The Tax Service is seeking bankruptcy of Russian Milk JSC through the court.
The tax service is seeking through the court the bankruptcy of JSC Russian Milk, one of the key structures of the agricultural holding of the same name by Vasily Boyko-Veliky. Despite plans to repay the debt, the actions of tax officials may provoke claims by other creditors, primarily collateral. In this case, avoiding a suspension of the case will not be easy, lawyers warn.
The Moscow Arbitration Court began to consider the application of the Federal Tax Service Inspectorate No. 3 (IFTS) to declare Russian Milk JSC bankrupt, it follows from the file index of cases. This is the structure of the agricultural holding of the same name, which produces products under the Russian Milk brand. The division is engaged in the group’s branded retail, Russian Milk explained to Kommersant. The company added that the amount of claims from the Federal Tax Service is small, and it is planned to pay it off soon. The press service of the Federal Tax Service did not promptly respond to Kommersant.
Claims from tax authorities are almost always related to debts on mandatory payments, says Veta managing partner Ilya Zharsky. The minimum amount of debt to initiate bankruptcy is now 2 million rubles, for agricultural organizations - 3 million rubles. The defendant, according to the managing partner of the BGMP law office, Sergei Matyushenkov, has two possible scenarios: pay off or enter into a settlement agreement with the tax authorities, providing security in the form of a pledge, guarantee or surety. Tax authorities in general rarely initiate bankruptcy of a debtor in the absence of assets, notes atLegal partner Andrey Toryannikov.
JSC Russian Milk was created in 2003 on the basis of eight state farms in the Ruza district of the Moscow region. The portfolio includes 23.5 thousand hectares of land, 4 thousand heads of cattle, 8 agricultural enterprises. It produces 40 types of products. Initially, “Russian Milk” was part of Vasily Boyko-Veliky’s “Your Financial Trustee” CJSC.
A bankruptcy procedure was initiated against this company in 2021; the court previously held the entrepreneur and his family members liable for subsidiary liability in the case. But production did not stop. The Soyuzmoloko association says that the Russian Milk holding processes about 11 thousand tons of dairy products per year.
Even if the debt to the tax service is settled, claims from other creditors may pose a risk to Russian Milk’s business. The tax authorities’ statement may encourage banks, for example, to file their own claims, then paying the debt will not lead to a stop in the procedure, says Forward Legal lawyer Danil Bukharin. Managing partner of Bublikov and Partners Vladimir Bublikov adds that in this case the court will proceed to consider the following applications. Although Mr. Zharsky draws attention to the fact that creditors whose loans are not secured by collateral and guarantees resort to bankruptcy claims as a last resort. This is due to long production times and the fact that the requirements of such counterparties are usually met by 3–5% of the declared volumes, he explains.
According to Soyuzmolok, dairy production in Russia as a whole in 2024 shows positive dynamics. The volume of cheese production in January-July increased by 8% year-on-year, to 488.8 thousand tons, cottage cheese and products based on it - by 6%, to 467.5 thousand tons, yogurt - by 9%, to 466 thousand tons The CRPT (operator of the “Honest Sign” labeling system) notes that in August the total production of dairy products in Russia, excluding ice cream, reached 7.8 million tons, an increase of 5.1% year on year. Demand in the segment increased by 10% year on year. Average prices for dairy products, according to analysts, increased by 5–24% year-on-year, depending on the segment. The dynamics were most pronounced for butter, the least for condensed milk.
