The amount of the fine for non-payment of taxes. What is the penalty for non-payment of taxes by an individual? Penalty for non-payment

ConsultantPlus: note.

Conditions for exemption from criminal liability for non-payment or incomplete payment of tax due to non-inclusion of CFC profits in the tax base of the controlling person (Federal Law of November 24, 2014 N 376-FZ).

Criminal Code of the Russian Federation Article 198. Evasion of an individual from paying taxes, fees and (or) an individual paying insurance premiums from paying insurance premiums

(see text in the previous edition)

1. Evasion of an individual from paying taxes, fees and (or) an individual paying insurance premiums from paying insurance premiums by failure to submit a tax return (calculation) or other documents, the submission of which is mandatory in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation on taxes and fees, or by including deliberately false information in a tax return (calculation) or such documents, committed on a large scale, -

(see text in the previous edition)

shall be punishable by a fine in the amount of one hundred thousand to three hundred thousand rubles, or in the amount of the wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of one to two years, or by forced labor for a term of up to one year, or by arrest for a term of up to six months, or by imprisonment for a term of up to six months. up to one year.

(see text in the previous edition)

2. The same act, committed on an especially large scale, -

shall be punishable by a fine in the amount of two hundred thousand to five hundred thousand rubles, or in the amount of the wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of eighteen months to three years, or by forced labor for a term of up to three years, or by imprisonment for the same term.

(see text in the previous edition)

Notes 1. In this article, an individual payer of insurance premiums means individual entrepreneurs and individuals who are not individual entrepreneurs who make payments and other remuneration to individuals and are obliged to pay insurance premiums in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation on taxes and fees.

2. In this article, a large amount is recognized as the amount of taxes, fees, insurance premiums, amounting to more than nine hundred thousand rubles for a period within three financial years in a row, provided that the share of unpaid taxes, fees, insurance premiums exceeds 10 percent of the amounts of taxes payable, fees, insurance premiums in the aggregate, or exceeding two million seven hundred thousand rubles, and a particularly large amount - an amount amounting to more than four million five hundred thousand rubles for a period within three financial years in a row, provided that the share of unpaid taxes, fees, insurance premiums exceeds 20 percent of the total amount of taxes, fees, and insurance premiums payable, or exceeds thirteen million five hundred thousand rubles.

Tax avoidance, which was discovered, entails extremely unpleasant consequences for the perpetrator. Moreover, the larger the unpaid amounts, the stricter the liability. In this case, penalties may be imposed, and administrative and criminal penalties may be applied to individuals who have made decisions to violate tax laws.

Types of liability for tax evasion

Tax evasion may be considered a tax, administrative or criminal offense. Accordingly, sanctions for committing such an act are prescribed in three legislative acts: the Tax and Criminal Codes and the Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Offenses.

Prosecution is possible in parallel according to the norms of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation and the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation or the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. For example, if a company is caught evading taxes, it will be fined, but officials of that company may face criminal prosecution if their actions are suspected of being criminal.

Who is held accountable under tax law

Taxpayers are punished for tax evasion. And they can be:

  • legal entity;
  • individual entrepreneurs;
  • individual.

Punishments for individuals and organizations do not differ in severity. It all depends on the amount of non-payment to the budget.

In order for a person to be punished for tax evasion, this fact must be officially established, which means that the tax authority must make an appropriate decision. And only after such a decision comes into force can sanctions be applied to the offender.

Persons who may be held accountable under the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation and the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

If tax crimes are committed by taxpayers, which include both legal entities and individuals, then only individuals are brought to administrative and criminal liability for tax evasion.

But the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation has two articles - 198 and 199, according to which the crime consists of tax evasion. Only in the first case is the individual evading, and in the second is the organization. So, if an individual evaded paying tax, then there is a demand from him. And in an organization, such decisions are also made by people who have the appropriate authority, and they are punished.

To be held criminally liable for tax crimes, an individual does not need to be an adult; it is enough to be 16 years old. The same framework is established in the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. This is relevant for tax offenses, because according to the provisions of Art. 27 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, a minor can engage in entrepreneurial activity from the age of 16 if he is declared legally competent.

Sanctions for tax evasion

Tax Code of the Russian Federation

Tax sanctions are established in the form of fines. Such punishment increases budget revenues, and this is important for the state. If the taxpayer evaded paying taxes on a large scale, he also faces criminal liability. But this does not mean that he is exempt from transferring the necessary funds to the budget and paying a fine.

The Tax Code of the Russian Federation has two articles that deal with tax evasion:

  • The amount of the fine for failure to submit a declaration (Article 119 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation) is equal to 5% of the amount that had to be paid to the budget as tax. There is a limitation: the fine cannot be less than 1,000 rubles. and more than 30% of the unpaid tax.
  • If a taxpayer has underestimated the tax base or incorrectly calculated the amount of tax (Article 122 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation), he will be charged a fine of 20% of the unpaid amount. If this was done intentionally, the fine will increase to 40%.

Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Offenses

Don't know your rights?

The Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation provides for liability only for late filing of a declaration. But only an official can be punished. According to Art. 15.5 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, a fine of 300-500 rubles is imposed on him.

Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

Tax evasion in criminal law means failure to file a return or the inclusion of knowingly false information in a return. For such a crime, individual taxpayers and individuals who are authorized employees of organizations bear different responsibilities.

Moreover, the crime of tax evasion arises only if the non-payment was recorded in a large and especially large amount.

The sanctions themselves look like this:

  • If tax evasion is committed by an individual, and non-payment to the budget is qualified as committed on a large scale, the individual may be fined up to 300,000 rubles. or imprisonment for up to 1 year.
  • In case of failure to pay on an especially large scale, the maximum fine increases to 500,000 rubles, and the term of imprisonment increases to 3 years.
  • If tax evasion is committed by an organization on a large scale, the responsible person may be fined up to 300,000 rubles. The term of imprisonment in this case can be up to 2 years. Plus, the guilty person may be prohibited from holding certain positions or conducting certain activities.
  • In case of non-payment of taxes on an especially large scale or by a group of persons in conspiracy, the fine increases to 500,000 rubles, and the term of imprisonment - up to 3 years.

The court decides what sanctions to apply. In this case, the amount of damage caused to the budget, the presence of mitigating or aggravating circumstances and the degree of guilt of the accused play a role.

Limitation periods

In the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, when considering the possibility of applying punishment, two types of statute of limitations are used:

  • to bring to justice (Article 113 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation);
  • to collect fines (Article 115 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

Prosecution for tax evasion can only be carried out within 3 years after the end of the tax period in which the offense was committed. It turns out that the audit, during which the fact of an offense is established, can only cover the last 3 years.

However, the tax office has a way to suspend the statute of limitations. It can be used if there is evidence that the taxpayer has evaded paying taxes, and the statute of limitations is coming to an end. When a taxpayer is stalling for time and actively resisting an audit, the tax office can simply draw up a report (form according to KND 1160074, approved by order of the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated May 8, 2015 No. ММВ-7-2/189@) and thereby suspend the running of the statute of limitations.

As soon as the tax inspectorate has made a decision to hold the offender accountable for tax evasion, the statute of limitations for collecting fines begins to count. Initially, the taxpayer is sent a demand to pay a fine, which specifies the deadline for its execution.

If the taxpayer does not voluntarily comply with the requirement, the tax service has 2 options:

  • within 2 months, independently decide to collect a fine;
  • within six months, apply to the court to collect a fine.

Both of these periods begin to run from the moment the deadline set in the request for payment of the fine expires.

Guilt and circumstances affecting the severity of sanctions

Tax evasion, like other types of tax offenses, can be committed intentionally or through negligence. The difference is that in the first case the person realized that he was acting illegally, and in the second case the offender did not understand that he was breaking the law, although he should have.

The Tax Code of the Russian Federation lists the circumstances on the basis of which the guilt of the offender can be excluded, namely:

  • tax evasion occurred due to a natural disaster or emergency;
  • an individual committed tax evasion due to his painful condition;
  • the taxpayer followed the explanations, acted on instructions from tax or other competent authorities, which ultimately led to tax evasion.

If at least one of the listed circumstances is present, the taxpayer cannot be held accountable.

But if the taxpayer was nevertheless brought to justice, the question of imposing punishment still remains. And here mitigating and aggravating circumstances may have an impact. For those who committed actions that led to tax evasion due to difficult personal circumstances, under threat or due to coercion, it is possible to reduce the fine by at least 2 times. But for those persons who have committed a similar offense again, the fine can be increased by 100%.

When cases of tax evasion are revealed, the state is interested not only in punishing the offender, but also in returning the underpaid amounts to the budget. In addition, the violator is required to pay fines arising from non-payment of taxes, which also increases the flow of revenue to the budget.

On the other hand, the punishment should be such as to prevent the offender from repeatedly evading taxes, so taxpayers who conceal income in large and especially large amounts may even be imprisoned for 3 years.

Punishment for tax crimes can be either a small fine or a term of imprisonment. And sometimes they can be brought to criminal liability for non-payment of taxes even for unpaid taxes when selling an apartment. We will tell you in this article about who and when sanctions from tax legislation can be applied, who is brought to administrative responsibility and when a criminal case for a tax crime is initiated.

General rules of liability for non-payment of taxes and fees

The essence of tax offenses is the illegality of the actions of the person who is responsible for paying fees established by the legislation of the Russian Federation. This is expressed both in action (providing a declaration with a deliberately underestimated tax base) and inaction (failure to provide a reporting declaration, failure to transfer funds to the state).

The grounds for taxpayer liability imply that a person can only be prosecuted for an offense provided for by the tax code. The basic rules for bringing to justice for the commission of tax offenses are provided for in Article 108 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. In general, the list of violations provided for by tax legislation is limited and is not subject to broad interpretation. At the same time, tax authorities who initiate prosecution of the violator should follow the procedure for applying penalties. Otherwise, their actions may be appealed and declared illegal.

Liability may arise if there is a corresponding decision of the tax authority. It must be in force and contain a violation of tax laws. The decision is made based on the results of an inspection (on-site or desk) organized by the Federal Tax Service. It can be appealed by an interested party to a higher tax authority and court. If the tax authorities’ decision is not overturned, then we can talk about holding the taxpayer accountable.

Violation of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation related to the obligation to pay taxes may result in:

  • tax liability(that is, financial, based on the articles of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, in relation to any taxpayers);
  • administrative responsibility(in accordance with the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, in relation to officials and in some cases citizens);
  • criminal liability(under articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, in relation to both citizens and representatives of organizations).

Regardless of the type of liability, the culprit may be subject to a forced procedure for collecting debts incurred as a result of non-payment to the state.

The taxpayer is not required to prove his non-involvement in committing a tax violation. The responsibility to confirm guilt rests with the inspection staff. In tax law, as in criminal or administrative law, any doubts about guilt are interpreted in favor of the taxpayer. The guilt of the offender who failed to pay taxes may be in the form of:

  • intent(deliberate disregard of the requirements of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation);
  • negligence(the culprit had to be aware of the illegality of his actions and foresee the onset of negative consequences, but was not sufficiently attentive to compliance with the requirements of the law).

Example No. 1. Nekrasov A.L. For many years I rented out my home from which I had income. But he did not pay the tax, although he knew very well about the need to pay a 13% tax on income. In this case, Nekrasov A.L. subject to liability (tax or criminal, depending on the amount of non-payment), because he acted intentionally.

Example No. 2. Pokrynov I.M. I also rented out my one-room apartment for 2 years at once. Pokrynov was a law-abiding taxpayer. And right in the lease agreement he provided for a clause according to which the tenant was obliged to transfer 13% of the contract price to the details specified in the text. That is, he must pay tax for I.M. Pokrynov. Thus, the total cost of rent already included the amount of income tax. In 2017 Pokrynov I.M. I checked the receipt of funds in the taxpayer’s personal account on the Federal Tax Service website, but did not check it in 2018. Meanwhile, for 2017, the tax on income from renting out the apartment of Pokrynov I.M. entered the budget, in violation of that very clause of the lease agreement. And for 2018 there was no payment. Thus, Pokrynov I.M. did not have direct intent to evade tax payment. But with the required care, it was necessary to prevent consequences in the form of incomplete receipt of payments. In this case, Pokrynov’s behavior is careless and he bears responsibility (in this situation, tax liability).

There are circumstances that exclude guilt in committing tax violations, including those related to non-payment:

  • forced actions that violate the law caused by a natural disaster or other emergency event that does not depend on the will of a person;
  • commission of an offense by an individual whose mental or physical condition made it impossible to comply with the legal requirements of the law;
  • violation of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation due to incompetent consultations of representatives of the Federal Tax Service or other authorized government bodies.

Of course, the listed reasons must be supported by evidence (natural disaster - relevant services, media reports; painful condition - medical documents, examination, etc.).

Sanctions for violation of Tax Code requirements cannot be applied if the statute of limitations has passed ( 3 years) from the moment the offense was committed.

It is worth taking a closer look at the issue of calculating the statute of limitations for paying taxes: there are some peculiarities here. Thus, in 2016, the Federal Tax Service of Russia posted on its official website clarifications regarding the calculation of the statute of limitations for tax offenses. Three years must be counted from the first day following the tax reporting period. Since the deadlines for submitting declarations to the Federal Tax Service differ depending on the type of taxation, the limitation period in a given case may be different.

Example No. 3. In accordance with the norms of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, the deadline for paying property tax for 2018 is limited to December 1 of the next year, that is, December 1, 2019. Thus, from December 2, 2022, it is impossible to hold a citizen accountable, since the three-year statute of limitations will expire (from December 2, 2019 to December 2, 2022).

Tax liability

According to Article 107 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, both legal entities and individuals over the age of 16 can be held liable for non-payment of taxes.

When an organization is liable to the tax inspectorate for non-payment of fees, it is not excluded that its head may be brought to administrative or criminal liability.

Tax liability is financial sanctions, that is, fines by decision of the tax authority that detected violations. At the same time, it is possible to significantly reduce the fine (at least twice) if there are mitigating circumstances: non-payment due to special circumstances (serious illness of a family member, for example), under the influence of a threat or due to official dependence, etc. Conversely, the monetary sanction can be doubled if there is an aggravating circumstance such as committing a similar offense repeatedly. The recalculation of the fine, taking into account mitigating or aggravating circumstances, may be carried out either by the appellate authority of the tax authority or by the court.

The main types of tax offenses related to non-receipt of tax payments to the budget are:

  1. activities of an individual entrepreneur or organization without registration with the Federal Tax Service. In essence, this is a hidden non-payment of taxes; this may result in liability in the form of a sanction in the amount of 10% of income for the unaccounted period (but not less than 40,000 rubles) - Part 2 of Art. 116 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.
  2. Significant violations of the rules for calculating income and expenses for taxable items (fine 10,000-30,000 rubles) - Art. 120 Tax Code of the Russian Federation.
  3. Failure to submit to the Federal Tax Service a declaration and other information required for tax control. This is one of the frequently used ways not to pay the state; the fine can be 5% of the amount to be declared for each month, but not more than 30% and not less than 1000 rubles - Art. 119 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.
    Example No. 4. Karpov E.N. sold his car, which he had owned for less than 3 years, but did not file a declaration. Based on the decision of the Federal Tax Service, Karpov may be held liable under this article if the cost of the car sold exceeds 250,000 rubles.
  4. Complete non-payment or illegally reduced payment of taxes. A sanction is imposed in the form of a fine from 20 to 40% of the unpaid amount.
    Example No. 5, in case of non-payment of transport tax (for 2019, payment must be made before December 1, 2020), the tax authorities will charge penalties and may bring tax liability under Art. 122 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. If the tax amount, for example, was 10,000 rubles, then the penalty may be 2,000 rubles. If there is evidence of direct intent, tax authorities may impose a fine of 4,000 rubles.
  5. Violation by a tax agent of requirements to withhold amounts from income (for example, failure to pay personal income tax - for this a fine of 1,000 rubles is provided for each month of the reporting period).
  6. Refusal to provide documents to tax authorities upon request, as well as failure to provide information about the taxpayer. An offense of this kind can be either in the form of an official refusal to provide the requested documents, or in the form of evasion from fulfilling the request. The fine for organizations and individual entrepreneurs in such cases is 10,000 rubles, for individuals – 1,000 rubles.

By nature, the listed violations of tax law are in one way or another related to non-payment of taxes and fees. So, if an individual entrepreneur provides a distorted income report to the Federal Tax Service, in most cases this is a way of not paying tax. Then there are grounds for a financial sanction.

Administrative responsibility

The general conditions of administrative liability for non-payment of taxes are the same:

  • presumption of innocence;
  • a person can be prosecuted only once for the same offense;
  • all doubts are interpreted in favor of the person;
  • it is necessary to comply with the procedural procedures for bringing to justice.

Violations of the payment of taxes and duties are contained in Articles 15.3 – 15.9, as well as 15.11 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.

According to administrative legislation, officials are held accountable. This does not exclude tax liability and the application of a fine under the Tax Code of the Russian Federation in relation to the organization of which this person is a representative.

Citizens, including individual entrepreneurs, cannot be the subject of administrative violations (exception – Article 15.6). We are talking only about the management personnel of the organization, who dispose of, manage property, and keep records (Article 2.4 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation).

The basis for prosecution under administrative law is the protocol of violation. It is compiled by employees of the Federal Tax Service. The person in respect of whom the inspection was carried out and the protocol was drawn up has every right to get acquainted with all the materials of the inspection and appeal them to the court.

The most common administrative offenses in the field of taxation are:

1. Violation of deadlines for registration with the tax authority. WITH Article 15.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation provides for a fine of 500-1000 rubles, and for those who carried out their activities during such an “unaccounted” period, the fine increases to 3000 rubles. For the first time, officials brought under such an article may only be given a warning without a penalty. But if the violation of the deadline does not exceed 2-3 weeks.

This norm of administrative legislation “refers” to Articles 23.83 of the Tax Code, which talks about the rules for registering organizations and individual entrepreneurs. Thus, the organization is obliged to register with the Federal Tax Service at its location within 10 days after registration. If this requirement is violated, an official of a legal entity is subject to liability under Art. 15.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, which does not exclude the application of tax sanctions under Art. 116 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation to the enterprise itself.

2. violation of reporting deadlines (that is, filing a declaration) to the Federal Tax Service. Article 15.5 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation provides for a soft sanction - a warning or a fine of 300-500 rubles. Typically, the chief accountant or another person entrusted with the function of submitting a declaration to the inspectorate is found guilty under this rule. In addition, individuals are responsible for the same actions on the basis of Art. 119 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

3. refusal to provide documents necessary for employees of the Federal Tax Service to carry out control measures of a tax nature. This is Article 15.6 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation with a fine for officials in the amount of 300-500 rubles. In addition, in part 1 of Art. 15.6 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation there is a separate fine for individuals, including entrepreneurs, in the amount of 100-300 rubles.

The essence of the offense is a complete or partial refusal to provide documents required by the tax inspectorate for verification. The Tax Code has a special procedure - the taxpayer is given a request to provide information within 10 business days from the date of its receipt.

After the expiration of the 10-day period, in case of failure to provide information, the measures of Art. 15.6 Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. Administrative proceedings are initiated even when documents were provided, but untimely or with distorted information.

4. significant violations of accounting. WITH Article 15.11 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation provides for a fine in the amount of 5,000 to 10,000 rubles (from 10,000 to 20,000 rubles for a repeated violation of a similar nature within a year). We are talking about non-compliance with the Law of the Russian Federation No. 129-FZ “On Accounting” with regards to the preparation of primary accounting and other documents.

In case of incorrect filling out of the accounting reporting forms approved by the Order of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, administrative proceedings may be initiated against the official under Art. 15.11 Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. If such actions distorted the reporting by more than 10%. It is clear that according to this norm of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, accountants are mainly involved.

Question:
What to do if the organization does not have a full-time accountant and the reporting is handled by a third-party specialist working under a contract?

In accordance with the explanations of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, in such cases he is liable under Art. 15.11 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation is the head of a legal entity, since he is responsible for monitoring the enterprise as a whole.

The issue of holding officials accountable under the listed articles of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation is considered by the courts, and protocols are drawn up by employees of the Federal Tax Service.

Criminal liability for tax evasion

Those who do not pay taxes may become accused under the following articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

  • 198 – tax evasion by an individual;
  • 199 – evasion of taxes and fees by representatives of a legal entity;
  • 199.1 – failure to transfer deductions in favor of the state by a tax agent.

For these acts, a person over 16 years of age may be held criminally liable. However, judicial practice does not know any examples of convictions of minor citizens under these articles of the criminal law.

Tax liability for non-payment of taxes may arise by decision of the tax authority. And for a criminal case, the decision of the Federal Tax Service is also necessary. In general, the inspection is obliged to send information about detected non-payment to the investigative authorities if four conditions are simultaneously met:

  1. the decision to bring to tax liability has been made and has entered into legal force;
  2. the taxpayer was notified of the obligation to pay tax with penalties within the prescribed period;
  3. 2 months have passed since the expiration of the period specified in the notification;
  4. a large or particularly large amount of the unpaid amount has been established.

The inspection is obliged to send information within 10 days from the date of detection of violations. After which the investigative committee makes a decision to initiate a criminal case or to refuse to initiate it. It depends on the presence/absence of a crime.

Article 198 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

Accused under Art. 198 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation can be a citizen as an individual (including an individual entrepreneur, private notary, lawyer, etc.). That is, the subject of this crime cannot be an official.

Non-payment of taxes under this article entails the initiation of a criminal case if (alternatively):

  • the Federal Tax Service has not provided a tax return or other documentation (extracts from accounting books, sales books, business transactions journal, pay slips, etc.), the submission of which to government agencies is mandatory;
  • the declaration has been submitted, but it contains deliberately false information, which results in a tax debt.

In addition, a mandatory element of a criminal offense is a certain amount of the unpaid amount. This is a large or extra large size.

Question:
At what amount does criminal liability begin under Art. 198 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation?

Answer: A large amount is considered to be an amount of untransferred tax in excess of 900,000 rubles for three financial years (consecutive), provided that this amount is more than 10% of the total (or the tax base exceeds 2,700,000 rubles) tax liabilities.

A particularly large amount is considered to be an amount over 4,500,000 rubles over three years, if this amount of debt is more than 20% of the total (or the tax base exceeds 13,500,000 rubles).

If the amount of unpaid taxes does not reach a large or particularly large amount, then administrative liability arises against the person. No criminal case can be initiated. Although it is possible to bring both tax and criminal liability at the same time.

For a crime under Art. 198 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, as for other tax crimes, it is important to establish a period for filing a return for a particular tax. Failure to pay can be prosecuted under the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation only if the individual did not complete the transfer on the date following such period.

Example No. 6. According to Part 2 of Article 346.23 of the Tax Code, an individual entrepreneur is required to submit a simplified taxation system (Simplified Taxation System) declaration to the Federal Tax Service by April 30 of the year following the reporting year. If for three years in a row an individual entrepreneur has submitted such a declaration with false information (or did not submit it at all) and the amount of non-payment as of May 1 is more than 900 thousand rubles, he is subject to liability under Art. 198 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Note that the three years that follow one after another before the year the case was initiated are taken into account.

The debt itself should be expressed only in the amount of unpaid taxes. Fines, penalties, etc. are not cumulative.

An individual found guilty of committing a crime under Art. 198 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, punishment may be imposed in the form of:

  • fine in the amount from 100,000 rubles to 300,000 rubles or imprisonment up to one year(under Part 1 of Article 198 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, when the amount of tax debt corresponds to a large amount);
  • fine in the amount from 200,000 rubles to 500,000 rubles or imprisonment up to 3 years(under Part 2 of Article 198 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation - the amount of non-payment is a particularly large amount).

Example No. 7. An example of a criminal case under Art. 198 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation may serve as the following situation. For three years, Ivanov K.E. I rented out my own prestigious apartment in Moscow, the monthly payment was 250,000 rubles. At the same time, Ivanov did not declare his income and did not pay taxes. The Federal Tax Service, if such a fact is discovered, has the right to calculate the non-payment and make an appropriate decision. Then there will be a requirement to pay not only the basic amount of tax for renting out the apartment, but also fines and penalties. If Ivanov does not do this, he may be prosecuted under Part 1 of Art. 198 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, since over three years the unpaid tax (without penalties and fines) will amount to 1,170,000 rubles (250 thousand rubles X 12 months X 3 years X 13%), that is, over 900,000 rubles.

Citizens can be brought to criminal liability with punishment in the form of a fine and for non-payment of taxes on the sale of an apartment or other real estate, if all the signs of a crime under Art. 198 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (period, amount, intent) are confirmed by the collected evidence.

If the declaration is submitted on time and contains reliable data, but the tax is not paid, criminal liability is excluded. Here we can only talk about the use of clauses. 1.3 tbsp. 122 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation (fine of 20% or 40% of the total debt).

Criminal liability for tax evasion by an individual is excluded when the elements of a crime are confirmed and the culprit has evaded paying taxes. first, but at the same time paid for everything in full, including penalties and fines. If the case has already been opened by the time full payment is made, it must be dismissed. Thus, the legislator makes it possible for a person to avoid a criminal record. You need to repent and agree with the charges brought against you, paying off all tax debts.

Article 199 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

In accordance with Art. 199 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the following persons can be brought to criminal liability for non-payment of taxes:

  • managers of the taxpayer organization (for example, directors of an LLC);
  • chief accountant (or ordinary accountant, if the organization’s staff does not provide for the position of chief accountant);
  • other persons who actually perform the role of a manager or accountant are required to sign documentation sent to the Federal Tax Service.

In some cases, ordinary employees of a legal entity are also charged under this article. If they draw up accounting documents and enter false information into them to deliberately evade the organization from paying legal deductions. In such situations, these people are recognized as accomplices in the commission of a crime.

Based on practice, according to Art. 199 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, cases of non-payment of income tax or VAT are often initiated and investigated.

The signs of this crime are similar to those of Art. 198 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, with the exception of large and especially large sizes. According to Art. 199 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the legislator provides the following amounts from which liability for non-payment of taxes by a legal entity begins:

  • A large amount is an amount exceeding 5 million rubles for three financial years (consecutive), provided that this amount is more than 25% of the total amount of tax liabilities (or the tax base exceeds 15,000,000 rubles).
  • An especially large amount is considered to be an amount in excess of 15 million rubles over three years, if this amount is more than 50% of the total (or the tax base exceeds 45,000,000 rubles).

If the subject of a crime under Article 199 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is found guilty, he may be sentenced to:

  • fine in the amount 100,000-300,000 rubles up to 2 years(for part one, in case of non-payment of a large amount);
  • fine in the amount 200,000-500,000 rubles, as well as imprisonment for a period up to 6 years old(for part two, in case of failure to pay an especially large amount and/or when a crime was committed as part of a group of persons by prior conspiracy).

In addition, the person convicted under both parts of the article may be given an additional punishment. Prohibition to hold managerial positions (including those related to accounting) for a period of up to 3 years.

Similar to Article 198 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the head of an organization cannot be held criminally liable, and the case initiated is subject to termination if the debt on fees is paid in full, including penalties and fines.

Article 199.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

In accordance with Art. 199.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, charges may be brought against a tax agent. He can be an individual entrepreneur, as well as the head of an organization that is obliged to calculate and withhold, as well as transfer tax (for example, income tax) for the taxpayer. That is, a citizen (for example, its employee) received income from the organization (individual entrepreneur) (in the form of a salary), but out of personal interest, the director of the company did not transfer 13% of the personal income tax for the employee to the budget on a large scale. This is a tax agent crime.

The crime is considered committed from the moment of failure to transfer within the period established by the requirements of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation; the punishment and values ​​of the amount of underpayment are similar to the description contained in Article 199 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Statute of limitations for tax crimes

The statute of limitations for criminal prosecution depends on the category of the crime. When the statute of limitations expires, the prosecution of the person ceases (if it did not begin, the case is not brought).

Article 78 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides that in cases of minor gravity (that is, under Part 1 and Part 2 of Article 198 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, Part 1 of Article 199 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, Part 1 of Article 199.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) the limitation period is 2 of the year. For serious crimes (Part 2 of Article 199 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), this period is 10 years. In relation to tax crimes, the limitation period is calculated from the date following the last day of the reporting period.

Example No. 8. The last day for submitting VAT reports for the 1st quarter of 2019 is April 25, 2019. If over the previous 3 years the person involved in the case has not submitted reports for all periods, a criminal case may be initiated against him under Part 1 of Art. 198 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (if non-payment is 900,000 rubles). At the same time, if the investigation into the case drags on and a verdict has not yet been reached in 2021, the accused after 04/25/2021 may declare the case dismissed due to the expiration of the statute of limitations provided for in paragraph “a” of Part 1 of Art. 78 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (that is, after 2 years from the end of the last reporting period). Depending on the stage at which the proceedings are, the court or investigative authorities will terminate the case.

A guilty verdict, as well as the termination of a case on non-rehabilitating grounds (amnesty, active repentance, etc.) do not exempt a person from paying the tax debt and all additional charges. Usually in a criminal case there is already a claim on behalf of the Federal Tax Service or the prosecutor's office, the decision on which is made along with the sentencing of the case.

Thus, criminal liability for tax evaders is a last resort when all measures to comply with tax legislation by the state have already been exhausted. The criminal procedure law is also loyal to tax evaders. So, in accordance with the rules of Art. 108 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation, for those accused of committing a crime in the field of taxation, detention as a preventive measure for the period of investigation can be applied only in exceptional cases specifically provided for by law (lack of permanent registration in the territory of the Russian Federation, identity has not been established, being put on the wanted list or repeated violations previously chosen preventive measure).

Responsibility for non-payment of taxes is provided for by tax, administrative and criminal law. And if everything is more or less clear with administrative sanctions and measures of tax liability, then it is much less common to encounter criminal prosecution for non-payment of legally accrued taxes. We will talk about criminal liability for tax evasion in this article.

Responsibility for non-payment of taxes (both by individuals and other taxpayers)

In accordance with current legislation, both individuals and legal entities must pay established taxes. If an authorized person for any reason evades paying tax (in whole or in part), he may be brought to tax, administrative and even criminal liability.

It should be noted that, within the framework of criminal law, liability for non-payment of taxes can only occur for individuals. person (official of the organization), while administrative and tax liability extends to officials, individuals, and legal entities.

As for physical persons, then if such an offense was committed by them for the first time, it cannot entail criminal liability if the offender paid the full amount of the underpayment. In addition, criminal liability can only arise if the act committed by a citizen is large or especially large in size. For minor offenses relating to non-payment of taxes, liability arises only under administrative or tax law.

What does the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation say about non-payment of taxes?

According to Art. 198-199 of the Criminal Code, we can talk about the occurrence of criminal liability in cases where the actions committed by a person were aimed at evading obligations to pay taxes/duties (both in full and in part), if the amount of underpayment exceeds 10% of the total amount of tax/ fee payable.

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To assign punishment physical. to a person in case of tax evasion, the amount of the underpaid amount on a large scale must exceed 10% of the total amount of accrued tax for the past 3 years and amount to more than 600 thousand rubles. (or 1.8 million rubles, regardless of the period and proportions).

A particularly large amount is considered to be an amount of at least 20% of the total amount of accrued tax for the previous 3 years and amounting to at least 3 million rubles (or an amount exceeding 9 million rubles, regardless of the proportions and period).

If we talk about the amounts of taxes unpaid by legal entities. persons, then authorized officials are found guilty of committing a crime (large-scale tax evasion) when the amount of underpayment exceeds 10% of the total tax accrued to the organization for 3 financial years and amounts to more than 2 million rubles. (or more than 6 million rubles, regardless of the proportion and period).

In this case, the amount of unpaid tax is considered especially large if it exceeds 20% of the total tax accrued for the 3 previous financial years and amounts to at least 10 million rubles. Also considered particularly large is underpaid tax in the amount of at least 30 million rubles, regardless of the period and proportions.

Criminal prosecution of individuals

Now let's talk in more detail about the criminal liability for tax evasion individuals and individual entrepreneurs. Article 198 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for the following types of punishments for individuals. persons and individual entrepreneurs:

  • fine (100-300 thousand rubles or in the amount of salary (other income) for 1 or 2 years);
  • arrest (from 4 to 6 months);
  • imprisonment (up to 1 year).

Such types of punishment are possible in case of a large amount of tax arrears, but if we are talking about a particularly large one, then punishment is possible in the form of:

  • a fine of 200-500 thousand rubles or in the amount of salary (other income) for a period of 1.5 to 3 years;
  • imprisonment for up to 3 years.

Fines and penalties for tax evasion

In administrative and tax law, punishment is expressed in the form of a fine for non-payment of taxes. The amount of the fine is determined depending on the specific actions committed by the offender and taking into account the circumstances under which such actions were committed.

The legislation also allows for the accrual of penalties for non-payment of taxes on the amount of tax that was payable but was not paid within the specified period. The amount of the penalty is determined based on the current refinancing rate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.

  1. What types of taxes are paid by legal entities and individuals?
  2. The concept of tax evasion and responsibility
  3. Liability for non-payment
  4. Is criminal liability possible?

What types of taxes are paid by legal entities and individuals?

Taxation of individuals differs from payment of taxes by legal entities. Typically, individuals pay property and income taxes. Personal income tax (personal income tax) is paid by the employer, but this fee for renting out the premises must be paid by the landlord. Thus, in some cases, citizens can pay personal income tax. Other mandatory taxes include:
  • transport;
  • land;
  • property.
Every owner of real estate or other property must pay taxes on that property. After an application from the Federal Tax Service (Federal Tax Service), each citizen is assigned a personal account and an account to which payments must be received monthly. Notifications of tax assessments are sent to the post office at your place of registration. If a citizen does not apply to the tax office with the appropriate application, no letters will be received, but he is not exempt from paying contributions.
You can find out about the accrual of debt to the Federal Tax Service in your personal account on the website of this institution.
As for individual entrepreneurs, the tax burden on them is greater. Every employer is required to pay income tax for each worker, including himself. Among the main taxes paid by LLCs, individual entrepreneurs and legal entities are:
  • income tax;
    • Depending on the taxation system, the amount of such payment may vary. Many small individual entrepreneurs and LLCs choose the simplified taxation system (STS), which is provided for by the law “On the development of small and medium-sized businesses.”
  • transport and land tax(paid if the business has land or vehicles);
  • insurance premiums;
  • VAT and personal income tax for each employee of the enterprise, including the owner.
for non-payment of taxes in 2018 will not rise, but control of the income of legal entities and individuals by the National Assembly will become significantly stricter. This is due to the need to register all retail outlets and the purchase of cash registers by private entrepreneurs.

The concept of tax evasion and responsibility

The Tax Code of the Russian Federation provides the basic definition of the term “tax evasion,” which includes: 1. Payments are not made in full. 2. Refusal to make payment completely. 3. Do-it-yourself tax calculations that lead to debt. 4. Submitting reports later than scheduled. 5. Reducing basic taxes. Basic taxes are those that apply to all citizens. These include the tax rate on profit, including the amount from renting out an apartment by an individual.

Liability for non-payment

Each tax provides for certain sanctions against the taxpayer. Avoiding transferring a percentage of profit can lead to unpleasant consequences:
fines;
fines; and criminal penalties;
  • recovery in court. It is worth noting that failure to pay certain taxes can lead to various consequences:
  • 1. Income tax. penalty 5% of the tax amount, 180 days after non-payment - 30%, and from 181 every month an amount of 10% of the debt will be charged;
fine
in the amount of 20% from debt. If the tax office receives evidence of deliberate non-payment, a fine of 40% will be charged on the amount of debt. 2. Tax on renting out an apartment. Responsibility: from debt. All citizens who rent out an apartment are required to register agreements for the transfer of the apartment for temporary use. According to this agreement, landlords are required to pay personal income tax to the treasury in the amount of 13%. If necessary, a citizen can request a tax deduction for these contributions. 3. Transport tax. Property tax for individuals also includes transport tax. These contributions are paid monthly upon sending a letter from the tax office. The taxpayer has 1 year from the date of receipt of the notification to transfer funds. Boats, sea and river vessels, cargo transport, passenger vehicles, agricultural equipment and vehicles that are wanted are subject to taxation.
a penalty, which is proportional to the number of overdue days, filing a claim in court to seize property and transport.
4. Land tax.

This tax does not have a fixed rate and varies depending on the region of the country. For each day after delay, a penalty is charged, and a fine of 20 to 40% of the tax amount is withdrawn.


The accrual of penalties and fines refers to administrative liability that does not cause significant damage to a person or company. At the same time, tax evasion is punishable by law, namely Article 198 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. This responsibility comes after the Federal Tax Service has assessed the amount of debt in excess of 600 thousand rubles and in especially large amounts - in excess of 3 million rubles. The legislation provides for fines for evading such taxes, as well as imprisonment from several months to three years. If law enforcement agencies discover other violations of the law by a citizen or company, the term of imprisonment may increase significantly up to 7-10 years. If criminal liability occurs for the second or third time, but the previous time the court decided to pay a fine, then the subsequent court may impose imprisonment.
If a person violates the tax law for the first time and the matter comes to trial, it can be closed without trial if the entire debt is paid off. Such a solution to the situation is only possible if the citizen has not been prosecuted before and is ready to repay the debt.
The following mitigating circumstances are also taken into account in the trial:
  • illness of the taxpayer;
  • unusual situations that led to the emergence of debt;
  • expiration of the statute of limitations on debt;
  • unintentional non-payment (lack of payment warning).
It is worth noting that the Federal Tax Service quickly transfers cases of tax evasion, so the statute of limitations for debt expires in rare cases. From the date of accrual of the fine, the statute of limitations is 3 years.