Consumer society is a non-profit organization that is created to meet the material needs of all its members. The software charter regulates which types of management will be practiced within a particular organization. Any income received by the company is divided between people in society. This is commonly called cooperative payments. If at the general meeting the participants decide that the funds of the consumer society should be spent on other needs, then the profit will be directed there.
Important Features
Creating a consumer society always takes into account the stage of development of documentation governing the further functioning of the organization. There is an internal workflow. These papers clearly state how nonprofit activity is possible in society.
Any capable citizen of the country who has reached the age of majority can enter into such a community. This is available not only for residents of the state, but also for non-residents. Legal entities can also be accepted here, regardless of what their legal form is. An important simplification is the lack of requirements from the tax authorities to notify them of a change in the number of members, as well as register.
Despite the fact that the company will have an authorized capital, which is more correctly called collateral, it can be changed in the course of the organization. Such actions by the state are allowed without a registration procedure.
Is it fair?
How honest is the consumer society, cooperative? In the classical case, the fundamental principles of democracy are ideally respected here. Moreover, it is believed that there are no other commercial structures that comply with such principles to a greater extent. Why? Here are the main characteristics of a consumer society:
- contributions are paid by everyone;
- participation is of free will;
- one share gives only one vote, and it does not matter how much money has been contributed.
How does it work?
In many respects, groups conducting non-commercial, commercial activities without special registration have become so popular because the geography of their activities is not limited by anything. In this regard, the consumer cooperative is much more convenient than a separate unit. It allows you to cover new regions without loss, paperwork, contributions and taxes. If a certain shareholder is in debt, a lawsuit against him will not affect the share in the consumer society, whether it be at least a legal entity, at least a private one. This means that the consumer cooperative will retain its funds regardless of what the creditor claims of external structures are.
If the shareholder demands the return of the contribution made by him to the company, such a procedure is carried out without paying additional taxes, since it is considered that there is no income as such. The company has internal mechanisms to attract shareholders' money for different purposes, it has the right to lend to interested parties without obtaining licenses for this. You can deposit a share, you can return the funds not only with money, but also in material terms, services, other assets.
Consumer society is great opportunity
Different societies may come into contact with each other.In particular, the exchange of property between such organizations is not taxed. You can adjust the base from which taxes are levied: reduce by an amount equal to membership dues. One can also form an indivisible fund. This, to a greater extent than the law on consumer societies, helps protect oneself from unscrupulous investors.
The powers vested in the consumer society of mutual insurance (and other types) are quite broad. It is possible to form various societies in the field of medicine, education, science and research, publishing. A consumer society is an organization that guarantees the transfer of funds received from entrepreneurship to the “single boiler”, and also provides membership fees paid by a subsidiary. The management of the consumer society implies the management of all objects, vehicles, land and housing owned by the organization.
If shareholders receive material assistance from society, it is necessary to pay personal income tax on it. Since members of the organization are not employees, additional taxes are not levied.
Positive aspects
Advantages of the district, regional consumer society (and other types):
- reception of legal entities and individuals;
- simplified system of state registration and taxation;
- safety of property in relation to creditors, raiders;
- ownership of various objects;
- the formation of funds distributed among participants without a tax burden;
- formation of a protective indivisible fund;
- refund to a shareholder without tax;
- commercial activities may involve the sharing of profits between participants;
- lack of licensing when issuing loans;
- the ability to provide shareholders services without obtaining the appropriate licenses;
- the possibility of forming cooperative plots, which excludes registration;
- tax savings and refunds to authorized capital or directly to participants;
- trust funds may exchange property;
- the owner has his share, has guarantees for this, management and inheritance mechanisms work;
- there is no taxation with properly executed securities (that is, an “offshore zone” is formed).
Of course, the union of consumer societies has some other positive aspects, but they will be determined by the individual characteristics of a particular organization.
Laws: Restrictions
In the Russian Federation, registering a consumer society is not a very difficult task, but it involves certain subtleties. In particular, any legal entity cannot use the phrase “consumer society” in its name, as well as the corresponding union. Of course, real cooperatives, which are based on the relevant law, can use such phrases in the names, but this applies only to specialized organizations. But a certain legal entity, which, let’s say, liked the sound of words, has no right to take them as a name.
How to get into society?
Consumer society is an organization in which not only individuals, but also companies that want to make a share can get into. To do this, you need to write a statement in the prescribed form, send it to the leaders of the company and register according to the rules of workflow. If the application is executed by a private trader, he shall indicate:
- full name;
- where does he live;
- date of birth.
The legal entity provides information:
- where is;
- registration number;
- full name;
- TIN;
- Bank details.
Even a person without legal regular income, a pensioner and a person with state benefits, scholarship payments enter a district consumer society.If a potential team member belongs to one of these groups, he must notify the company representative when submitting the application.
Will they accept it?
Often, consumer society is a rather bureaucratic structure, so applications for participation are not always considered quickly. The law gives such organizations up to thirty days. The paper is sent to the council, where managers make the final decision. If this turned out to be positive, the person turns into a shareholder as soon as he makes an entrance fee. You will also have to pay at least part of the share contribution. How much the share fee is large, what part you need to pay immediately and with what you can pull, is determined by the charter of the organization.
As a positive decision is made and the amounts are paid, the shareholder receives a document of a sample established within the company. He testifies that the person is an official member of the consumer society and certifies this fact at various instances upon presentation.
Why are consumer societies needed?
So, suppose the registration of the consumer society was successful, but what will the organization do next? Most of the companies operating in this sector today declare their work as a desire to improve technology, infrastructure, and living conditions. Societies trying to keep up with the times promise to put into practice the most reliable and profitable forms of control of consolidated resources, integrate the latest production schemes into everyday life, which leads to lower costs for meeting the needs of shareholders. All this, according to the loud statements of organizations, is aimed at the benefit of the end consumer, but at the same time is not a source of profit.
Goals that a consumer society can strive for:
- social;
- education;
- culture enhancement;
- health protection;
- charity;
- scientific;
- resource management;
- sports development;
- satisfaction of non-material needs;
- legal protection;
- conflict resolution;
- assistance related to laws and legal issues;
- goals to talk about the achievement of public goods in the performance of tasks assigned to society.
How to achieve?
What can consumer society do to achieve the above? Agreements are concluded, thanks to which they develop trade, which guarantees access to goods to all members of the organization. The cooperative can purchase from various individuals, both legal and private, raw materials, products, products made by them, harvested fruits, berries growing in the wild, other raw materials, which are then sent for processing and then sold. Society produces food, non-food products, sends them to stores.
An organization provides services to its members, and also promotes a certain ideology. As a rule, they strive to advertise the principles of cooperation, resorting to the media, which is becoming one of the methods to attract more shareholders.
Internal organization
About what internal structure the organization should have, says the charter of the consumer society adopted in it. As a rule, cooperatives are quite democratic, which should be the key to good governance and ensuring the interests of all participants.
The board of shareholders controls everything. The next step is the council of societies headed by the chairman, as well as the public board and the committee responsible for control and audit. When conducting the council, each participant has only one vote, that is, there is no dependence on how large a contribution was made to him upon entry.
Arguments for agitation
As a rule, consumer societies, drawing public attention to themselves and striving to attract more participants, operate on the following facts:
- current laws are aimed at protecting the interests of shareholders;
- management in the organization is democratic;
- the state provides support;
- non-profit activities.
Practice shows that consumer cooperatives are most trusted in the elderly, as well as socially unprotected. All these people strive to support their seemingly good undertakings, counting on help and support. For many, such societies are associated with former times, when all trade was under state control, and speculation was unacceptable behavior.
Benefit, activity
Still, it’s not worth it to deceive yourself: software, even non-profit, conducts certain activities designed to “make money”. This is the basis for survival in the modern world. Although, of course, with the correct structure and reliable members, we can say that each individual participant will remain in a certain benefit.
Consumer society is involved in the production of products, their sales and the provision of services. Moreover, in business operations, an organization can act not only to those who provide services or sell goods, but also to a person who purchases products and orders services.
Members of society can expect certain benefits, as a rule, with products and services that will help them live a long, healthy, happy life, but it will not be money. The services that a consumer society can provide to its members come in handy in everyday life or in personal entrepreneurship. As a rule, shareholders receive all this at prices below average market prices. The resulting products and services help people to personally develop, to help their family members get education, medical care, vacancies and more.
Charter and title
As a rule, the charter contains comprehensive information on the following aspects:
- amount of contribution;
- payment procedure;
- composition paid;
- liability of shareholders who have not paid for obligations;
- managerial competence;
- making decisions;
- a list of nuances when a majority is sufficient for decision-making;
- losses.
Choosing a name for a newly formed society, it is necessary to choose a word that clearly reflects the goal pursued by the new organization.
Income, expenses and liability
Every year in the consumer community maintain a balance. If it is revealed that losses have occurred, they must be covered within three months. For this, mechanisms of additional contributions from shareholders are used. If the obligation is not fulfilled, the company is liquidated by court order or in accordance with creditor requirements.
For a consumer cooperative, the concept of “subsidiary liability” is relevant. It is borne by all shareholders together and extends to the obligations of the organization. Limits of liability - additional fees. But if the company received a certain income, it must be distributed among the members. When dividing, they are based on the software charter and applicable laws. The normative and legal regulation of the activity of such organizations is the task of the Civil Code and specialized laws.
Liabilities
If a person submitted an application to the governing council of the software that interests him and received a positive resolution, then in the future he will be liable to make contributions in a timely manner. Covering losses is also the responsibility of every society. If it is not executed, this leads to liquidation. During the trial, it can be determined that the software went bankrupt. This is the key difference between this form of activity and other non-profit organizations.
This is important: software and production cooperatives should be distinguished. If the first is non-profit, then the second is commercial.
Legislative innovations
In 2014, federal law number 99 underwent some changes. In particular, adjustments were made to the fourth chapter of the first part of the legal act. Several provisions have lost their force, which is why many began to say that in our time consumer societies have more "no prospects", "no chance to survive."
We are talking about the fact that the law introduced a new list of non-profit organizations that are permissible for creation on the territory of Russia. The phrase “consumer cooperative” appears in it, but the words “consumer society” are missing. That is, the first form is available to those interested, but the second is a thing of the past. But if the company existed before the adoption of the amendments, additional registration is not required. Changes will have to be made if there is a need to amend the charter.
Mutual Insurance Society
This can be formed under the influence of various risks, but in practice, most often, the organization of a company is caused by some construction, in which private and legal entities take part. Fearing that the developer will violate laws, rules, break the deadlines, people are united in a mutual insurance company (MIA). It will monitor whether the developer is coping with its obligations. Regulates the work of the company not only the charter, but also the concluded contract for participation in shared construction. Interest holders convene a constituent assembly, within the framework of which (a protocol is required) a decision is made on the creation of an organizational unit. It determines who will manage the neoplasm. Keep in mind that reorganization is not available for such a community.
The OVS charter is not written from a “floundering bay”: coordination with the Bank of Russia is necessary. Control over the situation is carried out by the state authority responsible for antitrust laws. Among the members should be from 30 legal entities or more. The head of state authority approves the situation developed by the organizational committee of the OVS. Be sure to take into account government policy and regulations governing the construction industry in modern Russia.