ANALYSIS OF THE FEASIBILITY OF INTRODUCING VOLUNTARY REGISTRATION OF FOREIGN SUPPLIERS USING THE VAT OFFICE WHEN CARRYING OUT ACTIVITIES IN RUSSIA: INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE

Abstract

By the "Main Directions of the Budget, Tax, and Customs Tariff Policy for 2021 and the planning period of 2022 and 2023", voluntary registration for foreign suppliers using the VAT office when carrying out any type of activity (sales to Russian buyers) is stated as part of the topical issues of taxation in the future. This issue was proposed by the business community and should be considered by the Government of the Russian Federation soon. In Appendix 2 (Tax Policy Measures by Types of Taxes) of the “Main Directions of the Budgetary, Tax, and Customs Tariff Policy for 2022 and the Planning Period of 2023 and 2024”, paragraph 5 of the subsection “Value Added Tax” is also devoted to the issue of changing the procedure for determining places of sale of works (services) for VAT purposes and voluntary registration for foreign suppliers using a VAT office, which states that a foreign supplier of works (services) will be able to pay VAT independently in the event of voluntary tax registration in the Russian Federation Federation. Thus, the relevance of the research topic was indicated in the Main Directions for two years in a row, in 2021 and 2022. The geopolitical changes taking place today only increase the relevance of this study, the purpose of which is to free from the formal barriers of the system of registration for VAT purposes of foreign companies providing electronic services to recipients in Russia, to attract as many foreign companies to taxation in the Russian Federation. The implementation of the results of this work can make the conditions for the work of foreign companies in Russia more attractive. The main tasks to be solved within the framework of the study are: to analyze the foreign experience of paying VAT by foreign companies with an emphasis on the voluntariness of registration and online interaction with tax authorities and; to analyze the current tax legislation of Russia in terms of paying VAT by foreign companies, including the issue of applying the institution of tax agents; prepare proposals for improving the tax legislation in Russia, including amendments to certain articles of Chapter 21 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. The subject of the study is the procedure for indirect taxation of foreign companies in Russia using the VAT office. The method or methodology of research is a combination of general scientific and special methods of cognition, namely, system analysis, the method of analogy, the general logical method of generalization, comparative legal, structural, and functional analysis. The sources of information are research materials of Russian and foreign scientists, legislative bases, websites of tax authorities of the countries of the world, mass media, and other sources. The main applied result of the research is the answer to the question of the advisability or not of the introduction of voluntary registration of foreign suppliers using the VAT office in the implementation of activities in Russia (sales to Russian buyers), which is specified in the "Guidelines for the budget, tax, and customs tariff policy for 2021 and the planning period of 2022 and 2023" (Guidelines). In addition to the above main applied result, the applied results of the study will be proposals for improving the payment of VAT in Russia by foreign companies. The scientific novelty of the main applied result is due to the novelty of the question itself about the advisability of introducing voluntary registration within the framework of the Guidelines. The scientific novelty of other applied results is due to the analysis of the current tax legislation of Russia, and foreign experience, on the topic of the study for 2021, and 2022, initiatives in 2023. As a result of the analysis of foreign experience, the following conclusions were drawn in the world, voluntary registration for the purpose of paying VAT of foreign suppliers, and not always through personal accounts or special services similar to the VAT office on the websites of tax services. Voluntary registration is not limited to e-services, but also, for example, includes low-value goods. As a recommendation, it seems appropriate to allow voluntary registration for VAT purposes for foreign companies in Russia. In the future, this work can become a starting point for studying the issues of changing approaches to taxation, and administration of income of foreign companies in Russia, including direct taxation.

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