Consequences of non-admission of tax inspectors to the inspection

Representatives of the tax were not allowed to inspect, wait for the seizure of property.

The network has a lot of advice on what documents should be checked in case of a visit of regulatory authorities or how to prevent inspectors from entering the company. However, few speak of the consequences of not allowing inspectors.

Each controlling body has its own ways of responding to the inadmissibility. Some of these bodies can actually block the activities of the enterprise. Therefore, before not admitting, you should think carefully about whether you are confident in your position and make sure that you really have legal grounds for not admitting inspectors.

In this article we will talk about the measures taken by the tax authorities in response to non-admission to the audit, and how to protect entrepreneurs.

 Until recently, there was a case law that made it virtually impossible to appeal the grounds for an inspection after the company had already admitted the tax authorities to the inspection. Therefore, very often companies do not allow taxpayers if they have at least some doubts about the legality of the inspection itself. Otherwise, even if the inspection was completely unfounded, but the tax authorities found some violations, the court could only deny the essence of the violations. Nobody paid attention to the illegality of the inspection itself.

Good news. Finally, the Supreme Court changed this position. In particular, the Supreme Court noted that by appealing the results of the inspection, the company is not deprived of the opportunity to appeal the grounds for the inspection. In this case, it is not necessary to appeal the order appointing an inspection. Courts must take into account the arguments of enterprises on the illegality of the inspection itself before considering the merits of the violations that the tax authorities found in the results of the inspection (decision of the Supreme Court of 21.02.2020 in case №826 / 17123/18).

Therefore, not allowing inspectors to inspect is no longer the only way to protect against illegal inspections. This does not mean that if the inspector came without documents or the inspection is clearly illegal, he should be allowed. However, we advise you to record the fact and reasons for non-admission. Otherwise, the tax authorities can simply return to their office, eliminate the shortcomings of their documents and make a statement that you unreasonably did not allow them to check.

If you are still convinced that there are no grounds for an inspection and have decided not to allow inspectors, what happens next? Are offended tax collectors just leaving without any consequences? And no. In that case, wait seizure of property or funds in accounts. They can seize both property and money at the same time, as well as one of them.

Don't worry prematurely. To arrest, the tax authorities need to go to court. Next, we will look in more detail at the seizure procedure and what the courts take into account in such cases.

Arrest of property is applied in the following order:

The head of the tax office decides to seize the property and within 24 hours goes to court to confirm the validity of such an arrest.

The court must consider the case no later than 96 hours from the date of the head of the tax decision to seize. If the court does not make a decision within this time, the arrest is terminated automatically.

Also, if the tax authorities missed 24 hours to apply to the court or if the court did not confirm the validity of the decision of the head of the tax on the seizure, the tax may in general apply to the court to seize the property of the enterprise.

Seizure of funds in accounts unlike seizure of property, it is imposed only by a court decision.

Both when considering cases of confirmation of seizure of property and when considering claims for seizure of funds, the court must establish whether the law was complied with when ordering the inspection and whether there were really no grounds for refusing the admission of inspectors.

In both cases, if the court finds a dispute over the right, it refuses to seize.

Dispute about the right - this is evidence that the company disputes the legality of the grounds for the inspection, to which it did not allow the tax authorities. This is best confirmed by the fact that the company, after being denied admission to the inspection, filed a lawsuit to appeal the order appointing the inspection. The court may also take into account the objections of the company in the act of non-admission to the inspection.

Conclusions

1. If you are convinced of the illegality of the inspection, then feel free to prevent inspectors from conducting it. It is important to record the fact and grounds for non-admission. Make a copy or photograph the documents presented by the inspectors. Require a certificate of inadmissibility. Take a video of the inspectors' refusal to issue an act of non-admission and report this fact to the Pulse service.
2. After non-admission, check the site administrative court whether the tax authorities have filed a lawsuit for arrest.
3. Promptly prepare a lawsuit on appealing the order appointing an inspection.
4. As soon as you see the tax lawsuit about the arrest, then provide the court with your evidence of disagreement as soon as possible with the inspection and evidence of filing a lawsuit to appeal the order appointing the inspection.
5. In order not to waste precious time, find reliable lawyers before the tax authorities come to you for an inspection.