An important issue when concluding transactions with new business partners is checking the counterparty for good faith.
The collected information on the activities of an organization not yet familiar will help to warn the entrepreneur, saving him from the need to invest money in dubious projects.
Issue of particular importance
To date, there are many unreliable organizations called fly-by-night. It is they who are capable of harming the second side of the contract. At the same time, the state will not receive taxes, and a bona fide businessman will have problems in the form of a huge number of questions from the controlling organizations. Subsequently, this translates into additional taxes, a refusal to refund VAT, and is also fraught with the imposition of considerable penalties.
Checking the counterparty for good faith is not the responsibility of the enterprise. Legislative acts do not provide for such a procedure. However, for each businessman it will still be wiser and safer to devote some time to collecting information about his partners. From this we can conclude that checking the counterparty for good faith can be considered a must. When carrying out such a procedure, it will always be possible to prove to regulatory authorities that the company has been careful before completing the transaction. Indeed, based on examples of practice, it becomes clear that the same level of responsibility lies with firms that intentionally entered into relationships with a one-day organization, and those that did not know about its dishonesty in advance, and did not take the necessary precautions.
Key Unreliability Signs
The practical experience of the regulatory authorities has revealed some criteria according to which the counterparty’s dishonesty can be assessed.
So, the main signs of the unreliability of a new partner can serve:
- The legal address of the company, located in the place where a large number of other business entities are located, or in residential premises (for example, in apartments);
- the presence of a file cabinet indicating a large debt to the budget;
- The date of state registration, which was carried out shortly before the proposal to conclude the contract.
- the company has a single founder, which, moreover, is its director and chief accountant, because in this case it is possible that this person is a participant in an impressive number of other organizations that have a large tax debt to the budget;
- reorganization in the form of a merger of a company with another company or a change in its location;
- doubts arising about the authenticity of the signatures in the primary documents and on the contracts issued by the director and chief accountant.
If all or only a few of the signs described above are found, the representative of the tax authorities especially carefully considers the legality of processing certain documents, in particular, invoices, the data from which are used to make VAT tax deductions.
Self-assessment of risks
Of course, enterprises should not wait for the inspection of regulatory bodies. Each of the payers has the right to use those criteria that allow the most efficient verification of the counterparty for good faith.
There is order of the Federal Tax Service No. 93-06-333 dated 05/30/2007, which contains explanations on the conditions under which it can be considered that the taxpayer checked his potential partner for reliability. The use of a sufficiently large number of ways will allow you to protect yourself from claims of financial authorities and guarantee the exclusion of risks for your business. Let's consider them in more detail.
Validation algorithm
The system of verification of counterparties in the enterprise should be streamlined. To do this, they publish a local act, appoint responsible, and also provide all the criteria to be considered. For example, those organizations that have been operating on the Russian market for a long time and have earned a reliable reputation can be excluded from this procedure. The appropriateness of the checks carried out may be limited by the amount and frequency of transactions.
One of the mandatory procedures is to request such copies of documents to check the counterparty:
- certificate confirming the state registration of the company;
- charter;
- extracts from the register;
- an order on the appointment of persons responsible for concluding contracts.
When concluding construction contracts, the relevant document will be a license to carry out such activities. You must also ensure that the partner is not involved in litigation. Such information can be obtained by going to the file cabinet of arbitration cases, which is freely available and located on the resource of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation. To conduct such a check, it is enough to enter the name of the potential partner and his TIN in the search box. If the company appears in any business, their list will be displayed on the screen.
To be sure of the transaction, it is necessary to make sure that no enforcement proceedings are conducted against the potential partner. Such information can be obtained on the portal of the FSPP RF. Thus, it is possible to check not only legal entities, but also individual entrepreneurs.
Another step in determining the integrity of the counterparty is to obtain information that a bankruptcy procedure is not being conducted with respect to a potential supplier or buyer. Such information can be obtained from the Unified Federal Register, which contains the facts of the activities of all business entities of the Russian Federation. Here you can also find other very useful information that will allow you to create a general picture of the counterparty, for example, the value of its net assets.
Before concluding an agreement, you must make sure that the business partner has all the necessary licenses. How to get such information? To do this, go to the websites of the relevant authorities issuing permits for the implementation of a particular type of activity.
Before signing the contract, you should also familiarize yourself with the data contained in the annual reporting of the counterparty. Such information is open to any of the interested parties. One should only bear in mind that undergoing such a procedure will require reimbursement of expenses for copying documents.
Verification of legal entity by TIN
Obtaining information using this method is available to everyone. Counterparty verification by TIN is carried out online. The following databases are used for this:
- website of the Ministry of Revenue;
- the register of value added tax payers, where you can verify the details of the partner;
- a register containing canceled VAT certificates;
- register of single tax evidence.
There are also separate special services provided by the tax office. Checking the counterparty for them is carried out with the introduction of the TIN in the appropriate line. The result is instantaneous.
In addition, counterparty verification by TIN can be performed using the following:
- bases of enterprises of exporters;
- a system for the comprehensive disclosure of available information by stock market participants.
Internet sources where you can check the counterparty for good faith for free exist not only for Russia. They are available for Ukraine and for many other foreign countries. Find such resources on the network is not difficult. For example, in the USA there are similar sites for each state of the country. On them and can be obtained relevant information about the counterparty.
In addition to checking a partner in the tax on the Internet, private “black lists” can also be found in which unscrupulous companies and debtor firms are entered.
In order to finally make sure that the counterparty is trustworthy, you can also buy his credit history in a special bureau or search for information on sites and forums where there are reviews and discussions about working with this company. But do not forget that the one-day company is able to create fictitious sites or leave positive feedback about its work on other resources. The source of information when checking the counterparty for integrity must be trustworthy.
Checking IP by TIN
Often, as a counterparty when concluding a transaction, it is not a company, but a private entrepreneur. Check it by TIN is even easier than a company. It is necessary to request from the IP a copy of the certificate confirming the state registration, and documents proving its registration. Before signing the contract, it is also necessary to verify the legality of the person who has appeared, as well as whether he has the authority to sign documents.
Request to the Federal Tax Service
You can contact the tax office to provide information about a potential business partner. It will also be a manifestation of caution.
The issuance of information on business entities that are not included in the category of tax secrets is the responsibility of regulatory authorities.
Resource features of the Federal Tax Service
There is a special service for checking a potential partner. It was created by the Federal Tax Service of Russia. “Check yourself and the counterparty. Tax. ru "- such a name bears this resource. It provides enterprises with great opportunities. So, the counterparty can be checked by the PSRN, TIN, location, as well as the name. To do this, go to the website of the Federal Tax Service of Russia “Check yourself and the counterparty. Tax. ru ”to the section called“ Electronic Services ”. It is here that the verification of a potential partner in different directions can be carried out. First of all, the resource provides information contained in the register. A check of the counterparty can be carried out by entering its TIN, legal address, region of location or name. When checking the IP, only the name of the entrepreneur can be entered.
Using the FSN website, a quick check of counterparties is carried out. Entering the correct data will allow you to see the date of registration, location, PSRN, TIN, and also to find out if an entry has been made on the termination of activity of this business entity. The resource also allows you to check the legal address of the counterparty for "mass".
Based on the obtained data, a conclusion can be drawn up on checking the counterparty with an analysis of the timing of the activity, its types, and also a general idea of the experience of the potential partner and the availability of the necessary licenses, possible disqualification, that is, the deprivation of the right to engage in one or another activities, and other important information.
Extract from the register
How can counterparty verification be carried out? Incorporation provides information on the registration of business entities. If a potential partner encloses a recently received statement confirming that he is registered with all the documents he has collected, this will also be the basis for considering him trustworthy. In addition, according to this document, the details of the counterparty that it indicates in the contracts can be checked.
Such an extract can be provided either by the partner himself or obtained from the tax authority or from the corresponding resource.
Checking Bank Accounts
Such a procedure will provide additional information in cases where a counterparty check is carried out. Bank accounts should not be:
- blocked by the Federal Tax Service;
- not have any restrictions.
In order to make sure that the account is not blocked, just go to a special service of the Federal Tax Service and enter the TIN of the counterparty, as well as the BIC of the bank serving it. It is not always possible to find out if there are any restrictions on the account. Some banks have already created a similar service. For others, it is not yet available.
Other verification methods
In addition to obtaining information about a potential partner on all of the above issues, you must make sure that he has:
- there are no accounts in doubtful credit institutions;
- there are all necessary conditions for fulfilling contractual obligations, such as retail outlets, warehouses, transportation, etc .;
- it is possible to fulfill an order for a trial, small volume consignment.
Among other things, you will need to find out whether the manager’s passport is valid at the time of signing the contract. To do this, you must visit the service of the Federal Migration Service of the Russian Federation.
When drawing up the idea of a potential partner, it is important to understand that the only criterion of dishonesty of the counterparty usually does not lead to the fact that the company is deprived of tax benefits. Well, if such signs exist together, then even a court decision will not be made in favor of the organization.