VAT declaration and the Procedure for filling it out, have not been made. And most likely, the corresponding changes will already be taken into account only in the new VAT reporting form.
In this regard, taxpayers who have relations with the countries of the Customs Union will have to fill out a VAT return in accordance with the current form in a manner similar to the previous one, but taking into account the Agreement and the Protocols thereto.
This is also indicated by the regulatory authorities (Letter of the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated October 20, 2010 N ShS-37-3 / [email protected]"On the direction of the Letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated October 6, 2010 N 03-07-15 / 131").
The Ministry of Finance of Russia in its Letter of January 13, 2011 N 03-07-08 / 06 clarified the issue of accepting for deduction the amounts of value added tax paid by a Russian organization to the budget as a tax agent when acquiring from a foreign person who is not a registered with the tax authorities of the Russian Federation, goods (works, services), the place of sale of which is the territory of the Russian Federation.
According to paragraph 3 of Art. 171 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, the amounts of value added tax paid by tax agents when acquiring goods (works, services) used to carry out transactions recognized as objects of taxation of value added tax are subject to deductions. At the same time, in accordance with paragraph 1 of Art. 172 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, such deductions are made on the basis of invoices and documents confirming the actual payment of value added tax to the budget.
Thus, a Russian organization that has paid value added tax to the budget as a tax agent has the right to deduct these amounts in the specified order in the tax period in which they were actually paid to the budget.
In conclusion, I would like to note that if a foreign supplier importing goods into the Russian Federation for sale is not registered with the tax authorities of the Russian Federation, then double VAT taxation is formed for him. First, VAT is paid to them at customs, when goods are imported into the territory of the Russian Federation and other territories under its jurisdiction, as a customs payment, while the foreign supplier cannot use the right to deduct. And the second time, when the buyer - the tax agent withholds the amount of VAT from the income of the foreign supplier, which he, in turn, must receive for the goods sold.

Double tax treaty, concluded between the countries, allows to reduce the tax burden on taxpayers. To date, Russia has concluded more than 80double tax treatieswith various states.

Double taxation in Russia

To avoid double taxation, the Russian government enters into agreements with the governments of other countries that help develop relations between residents of these two countries when making transactions. Such double taxation treaties help relieve businesses from the exorbitant tax burden that can result from paying income from a resident of one country to a resident of another country.

In these agreements on the avoidance of double taxation, by agreement at the international level, some types of transactions are exempted by one of the countries from paying tax, or some preferential conditions are established for the payment of this type of income tax. After all, the tax on these incomes, for example, has already been paid in the country in which the taxpayer (tax agent) is located, paying remuneration to his foreign partner.

In Russia, paragraph 1 of Art. 7 of the Tax Code establishes the priority of an international agreement over domestic tax legislation. This means that if, in accordance with the norms of the Tax Code, the tax rate is set at 10%, and in the international agreement - 5%, then the taxpayer has the right to apply the rate established by the international treaty. However, in this case, it is mandatory to comply with all the conditions prescribed in the international treaty.

Conditions for obtaining tax benefits in international transactions

Among the conditions established by Russian tax legislation for the application of preferential taxation in accordance with the terms of international agreements on the avoidance of double taxation, the main one is confirmation of the fact that the counterparty is located abroad. We are talking about a foreign partner of a Russian taxpayer, to whom the latter pays income. This is indicated in sub. 4 p. 2 art. 310 NK. Also, the taxpayer will need to prove that his partner is the actual recipient of the profit, and not an intermediary.

In paragraph 1 of Art. 312 of the Tax Code states that a foreign partner is obliged to provide the Russian tax agent with proof that he is the actual beneficiary and that he is located on the territory of the state with which Russia has concluded an agreement on the avoidance of double taxation.

If the supporting documents are in a foreign language, then you will need to worry about their translation into Russian. Also, fiscal authorities in most cases require that documents have an apostille. In order for the withholding agent not to withhold tax on the income of a foreigner (or to apply a preferential tax regime), it is necessary that all the supporting documents listed above be provided before the moment the income is paid.

If they are provided later, income tax will be withheld in accordance with Russian tax legislation. But later, upon submission of documents, the paid tax can be returned and additional income paid to a foreign partner.

So, what documents should a foreign partner provide in order to avoid double taxation? In paragraph 1 of Art. 312 of the Tax Code contains an exhaustive list of such documents:

• certified by a competent foreign authority (these include financial and fiscal departments of foreign states) confirmation of the permanent residence of a resident in this foreign state (+ translation into Russian);
• documentary evidence that the foreign recipient of income has the actual right to it.

However, neither in this paragraph, nor anywhere else in the Tax Code, there is a clear indication of what requirements are imposed on the form of documents. Usually such supporting documents are referred to as "Certificates of Tax Residence".

Previously, the requirements for the form of documents and other issues that should have been paid attention to regarding the specifics of providing supporting documents to the fiscal service were collected in a "manual" compiled by the Federal Tax Service and set out in the order of the Ministry of Taxes and Dues dated March 28, 2003 No. BG-3- 23/150. But these methodological recommendations have lost their effect on the basis of the order of the Federal Tax Service of December 19, 2012 No. ММВ-7-3 / [email protected]

At the moment, the Federal Tax Service has not issued new clarifications on this issue, so it has become more difficult for taxpayers to work out each specific situation. So, today taxpayers are forced not only to study all the available explanations of the financial and fiscal departments on the issue of interest, but also to study the established judicial practice.

Judicial practice on avoidance of double taxation

Let us analyze some situations in which there is already an established judicial practice:

1. About which authority is considered competent when certifying confirmation of the permanent location of a foreign company.

The decision of the Supreme Arbitration Court of 07.11.2013 No. BAC-15167/13 established that the certificates issued by the German fiscal service on the registration of a foreign company as a payer of value added tax and on tax exemption are not a necessary confirmation of the permanent location of the company in Germany. However, the courts considering these documents have previously found these documents to be sufficient for exemption from income tax in Russia in accordance with an international agreement. The Supreme Court found no violation in these findings.

In the ruling of the Supreme Arbitration Court dated March 26, 2014 No. VAS-716/13, the judges did not find violations in the arguments of the FAS DO (decision dated November 14, 2013 No. Ф03-5168/13), which concluded that the company registration certificates provided by Korean taxpayers, signed by the heads of the fiscal services of 2 districts of Korea are reliable confirmation of the permanent location of foreign counterparties.

For more information on how companies can verify their permanent location, read our article. .

1. On the provision of confirmation before the date of receipt of income.

The decision of the FAS MO dated February 15, 2013 No. F05-15470 / 12 states that the withholding of tax from the income of a foreign partner must be carried out by a tax agent from Russia, since supporting documents were provided after the moment the income was paid.

You can find more information about the jurisprudence on this issue in our article. .

Read our article on the procedure for calculating penalties by the Federal Tax Service Inspectorate for late submission of supporting documents. .

And one more case about the provision of documents later than the deadline for payment of income by the source is considered in our article. .

1. On the annual provision of confirmations.

The decision of the FAS MO dated January 17, 2014 No. F-05-16745 / 13 indicates that if the supporting document does not indicate the validity period for other tax periods, then it cannot be accepted as a justification for other tax periods. At the same time, in the letter of the Ministry of Finance dated April 14, 2014 No. 03-08-P3-016905, it is indicated that Art. 312 of the Tax Code there are no provisions on limiting the validity of the confirmations provided.

1. About Apostille.

In their decisions, the courts adhere to the position chosen by the Presidium of the Supreme Arbitration Court and set out by it in the decision of June 28, 2005 No. 990/05 (at that time methodological recommendations were still in force) on the mandatory affixing of an apostille. The decision was dictated by the requirement of compliance with the Convention of 1961. Recent decisions of arbitration courts also state that the presence of an apostille is mandatory (Resolution of the FAS MO dated February 15, 2013 No. F05-15470 / 12).

Double tax treaties

Many countries need to conclude such an international agreement that would relieve taxpayers carrying out interstate financial transactions from double taxation. Such agreements usually define the conditions for the distribution of the order of taxation of various incomes between states.

The said agreements also define the procedure for imposing income tax at the source of its payment. Typically, income is fully exempted by withholding taxes, although options for lowering it are possible.

Each of the international agreements on avoidance of double taxation signed by Russia (there are 83 in total as of 2017) has its own unique content. But recently there has been a tendency around the world to unify such agreements. It is supposed to unify the texts of the agreement in accordance with the postulates set out in the Model Convention developed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

International agreements for the avoidance of double taxation (Cyprus and other countries)

An international agreement on the avoidance of double taxation (hereinafter in the table - DTT) is signed by the Government of Russia with the government of another foreign state. At the same time, the date of conclusion of a bilateral international treaty usually does not coincide with the date of entry into force, as well as the date of application in one and the other country.

To understand all these important nuances, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the list of all bilateral agreements concluded by the Russian government aimed at eliminating double taxation of income in two cooperating countries.

	A foreign country is a partner in the VOS	Document type	Date of signing of the CDN	Date of entry into force of the SDS	Start date of application of the SDS in Russia		Date of commencement of the application of the VOS in the partner country
	Republic of Austria	Convention
	Kingdom of Belgium	Convention
	Republic of Bulgaria	Agreement
	Republic of Hungary	Convention
	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland	Convention
	Hellenic Republic	Convention
	Republic of Germany	Convention	May 29, 1996 (as amended on October 15, 2007)
	Kingdom of Denmark	Convention
	Italian Republic	Convention
	Ireland	Agreement
	The Kingdom of Spain	Convention
	Republic of Cyprus	Agreement	05.12.1998 (as amended on 07.10.2010)
	Grand Duchy of Luxembourg	Agreement	06/28/1993 (as amended on 11/21/2011)
		Convention
	Kingdom of the Netherlands	Agreement
	Portuguese Republic	Convention
	Republic of Poland	Agreement
		Convention
	Republic of Slovenia	Convention
	The Slovak Republic	Agreement
	French Republic	Convention
	Republic of Finland	Agreement	05/04/1996 (as amended on 04/14/2000)
	Republic of Croatia	Agreement
	Czech Republic	Convention	11/17/1995 (as amended on 04/27/2007)
	Kingdom of Sweden	Convention
	Latvian republic	Agreement
	Republic of Lithuania	Agreement
	Kingdom of Norway	Convention
	Swiss Confederation	Agreement	11/15/1995 (as amended on 09/24/2011)
	Republic of Albania	Convention
	Republic of Iceland	Convention
	Republic of Macedonia	Agreement
	Serbia and Montenegro (former Yugoslavia)	Convention with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
	Republic of Mali	Convention
		Agreement
	Republic of Cuba	Agreement
	Federative Republic of Brazil	Convention		In accordance with the letter of the Ministry of Finance dated February 12, 2014 No. 03-08-06 / 5641, it is known that the Convention has not entered into force and is not applied
	Argentine Republic	Convention
	Republic of Botswana	Convention
	Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela	Convention
	Republic of Chile	Convention
		Agreement
		Agreement
	Islamic Republic of Iran	Agreement
	Arab Republic of Egypt	Agreement
	State of Israel	Convention
	Algerian People's Democratic Republic	Convention
	State of Kuwait	Agreement
	Lebanese Republic	Convention
	Kingdom of Saudi Arabia	Convention
	Syrian Arab Republic	Agreement
	Turkish Republic	Agreement
	Republic of Indonesia	Agreement
	Republic of India	Agreement
	Socialist Republic of Vietnam	Agreement
		Convention
	Kingdom of Thailand	Convention
	Republic of the Philippines	Convention
	Mongolia	Agreement
	Kingdom of Morocco	Agreement
	People's Republic of China	Agreement	10/13/2014 (as amended on 05/08/2015)
	The Republic of Korea	Convention
		Agreement
	Malaysia	Agreement with the USSR		No information available
	Republic of Singapore	Agreement	09/09/2002 (as amended on 11/17/2015)
		Agreement
	Republic of Namibia	Convention
	Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka	Agreement
	Australia	Agreement
	New Zealand	Agreement
	The Republic of Uzbekistan	Agreement
	The Republic of Tajikistan	Agreement
	Turkmenistan	Agreement
	The Republic of Moldova	Agreement
	Kyrgyz Republic	Agreement
	Republic of Armenia	Agreement	12/28/1996 (as amended on 10/24/2011)
	The Republic of Azerbaijan	Agreement
		Agreement
	Republic of Belarus	Agreement + Protocol	04/21/1995 (minutes - 01/24/2006)
	The Republic of Kazakhstan	Convention
		Agreement
	Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the PRC	Agreement

There are no fundamental differences in the name of an international document - a convention, an agreement or a treaty. All these names indicate the establishment of certain obligations by the parties. In fact, they are all synonyms.

Results

In order to reduce the tax burden of Russian merchants, the Russian government enters into double taxation avoidance agreements with the leadership of other countries. These agreements take precedence over the tax legislation of the Russian Federation. But in order to apply them, the Russian taxpayer and his counterparty must comply with all the conditions of the international agreement and provide the documents accompanying the transaction to the Federal Tax Service.

Definition

Value Added Tax (VAT) is a surplus (added) value arising in the process of creating goods, works, services. The tax is paid as the sale of manufactured products (performance of work, provision of services) or receipt of advance payment from the buyer. The calculation and payment of tax are regulated by Chapter 21 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

VAT payers, tax rate

VAT payers are organizations, individual entrepreneurs, as well as persons recognized as taxpayers in connection with the movement of goods across the customs border of the Customs Union.

Currently, the main VAT rate in the Russian Federation is 18%. However, for some food products, goods for children, there is a reduced rate of 10%, and for exported goods there is actually no rate of 0% (at the same time, the concepts of "tax exemption" and "taxation at a rate of 0% should not be confused - these are different cases).

Tax calculation

Features of VAT calculation

Value added tax is one of the most difficult taxes to calculate and difficult to administer by the state. This is due to the fact that VAT is an indirect tax. This means that the organization pays it at the expense of the funds it receives from the buyer (VAT is included in the price of the goods). Moreover, in order to exclude double taxation of value added, buyers of raw materials, materials, services, present the tax paid as part of the purchase price for deduction. And after the creation and sale of their product, they again calculate VAT and withhold it from the buyer. As a result, the end buyer, usually citizens of the Russian Federation, becomes the final payer of the entire amount of VAT. And in the case of the export of goods outside of Russia (the Customs Union), no one pays VAT, the tax already paid is returned to the sellers after a special procedure for documenting the fact of export.

The tax calculation process is complicated by benefits and different rates. Despite the enormous economic importance of the tax, the complexity of its calculation and payment/reimbursement makes VAT one of the most "criminal" and problematic taxes for an accountant - it is illegally reimbursed from the budget of a one-day company, and accountants of respectable enterprises have to prove the right to receive a deduction.

VAT is not an invention of the Russian tax system. Value added tax exists in most developed countries of the world, only tax rates differ (in the Russian Federation - one of the lowest).

For more information about value added tax, the rules for calculating it, and drawing up a declaration, read the articles in the heading "".

Still have questions about accounting and taxes? Ask them on the accounting forum.

Value Added Tax (VAT): details for an accountant

• Value added tax: separate accounting

  The question is in the article. Chapter 21 "Value Added Tax" of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation establishes the procedure for calculating ...

• VAT in 2018: clarifications from the Ministry of Finance of Russia

  Goods (works, services) subject to value added tax. Therefore, the amount of value added tax presented on the specified goods ... the implementation of transactions recognized as an object of taxation by value added tax, the amount of value added tax paid upon its acquisition ... the above transactions subject to value added tax. Therefore, to deduct the value added tax presented by the seller of such ...

• Review of letters from the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation for December 2018

  ... (works, services) subject to value added tax. Therefore, the amounts of value-added tax filed on these goods ... sales of secondary aluminum are subject to value-added taxation, the amounts of this tax presented ... by non-individual entrepreneurs, the value-added tax is paid to the budget in the generally established ... metals . In view of the foregoing, the taxation of value-added tax transactions for the implementation of the specified ...

• Review of letters from the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation for September 2018

  Simplified taxation system, subject to value added tax. Letter dated September 7, 2018 ... apartment buildings are exempt from value added tax only if such ... authority is subject to value added tax in the generally established manner. At the same time, the amounts of value added tax presented by the specified ..., then the obligation to pay value added tax in relation to those provided by a foreign organization ...

• VAT in 2017. Clarifications of the Ministry of Finance of Russia

  The tax base for value added tax when calculating and paying value added tax as a tax ... as gifts, are subject to value added tax. The amounts of value added tax paid by the organization upon acquisition ... pay value added tax to the budget. In this case, the specified amount of value added tax is payable in ...

• Review of letters from the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation for February 2019

  A person who is not an individual entrepreneur does not charge value added tax to the buyer. Letter dated ... the above list, are exempted from value added tax if the organization has pedigree ... goods to a Kazakh economic entity, value added tax is taxed at a zero rate regardless ... . In the event that the taxpayer of the value added tax transfers these products for storage ...

• Review of letters from the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation for August 2018

  The agent that calculates and pays value added tax is the subagent that calculates... taxation with value added tax in the territory of the Russian Federation and is subject to value added tax in... value added tax does not arise for such a Russian organization. At the same time, taxation with value added tax ... the validity of the application of the zero rate of value added tax by the committent is confirmed, foreign currency ...

• Review of letters from the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation for March 2018

  Value added tax. In this regard, these operations are subject to taxation by value added tax ... route), exempted from taxation by value added tax, concessionaire's fee for concession ... value added tax from the concessionaire is not included. At the same time, the amount of value added tax on ... transactions subject to value added tax. Therefore, to deduct the value added tax presented by the seller ...

• Review of letters from the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation for February 2018

  Are subject to taxation by value added tax in the territory of the Russian Federation ... value added tax, presented by suppliers of goods (works, services) to persons who are not taxpayers of value added tax ... value added tax. In case of failure to submit these documents within the established 180-day period, value added tax ... exemption from the obligation to pay value added tax, the provisions of the Convention between ...

• Review of letters from the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation for October 2018

  Authorized to carry out such implementation, value added tax is payable in accordance with the generally established procedure... the organization is not required to pay value added tax to the Federation, this Russian organization. A letter from ... transactions recognized as an object of taxation by value added tax, the amount of value added tax paid upon its acquisition ...

• Review of letters from the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation for July 2018

  Value-added tax when returning goods by individuals who are not taxpayers of value-added tax, ... the amount of value-added tax issued (registered) by sellers, in order to determine the amount of value-added tax, ... tax exemption is provided on the value added of operations for the sale of ingots ... there is an obligation to pay value added tax in accordance with the generally established procedure. Simultaneously...

• Review of letters from the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation for May 2018

  Issued by the buyer who is a taxpayer of value added tax. If during the sale ... exempt from taxation by value added tax, then these services are not subject to value added tax. In ... the taxation regime, is recognized as a value added tax taxpayer starting from that reporting (... subject to value added tax in the manner prescribed by Chapter 21 "Value Added Tax" of the Tax Code ...

• Review of letters from the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation for January 2018

  The Russian Federation provides for the specifics of the deduction of amounts of value added tax paid by a taxpayer directly to ... from value added tax payers using these goods in transactions subject to value added tax. With ... A new creditor who is a taxpayer of value added tax and has received a monetary claim, ... used in the calculation of value added tax, approved by a decree of the Government of the Russian ...

• Review of letters from the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation for January 2019

  Organizations are exempt from value added tax. Letter dated January 17... by involving third parties, VAT is taxed at tax rates... such services are subject to VAT in the Russian Federation. Letter... to the buyer, the tax base for value added tax is not re-determined by the seller. ... 3788 Acceptance for deduction of value added tax presented to the lessor in ...

• Review of letters from the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation for November 2018

  The legality of applying a zero rate of value added tax and exemption from paying excise duty ... this Russian organization to pay value added tax as a tax agent by non ... legal entities are exempt from value added tax. Letter dated November 23... section the tax base for value added tax should be determined as the cost of ... -07/86263 Exemption from value added tax when selling accessories to ...

Legislative Confusion Russian Federation allows state authorities to change the rules during the game with impunity. This is chaos!

Recently, many entrepreneurs and directors of companies are ready to pay taxes as much as required by law in order to guarantee themselves the absence of claims from government agencies, and simply shift the increase in costs to the end consumer. But how to do so, on the one hand, to avoid problems with regulatory authorities, and, on the other hand, not to drown your business in the abyss of tax bacchanalia?! Unfortunately, there is no answer to this question, because the appetites of this state are constantly growing, and the existing legislation does not limit this appetite in any way. Moreover, this very legislation allows you to change the rules of the game at any time and even retroactively. The state system has given rise to an orgy of rule-making, including in the tax area. Numerous normative documents on the issues of accounting and tax accounting and reporting, the fluctuating interpretation of certain legislative normative acts gives rise to a monstrous complexity of the rules of the game for Russian business, and is a cardinal brake on the country's economic development. For only shadow companies will be able to survive in this tax bacchanalia.

Vicious systemic foundations - the indivisibility of power and business, the dominance of politics over law, the bureaucracy's monopoly on decision-making, without bearing any economic or legal responsibility to the population for them, lead to total alienation between citizens seeking to hide from selfish state bureaucratic control, and the state, seeking to maintain this control at any cost.

2. The transportation was NOT carried out by a Russian carrier, which has permanent representative offices in the Russian Federation. Also not our case, and also not considered.

3. The transportation was NOT carried out by a Russian carrier that DOES NOT have a representative office in the territory of the Russian Federation. This is our hard case.

Tax on income received by a foreign organization from sources in the Russian Federation is calculated and withheld by a Russian organization or a foreign organization operating in the Russian Federation through a permanent establishment, paying income to a foreign organization upon each payment of income ...

The amount of tax withheld from the income of foreign organizations is transferred by the tax agent to the federal budget simultaneously with the payment of income.

Income from international transportation is subject to taxation, and in our case, this tax must be paid by the tax agent, i.e. the one who ordered and paid for the transportation.

2. Tax rates on the income of foreign organizations not related to activities in the Russian Federation through a permanent establishment are established in the following amounts:

2) 10 percent - from the use, maintenance or lease (freight) of ships, aircraft or other mobile vehicles or containers (including trailers and auxiliary equipment necessary for transportation) in connection with the implementation of international transportation.

In short, 10% of the amount to be paid, the Russian customer of transportation must give to this state. Here.

But it is not all that bad.

In Art. 7 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation establishes the priority of the norms of the international treaty of the Russian Federation, which contains issues related to taxation and fees, over the rules and norms of Russian tax legislation.

In international relations between the Russian Federation and some countries (more than 100), Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements are in force. These agreements are mostly similar to each other, because they are all in accordance with the draft model Agreement on the avoidance of double taxation of income and property, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of May 28, 1992 N 352.

Income of foreign carriers, as a rule, is not subject to taxation on profit (income) in the Russian Federation. But…

In some agreements (Belarus, Poland, Turkey, Ukraine, Slovakia), the term "international transportation" means any transportation. And in some (Finland, Lithuania, Germany, France) only transportation by sea or aircraft. Thus, income from international transportation by road is not subject to the article "Revenue from international sea and air transportation" of certain agreements.

Until recently, it was believed that the taxation of income from activities for the implementation of international transport by road is subject to the article "Profit from business activities" of international agreements (for example, Germany). It is clearly written about this to the Russians on the keys in the Letter of the Federal Tax Service for Moscow dated August 27, 2002 N 26-12 / 39585 and in the Letter

Thus, income from international road transport is not subject to Art. 8 "Income from international maritime and air transportation" of the Agreement between the Russian Federation and the Federal Republic of Germany on the avoidance of double taxation with respect to taxes on income and property dated 29.05.96. This means that the taxation of income from activities for the implementation of international transport by road is subject to Art. 7 "Profit from entrepreneurial activity" of the said Agreement.

Subject to the provisions of the Agreement discussed above, the income of German residents from international road transport activities that do not lead to the formation of a permanent establishment are not subject to income tax in the Russian Federation

Letter of the Federal Tax Service for Moscow dated August 27, 2002 N 26-12 / 39585

Since international transportation by road is not subject to Article 8 “Income from international sea and air transportation” of the said Agreement, the taxation regime for income from international transportation by road is governed by the provisions of Article 7 “Profit from business activities” of the Russian-German Agreement.

Letter of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation dated January 22, 2002 N 04-06-05 / v.1/2

But then a letter happened

Article 8 "Income from international maritime and air transportation" of the Agreement between the Russian Federation and the Federal Republic of Germany on the avoidance of double taxation with respect to taxes on income and property dated May 29, 1996 does not apply to international transportation by road. Consequently, in this case, the taxation of income from the international road transport of a German company is carried out in accordance with Russian tax legislation.

Thus, if this German organization does not operate on the territory of the Russian Federation through a permanent representative office, then in accordance with paragraphs. 8 p. 1 art. 309 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as the Code), income from international transportation carried out by this organization refers to income from sources in the Russian Federation, and therefore is subject to taxation in the Russian Federation at a rate of 10% in accordance with paragraphs. 2 p. 2 art. 284 of the Code.

At the same time, we inform you that the income of a German company from the implementation of foreign trade contracts for the supply of equipment, as well as income from supervision of installation and commissioning, engineering, training to work on this equipment, are related to income from entrepreneurial activity for the purposes of applying the above Russian-German Agreement to income from entrepreneurial activity and are subject to taxation in accordance with Art. 7 of this Agreement.

Therefore, if the activity of a German company does not lead to the formation of a permanent establishment in the territory of the Russian Federation, then the income received by this company from the above activities is not subject to taxation in the Russian Federation.

Letter of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation of August 12, 2005 N 03-08-05

Why all of a sudden, income from installation supervision and commissioning, engineering, training to work on this equipment are classified as income from entrepreneurial activity and, therefore, are not subject to taxation in the Russian Federation, while income from international transportation is classified as income from sources in the Russian Federation and is subject to taxation remains a riddle.

Rave. Rave. Rave.

Motivation

As in a bad detective story: "Who is the killer?"

Judging by the dates of this schizophrenic delirium of the epistolary genre coming out from the pen of employees of the Ministry of Finance and the Federal Tax Service, it’s impossible to simply attribute this to the spring-autumn exacerbation - year-round and chronically. Diagnosed with chronic schizophrenia lasting for a long period of time without any improvement and forget? I don't want to either, because still there is a glimmer of hope that employees of state organizations undergo an annual medical examination, and psychiatrists do not allow chronic patients to govern the state.

However, as the character of the television series "Lieutenant Columbo" used to say, in any crime there must be a motive. What are the motives for this issue? The motive is mentioned in passing in the Letter of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation dated January 19, 2005 N 03-08-06 / Finland. Even the date of motivation of officials is precisely indicated - November 9, 2004

The Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Finland, as the competent authorities of the Contracting States, on November 9, 2004 agreed on a number of issues related to the application of certain provisions of the Agreement

It is not known for certain how the approval procedure itself took place, but I think that as usual: responsible employees of the Ministry of Finance visited a friendly country, drank vodka, went to the bathhouse, etc. In short, we agreed, and as a result, a common position was agreed on the following provisions of the Agreement:

International shipping

Article 8 is an exception to Article 7, which means that income subject to Article 8 cannot be taxed in a Contracting State, even if there is a permanent establishment in that State. The purpose of Article 8 is to exempt income derived from international carriage from taxation in the State of source. If the activity is covered by Article 8, the question of having a permanent establishment is irrelevant. Where the transport business is not covered by Article 8, Article 7 shall apply in conjunction with Article 5.

Pursuant to paragraph 2 of Article 8: “Profits or incomes of a resident of a Contracting State from the use, maintenance or leasing of containers (including trailers, barges and related equipment for transporting containers) used for the carriage of goods or merchandise shall be taxable only in that State, except when such containers are used for the carriage of goods or merchandise solely between places in the territory of another Contracting State.”.

The term "container" means a means of transport used in the carriage of goods, and "profits or income from the use, maintenance or leasing" means, for example, that income from the leasing of such a container by an enterprise of a Contracting State is taxable only in that State

Letter Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation of January 19, 2005 N 03-08-06 / Finland

So here's your motive. The motive is the lack of motivation of employees of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation.

No motivation- Article 8 does not apply to international road transport, or the Agreement does not apply to international road transport.

Got motivation(bath, vodka, lie down, etc.) - Article 8 is an exception to Article 7. If business activities in the field of transportation are not covered by Article 8, Article 7 shall apply.

Ugh…

And so, what carriers should be used in order not to fall under double taxation for VAT and income tax?

The Russian carrier disappears, as it "falls" on double taxation for VAT. Therefore, you need to choose a carrier from the country, in agreements with which the term "international transportation" means any transportation. And this, for example, Belarus, Poland, Turkey, Ukraine, Slovakia. Or that carrier whose country's competent authorities convincingly motivated Russian officials not to apply double taxation to their citizens, such as Finland.

And even having chosen the right carrier, and having paid all taxes, I do not advise you to sleep peacefully. For the Rosselkhoznadzor, it has its own concept of laws and its own rules unknown to us. And their own mill… Yes, and the Ministry of Finance and the Tax Department at any moment can once again change the interpretation of the laws, thereby increasing taxes retroactively, and not warn anyone about this…

Having established an intricate system of taxation, contrary to the economic interests of society, the state once again put citizens at its service. On the one hand, excessive taxes objectively encourage a citizen to violate tax laws. On the other hand, if a citizen, even for subjective, principled reasons, tries to be innocent, he is unlikely to succeed because of the complexity of tax legislation and the deliberate distortion of it by tax authorities.

Lawlessness, the vertical of power, a strong state, the dictatorship of the law - these concepts, contrary to common sense, turn out to be quite compatible, because laws are written and violated by the authorities themselves - those who, on duty, must guarantee their unambiguity and strict observance. The amateur corruption based on chance has been replaced by institutionalized corruption based on executive decisions and laws.

So on "whose mill do these servants of the people pour water"?

Vladislav Artamonov (AVG)

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