6 min.
Please be informed that amendments to the RF Tax Code will come into force from 01.01.2023, radically changing the procedure for tax payment by companies and individual entrepreneurs (Federal Law No. 263-FZ dated 14.07.2022, hereinafter referred to as Law No. 263-FZ).
The most important aspects:
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all taxes and social contributions, but for the exceptions described below, will be paid to the unified tax account (UTA);
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the tax authorities themselves will offset the unified tax payment (UTP) against current tax liabilities (distribute the amounts received to UTA by type of tax);
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the deadlines for submission of tax returns, calculations have changed (the reporting date will be unified – the 25th day of the month);
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a single date for tax payments and social contributions has been introduced – the 28th day of the month;
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a new obligation has appeared – to submit a notice if the tax is paid before the deadline for submission of a tax return/calculation or without a tax return/calculation.
More details:
Part One of the RF Tax Code has been supplemented with Article 11.3 “Unified Tax Payment. Unified Tax Account”, unified deadlines for tax payment and tax return submission were introduced.
The unified tax payment (UTP) is funds transferred by a taxpayer, payer of fees, social contributions, tax agent (another person for the payer) to the appropriate account of the Federal Treasury (into the budget system) to pay total tax liability and recorded on the unified tax account, as well as collected therefrom. UTP also includes funds accounted for on the unified tax account for other reasons, for example, in connection with an inspectorate’s reimbursement/deduction decision (a more detailed definition and interpretation of UTP is provided for in paragraph 1 of Article 11.3, Article 45 of the RF Tax Code).
The unified tax account (UTA) is a form of accounting by tax authorities (for each payer) for:
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the monetary expression of the total tax liability;
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funds transferred as the single tax payment and/or recognized as the single tax payment.
The concepts of total tax liability and taxes, fees, and insurance premiums payable to the budgets of the RF budget system are set out in paragraph 2 of Article 11 of the RF Tax Code.
Article 11.3 of the RF Tax Code defines the procedure for the formation of a positive, negative, and zero balance of UTA. The tax authorities will be obliged, at the request of the taxpayer, payer of fees, or tax agent, to provide information on the existence of a positive, negative, or zero balance of UTA as of the current date, a notification on the amounts transferred as UTA, and a conformation of fulfilment of the obligation to pay taxes, fees, penalties, fines, interest as of the date of the certificate based on data of the tax authority (Article 32 of the RF Tax Code).
The priority of crediting receipts to UTA: 1. arrears, 2. current taxes and contributions, 3. penalties, 4. interest, 5. fines. If there is not enough money on UTA as of the date of payment, it will be distributed in proportion to the amount of obligations (paragraph 8 of Article 45 of the RF Tax Code).
All companies and individual entrepreneurs in general cases will transfer almost all taxes and contributions once a month in one payment order.
Exceptions are established by Article 58 of the RF Tax Code (tax on professional income, fees for the use of wildlife resources and for the use of aquatic biological resources paid independently by payers of fees in accordance with Chapter 25.1 of the RF Tax Code, certain types of state duty may be paid not as the unified tax payment).
Exceptions are also contributions for injuries (they are paid in accordance with Federal Law No. 125-FZ dated 24.07.1998). Some sources note VAT on imports from the EAEU as an exception too (referring to Article 5 of Law No. 263-FZ, however, this opinion requires confirmation from the Federal Tax Service).
The deadline for paying taxes and contributions is 28th day of the month. For example, for quarterly payments as per the Simplified Tax System and property tax, the deadline is the 28th day of the first month of the next quarter, for VAT and contributions – the 28th date of each month.
The deadline for submitting tax returns and calculations has been shifted to the 25th day of the month. For example, the deadline for submitting income tax returns for reporting periods is the 25th day of the first month of the next quarter, for a year – 25 March following the reporting (fiscal) year.
For taxes and contributions that are paid before submission of a tax return or without a tax return, notices will be required (according to a unified form). The deadline will be the 25th day of the month of payment.
It is assumed that the introduction of UTA will prevent the taxpayer from simultaneously having debts and overpayments for various types of taxes and will provide an economically justified calculation of penalties for the total amount of debt to the budget.
Planned transition:
1. Recommendations:
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conduct reconciliations with the Federal Tax Service now and in December 2022;
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already now apply for the refund and/or offset of those amounts for which the three-year period for refund/offset expires.
2. After 1 January 2023, the tax authorities will not consider applications for refunds, overpayment offsets, deferrals (instalments) for certain taxes if the documents have been submitted in 2022, but the inspectorate has not made a decision through 31 December 2022 (paragraph 8 of Article 4 of Law No. 263-FZ). Refunds and offsets will be made in accordance with the new procedure described in Articles 79 Refund of the Amounts Forming a Positive Balance on the Unified Tax Account, 78 Offset of the Amounts Forming a Positive Balance on the Unified Tax Account, subject to Article 5 of Law No. 263-FZ.
3. The balance on UTA will be formed as of 1 January 2023 and will be equal to the difference between the funds transferred in excess and the amounts of unfulfilled obligations, taking into account the specifics established by paragraphs 5, 6 of Article 4 of Law No. 263-FZ. The balance will be calculated by the tax authorities based on the information they have as of 31.12.2022.
4. The data of revised tax returns filed after 01.01.2023, but the tax payment deadline for which has expired before 31.12.2022, will be taken into account when forming the balance of UTA together with the amount of penalties, subject to paragraph 7 of Article 4 of Law No. 263-FZ.
5. From 1 January 2023, arrears in taxes, fees, insurance premiums, as well as penalties, fines, and interest payable will be collected subject to paragraph 9 of Article 4 of Law No. 263-FZ.
6. Other transitional provisions are established by Articles 4, 5 of Law No. 263-FZ.
Currently (from 01.07.2022 to 31.12.2022), certain companies (voluntarily) that submitted an application before 04.05.2022 work in a test mode with UTA and UTP. The conditions of the test mode are somewhat different from the general mode (which will come into force on 01.01.2023). However, based on its results, feedback from the Federal Tax Service is expected, more details will be clarified and, perhaps, there will be supplements, amendments to the RF Tax Code and the procedure that is already established for application from 01.01.2023.
Note: All references to paragraphs and Articles of the RF Tax Code are made in relation to their new revision, which comes into force on 01.01.2023 (according to Federal Law No. 263-FZ dated 14.07.2022).
