How can selling goods under a commission agreement be beneficial? To whom and in what cases does it make sense to choose it? How to formalize a commission correctly and to the mutual satisfaction of the parties? How it is done commission trading scheme, if the commission agreement is concluded between organizations that use different modes taxation? We will answer these and other questions in our article.

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Advantages of trading under a commission agreement

If you are doing retail trade and you have found a supplier who agrees to give you the goods for sale under a commission agreement, you are in luck. And you’re especially lucky if you’re just starting out in business. The law allows money to be given for goods purchased under a commission agreement after it has been sold. That is, a commission trading scheme allows you to start working without large investments and without special risks.

If you produce a product or purchase it in large quantities for subsequent retail sale at different points, then a commission trading scheme can also be beneficial for you. At a minimum, this will increase the sales market. Some small store, located in a place where you yourself would not work, can quickly sell out goods that are not sold in your traditional outlets. At the same time, the store may not be able to buy a batch of such goods, but it will gladly accept it on commission.

The commission trading scheme is also beneficial because it makes it easier to process the return of goods than under a sales contract. If the product was purchased under the “purchase and sale” scheme, then in order to return it from the store back to the supplier, it is necessary to carry out a reverse sale. This creates problems in terms of taxation - when one of the parties to the transaction does not pay VAT, the second loses money because it cannot deduct VAT. If the delivery of goods is formalized under a commission agreement, this problem does not arise. The intermediary simply writes off the goods from off-balance sheet accounting and returns them to the supplier. However, when returning goods taken on consignment, there are some subtleties, and we will return to them in this material.

How commission trading is processed

In a simplified form, this diagram looks like this. The supplier (principal) gives his goods for sale to an intermediary (commission agent). In this case, the ownership of the goods does not pass to the latter. The commission agent sells the goods to the buyer, acting on his own behalf, but at the expense of the principal. As soon as the goods are sold, the principal ceases to be its owner. The commission agent reports to the supplier, gives him the proceeds for the goods and receives his remuneration.

So, how to arrange a commission correctly? Let’s say a certain company is going to sell a product to a store. First of all, the supplier and the store draw up a commission agreement, which states which of them is the commission agent, which is the principal, and also indicates that the first, on behalf of the second, will sell goods for a fee. It is also better to specify the amount of remuneration in the contract. This can be either a fixed amount for each product sold, or a certain percentage of sales. Law, namely, Article 51 Civil Code RF, obliges the commission agent to report to the committent on sales. The deadlines for submitting the report are not regulated, but it is also better to write them down in advance. A commission agreement can be concluded for a specific period or be indefinite. Entrepreneurs themselves also decide whether to indicate the territory for its execution. A sample commission agreement can be downloaded from our library of document forms.

The commission agreement has been concluded. What's next? Then the goods are transferred to the store, which is accompanied by an act of acceptance and transfer of goods for commission and a TORG-12 invoice. You can download a sample transfer and acceptance certificate, as well as an invoice, on our website. An act of acceptance and transfer of goods for commission is required if this is specified in the contract. If there is no such condition, then an invoice is sufficient.

The shipment of goods has arrived safely at the store, and the commission agent begins selling. By law, the sale of goods must begin no later than the next day after its acceptance. After a certain amount has been sold or passed reporting period specified in the contract, the store draws up a commission agent's report. It states how many units of the product were sold, at what price and what the reward amount was. As we wrote above, it is better to stipulate the deadlines for submitting the report in the contract, although this is not required by law. You can agree to provide it every week or every month. We have a sample commissioner's report on our website.

In addition to the report, it is recommended to draw up and sign an agreement on the provision of services between the parties. After all, by making transactions on behalf of the principal, the commission agent provides him with a service. A document is being drawn up about this. The amount in the act is the amount of the commission agent's remuneration for the reporting period.

Along with the report, the intermediary transfers the proceeds to the supplier and retains his commission. Another option is also possible when the committent takes all the proceeds and only then transfers the remuneration to the commission agent. Then the cooperation continues or ends.

If the principal is not satisfied with the commission agent’s report in any way, he must report this within 30 days from the date of receipt of the document. However, this period can be changed with the help of a preliminary agreement of the parties.

Automation greatly simplifies the commission trading process. The MoySklad service offers the optimal solution for both the principal and the commission agent. In the system itself, you can create a commission agreement, take into account the shipment and acceptance of goods, record sales of commission goods, and automatically generate commission agent reports. At the same time, in all created forms and reports, revenue for goods sold, commission agent's remuneration, VAT and other necessary amounts are instantly calculated.

Now let's see what the law tells us about special cases.

Commission trading: special cases

The commission agent sold the goods more expensive or cheaper than expected

Let's say the goods were selling so well that the store decided to raise prices on them. In this case, the commission agent managed to get additional benefit, which by law he must divide equally with the principal. Unless, of course, other conditions are provided for in the contract. And here you need to pay attention to one important detail regarding the processing and payment of this money. According to the letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated June 5, 2008 No. 03-03-06/1/347, before part of the profit is paid to the commission agent, the committent must display this entire amount in income that is subject to income tax. And only after that accrue what is due to the commission agent.

If for some reason the goods were not sold at the agreed price, and the store reduced it, then there are two possible scenarios.

1. The store proved to the consignor that it did not have the opportunity to sell the goods at a higher price, and this move prevented even greater losses. In this case, the commission agent will not be required to return the difference.
2. The store failed to prove that the price reduction was a necessary step. Then, alas, the commission agent will have to compensate the supplier for the loss.

By the way, it is not forbidden to include these cases in the commission agreement. In addition, you can add conditions to it that, before changing prices, the commission agent must ask permission from the principal.

The contract was not fulfilled

Let's say that part of the goods that the principal delivered to the store turned out to be defective, or the agreed quantity of goods was not delivered, or for some other reason the commission agreement cannot be fulfilled due to the fault of the supplier. In this case, the law requires the principal to still pay the commission agent remuneration, as well as reimburse expenses. If the commission agreement cannot be executed due to the fault of the store, then, in turn, it will have to compensate the principal for damages.

Subcommission

Let's imagine that the store has found another profitable point of sale of goods, which is managed by another company. In this case, he has the right to conclude a subcommission agreement with this company. Then the commission agent is responsible for the actions of the sub-commission agent to his principal, and for the second store he himself becomes the principal. And a few important notes. Subcommission is possible unless otherwise specified in the commission agreement. In this case, the principal does not have the right to enter into relations with the subcommissioner, unless, again, otherwise provided by agreement of the parties.

The commission agent did not sell a single product during the reporting period

If all the goods remain in the warehouses and shelves of the store, the store has the right to return them to the consignor. The return of the goods, as well as its receipt, is issued with a TORG-12 invoice.

The trade management service MoySklad will help to significantly facilitate the process of returning goods from the commission agent to the consignor. The system has special forms in which returns are registered, and the entered data is automatically transferred to all reports that are related to the execution of the commission agreement.

Return of goods to the commission agent from the buyer

Let’s say that a retail buyer wants to return an item for some reason.

Considering that, when selling goods to a client, the commission agent, on his own behalf, entered into a sales contract with him, then he formalizes the refusal of this transaction.

If the buyer returns the goods due to detected defects, responsibility for them must be distributed between the commission agent and the consignor. If the goods were damaged due to the fault of the store, then the buyer will reimburse the costs. And if it turns out that the supplier is at fault, the commission agent will be entitled to reimbursement of expenses and remuneration.

The goods can be returned before the commission agent's report is signed by the parties, or after. In the first case, the intermediary makes an entry in the report for the amount of the return with a minus sign. In the second, the wholesale buyer, returning the goods, issues an invoice in the name of the commission agent. If the final buyer is a retailer, then he must write a statement to return the goods. After this, the commission agent returns the goods to the consignor, accompanied by a return note in his name, as well as an invoice. Based on these documents, the principal will be able to reduce his VAT payable.

Invoices for commission trading

Invoices for commission trade in retail

In our example, where the commission agent is a store, the latter does not issue invoices to customers, since in retail trade this document replaces cash receipt with dedicated on a separate line the amount of VAT. The principal also does not issue invoices to the commission agent. But at the same time, the store issues an invoice to the principal for the amount of its remuneration based on the results of the reporting period.

The law does not oblige us retail store, trading under a commission agreement, keep a journal of invoices.

Indicators of CCP control tapes (only indicators, not the tapes themselves), as well as copies of the tapes, are transferred to the committent along with the commission agent's report, and the committent registers them in his sales book in order to charge VAT on the cost of goods sold.

Moreover, if a store, in addition to the principal’s goods, also sells its own goods, then accounting for these goods must be separate. With the help of the MySklad trading program you can easily fulfill this requirement. The program shows the commission agent how many of his own goods and how many of the goods received under the commission agreement. The principal sees in the system how much of his goods are on sale and by whom.

Invoices for wholesale commission trade

Now let's consider a situation where a commission agent sells goods in bulk on behalf of the principal, and both are VAT payers. In this case, invoices are mandatory accounting documents for them.

Since, under the terms of the agreement, the commission agent makes transactions with third parties on his own behalf, he also issues all invoices on his own behalf. The document number is assigned in accordance with the chronology of the commission agent. The invoice must be written in two copies. One must be handed over to the buyer, the second must be filed in the invoice journal. In this case, the invoice for the sale of consignment goods does not need to be registered in the sales book of the commission agent.

And the principal issues and enters in his sales book an invoice addressed to the commission agent, already numbered in accordance with his chronology. This document is not recorded in the intermediary's purchase book.

In this case, the indicators of the invoice that the commission agent issues to the buyer are reflected in the invoice, which is issued and recorded in its sales book by the supplier. The principal must also write out two copies - one to hand over to the commission agent, and the second to keep in his journal of registration of issued invoices.

The document received from the principal is filed by the commission agent in the journal of received invoices.

Based on the signed report and the corresponding act, the commission agent issues a separate invoice to the principal for the amount of his remuneration for the reporting period. This document is registered with the commission agent in the sales book, and with the committent - in the purchase book.

If the commission agent sells the supplier’s goods to the buyer at the same time as his own goods, then the buyer can be issued a single invoice for the specified goods.

Learn more about issuing invoices when commission trade can be found out from the letter of the Ministry of Taxes and Taxes of Russia dated May 21, 2001 No. VG-6-03/404.

Commission agent on the simplified tax system - committent on the simplified tax system

If the commission agreement was concluded by companies, each of which applies a simplified tax regime (STS), then the commission agent, if questions arise about how to calculate taxes, must refer to Article 251 Tax Code RF. It directly states that when determining the tax base of a commission agent, property and funds received by him in connection with the fulfillment of obligations under a commission agreement are not taken into account as income. Income received to reimburse expenses incurred for the principal is also not taken into account. That is, only commission fees are considered income. Accordingly, revenue for goods sold is not counted as income. If the principal under the simplified tax system compensates the commission agent under the simplified tax system for any expenses, this money is also not subject to tax.

The date of receipt of income from the “simplified” intermediary is the date of receipt of remuneration from the principal into his account. If, under the terms of the contract, the commission agent withholds his remuneration from funds received from buyers, then the date of receipt of income is considered the day the money is received at the cash desk. It does not matter that the report may not have been signed yet, since advances are also included in the income of companies under the simplified tax system.

Expenses are recognized only after they are actually paid. Moreover, those expenses that are legally reimbursed by the principal (for example, for renting a warehouse where the goods are stored) are not considered expenses of the commission agent.

As for the principal, according to the letter of the Ministry of Finance No. 03-11-11/16941 dated May 15, 2013, his income is the entire amount received from the sale of goods, including commissions. Yes, in the scheme “commission agent on the simplified tax system - principal on the simplified tax system,” the remuneration paid by the principal, alas, cannot be attributed to his expenses, and tax will have to be paid on it. But! In case the commission agent withholds his commission before transfer Money to the principal, the income will be legally equal to the amount that was actually received into the supplier’s account. This means that if the committing company is on the simplified tax system, then it is better to specify exactly this option in the contract.

The day of receipt of income is the moment of receipt of funds to the current account or to the supplier's cash desk.

The principal under the simplified tax system is not obliged to issue an invoice for his goods, because The responsibility for drawing up this document rests only with the VAT payer.

Commission agent on the simplified tax system - principal on the OSNO

If the commission agent trades wholesale and is at the same time a “simplistic” person, and the committent works for common system taxation, the intermediary will have to issue invoices. The fact is that in fact, the seller to third parties is the principal under OSNO, and not the commission agent under the simplified tax system, therefore the intermediary must calculate value added tax for the supplier and present an invoice to the buyer. The scheme is the same as what we wrote about above. The commission agent makes two copies of the document, one of which is issued to the buyer, and the second is filed in the journal of issued invoices, without registering it in the sales book. The indicators of these documents are reflected in the invoices that the committent issues to the commission agent and registers in his sales book.

And let us remind you that in retail trade, the invoice is replaced by a cash receipt with the VAT amount highlighted on a separate line.

The supplier reflects the received revenue based on the received report. Therefore, in the case where the commission agent is on the simplified tax system, and the principal is on the OSNO, it is important in the contract to reflect the procedure and timing of its provision. If it arrives later deadline, then the supplier will still have to pay VAT on time.

The intermediary does not issue an invoice for the commission to the principal, since the commission agent's remuneration in the simplified form is not subject to VAT.

In the opposite situation, when the principal is on the simplified tax system, and the commission agent is on the OSNO, the intermediary should not issue an invoice to the buyers, because the seller is in fact the supplier, and he is exempt from VAT.

Intermediary services are generally considered to be the performance by an intermediary company of certain actions for the company ordering these services. In this case, an agreement called an agency agreement (assignments/commissions) must be concluded. In it, the customer (Principal) instructs the contractor (Agent) to perform certain services for a fee. In the future, the agent, fulfilling his obligations, has the right to act on behalf of the customer or his own, but always at the expense of the principal (Article 1005 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

Such an agreement stipulates (but not necessarily) the deadlines for fulfilling the terms of the agreement and submitting a report on expenses incurred with the attached documents. In the absence of such requirements in the contract, reports are submitted by the agent upon fulfillment of obligations (Article 1008 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). In addition, the agreement specifies the amount of remuneration for the agent, which can be a fixed amount or a percentage of sales.

The services of an intermediary are subject to VAT at a rate of 18% if he is a tax payer. This rule also applies to the sale of VAT-free goods (Article 149 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation), with the exception of medical goods, funeral services and rental of premises to foreign companies (Article 156 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

The mechanism for applying an intermediary agreement is simple, but taking into account the difference in the taxation systems of counterparties, we will understand the features that accompany the relationship between agents and principals in the field of recognition of income and expenses and taxation.

Principal on the simplified tax system – agent on the simplified tax system

All types of agency agreements have the same accounting principle for the purposes of calculating tax on the simplified tax system: the remuneration received by the agent increases the tax base of the intermediary company.

The date of recognition of income will be the day the funds are credited to the account. It depends on the terms of the agreement. If an agent, participating in settlements, withholds remuneration from the amount transferred by the customer during the transaction, then the date of income is the day the funds are received. The agent must allocate the amount of remuneration and reflect it in KUDiR. If it is transferred separately, then the agent will record the income at the time of receipt of the remuneration, and not the amount received to fulfill the contract. The agent's income does not include amounts allocated for the execution of the contract, and expenses do not include expenses incurred for their implementation.

Income from sales through an agent is recognized as income of the principal depending on the specifics of the agreement:

• if the agent participates in settlements on behalf of the customer - the day the money from the implementation of the agreement is received into the principal’s account (clause 1 of Article 346. 17 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation);
• when an agent conducts sales on his own behalf - the day the money is received into the intermediary's account.

The amount of recognized income is considered to be sale price goods specified in the agent's report.

Since companies using the simplified tax system (income minus expenses) can take into account expenses only upon payment, the amounts transferred by the principal-customer will be recognized as expenses after the agent fulfills his obligations (clause 2 of article 346.17 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). Those. when the agent submits documents confirming the expense.

In practice, the relationship between agent and principal is as follows:

• with the participation of an agent in transactions, amounts received from the customer for the implementation of the specified operations are credited to the agent’s account, then transferred to counterparties upon fulfillment of the terms of the agency agreement. The agent reflects the purchase of property for the principal in off-balance sheet account 002, since he is not the owner of the goods. When goods are transferred to the principal, the purchase amounts are debited from the account. 002. Since simplifiers are not VAT payers, they do not allocate tax in the amount of remuneration, and accordingly do not draw up invoices;
• without the participation of an agent in settlements: in this case, no amounts are received from the customer into the intermediary’s account; he only submits a report upon completion of the transaction and receives the agreed amount of remuneration.

An example of accounting support for intermediary operations using the simplified tax system:

Operation
Receipt of funds from the principal
Transfer to supplier
Receipt of goods from the supplier
Reflection of inventory items on the balance sheet
Write-off of commissions for inventory items
The reward received is reflected

Agent on the simplified tax system – principal on the OSNO

If the principal company uses OSNO, then its agent (even a simplifier), regardless of whose name he acts, is obliged to issue invoices with VAT included in them.

In accordance with the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the principal, when transferring the goods to the agent for sale, remains its owner until the moment of sale. The sale is carried out by the principal with the involvement of an intermediary, so the proceeds are taken into account by him when calculating income tax and VAT. An agent on the simplified tax system is remunerated from the principal’s income, and his remuneration will be an expense without VAT, i.e. in this case the agent does not issue an invoice for the remuneration.

Invoices issued by the agent to the purchasers are recorded in the invoice journal, and are not recorded by him in his sales book, but are subsequently transferred to the principal as attachments to the report. The agent using OSNO fills out an invoice for the amount of his remuneration.

Accounting for transactions according to the scheme “Agent on the simplified tax system – principal on the basic tax system” » In accounting it will be reflected as follows:

Operation
At the agent's
Sales of services under an agency agreement		76/settlements with the principal (RP)
Receipt of funds from acquirers
Transfer of funds to the principal minus remuneration
Revenue from agency fees
Agent's remuneration credited
At the principal's
Based on the agent's report, the sale of services is reflected
Agency fee accrued
Costs for intermediary services written off
Purchasers of services are charged VAT
Revenue taken into account minus intermediary fees
Agent's remuneration taken into account

A type of mediation agreement is a commission agreement. The peculiarity of the status of this agreement in comparison with its agency counterpart is that the commission agent (intermediary) can act in it, carrying out the instructions of the principal (customer of services), only on his own behalf, but at the expense of the principal. Accounting according to the scheme “commission agent on the simplified tax system – principal on the OSNO » will be identical to the one presented above.

Agent on OSNO – principal on simplified tax system

Art. 346.11 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation exempts simplifiers from the obligation to pay VAT, therefore the principal’s agent on the simplified tax system does not calculate tax on transactions relating to the principal. But at the end of the transaction, the agent issues an invoice for the amount of the remuneration, without registering it in the accounting journal (clause 3.1 of Article 169 of the Tax Code). The VAT presented by the agent is subsequently taken into account by the simplified principal in the costs of the simplified tax system in the usual manner.

A feature of the recognition of income by the principal using the simplified tax system is that according to tax legislation The simplifier's revenue is the entire amount of receipts into the account. Therefore, when the agent deducts remuneration from funds received from transactions, the amount of income will be considered all proceeds from sales received to the agent’s account.

This article is addressed to agents and commission agents on the simplified tax system who purchase goods, works, and services from suppliers on the simplified tax system for clients on the simplified tax system. From this article you will learn why in 2015 such an intermediary may need to change its work pattern, and how to draw up contracts, source documents and report to the tax office.

1. How it was

In many types of business, suppliers of goods, works, and services prefer to work with a small number of professional intermediaries. In this case, an agency (or commission) agreement was often concluded between the supplier and the intermediary, in which the intermediary makes transactions with buyers acting as an agent (or commission agent) of the supplier. In more complex cases, the intermediary could involve a subagent. The agent, or subagent, in turn, entered into an agreement on his own behalf with the buyer for the purchase and sale of goods, or for the provision of services for a fee.

In practice, in the described scheme, the supplier and intermediary may not have fully complied with the rather stringent requirements of the current rules for filling out invoices. The latter, we recall, require an almost mirror correspondence between the details of invoices issued by suppliers to the intermediary (on the one hand) and invoices re-issued by the intermediary to the buyer (on the other hand).

In practice, invoices issued by the supplier to the intermediary and re-issued by the intermediary to the buyer could differ slightly in some details due to technical errors, and due to business requirements. This fact did not pose a big problem, since in the VAT control system previously used by the tax authorities, such differences between invoices were not critical. In rare cases when such differences raised questions among tax officials, the questions were resolved by providing the tax inspectorate with explanations on the identified discrepancies. Thus, until 2015 the requirements for the rules for filling out invoices “slept”, and their rigidity was compensated by the optionality of their implementation.

2. New VAT control scheme

Many have already heard that since the 1st quarter of 2015, control over VAT has been tightened. The essence of the new control system is that tax authorities intend to control the entire chain of resale of goods, works, services automatically (by robots, not people) using a continuous method in the current mode using single base data from all invoices throughout the country. Obviously, the robot does not know fatigue and does not turn a blind eye to non-critical errors, so there is a risk that the new VAT control system will “wake up” those requirements of the rules for filling out invoices that were previously considered “dormant”. In this case, the intermediary and the seller will receive from tax office automatically generated requests to explain all existing discrepancies between their invoices. And if the intermediary and the supplier do not have enough resources or arguments to explain all the discrepancies, the buyer on the OSN will be denied VAT deduction and will have to pay more money to the budget.

3. Consequences for intermediaries on the simplified tax system

Having learned about the new VAT control system, many considered it reasonable to abandon agency and commission agreements and switch to working with each other under the scheme of resale under agreements for the purchase and sale of goods, or the provision of services for a fee. In this case, the intermediary simply purchases goods or services from the supplier and resells them to the buyer. In this case, there is no requirement for a “mirror” correspondence between the invoices issued by the supplier to the intermediary and the intermediary - the buyer, and, as a result, the intermediary is not required to disclose its customers to the supplier.

However, this solution is not suitable for everyone. If the intermediary is not a VAT payer (uses the simplified tax system), then for the buyer on the simplified tax system, the cost of goods and services in the resale scheme will increase by the amount of VAT compared to the scheme of working under an agency or commission agreement.

To avoid this problem, the intermediary can switch to using OCH. However, the use of OSN significantly increases additional administrative and, possibly, tax costs for the intermediary. In conditions economic crisis When intermediaries operate on extremely tight margins, such additional costs may be unacceptable.

What should an intermediary do on the simplified tax system if

• the supplier offers to purchase goods, works, services from him under contracts for the sale of goods (or paid services), and
• the buyer applies OSN and wishes to reimburse VAT from the budget on the cost of goods, works, services, and
• Is the intermediary not ready to switch to the use of OSN?

4. Possible Solution: intermediary - buyer's agent

The intermediary will satisfy the wishes of the supplier and the buyer and will remain on the simplified tax system if he enters into an agency or commission agreement with the buyer. In this case, the intermediary will purchase goods, works, services from the supplier under a contract for the sale of goods (or paid services) acting on its own behalf as an agent (or commission agent) of the buyer.

In this case, the intermediary will receive from the supplier invoices for goods, works, services purchased by the intermediary for the buyer and reissue the specified invoices to the buyer on its own behalf. This requirement for an intermediary is nothing new or difficult if the intermediary has previously reissued invoices to buyers while working as an agent or commission agent for the supplier.

Compared to the work of an intermediary as a reseller (if the intermediary purchases goods or services from a supplier and resells them to the buyer), the new work scheme is simpler for the intermediary, since it allows the intermediary not to exceed the revenue limit for applying the simplified tax system.

Compared to the work of an intermediary as an agent or commission agent for a supplier, the new work scheme will be safer and easier for the intermediary, since the intermediary will not be required to disclose its customers to the supplier. For the supplier, the new scheme of work is also safer and simpler, since he will issue invoices to the intermediary (his direct counterparty), and the supplier does not need to collect and verify the details of many buyers with whom the intermediary works.

5. How can an intermediary receive remuneration in the new scheme?

If previously the intermediary worked as an agent or commission agent of the supplier and received an agency (commission) remuneration from the supplier, and not from the buyer, then in the new work scheme the intermediary can continue to receive remuneration from the supplier practically on the same commercial terms. Since in the new work scheme the intermediary purchases goods from the seller under a purchase and sale agreement, or services under a fee-based service agreement, such remuneration can be arranged by providing the intermediary with a so-called retro discount (or premium) for the volume of purchases of goods, works, services by the intermediary from the seller for a certain reporting period.

By agreement with the seller, such retro discounts (premiums) can either reduce the cost of goods, works, services sold by the seller (and VAT on them), or not reduce them. In the latter case, retro discounts (bonuses) will be easier to apply for.

6. How to justify the lack of remuneration from the buyer

In the new scheme, the intermediary will enter into an agency or commission agreement with the buyer. Formally, such an agreement is considered compensated, that is, it gives the intermediary the right to receive remuneration from the buyer. However, in the case under consideration, the intermediary already receives remuneration from the seller in the form of a retro discount (or premium) and the intermediary does not count on remuneration from the buyer.

At the same time, the buyer may not feel comfortable having a formally compensated agreement with the intermediary without any remuneration, since theoretically the tax authorities may try to calculate by calculation some benefit of the buyer under such an agreement and try to tax it.

This issue can easily be resolved by indicating in the contract with the buyer the intermediary’s remuneration in a nominal amount, for example, 1 ruble for the reporting period. In this case, it is worth additionally indicating in the contract that the accrual and payment of remuneration occurs subject to the achievement of the total amount of remuneration under the contract of some large amount, for example 1 thousand rubles. As a result, there is actually no need to pay remuneration, and there is no reason to tax claims No. This solution has long been used in the market, for example, by travel agencies and tour operators.

7. Analysis of an example of work according to the new scheme

Due to the increasingly complicated conditions of working with VAT, we suggest changing your point of view. If previously the Intermediary entered into an intermediary agreement with a large supplier, now it is possible to conclude an intermediary agreement with the client. In this case, the intermediary acts at the expense and in the interests of the client and enters into an agreement with a large supplier on his own behalf. Then the real Buyer will receive documents with VAT for the entire amount spent on goods and services with the least risk (the Intermediary will mirror the documents). And the Intermediary will receive remuneration from the Supplier, with whom a separate agreement will be concluded for the payment of premiums (or retro bonuses), which are not subject to VAT. The condition for receiving this bonus may be, for example, the fulfillment of the total volume of services ordered from a large supplier and the size of the bonus may not be tied to a specific Buyer (Committee). In this case, all parties remain in their own interests. The Buyer takes VAT to be reimbursed on all his expenses, the Supplier does not lose customers, and the Intermediary receives remuneration from the Supplier in the form of bonuses that are not subject to VAT (and for the Intermediary VAT is not needed - it’s simplified!). Do not forget that one of the essential conditions of intermediary agreements is the procedure for calculating and the procedure for paying the intermediary’s remuneration. With the new scheme, it is possible to assign a remuneration for the Intermediary, received from the Buyer (Committent), in the form of a fixed amount - for example, 50 rubles per year or 1 rub. per month. This is what travel agencies and tour operators do, for example.

Let's look at the new work scheme using an example.

Example:

Agency (USN) “A” is an intermediary between a large service provider (OSN) “P” and two client-buyers (OSN) – “K1” and “K2”.

Until April 2015 the agency worked with the seller under the “old” commission agreement, and with the buyers under the “old” contract for the provision of paid services.

Since April 2015 the agency switched to working with seller “P” under a “new” contract for the provision of paid services, and with buyers “K1” and “K2” - under a “new” commission agreement, while seller “P” issues one invoice to the agency for services and a statement for the month, and the agency reissues invoices and statements for services on its behalf to each client-buyer separately.

Agency “A” receives remuneration from supplier “P” in the form of a retro discount (premium) for the volume of purchases, which does not change the cost of services sold by supplier “P” (and VAT on them). Retro discount (premium) amount for April 2015 amounted to 40 rubles.

Relationship with buyer “K1”:

Services to buyer “K1” are provided on an advance payment basis.

December 2014– buyer “K1” transferred an advance of 1,180 rubles to the agency, incl. VAT is 180 rubles, and the agency transferred this advance to the seller. The seller (committent) issued an advance invoice to the agency (commission agent), the agency re-issued an advance invoice to the buyer “K1”

January 2015– sales 100 rubles, in addition VAT 18 rubles. total 118 rub.

April 1, 2015 Based on the letter received from the buyer, buyer “K1” and agency “A” transfer the balance of the transferred advance to a new commission agreement between them. (Alternatively, the Agency could return the advance to the Buyer in cash, but in this case The parties agreed to transfer the advance to the new contract).

April 2015– sales 200 rubles, in addition VAT 36 rubles. total 236 rub.

At the end of the 2nd quarter of 2015 the balance of the advance payment not offset by sales is 700 rubles, in addition to VAT 126 rubles. If previously the buyer “K1” submitted VAT on this advance for deduction, then at the end of the 2nd quarter (in June) the buyer charges VAT to the budget on the balance of the advance. This happens because the contract for the provision of services has been terminated. In accordance with paragraph 3 of paragraph 3 of Article 170 of the Tax Code, the buyer “K1” is obliged to restore the VAT previously accepted for deduction upon termination or change of the subject of the agreement.

Relationship with buyer "K2":

Services to the K2 buyer are provided on a postpaid basis.

January 2015 – sales 100 rubles, in addition VAT 18 rubles. (total 118 rubles), then payment

April 2015 – sales 200 rubles, in addition VAT 36 rubles. (total 236 rubles), then payment

Relationships regarding payment of bonuses:

May 2015 – Large service provider “P” accrued and paid Agency “A” a bonus for sales volume in April - 40 rubles. (NDS is not appearing). Since the Agency applies the simplified tax system, it will take into account the bonus as income in the book of income and expenses at the time of payment, that is, in May 2015.

Document flow for the sale of “K1” to the buyer in April 2015. on the example data looks like this.

As you can see in Figure 1, the document flow in the new scheme looks like this:

1. Supplier “P” issues a certificate of completion of work and an invoice for services rendered in the name of Agency “A” for 236 rubles. incl. VAT
2. Agency “A” reissues the work completion certificate and invoice for the same 236 rubles, incl. VAT. To do this, Agency “A” issues an invoice in the name of Buyer “K1”, in which in the column “Supplier” it indicates Supplier “P”*. To the specified invoice, Agency “A” attaches a copy of the invoice received from Supplier “P”, certified by the signature and seal of Agency “A”.
3. Agency “A” also sends to Buyer “K1” (Committent) a Report (act) on the execution of the commission order.

Templates for a commission agreement, a report (act) on the execution of an order, a letter about the transfer of overpayments, as well as an example of filling out invoices by an intermediary, suitable for the conditions of the considered example, can be found in Appendices 1, 2 to Article.

8. How to prepare invoices and report VAT as an intermediary

An intermediary on the simplified tax system is not a VAT payer. However, under conditions new scheme VAT control tax authorities need to obtain information about goods, works and services subject to VAT sold through an intermediary on the simplified tax system. Therefore, in order for the buyer to be able to easily refund VAT from the budget, it is important that the intermediary using the simplified tax system correctly draws up the invoices that he reissues to the buyer for the amount of goods, works, and services purchased for him and reports to his tax office.

An example of filling out an invoice by an intermediary using the data from the example discussed above is given in Appendix 2 to Article. Please note that in lines 2, 2a, 2b of the invoices, the intermediary indicates the details of the real supplier. There is a formal requirement that the date of this invoice be identical to the date of the invoice from the supplier. The intermediary must supply his own invoice number - end-to-end. As a result, the invoice contains virtually no information about the intermediary (date – from the supplier’s invoice, seller’s details – supplier’s details, product range – as from the supplier). Information that the invoice was issued by the intermediary can be indicated in an additional field.*

In connection with the introduction by the tax authorities of a new VAT control scheme, an intermediary on the simplified tax system, who acts as an agent (or commission agent) of the buyer, must quarterly form and send to the tax office in in electronic format invoice journal, which contains data on all invoices received by the intermediary from sellers and reissued by the intermediary to buyers for goods, works, and services purchased for them. An example of how an intermediary fills out a log of issued and received invoices is given in Appendix 2 to Article. detailed information on how an intermediary can create an invoice journal and send it to the tax office is given in Appendix 3 to Article. If the intermediary is not a VAT payer (for example, pays single tax under the simplified taxation system), then he must provide a log of issued and received invoices to the tax office by the 20th day of the month following the reporting quarter. Intermediary VAT payers provide this journal as part of the VAT return, but before the 25th day of the month following the quarter.

If the intermediary did not manage to send the journal to the tax office within the established time limit, then the journal must be sent later. If you do not send the magazine to the tax office, most likely buyers will not be able to reimburse VAT from the budget and will lose money on it. The fine for an intermediary for not sending a journal on time is insignificant (200 rubles). Systematic failure to fill out and send the journal to the tax office can be qualified as a gross violation of accounting rules, which is punishable by a fine of up to 30 thousand rubles. Ignoring the obligation to submit a log of received and issued invoices to the tax office will result in a refusal to deduct VAT from the final buyer, because the VAT “chain” is interrupted. If he works for OSN, then this is important to him. Accordingly, in order not to lose a client, the intermediary must promptly provide a log of received and issued invoices.

In addition, the intermediary on the simplified tax system is obliged to ensure the receipt of requests from the tax office sent electronically. If within 10 days the intermediary does not confirm receipt of an electronic message from the tax inspectorate, the inspectorate has the right to block the intermediary’s current account.

9. If there is only one supplier, but there are many buyers

It also happens the other way around. There is only one customer, but there are many service providers. How to issue an invoice correctly?

In the first case, the intermediary reflects in the invoice information about the product (service) in the part that he provided to the Buyer, despite the fact that the invoice received from the Supplier contains information about all supplies of services for the month. But this “partial” invoice is still accompanied by a copy of the “large” invoice from the Supplier. For example, the Intermediary purchased services for various Buyers on total amount 472 rub. He received an invoice and delivery note from the Supplier for a total amount of 472 rubles. The Intermediary issues separate invoices for 236 rubles to its Buyers. But it is accompanied by a copy of the invoice and delivery note from the Supplier for the entire amount - 472 rubles. This point of view was reflected by the Ministry of Finance in its letters dated 03/14/2014 N 03-07-15/11221, dated 08/02/2013 N 03-07-11/31045, as well as the Federal Tax Service of Russia in its letter dated 04/18/2014 N ГД-4- 3/7473@.

Or maybe the situation is different. For example, the Intermediary provides transport services. However, to do this, he needs to use the services of several service providers. And he has only one Buyer. In this case, the Intermediary issues to the Buyer one invoice listing all services rendered on one date, and attaches to it copies of all invoices received from real Service Providers, certified by its seal. In this case, all service providers will be listed in the “Seller” field, separated by semicolons. If incoming invoices are issued on different dates, the Intermediary reissues several invoices with the same dates. Combining invoices with different dates is formally prohibited.*

10. Answers to questions from the tax inspectorate

The tax inspector may request an explanation from the intermediary why buyers pay the intermediary for goods, works, services with VAT, but the intermediary does not pay the specified VAT to the budget. To resolve this issue, the intermediary should explain in writing to the tax inspectorate that the intermediary works under a commission agreement. An example of a response to such a request is given in Appendix 4 to Article.

Besides tax inspector may request an explanation of why income for tax purposes does not include all amounts of funds that come to the intermediary’s account. In response to such a request, it is advisable to answer that the company’s income is discounts (premiums) from the supplier, as well as commissions. An example of a response to such a request is given in Appendix 5 to Article.

Applications:

1. Example of a report on a request from the tax office for VAT
2. at the request of the income tax inspectorate.

Transactions in which intermediaries are involved in the conclusion and execution of transactions are complex from all points of view. There are special civil rules for the performance of obligations by the parties, a special distribution of responsibility, and complicated document flow. The issue of calculating VAT during intermediary transactions adds even more difficulties, especially if the participants in the transactions use special regimes or are exempt from paying VAT. Today we are publishing the first of the articles united by the topic “VAT in intermediary transactions”, where we will describe the actions of the parties to the transaction and the flow of documents between them from the perspective of the principal (the person in whose interests the intermediary acts).

Introductory information

For tax purposes, it is advisable to divide the entire variety of situations in which a transaction can take place with the participation of an intermediary into four large blocks. Firstly, the division can be carried out according to the essence of the transactions performed: the acquisition of something through an intermediary, or the sale of something through an intermediary. Thus, we get the first two blocks. And, secondly, the taxation system used by the parties to the intermediary agreement becomes the basis for division. Here two more blocks appear: VAT payers and non-payers of this tax (special regimes, article of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). Finally, each of the resulting blocks can and should be considered both for the intermediary and for the organization in whose interests he acts (for simplicity, we will call it the “committent”).

As you can see, the matrix is ​​quite extensive. In order not to confuse the reader, we decided to write two articles. In the first we will outline the order of actions of the committent, and in the second - the intermediary.

Option 1: Selling goods. Principal - VAT payer

Paying tax

When selling goods (works, services) through an intermediary, the obligation to pay VAT on this transaction arises with the principal. After all, it is he who, according to the rules of civil law, is recognized as the owner of the property being sold (Article, Civil Code of the Russian Federation). Accordingly, it is the principal who must correctly determine the tax base for such transactions. Here you need to remember that the tax base in transactions with intermediaries, it is determined according to general rules, that is, as the cost of goods, works, services (Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

It is somewhat more complicated when determining the tax base. Formally, it is also defined by general rule: by the date of sale of the goods or by the date of receipt of the advance payment. But since we are talking about operations performed by an intermediary, these dates correspond precisely to the actions of the intermediary. That is, the tax base arises at the time the goods are sold by the intermediary, or the intermediary receives an advance payment. The principal can obtain these dates from the intermediary's report. Therefore, it is necessary to establish such a frequency of reports in order to pay the tax on time (and it is paid together with the “regular” VAT). We note that the committent must take care of the timely receipt of reports (clause 16 of the Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation).

Invoice

Since the sale of goods occurs at the consignor, the invoice for this operation must ultimately be issued by the consignor. This invoice is drawn up on the basis of data received from the intermediary, namely: from the report (if the sale is on behalf of the principal), or from the invoice issued by the intermediary to the buyer (if the sale is on behalf of the intermediary).

Based on this information, the principal issues an invoice to the buyer. This invoice is recorded in the sales book and part 1 of the journal for recording invoices received and issued.

What to write on the invoice itself? Everything here is also quite transparent. In line 1 we indicate the date of issue of the invoice. If we are talking about sales on behalf of an intermediary, then there will be a date when the intermediary issued “his” invoice to the buyer. The number is always indicated in accordance with the chronology adopted by the committent (clause “a”, clause 1 of the Rules for filling out invoices approved by the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation).

Next, in lines 2, 2a and 2b we indicate the name and address of the principal. Lines 6, 6a and 6b indicate the full or abbreviated name and address of the actual buyer (not the intermediary!). Further filling out the invoice is no different from usual. If we are talking about sales on behalf of an intermediary, then the accountant only needs to simply rewrite the relevant information in the invoice issued by the intermediary to the buyer.

Deduction

When selling goods subject to VAT, the principal receives the right to deduct the VAT paid to the intermediary as part of his remuneration (this is provided that the intermediary is a VAT payer). To do this, you need to receive the corresponding invoice from the intermediary and register it in the purchase book and part 2 of the log of received and issued invoices.

Option 2. Selling goods. The principal is not a VAT payer

The situation here is quite simple. As we have already found out, the principal remains the owner of the products sold by the intermediary. Therefore, the implementation is reflected precisely in him. And since this sale is not subject to VAT, then invoices are either not issued at all (special regimes) or are issued with the mark “without VAT” (exemption under the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). In the latter case, the rules for issuing invoices are similar to those described in option 1.

Since the principal's operations are not subject to VAT, he does not have the right to deduct remuneration. An invoice received from an intermediary does not need to be registered anywhere - the provisions of clause 3.1 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation on this situation does not apply.

Option 3. Purchase of goods. Principal - VAT payer

When purchasing goods, works or services through an intermediary, we have, in fact, a mirror sales situation. The legal side of the sales transaction is not the intermediary, but the principal, since according to the rules of civil law for transactions made by an intermediary, the rights and obligations arise with the principal. So it is he who pays for the purchase, takes it into account and receives the right to deduct. Accordingly, the most important thing here is to correctly issue the invoice. There are no problems if the intermediary works on behalf of the principal. Then all documents are immediately issued in the name of the latter. But if the intermediary acts on his own behalf, the document flow becomes more complicated.

In such a situation, the principal must receive two invoices from the intermediary. The first is for the product (it is billed taking into account the seller’s invoice; we will talk more about this in the part regarding the intermediary), the second is for the remuneration. In addition, the intermediary must provide the principal with a copy of the invoice issued by the seller of the purchased goods in the name of the intermediary. Invoices for goods and remuneration must be registered in Part 2 of the journal of received and issued invoices and the purchase book. A copy of the invoice issued by the seller to the intermediary does not need to be registered anywhere, but is supposed to be kept for four years (clause “a”, clause 15 of the Rules for maintaining a log of received and issued invoices).

Thus, the principal will be able to deduct VAT amounts based on the invoice issued to him by the intermediary reflecting the invoice figures issued by the seller. The customer has the right to deduction in the general manner, regardless of the date indicated in the invoice for the transfer of goods from the intermediary to the customer (see letter from the Ministry of Finance of Russia).

Option 4. Purchase of goods. The principal is not a VAT payer

The principal, who is not a VAT payer, cannot count on deductions either for purchased products or for the services of an intermediary. This means that he does not need any VAT documentation. The new rules on maintaining logs of invoices, established for intermediaries by clause 3.1 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, also do not apply to the principal.

Despite the fact that new rules for maintaining VAT documentation have been in force for almost a year now intermediary operations, the flow of letters from readers with questions on this topic is not decreasing. To resolve all questions, we will describe step by step which VAT documents and in what order the parties to an intermediary agreement fill out when carrying out transactions for the sale of goods in various situations.

Before moving on to review specific situations, let's agree on the following:

1) the most common types of intermediary agreements in the sale of goods (works, services) are a commission agreement and an agency agreement, under the terms of which the agent conducts intermediary activities on his own behalf. Since the rules of a commission agreement (Article 1011 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation) apply to such an agency agreement, we will describe the VAT document flow of the principal and the commission agent. Under an agency agreement, in which the agent acts on his own behalf, the document flow will be similar;

2) since persons applying the Unified Agricultural Tax, Unified Internal Income Tax and the simplified tax system are not VAT payers, when considering situations where one of the parties to the commission agreement is on special regime taxation, we will only talk about persons applying the simplified tax system. Everything said about them also applies to UTII payers or Unified Agricultural Tax.

The principal and the commission agent apply the OSN

Let's consider what VAT documents are drawn up by the principal and the commission agent, if they are both VAT payers.

Invoices

An invoice is issued upon the sale of goods, as well as upon receipt of advances against future deliveries of goods (clause 3 of Article 168 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). The sale of goods is considered to be a transfer of ownership of them (Clause 1, Article 39 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). According to paragraph 1 of Art. 996 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, when transferring goods to a commission agent, the ownership of them remains with the principal. Thus, since there is no sale, when the goods are transferred to the commission agent, the principal does not issue an invoice.

When selling the goods of the principal, the commission agent issues an invoice to the buyer (clause 3 of Article 168, clause 1 of Article 169 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). According to clause 1 of the Rules for filling out an invoice, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated December 26, 2011 No. 1137 (hereinafter referred to as the Rules for filling out an invoice), it states:

number according to the commission agent’s own numbering of invoices and the date corresponding to the day the invoice was issued by the commission agent;

on line 2 “Seller” - the full or abbreviated name of the commission agent (letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated April 29, 2013 No. 03-07-09/15077);

on line 2b “TIN/KPP of the seller” - TIN/KPP of the commission agent.

All other columns and lines of the invoice are filled in by the commission agent in as usual, as when selling your own goods.

Since the goods are the property of the principal, when it is sold by the commission agent, the ownership of the goods passes from the principal to the buyer. In paragraph 16 of the Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation dated May 30, 2014 No. 33, the arbitrators indicated that the Tax Code of the Russian Federation does not establish special rules regarding the moment of determining the VAT base for the sale of goods (work, services) with the involvement of intermediaries. Therefore, the committent must determine it according to the rules of Art. 167 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation (on the day of shipment of goods), ensuring for these purposes the timely receipt of documented data on shipment from the commission agent. Consequently, the committent, on the basis of clause 3 of Art. 168 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation is obliged to issue an invoice no later than five calendar days counting from the day the commission agent ships the goods to the buyer. In this regard, the commission agreement must necessarily stipulate the commission agent’s obligation to report completed shipments to the principal and the period within which he must do this.

In the invoice issued on the basis of the commission agent's data, the principal indicates:

the number according to the principal’s own numbering of invoices and the date corresponding to the day the invoice was issued by the commission agent to the buyer of the goods;

on line 2 “Seller” - full or abbreviated name of the principal;

on line 2b “TIN/KPP of the seller” - TIN/KPP of the principal.

The remaining columns and lines of the invoice are filled in by the principal in the usual manner. The principal transfers the issued invoice to the commission agent.

Please note that the Rules for filling out an invoice allow the principal to issue one consolidated invoice for all shipments made by the commission agent on one day. In this case, the committent indicates in it:

on line 4 “Consignee and his address” - full or abbreviated names of consignees and their postal addresses (separated by semicolons);

on line 6 “Buyer” - full or abbreviated names of buyers (separated by semicolons);

on line 6a “Address” - the location of the buyers (separated by semicolons);

on line 6b “TIN/KPP of the buyer - TIN/KPP of the buyers (separated by semicolons);

in column 1 - names of goods delivered to a specific buyer in separate items;

in columns 2-11 - relevant data from invoices issued by the commission agent (agent) to buyers, for each buyer in separate items.

In addition to invoices for the sale of goods, the commission agent issues an invoice to the principal for his remuneration under the commission agreement.

Sales book

The invoice that the commission agent issued to customers when selling the principal's goods is not registered in the sales book of the commission agent (clause 20 of the Rules for maintaining the sales book, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of December 26, 2011 No. 1137 (hereinafter referred to as the Rules for maintaining the sales book)). Only an invoice for the amount of the commission agent's remuneration is subject to registration in it (clause 3 of the Rules for maintaining the sales book).

The principal records the invoice issued on the basis of the commission agent's data in his sales book. At the same time, in columns 9 and 10 “Information about the intermediary (commission agent, agent)” he indicates the name of the commission agent and his TIN (subparagraph “m”, “n” of paragraph 7 of the Rules for maintaining the sales book).

Since January 1, 2015, VAT payers do not keep a log of received and issued invoices (clause 3, 3.1 of Article 169 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). An exception is intermediaries who, when carrying out intermediary activities, issue and (or) receive invoices. Such intermediaries (whether they are VAT payers or not) are required to keep a log of invoices received and issued in relation to specified activities(Clause 3.1 of Article 169 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). Based on this, the committent does not keep a log of received and issued invoices.

The commission agent issues invoices within the framework of intermediary activities. Therefore, he must maintain a log of invoices received and issued. The commission agent registers the invoice received from the principal in the second part of the log of received and issued invoices (subparagraph “a” of clause 11 of the Rules for maintaining a log of received and issued invoices, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated December 26, 2011 No. 1137 ( further - Rules for maintaining an accounting log)). And in its first part, he registers the invoice that he issued to the buyer when selling the principal’s goods (subparagraph “a”, paragraph 7 of the Rules for maintaining an accounting journal). At the same time, in column 10 he indicates the name of the principal, in column 11 - the INN/KPP of the principal, and in column 12 - the number and date of the invoice of the principal, drawn up by him on the basis of the commission agent's data on the shipment of goods.

Please note: the invoice issued by the commission agent for the amount of his remuneration is not registered in the accounting journal (clause 3.1 of Article 169 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

The principal applies the simplified tax system, the commission agent - the special tax system

In this case, neither the principal nor the commission agent prepares any invoices for the sale of goods under the commission agreement. The commission agent issues only an invoice to the principal for the amount of his remuneration under the commission agreement.

Invoices

As we have already indicated above, when the commission agent sells the goods of the principal, the ownership of them passes to the buyer from the principal. In the situation under consideration, the principal is not a VAT payer (clauses 2, 3 of Article 346.11 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). Consequently, the commission agent for transactions involving the sale of goods of such a principal does not calculate VAT. The Russian Ministry of Finance agrees with this (letters dated 04/01/2013 No. 03-07-14/10455, dated 07/22/2010 No. 03-07-11/303).

From the provisions of paragraph 3 of Art. 168 and paragraph 1 of Art. 169 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation it follows that an invoice is issued to the buyer when selling goods (work, services), serves to present the VAT calculated by the taxpayer (commission agent) to the buyer and is the basis for the buyer to accept this VAT for deduction. Since in our situation, neither the principal nor the commission agent for transactions involving the sale of goods (works, services) within the framework of the contract accrues VAT commissions, it turns out that the commission agent - the VAT payer for such transactions does not issue invoices to buyers. The Russian Ministry of Finance confirms the legitimacy of this position. In letter dated January 22, 2015 No. 03-07-11/1698, he considered the situation when an agent - a VAT payer, acting on his own behalf, sells goods of a principal using the simplified tax system. The financiers indicated that the VAT payer agent is obliged to issue an invoice only for the amount of his remuneration. And since the rules of the commission agreement apply to the agency agreement, what the Ministry of Finance said is also true in relation to the commission agent - a VAT payer.

So, neither the principal nor the commission agent in the situation under consideration draws up any invoices for the sale of goods under a commission agreement. The entire VAT document flow between them comes down to the commission agent issuing an invoice to the principal for the amount of his remuneration under the commission agreement. The commission agent registers this invoice in the sales book (clause 20 of the Rules for maintaining the sales book). The principal who uses the simplified tax system does not register this invoice anywhere.

Let us note that a written agreement may be concluded between the commission agent - a VAT payer and the principal applying the simplified tax system - on the non-drafting of invoices (subclause 1, clause 3, article 169 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). Then the commission agent will not need to draw up and issue an invoice for his remuneration. And there will be no VAT document flow at all. In this case, the commission agent will register the primary accounting document, confirming the fact of economic life (letter of the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated January 27, 2015 No. ED-4-15/1066). Such a document could be accounting information, containing the calculation of the commission agent's remuneration.

Journal of received and issued invoices

As we have already said, an invoice issued by a commission agent for the amount of his remuneration is not registered in the accounting journal (clause 3.1 of Article 169 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). In letter dated January 22, 2015 No. 03-07-11/1698, the Russian Ministry of Finance confirmed this.

And in the letter dated 04/02/2015 No. 03-07-14/18223, the financiers indicated that if invoices are not issued when selling consignment goods, no accounting log is kept for such transactions.

So, since the commission agent, a VAT payer, does not issue invoices to buyers when selling goods of the principal using the simplified tax system, he does not keep an accounting log.

The principal applies the STS, the commission agent - the STS

When carrying out operations for the sale of goods, the principal and the commission agent draw up and issue invoices in the same manner as in a situation where both of them are VAT payers. The commission agent keeps a logbook and submits it electronically to the tax office quarterly.

Invoices

Since the principal is a VAT payer, the sale of his goods by the commission agent is subject to this tax. This means that the commission agent must issue an invoice, even if he uses the simplified tax system. The Russian Ministry of Finance adheres to a similar position (letters dated June 25, 2014 No. 03-07-RZ/30534, dated July 1, 2013 No. 03-07-14/25028). The commission agent fills out this invoice in the manner prescribed by clause 1 of the Rules for filling out invoices. The commission agent transfers his data to the principal, who, on their basis, issues his own invoice for the sale of goods.

Thus, the VAT document flow in terms of invoices issued for the sale of goods under a commission agreement in the situation under consideration is similar to the document flow of the principal and the commission agent, who are VAT payers.

Since the commission agent is not a VAT payer, he does not issue an invoice for his remuneration under the commission agreement.

Sales book

According to clause 20 of the Rules for maintaining the sales book, invoices issued by the commission agent when selling the goods of the principal are not recorded in it. Consequently, the commission agent using the simplified tax system does not keep a sales book when carrying out intermediary activities.

The principal registers the invoice issued on the basis of the commission agent's data in his sales book. In column 9, he indicates the name of the commission agent, and in column 10 - his TIN (subparagraph “m”, “n”, paragraph 7 of the Rules for maintaining the sales book).

Journal of received and issued invoices

Since, when carrying out intermediary activities, a commission agent using the simplified tax system issues invoices, he must keep an accounting log (clause 3.1 of Article 169 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation) in the same manner as a commission agent who pays VAT.

We note that according to clause 5.2 of Art. 174 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, persons who are not VAT payers, in the event that they issue and (or) receive invoices when carrying out entrepreneurial activity in the interests of another person, on the basis of agreements, commissions are obliged to submit to the tax authorities at the place of their registration a log of received and issued invoices in relation to the specified activity in the established format in electronic form via telecommunication channels through an electronic document management operator no later than the 20th day of the month following the expired tax period.

The letter of the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated 04/08/2015 No. GD-4-3/5880@ “On the procedure for submitting a VAT return, as well as a log of received and issued invoices for the first quarter of 2015” states that the sending by the above persons of a log of received and issued invoices is carried out within the framework of document flow upon submission individual documents to the tax authorities (12 subsidiaries), approved by order of the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated November 9, 2010 No. ММВ-7-6/535@, using the list of documents approved by order of the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated June 29, 2012 No. ММВ-7-6/465@.

The principal does not keep a log of received and issued invoices.