The abbreviation "Individual Entrepreneur" is an outdated designation of an individual entrepreneur. Nevertheless, many regulatory legal acts still retain this formulation, which misleads some citizens.
The current regulatory legal acts of the Russian Federation contain many concepts that are outdated and have not been applied for a long time. An example of such a concept is the abbreviation "Individual Entrepreneur", which stands for "an entrepreneur without the formation of a legal entity."
It was this abbreviation that previously designated those citizens who were registered to carry out entrepreneurial activities in an appropriate capacity, had certain rights and assumed obligations to pay taxes and contributions. In the laws, this designation of entrepreneurs is no longer found, but it remains in some by-laws, legislation of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation.
How did the abbreviation "Individual Entrepreneur" appear?
The abbreviation "Individual Entrepreneur" has replaced the term "private entrepreneur", which originally denoted citizens who carry out entrepreneurial activities independently and without creating any organization. However, the concept of "private entrepreneur" existed for a relatively short time, after a while it was replaced by the cumbersome term "entrepreneur without the formation of a legal entity", which was shortened to the abbreviation in question.
It is this definition that has long been entrenched in the Russian regulatory framework, which explains its presence in a number of acts currently in force. After the appearance of the term "individual entrepreneur", the concept of "self-employed legal entity" was excluded from federal laws, but in practice it continued to be used for a long time.
Are there any notation differences?
When faced with the abbreviation "Individual Entrepreneurs", many novice entrepreneurs do not understand its meaning, make incorrect assumptions about any status differences between these entities and ordinary individual entrepreneurs. In fact, there are no differences in the rights and obligations of such subjects, and the abbreviation itself occasionally appears only in the literature, and is also used by persons accustomed to this formulation.
It is not recommended to use such a designation in official documents, since it can only cause confusion among counterparties, government agencies or other organizations. Sometimes there is a combination of the modern designation of an individual entrepreneur ("IP") and the abbreviation "Individual Entrepreneur", in which these entities are called "IPBOYUL". Such combination also has no legal significance, it can create unnecessary confusion, lead to errors and misconceptions.
