НАЗАД

Beginning from July 01, 2021, companies are required to apply new forms of VAT invoices. The amendments made to the VAT invoice form can be roughly divided into two groups:

• For all taxpayers;
• For taxpayers selling goods subject to traceability.

Beginning from July 01, 2021, Article 169 of the Russian Tax Code sets a requirement to include the following additional information in VAT invoices (see the commentary to Law No. 371-FZ):

• Details that allow identifying the goods shipment (work performance / service rendering) or property right transfer document;
• Sequential number of the record of goods supplied/shipped (work performed / services rendered) or property rights transferred;
• Registration number of the batch of goods subject to traceability (RNPT);
• Goods quantity unit used for the traceability purpose;
• Number of goods items per unit used for the traceability purpose.

To reflect these changes in legislation and to facilitate the implementation of control measures, amendments to Russian Government Regulation of December 26, 2011, No. 1137 On Forms and Rules for Completing (Maintaining) Documents Applied for Value Added Tax (hereinafter referred to as Regulation 1137), introduced by Russian Government Regulation of April 02, 2021 No. 534 (hereinafter referred to as Regulation 534), become effective.

The key amendments are as follows.

• For all taxpayers:
• Shipment document details A new line is added to the VAT invoice header, that is Line 5a to indicate the details (number and preparation date) of the goods shipment (work performance / service rendering) or property right transfer document corresponding to the sequential number (numbers) of the entry in the VAT invoice. In case several documents are concurrently reflected, the said line shall indicate such documents numbers and dates separated by ";" (semicolon).
• Sequential number of the record. A new column is added to VAT invoices to indicate the sequential number of the record of goods supplied/shipped (work performed / services rendered) or property rights transferred; that is Column 1.
• Therefore, the name of goods supplied/shipped (description of work performed / services rendered) or property rights transferred, and—where payments or partial payments are received in respect of future supplies of goods (performance of work / rendering of services) or property right transfer—the name of goods to be supplied (description of work/service to be performed/rendered) or property rights to be transferred shall now be indicated in Column 1a. The code of the goods type shall be indicated in Column 1b.
• Registration number. Column 11 used to indicate the registration number of the customs declaration. Now you need to indicate the registration number of the goods declaration or the registration number of the batch of goods subject to traceability in this column. The goods declaration registration number shall be indicated when goods that are not subject to traceability are sold and imported into the Russian Federation if they are to be declared in accordance with the law of the EAEU, or the goods declaration registration number shall be indicated in relation to goods that are not subject to traceability and that are released in accordance with the customs procedure of goods release for domestic consumption after the customs procedure applied for the free customs zone in the Special Economic Zone in Kaliningrad Region has been completed.

When making transactions with goods subject to traceability, the registration number of the batch of goods subject to traceability shall be indicated.

• The updated VAT invoice form applies a different approach to the dashes: before July 1, 2021, dashes were required in VAT invoices in certain situations. Now the VAT payer is allowed to put or not to put a dash.

For example, when completing a VAT invoice before making corrections thereto, the taxpayer now may, and was previously obliged to, put a dash in Line 1a (which indicates the sequential number and date of the correction).

Similar amendments have been made to the procedure for completing the following lines and columns: the taxpayer (tax agent) now may put dashes:

- in Line 2b if the VAT invoice is completed by a tax agent provided for in Clause 2, Article 161 of the Russian Tax Code;

- in Line 3 (full or abbreviated name of the consignor in accordance with their constituent documents) if the VAT invoice is completed by the seller, including the tax agent;

- in line 4 (full or abbreviated name of the consignee in accordance with their constituent documents and postal address) if the VAT invoice is issued for work performed (services rendered), property rights transferred by the seller, including tax agents provided for in Clauses 2 and 3, Article 161 of the Russian Tax Code, and if the VAT invoice is completed where a payment or a partial payment is received in respect of future supplies of goods (performance of work / rendering of services) or transfer of property rights, and a non-cash payment method is applied.

Furthermore, in the VAT invoice issued upon receipt of a payment or a partial payment for any future supplies of goods (performance of work / rendering of services) or transfer of property rights, the taxpayer may put dashes in Lines 3, 4 and 5а and in Columns 2–6 and 10–13. And if there are no values for Columns 1б, 2, 2а, 3 and 4 of the VAT invoice, the taxpayer also may put dashes.

• Columns for goods subject to traceability. Separate columns included in the approved list have been provided for goods subject to traceability:

- Columns 12 and 12а shall indicate the goods quantity unit used for the traceability purpose (code and corresponding designation), which is determined according to the All-Russian Classifier of Measurement Units (hereinafter referred to as the OKEI);

- Column 13 shall indicate the quantity of goods subject to traceability in the goods quantity unit used for the traceability purpose, as provided for by the approved list.

You needn’t complete the said columns for goods that are not subject to traceability.

Please note that when preparing a VAT invoice in paper form for goods/works/services/ property rights that are not subject to traceability, Columns 12–13 shall not be generated.

Moreover, goods subject to traceability, having the same goods name in Column 1a, measurement unit in Column 2a ((national) designation), price (tariff) per goods measurement unit in Column 4 shall be reflected in one line of the VAT invoice. For this line of the VAT invoice, the sublines of Columns 11–13 shall be filled in for each registration number of the batch of goods subject to traceability, indicated in Column 11 of the VAT invoice.

Should any errors be found in Columns 11–13 of the VAT invoice, the adjusted data shall be entered in Columns 11–13 of the new copy of the VAT invoice.

Important additional information on issuing invoices:

• The advance VAT invoice shall be issued without any additional details for goods subject to traceability, even if the payment (partial payment) is made towards the future supplies of goods subject to traceability, and, therefore, it may be issued in paper form;
• If the goods are not subject to traceability, you needn’t print additional Columns 12, 12a and 13;
• The Law does not require a separate VAT invoice for a traceable item, i. e. you may issue one VAT invoice that include both items related to goods subject to traceability and items related to goods that are not subject to traceability;
• Failure to indicate (to indicate correctly) new details in the VAT invoice will not constitute the ground for disallowing the deduction of VAT for the purchaser (Clause 2, Article 169 of the Russian Tax Code). Errors in VAT invoices and corrective VAT invoices that do not prevent the tax authorities during a tax audit from identifying the seller, buyer of goods (work/services) or property rights, the name and value of the goods (work/services) or property rights, the tax rate and the amount of tax which the purchaser was charged as well as a failure to indicate (to indicate correctly) the information provided for by paragraphs 16–18, Clause 5, Article 169 of the Russian Tax Code in the VAT invoice shall not constitute the ground for disallowing the deduction of amounts of tax.