Bank account seizure is a mechanism provided by law to protect public interests or the interests of individuals in litigation. The law provides for the order of seizure and removal. Despite the relative simplicity of the rules, they are often used with violations.
Bank account
Almost everyone has a bank account. Almost all organizations list salaries on the card. Social government assistance and pensions are also almost everywhere transferred to cards for the convenience of clients.
Citizens get cards for their own comfort in order to receive transfers and pay through them the services of companies and organizations. If an account establishment is a matter of personal choice for citizens and individuals, organizations, especially commercial ones, are required to acquire them.
In this regard, the seizure of a bank account has become a fairly effective way to influence debtors and offenders.
What is an arrest
The seizure of a bank account means the inability to use the funds available on it. The restriction may concern both a certain amount and all receipts.
The amount is temporarily blocked until the circumstances are clarified (the bank has the right to suspend operations for 5 days before the decision is made by the Financial Monitoring).
Money is blocked in the amount prescribed in the decree of the authority, the remaining amount of funds remains at the complete disposal of the client. Another option is that money is periodically debited from the account at each receipt until the debt is paid off.
Or at the disposal of the account holder may leave a fixed amount, the remaining funds are subject to blocking, and then debited.
Who has the authority
Among state bodies, the powers to seize bank accounts are:
- Tax service.
- The bailiff.
- The court is in the process of proceeding in the cases under consideration and also on the recommendation of the investigator.
Account Holder First Steps
The bailiff or other official sends a request to the bank for the search for bills, as well as for their arrest.
Having received a document, the bank immediately suspends operations. The client finds out the reason only when contacting the bank, in addition, banks are prohibited from informing in advance about the impending arrest. So the surprise may be very unexpected.
Bank is the first source of information about account blocking. Failure to provide detailed information is illegal. Further it is already possible to build an action plan.
Features of tax action
The FTS has the power to seize bank accounts without first going to court. The body applies one of the forms of blockage (full or partial).
The enterprise or individual entrepreneur is prohibited:
- open accounts with other credit and banking organizations;
- open deposit accounts.
Reasons for suspension of account movements:
- collection of tax arrears;
- no tax return or other tax reporting documents have been submitted.
Nevertheless, it is allowed to withdraw funds from a blocked account for the payment of employees, the payment of alimony (rather, we are talking about individual entrepreneurs).
As soon as the reason for the seizure of the account is eliminated, the tax service removes all restrictions.
Unlawful seizure of funds in a bank account can be appealed. In this case, in the arbitration court. A preliminary complaint is filed with a higher tax authority, otherwise the court will not accept the application.
The accounts of individuals not IP tax service has no right to arrest.If this happens, the complaint is filed with the district court.
Actions of the bailiff
He works with existing accounts, which the court arrested before the enforcement proceedings. Or if no one has previously seized accounts, the bailiff can track them down by submitting requests to different banks.
The presence of an official job or other income (pension) facilitates the search. The seizure of a bank account by bailiffs is one of the first actions in enforcement proceedings.
The ordinary bailiff has the right to block the account, however, he no longer has the right to remove the lock, removing restrictions is the authority of the department head. If the actions are illegal, in particular, the account has been seized to receive child allowance (the law prohibits collecting from them), 10 days are given to file a complaint.
She is served either to the senior bailiff, or to court. If you first go to the prosecutor's office, from there the documents will be forwarded to the bailiff. Prosecutors have the right to intervene when the superior of the authority to which the application is received takes action.
An application to the court to remove an arrest from a bank account by bailiffs is allowed to be sent in a 10-day period.
Unfortunately, practice shows that higher bailiffs do not remove the arrest if the blocking is illegal or the grounds have disappeared, and citizens often have to go to court.
The powers of a judge in criminal proceedings
As part of the criminal process, it is allowed to block accounts. However, the procedure is much more complicated than seizing money in a bank account by bailiffs.
Interestingly, the court has the right to block the accounts of both the suspect, and the accused, and another person responsible for their actions (a person who is involved as a civil defendant).
The court is obliged to state the circumstances that prompted it to agree with the opinion of the investigator; the decision should clearly state the restrictions.
The arrest is canceled upon the expiration of his term, the termination of the criminal case, other circumstances that the investigator or the interrogating officer considers sufficient to withdraw the arrest.
The decision of the judge may be appealed. This fact encourages judges to make more informed decisions.
Civil and other matters
The judge does not make an independent decision regarding the arrest. It is imposed on the initiative of the plaintiff or the prosecutor or other body protecting the interests of the plaintiff.
An application for the seizure of a bank account is sent to the court at any time after the transfer of the claim to court. You can combine the statements, but it’s better not to: the defendant, having learned about the attempted arrest, can take measures to withdraw funds from the accounts.
In addition, a judicial act is not automatically transferred to a bank or other organization that maintains an account. The arrest of funds in a bank account is made by the FSSP. The applicant for this transmits a copy of the decision to the service, attaching it to the application for the commencement of enforcement proceedings.
Restrictions are removed either if the plaintiff loses the case, or after the defendant transfers the agreed amount of money.
In practice, judges rarely issue decisions to arrest bills. The bailiffs are already doing all this at the execution stage.
What difficulty do judges face?
The imposition of an arrest on a bank account cannot be arbitrary, so as not to paralyze the activities of the enterprise or the life of a person, especially if the income on the account is the only one that ensures his life.
The amount seized on the account must be proportionate, as far as citizens are concerned, the law prohibits withdrawing from the account an amount exceeding half the monthly income.
An exception is provided if there are debts on the payment of alimony. In addition, the debtor has the right to ask to reduce the amount that is withdrawn from his account every month (for example, he is the only one who works in the family, his wife or child is seriously ill, etc.).
Judges often state in decisions that seizure is imposed both on the account and on other property, insuring themselves against the senselessness of the arrest and giving the bailiff a certain freedom.
How to get rid of arrest
The work of the state apparatus is bureaucratized. As described above, restrictions are lifted provided they are illegal or the circumstances that caused them are eliminated.
Illegal actions are appealed within 15 days if it is a court ruling in a civil or administrative case.
If officials send them to court, not wanting to withdraw the arrest themselves for internal departmental reasons, the statute of limitations does not apply. The violation is considered continuing, and the citizen has reason not to worry about the deadlines.
Previously, an application is submitted to the state body with a request to remove the arrest from bank accounts. Documents are attached, information from which prove the unreasonableness of the arrest or the absence of grounds for further continuation of restrictions.
The nuances of going to court
A complaint is filed in court at the place of action of the authority that made the relevant decision.
Citizens submit it in accordance with the CAS standards, entrepreneurs and commercial organizations - in accordance with the rules of the agro-industrial complex.
Applicant indicates:
- name of court;
- information about yourself (full name, account number);
- information about the unit of the body that applied the arrest;
- information about the other side of the case;
- circumstances are set forth (who, for what reasons used the arrest, why it is illegal or is no longer justified);
- date, signature, full name;
- inventory from the attached documents.
As a rule, a copy of the decision or other act on the seizure of the account, other papers confirming the arguments are attached. For example, a certificate from a bailiff about repayment of a debt.
Conclusion
Seizure of a bank account - a procedure used for various reasons by different authorities. The imposition order is also different, the tax authorities and the bailiffs have the broadest powers, all other bodies have the right to only apply to the court, which makes the decision.
The arrest is removed either by the body that initiated it, or by the court upon the complaint of the owner.
