Arbitration court recognized tax priority in bankruptcy case – Kommersant

Arbitration Court of the Far Eastern District admitted pledge of the debtor’s property in favor of the tax authority as an “ordinary pledge” as part of the consideration of the bankruptcy case of individual entrepreneur Konstantin Kirillov. As reported “Vedomosti”lawyers fear that the collateral status of the tax authority will now become a widespread practice in bankruptcy cases and the interests of other creditors will be infringed.

It is noted that in this case, the property of the debtor Konstantin Kirillov (half of an apartment in the city of Obluchye and a KamAZ car) was pledged to the tax authority as a security measure for a debt in the amount of 1.87 million rubles: it was arrested by decision of the interdistrict inspectorate Federal Tax Service No. 1 for the Jewish Autonomous Region. There were no other creditors in this bankruptcy case, but if there were any, the tax authority would have priority.

“The advantage of the Federal Tax Service in bankruptcy cases violates the principle of formal equality of creditors,” Daniil Savchenko, managing partner of the Arbitrazh.ru law firm, told Vedomosti. Advisor to the RKT consulting group, Ivan Stasiuk, called the decision of the Far Eastern Arbitration Court a dangerous precedent: in his opinion, the seizure of property should not give priority in bankruptcy. According to him, the Federal Tax Service is often in the most advantageous position because it can independently seize property, while the courts often deny this to ordinary creditors. Messrs. Savchenko and Stasiuk, as well as other lawyers interviewed by Vedomosti, believe that a detailed explanation of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation is necessary on this issue.

Read about the latest high-profile court decisions on the participation of the Federal Tax Service in bankruptcy cases in the Kommersant article “Courts extend the life of a company”.

Alexander Kislov