Should businessmen fear changes in legislation? Expert's comment

The Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus of May 16, 2014 No. 222 “On the Regulation of Entrepreneurial Activity and Sale of Goods by Individual Entrepreneurs and Other Individuals” has caused a mixed reaction among small business representatives. Should we fear the changes?

For clarification of the main provisions of the document and changes in the business conditions, "Vitebskiye Vesti" addressed the Deputy Head of the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Taxes and Duties for the Vitebsk Region, Tatyana Lipskaya.

– What changes in the activities of entrepreneurs – payers of a single tax regarding the availability of documents confirming the purchase (receipt) of goods are introduced by this decree?

– The normative act provides for individual entrepreneurs – payers of a single tax, from July 1, 2014, the obligation to have documents confirming the purchase (receipt) of all goods sold, including those imported from the Customs Union countries, in their places of storage, sale, and during their transportation.

– What specific documents will confirm the fact of goods acquisition when imported from the territory of the states – members of the Customs Union?

– These are primary accounting documents provided for by the legislation of the state on the territory of which the goods were acquired, with attached cash (sales) receipts, payment orders, or other documents confirming the fact of payment, as well as invoices, if their issuance is provided for by the legislation of the Customs Union member state on the territory of which the goods were acquired.

– If goods are imported from Russia, what are the requirements for the primary accounting documents issued there?

– Mandatory requisites include: the name of the document, the date of its compilation, the name of the entity that compiled the document, the content of the economic transaction, the quantitative and (or) monetary measurement of the economic transaction with indication of units of measurement, the title of the position of the person who carried out the transaction or operation, signatures with indication of their surnames and initials.

– And when importing goods from Kazakhstan?

– There, the law includes among the mandatory requisites: the name of the document, the date of compilation, the name of the organization or the surname and initials of the entrepreneur on behalf of whom the document is compiled, the content of the operation or event, their units of measurement (in quantitative and monetary terms), the titles of positions, surnames, initials, and signatures of persons responsible for carrying out the operation, and the identification number.

– What documents can be used to confirm the fact of payment for goods when purchasing them in Russia?

– Organizations and individual entrepreneurs using cash registers are obliged to issue printed cash receipts to buyers when conducting cash transactions and (or) transactions using payment cards. In case of receiving cash without using a cash register, upon the buyer's request, a document (sales receipt, payment order, or other document) confirming the receipt of funds for the corresponding goods (work, service) shall be issued.

– Is it required to provide an invoice when importing goods from Russia, and in which cases?

– The issuance of invoices is regulated by Art. 169 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. At the same time, certain Russian taxpayers who do not pay VAT (for example, those using the simplified tax system) do not issue invoices in accordance with Russian legislation. Consequently, when goods are sold by such taxpayers, invoices are not issued to buyers.

– Is it permissible to sell remaining goods purchased before July 1, 2014, for which documents are missing, after July 1, 2014?

– For individual entrepreneurs – payers of a single tax, a transition period until March 1, 2015, has been established by decree, during which they are granted the right to sell remaining goods imported into the territory of Belarus from the territory of the Customs Union countries before July 1, 2014, without documents confirming their purchase (receipt), based on an inventory of such goods. No later than July 30, 2014, individual entrepreneurs will have to submit an inventory of the remaining goods for registration with the tax authorities.

Entrepreneurs should pay attention that inventories of remaining goods submitted after 30.07.2014 will not be registered. Accordingly, goods for which documents are missing and which are not listed in the inventories are not permitted for sale.

The sale of remaining goods in retail trade will be carried out until March 1, 2015, with the payment of a single tax and VAT in fixed amounts.

In addition, individual entrepreneurs have the right to carry out wholesale trade of remaining goods to organizations and individual entrepreneurs based on primary accounting documents drawn up in accordance with the legislation, with the payment of personal income tax or tax under the simplified tax system, and VAT in accordance with the Tax Code of the Republic of Belarus.

In addition, if there are documents confirming the acquisition (receipt) of all goods sold, individual entrepreneurs – payers of a single tax will be able to switch to the simplified taxation system (STS) from July 1 or October 1, 2014, by submitting a notification of switching to the STS to the tax authority at their place of registration, provided that the remaining goods for which there are no acquisition documents are not sold.

– How will payers of a single tax pay VAT from July 1, 2014, when importing goods from the territory of the Customs Union member states?

– In this case, individual entrepreneurs – payers of a single tax, instead of paying a fixed amount of VAT, are obliged to pay the "import" VAT. Monthly, but no later than the 20th day of the month following the month of import, it is necessary to submit a VAT tax return and pay the calculated amount of tax.

– What other changes in the conditions for carrying out activities by individual entrepreneurs are provided for by this decree?

– It should be noted that all individual entrepreneurs are granted the right to engage no more than three hired persons in joint activities, regardless of kinship. Also, restrictions on the number of trade, service, and other facilities used by individual entrepreneurs in their activities are removed.

Sergey Antonov, "Vitebskiye Vesti"