Determination of the date of the electronic document signed by the KEP

What is considered the date of drafting of an electronic document: the date indicated in it, or the date of superimposition of all necessary electronic signatures on it? What is the position of DPS on this matter? What to expect during inspections?

The DPS issued an explanation regarding the determination of the date of execution of primary documents (letter of the DPS dated 07.11.2019 No. 585/4/99-00-07-03-02-13), including acts of works performed and services rendered. It should be noted that, in fact, this is not only publicizing the position of the tax officials themselves, but also an appeal to the Ministry of Finance to clarify this issue.

In the commented letter, taxpayers asked the Ministry of Finance to provide clarification on the correctness of determining the date, which is considered the date of the properly executed primary document . Namely:

• date of drawing up of the primary document, indicated in such primary document as a mandatory requisite of the primary document;
• the date of signing the primary document by imposing a qualified electronic signature by both parties of the civil law contract regarding the performance of works (provision of services).

What the law says: the position of the DPSU

At the beginning of the commented letter, the tax officials cited the legal norms regarding accounting and decided to understand them on their own.

They reminded that in accordance with Clause 2 of Art. 3 of Law No. 996 accounting is a mandatory type of accounting that is kept by the enterprise. Financial, tax, statistical and other types of reporting that use a monetary measure are based on accounting data. And according to Art. 9 of Law No. 996, the basis for accounting of economic transactions is primary documents.

The concept of a primary document is a document that contains information about a business transaction ( Article 1 of Law No. 996 ).

Primary and consolidated accounting documents can be drawn up in paper or electronic form and must have the following mandatory details:

• the name of the document (form);
• date of compilation;
• the name of the company on behalf of which the document was drawn up;
• the content and scope of the economic transaction, the unit of measurement of the economic transaction;
• the positions of the persons responsible for the implementation of the economic transaction and the correctness of its registration;
• a personal signature or other data that make it possible to identify a person who participated in the implementation of an economic transaction.

Tax officials conclude from this: the act of completed works (services rendered) acquires the status of a primary document certifying the fact of an economic transaction, after it is properly executed.

What we understand: the date of drawing up a document is not always the date when this document acquires the status of the original document itself. It will receive this status after all the required details appear in it. So, if an electronic document is signed later than the date of its preparation indicated in such a document, this document becomes the primary document (which is reflected in the accounting) precisely from the date of the imposition of the last necessary signature.

How to sign primary documents?

Primary documents drawn up in electronic form are used in accounting, subject to compliance with the requirements of the legislation on electronic documents and electronic document management.

According to paragraphs 2.5 and 2.13 of Chapter 2 of Regulation No. 88, the document must be signed personally, and the signature may be sealed. The electronic signature is imposed in accordance with the legislation on electronic documents and electronic document flow.

The head of the enterprise ensures the recording of the facts of all business transactions that have been carried out in primary documents and the fulfillment by all departments, services and employees of the legitimate requirements of the chief accountant or the person who ensures the accounting of the enterprise, regarding the order of registration and submission of information and documents for accounting.

Tax consequences

Separately, the DPS cited the norms of the PKU, according to which primary documents play their role in matters of taxation with various taxes.

According to clause 44.1 of the PKU, for taxation purposes, taxpayers are obliged to keep records of income, expenses and other indicators related to the determination of objects of taxation and/or tax liabilities, based on primary documents, accounting registers, financial reporting, other documents related to the calculation and payment of taxes and fees, the management of which is provided for by law.

Taxpayers are prohibited from forming indicators of tax reporting, customs declarations on the basis of data not confirmed by documents specified in the first paragraph of item 44.1 PKU.

Therefore, for the purposes of taxation, the formation of indicators related to the determination of objects of taxation and/or tax obligations is carried out, in particular, on the basis of primary documents and accounting registers.

That is, for tax accounting, the date a document acquires primary status is extremely important.

What else should be considered...

While the Ministry of Finance is preparing its response, tax officials are advising taxpayers, in particular, on the issues discussed in the letter.

And what do tax officials say in their CPI (for example, CPI dated August 1, 2019 No. 3616/6/99-99-14-03-03-15/IPK and October 24, 2019 No. 984/6/99- 00-07-03-02-15/IPK):

1) it is expedient to contact the Ministry of Finance regarding the issue of issuing primary documents in electronic form with the imposition of a digital signature using the electronic service of a certain commercial company;

2) primary documents drawn up in electronic form are used in accounting, subject to compliance with the requirements of the legislation on electronic documents and electronic document flow;

3) during the inspection, the controlling authorities will recognize and accept only those primary documents of the taxpayer, drawn up in electronic form, which are properly executed and meet all the requirements for their creation, execution, and display in accounting.

That is, the DPS does not have a clear algorithm for determining the date, but tax officials already give their conclusions in the CPI (although, only to individual taxpayers and to the questions specified by them in their inquiries).

Editorial position

We currently support the tax authorities' clarification.

Indeed, the primary documents confirm the fact of the economic operation. And according to Art. 6 of the Law on electronic document circulation, the creation of an electronic document is completed by the imposition of an electronic signature . There are no other additional rules for determining the date of drawing up primary documents in this law.

According to the norms of clause 7 of Art. 9 of Law No. 996, the enterprise takes all necessary measures to prevent unauthorized and imperceptible correction of entries in primary documents and accounting registers and ensures their proper storage within the prescribed period.

At the same time, the responsibility for untimely preparation of primary documents and accounting registers and the unreliability of the data reflected in them are borne by the persons who prepared and signed these documents.

It should be taken into account that until January 3, 2017, the basis for accounting of economic transactions was primary documents that recorded the facts of economic transactions. The initial documents had to be drawn up during the implementation of the economic transaction, and if this is not possible - immediately after its completion.

Since January 3, 2017, the basis for accounting of economic transactions is primary documents containing information about economic transactions. The obligation to draw up primary documents during a business transaction no longer exists in Law No. 996. There are no additional rules in Regulation No. 88 on this matter.

So, now the situation when the primary document (in particular, the electronic one) is drawn up later than the business transaction took place, is completely legal. And the difference in the dates of drawing up and signing the original document will not only not surprise anyone, but is also not a violation. But it is the date of the last signature on the electronic document that will be the date when it (in the presence of other mandatory details) will be considered final, as the original. And it is from this date that such a document can be used both in accounting and tax accounting.

Author:

Anna Rusanova

Source

"Debit-Credit"