Introduction of a single tax account and an aggregate tax liability
The comment is given by the lawyer of the tax practice of the Law Office of St. Petersburg "Main Letter" Dmitry Romanov.
On 14.07.2022, the President signed Federal Law No. 263-FZ "On Amendments to Parts One and Two of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation", which significantly changed the procedure for paying taxes. In the second half of 2022, taxpayers have the right to switch to paying taxes using a single tax account. From the beginning of 2023, its application will be mandatory for all taxpayers.
This law introduced the concepts of a single tax payment, a single tax invoice, a cumulative obligation, and also changed the provisions governing the fulfillment of the obligation to pay taxes and fees, the procedure for compulsory collection, the conditions for granting deferral, installments, investment tax credit, accrual of penalties, offset and refund of taxes and other norms.
The aggregate obligation means the total amount of taxes, advance payments, fees, insurance premiums, penalties, fines, interest, which the taxpayer, the payer of the fee, the payer of insurance premiums and (or) the tax agent is obliged to pay (transfer), as well as the amount of tax to be refunded to the budget system of the Russian Federation in accordance with the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.
A single tax payment is recognized as funds transferred to the budget system of the Russian Federation to the account of the Federal Treasury, intended for the performance of aggregate obligations, as well as funds collected in accordance with the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.
A single tax account is a form of accounting by the tax authorities of the monetary expression of the aggregate obligation; as well as funds listed as a single tax payment and (or) recognized as a single tax payment.
The purpose of the law is to simplify the payment of taxes, including by reducing the indicators that need to be filled in the payment order. In accordance with the amendments, it is assumed that the funds will be transferred in a single tax payment with the indication of only two changeable details - the amount of payment and the taxpayer's TIN. The tax authority, based on the documents and information available to it, will independently distribute a single tax payment on account of the payer's fulfillment of obligations to pay various taxes.
The taxpayer will not have to fill out a large number of payment orders for each tax with different details in which it is possible to make a mistake. The situation of having debts and overpayments for different CBC from one payer is excluded. It is assumed that the taxpayer will always clearly, in the form of a single amount, understand his balance of payments with the budget.
At the same time, the funds on the unified tax account, if there is a positive balance, belong to the taxpayer and can be returned to his current account in a simplified manner. Thus, within one day after receiving the application for a refund, the tax authority is obliged to form an appropriate payment order and send it to the Federal Treasury.
The changes made will have a positive impact on reducing the costs of paying taxes. However, at the initial stage, technical difficulties with the introduction of this system are not excluded for both taxpayers and territorial tax authorities.
Attention should be paid to the correctness of the transfer by the tax authority of the current indicators of calculations with the budget to a single tax account. For these purposes, it is recommended to request reconciliation reports with the tax authority in advance, as well as to work on the refund of excessively paid or excessively collected taxes. There are cases when the territorial tax authority may consider that the overpayment amounts have arisen beyond the deadline for their refund and will not take them into account when forming the balance of a single tax account. At the same time, the date when the taxpayer should have found out about the formation of an overpayment from him will not be taken into account by the inspection.
It is recommended to carry out work on the exclusion of debts that are formally listed in the budget settlement card, but in respect of which the tax authority has lost the right to compulsory and judicial recovery.
By the beginning of 2023, it is necessary to approach with a clear understanding of the current state of calculations on taxes and fees, as well as to be able to document to the tax authority its position in case of disputes.
The specialists of the Bureau are ready to assist in the practical application of the new rules, as well as to work on the refund of overpaid or collected tax, recognition of debt as uncollectible and to carry out other measures for interaction with tax authorities.
Федеральный закон от 14.07.2022 г. № 263-ФЗ • Президент России (kremlin.ru)