Telegram bots are playing with the Federal Tax Service – Kommersant FM
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Law enforcement agencies uncovered a scheme for selling so-called paper VAT on Telegram. The estimated amount of damage is 9 billion rubles. Such services allowed companies to reduce the amount of taxes they paid. A platform for selling shell companies and fictitiously charging VAT operated in Moscow and the region, two sources reported this to RBC.
The attackers operated mainly through Telegram bots and sent mailings to clients who had already purchased legal entities that were not engaged in real activities. Moreover, the services of the site were also used by companies that executed government contracts. What does this diagram look like? And what threatens those who evade taxes in this way?
Taxadvisor partner Dmitry Kostalgin noted that the tax service in recent years has learned to successfully uncover such abuses: “A company, purchasing “paper” VAT, reflects in its registers, purchase books, the purchase of certain goods, works, services in supposedly real transactions, but in fact never pays for these transactions, that is, it is a completely paper-based transaction. Hence, in fact, the name “paper” VAT.
The purpose of this scheme is to confuse the VAT-2 ASK so that the Federal Tax Service system does not see these gaps. But the tax office is quite effective in finding these gaps and violations. If the site is fully disclosed, then all, conditionally, “clients” will become known to the Federal Tax Service and, accordingly, will receive claims.
Those companies that used such services will be charged additional VAT, income tax, and penalties. By the way, our penalty rate from January 1, 2024 is almost 39% per annum. A 40% fine will also be added to this. Well, depending on the size of the arrears, the question of initiating a criminal case for tax evasion may arise.”
The Federal Tax Service told RBC that they had identified all participants in the scheme for selling “paper” VAT – performers and clients. Now they are preparing materials to initiate criminal cases. As previously reported by the head of the Federal Tax Service, Daniil Egorov, such VAT schemes have become rare, and illegal tax refund activities are now concentrated around specialized shadow platforms.
As Fyodor Trusov, managing partner of the law firm Sokolov, Trusov and Partners, notes, it is not yet possible to completely eradicate the “paper” VAT scheme. In some cases, the tax office itself is lenient towards those who use such services:
“This fight against structures that work through Telegram bots gives rise to the feeling that the calculation here is on small entrepreneurs who are looking for where they can push VAT. Because it is clear that this is an absolutely ineffective scheme, and ASK NDS-2 catches this right away. In the best case, if an entrepreneur used the services of such a platform through a Telegram bot or other instant messengers, bought VAT from them, spent all the money, then after a short period of time they call him from the Tax Inspectorate and tactfully recommend him to clarify.
If the amounts are small, they will not even conduct VAT or on-site tax audits, but will simply explain the VAT payment policy. In 30-40% of cases, entrepreneurs cooperate.
It’s unlikely that anyone is building large schemes through anonymous Telegram bots, it just looks absurd. I assume that many of the consumers of these services will get off with a slight fright. In the worst case, a request will come from the tax office, everything will be clarified. Unless, of course, after such flirting with the Tax Inspectorate, they don’t pay attention to more serious gaps in VAT.”
As a rule, buyers of “paper” VAT may face not only additional tax charges, but also a fine of 20-40% of the amount of the arrears. According to the tax office itself, thanks to automated checks, the VAT tax gap has decreased to 0.4%, although back in 2016 it was 8%.
Everything is clear with us – Telegram channel “Kommersant FM”.
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