Often, organizations, developing or simply by virtue of the nature of their activities, work not only at their main address. This means that the organization has a separate subdivision, or even more than one, and we must not forget about their registration with the tax authorities and that the payment of taxes and reporting on such subdivisions have their own characteristics.
A separate subdivision (OP) is any subdivision of a legal entity whose address differs from its address indicated in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities. The legislation separately identifies such types of OP as representative offices and branches. The peculiarity of the branch is that it is authorized to carry out all the functions of the organization or a significant part of them. The representative office has one function - to represent and protect the interests of the legal entity. All other stand-alone units are considered "regular" and can be created for a variety of purposes. An OP of any kind is not a separate legal entity.
Information about the opening of a representative office or branch must be entered into the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, in other cases it is enough to inform the Federal Tax Service Inspectorate. The tax inspectorate will register a representative office or a branch itself after making changes to the register.
The concept of a separate subdivision, according to the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, can only be applied to organizations. An individual entrepreneur does not need to register an EP, even if his business is geographically dispersed.
Signs of a separate subdivision
As the Ministry of Finance explains in its letters, it is necessary to notify about the creation of a separate subdivision when four conditions are simultaneously fulfilled:
- The new outlet has everything you need to immediately start work for at least one employee, that is, there is an equipped workplace.
- It is assumed that this workplace will last at least a month. In this case, it does not matter whether the employee is constantly there or comes from time to time.
- The organization controls the room or area where the new workplace is located, they should not belong to another person. For example, an apartment, the owner of which has hired a cleaning lady in the agency, does not become its separate subdivision only on this basis.
- Activities have actually begun in the department, that is, an employee of the organization has started to work. It also follows from this that if someone else's workers work at the equipped point (for example, the premises are rented out), then it will not be the lessor's OP.
If these four signs are present, the point will be recognized as a separate unit, even if its creation is not recorded in the constituent or any other documents of the organization.
Registration of a separate subdivision
The fact of the creation of a separate division of the organization must be reported to the IFTS by submitting an application in the form No. С-09-3-1 within thirty days. This form, like the others that will be discussed, can be taken from any reference system or on the Internet. Usually, the application is submitted to the inspectorate at the location of the OP, but if a legal entity has several such divisions in one city, they can all be registered with one tax office. In this case, in addition to the application for registration of the OP, you must provide a notice of the choice of the inspection.
If an organization forgets or does not consider it necessary to register a separate subdivision, it faces a fine of 10 thousand rubles, and at least 40 thousand more - for conducting activities without registration, therefore legal entities should be careful when expanding their activities so as not create an OP by chance, without considering it as such, for example, a warehouse where loaders come to work.
If in the course of activity the address of a separate subdivision has changed, this must also be reported. For this, the same form No. С-09-3-1 is used, and it must be sent within three working days from the date of the change of address specified in the order of the head. The message is submitted to the IFTS, in which the parent organization is registered.
If it is not an ordinary PO, but a representative office or a branch that moves, then, as in the case of their opening, information about this must be transferred to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities. There is no need to notify the tax authorities.
Registration with the FSS and the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation
If a separate subdivision has a bank account and pays money to employees, then, in addition to the tax inspectorate, it must register with the social insurance and pension funds. Thirty days are also allotted for this.
To register a separate subdivision with the FSS of the organization, it is necessary to provide the fund with three documents:
- Application for registration in the form approved by order of the Ministry of Labor dated 25.10.2013 No. 576n.
- Document confirming payments to individuals.
- Certificate from the bank about opening an account.
For registration with the pension fund, the organization submits to its tax message that the EP is entitled to pay money to individuals. The form of such a message was approved by order of the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated January 10, 2017 No. ММВ-7-14 / 4 @. The tax inspectorate will send the necessary information to the FIU itself.
Such a subdivision pays insurance premiums independently and submits a calculation for them in the same way as the parent organization.
If a separate subdivision registered with the FSS moves to a new location, an application for registration at the new location must be submitted to the former FSS branch. Fifteen working days are allotted for this. There is no need to inform the pension fund about the change of address.
Payment of taxes for a separate subdivision
Personal income tax in respect of those employees who are considered employees of a separate division is paid to its IFTS, even if they have an employment contract with the parent organization. If we are talking about a contract of a civil nature, then the meaning, on the contrary, is whether it was concluded with the OP. If yes, then personal income tax is paid at the place of its registration.
At the location of a separate subdivision, you also need to pay:
- Income tax - in that part of it that falls on the OP. This share of profit is calculated based on the residual value of the depreciable property of the OP and the costs of wages and salaries of its employees (or their average headcount).
- Movable property tax - in relation to fixed assets belonging to the division.
- Transport tax - in relation to vehicles registered with the OP.
As for value added tax or tax under the simplified tax system, the entire amount is paid to the IFTS of the parent organization, including for the operations of a separate division.
According to the Tax Code, the simplified taxation system cannot be applied to organizations that have a branch. The presence of a representative office or an ordinary OP does not interfere with the use of a simplified document.
A separate subdivision can pay taxes on its own if it has a bank account and the appropriate authority. If the OP does not have a current account, the organization can nevertheless give him the right to submit reports, and pay taxes itself.
Accounting OP
In the presence of a separate subdivision, an organization can maintain accounting in two ways: to allocate an EP to a separate balance sheet or not to allocate it. In the first case, the subdivision has the right to independently keep records of operations and must regularly submit a report with the indicators of its activities to the parent organization. What kind of indicators these will be, the parent organization decides. This report is an internal document, you do not need to submit it anywhere. The organization can also entrust the OP to only part of the operations, and leave the rest to itself.
In the second case (without allocation to a separate balance sheet), all accounting is carried out by the head organization, setting up special sub-accounts for this, and the OP simply transfers the primary documents there.
The chosen method of accounting with all the details - the timing of the transfer of documents, the list of indicators indicated in the report, etc. - must be reflected in the accounting policy of the organization.
Closing a separate subdivision
If a separate division is no longer needed and it is decided to close it, the head of the organization must issue an appropriate order. After that, within three days, a notification is submitted to the Federal Tax Service Inspectorate in the form No. С-09-3-2. There is no need to report closure to the pension and social security funds. A branch or representative office is liquidated by submitting information to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities.
If the OP did not manage to pay taxes before its closure, this will need to be done by the tax one where the parent organization is registered. In any case, insurance premiums are paid at the location of the separate subdivision.
