home Accounting Where should the stamp be placed? On which documents do you need a company seal, and when can you do without it?

Where should the stamp be placed? On which documents do you need a company seal, and when can you do without it?

In addition to the laws on LLCs and JSCs, changes were also made to a number of regulations that previously provided for the mandatory certification of documents with the organization’s seal. Now a seal is affixed only if it is available (that is, if the presence of a seal is indicated in the organization’s charter) in the following documents:

If an organization decides to refuse to use a seal, it is advisable to exclude information about it from the charter, although the law does not provide for such an obligation. It seems that if the organization’s charter mentions a seal, but its imprint is absent in the listed documents, this may become the subject of disputes and claims from various regulatory authorities.

We remind you: as before, on forms of primary accounting documentation prepared by an organization that do not contain the mark “M.P.”, it is not necessary to affix a seal (a seal imprint is not a mandatory requisite of the primary accounting document (Article 9 of the Federal Law of December 6, 2011 No. 402- Federal Law "On Accounting"; clause 13 of the Regulations on accounting, approved by order of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation dated July 29, 1998 No. 34-n). The same applies to concluded agreements. It is not prohibited to affix them with a seal, but it is not necessary (see the FAS resolution Moscow District dated March 22, 2012 No. A40-62363/11-71-291, FAS Moscow District resolution dated December 23, 2010 No. KG-A40/13774-10, Volga-Vyatka District FAS resolution dated January 21, 2013 No. A28-3218/2012 ).

As a rule, the accountant prefers to stamp all documents. Just in case. Although not all papers must have an imprint. At the seminar, Alexander Pogrebs explained in detail when the law requires affixing a stamp and when it does not. The summary was prepared by our colleagues from the magazine "Seminar for an accountant" .

Agreements with counterparties

In general, contracts with counterparties do not need to be stamped. Unless, of course, the text of the agreement itself obliges the parties to seal it. Or this is not directly required by law. This conclusion follows from paragraph 1 of Article 160 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

Well, what if special requirements there is no agreement in the law or the text of the agreement itself; a seal need not be affixed. The judges also agree with these arguments. Examples of this are the decisions of the FAS North-Western District dated March 24, 2009 in case No. A52-3612/2008, the FAS North Caucasus District dated December 5, 2012 No. A32-37081/2011 and the FAS Volga District dated August 10, 2012 No. A12-16523/2011. In them, the judges concluded: in the general case, the company’s seal is just an additional, and not a mandatory, requisite of the contract. This means that even without a stamp, the agreement is considered concluded. And such a deal cannot be declared invalid.

So if your counterparty gave you an agreement without a seal, do not rush to return it back. First, carefully study the text of the agreement. If there is not a word about the seal, then the contract will be valid without it. The main thing is that the document bears the signatures of the parties to the transaction.

Well, if you still want agreements with counterparties to have the seals of both parties, it is enough to write in them, for example, the following wording: “This agreement and amendments to it are valid only if they are made in writing, signed by authorized representatives and sealed by the parties.” Then you definitely can’t do without printing.

When else do you need a company seal on documents?

Document	Is a seal required?	Base
BSO	In general, printing is required. An exception is forms without the “seal” requisite, approved by federal executive authorities	Clauses and Regulations approved
Waybills	Printing required	Order of the Ministry of Transport of Russia dated September 18, 2008 No. 152, Instructions approved
Waybill	No stamp needed	Rules approved
Power of attorney	By general rule no printing needed. An exception is powers of attorney for participation in civil and arbitration proceedings, as well as in enforcement proceedings	Article 185.1 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, Article 53 of the Civil Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, Article 61 of the Arbitration Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, Article 54 of the Federal Law of October 2, 2007 No. 229-FZ
Payment orders and requests for cash expenses	A stamp is needed. An exception is applications for cash expenses that are processed by government agencies	, Order approved

Source documents

Among the mandatory details of the primary company, which are listed in Article 9 of the Federal Law of December 6, 2011 No. 402-FZ, there is no company seal. But this does not mean that you can do without an imprint on all primary documents. Let's take a closer look.

So, from January 1, 2013, companies in general can use their own primary forms by registering this in accounting policy. The main thing is that they contain all the mandatory details from Article 9 of the Federal Law of December 6, 2011 No. 402-FZ.

Therefore, if the document forms that your company has developed or improved and now uses do not have a stamp field, its imprint on the document is not needed. Feel free to work without it.

But if you use standard primary forms, which are marked “M.P.”, you will have to put a stamp. Otherwise, the document will be executed in violation. This means that with its help it will not be possible, for example, to confirm income tax expenses.

PARTICIPANT'S QUESTION - We received a bill of lading from a counterparty without a stamp. Should I return the document to have it stamped?

- It all depends on the shape of this invoice. If your supplier uses standard form No. TORG-12, which is approved by Decree of the State Statistics Committee of Russia dated December 25, 1998 No. 132, a stamp is required. After all, the form itself contains a specially designated place for the imprint. Moreover, the document must have two seals - the seller's and the buyer's.

And if you and the supplier agree to use a self-developed invoice, where there is no “M.P.” field, then a seal is not needed.

And many companies now use UPD in their work. This is convenient - with one document you can confirm both VAT deductions and justify expenses. Let me remind you: the recommended UPD form is in the letter of the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated October 21, 2013 No. ММВ-20-3/96@. So, in the form itself there is space for an imprint (the “M.P.” field).

However, in the recommendations for filling out individual details of the universal document, tax officials indicated that printing on the form is optional. So UPD without an imprint can still be accepted as tax accounting. The main thing is that all required primary details are correctly filled out in the document. Well, VAT data if the company uses UTD with status 1 (as both a primary document and an invoice).

But if you have the opportunity to put a stamp with the full name of the company on the UPD, it is more convenient to do this. Then you won't have to manually fill out line 14 or 19.

PARTICIPANT QUESTION - What about the stamp on sales receipt? Our employee brought a check that does not have the seller's stamp on it. Will such a document be able to confirm expenses?

- If the document form itself does not have the “MP” field, you will not have any problems. After all, each seller develops the sales receipt form independently. Official form No. Representatives of the Russian Ministry of Finance emphasized this in a letter dated February 11, 2009 No. 03-11-06/3/28. So if there is no space for an imprint on the sales receipt, then a stamp on the document is not needed.

And one moment. In addition to the primary form, which a company can develop independently, there are mandatory forms that the organization cannot refuse to use. For example, cash documents.

So, please note that on the receipt for the cash receipt order (form KO-1) you can get by with a special stamp with the mark “Paid”. Its imprint will confirm that the cash transaction was completed. This is stated in paragraph 3.2 of the Bank of Russia Regulations dated October 12, 2011 No. 373-P. The law does not require that the company's main seal be placed on the recipient. This is often forgotten.

What documents can be affixed with a round “document stamp”?

From personal office practice, such a stamp is placed on:

agreements, contracts (supplies, services, contracts)
invoices (issued to pay for something)
interest rates, certificates of completed work, KS-2, KS-3
payment documents for the bank
certificates, extracts (be it housing and communal services, medical institutions, registry office, etc.)
diplomas, certificates
and just on various letters passing like business correspondence between your organization and other offices

This type of seal is placed on documents to confirm the legal basis, in other words, to understand the validity of this document. The organization's seal can be affixed in the following forms.

For documents- this is the main type of seal for all organizations; auxiliary seals have a narrower range (for invoices, for copies).

As far as I know, in the office work of every organization it is customary to create a list (order) of documents that are certified by a seal.

The “For Documents” stamp can be used to certify copies of documents, reports to extra-budgetary funds, cash receipt orders, certify internal documents of an enterprise (organization), written requests to government bodies, powers of attorney for officials for representation of interests in court and petitions, certificates from the accounting department “on the provision of information.” Orders for the enterprise.

Wherever there is a need to put a stamp. Some even put a round stamp on accepted letters.

The main thing is to know where you can’t put a stamp on documents.

This mainly applies to bank documents that already contain a seal imprint. It is important that the company has an administrative act that would normalize the operation of the additional seal.

The seal for documents is used mainly for the internal use of the organization; it can be placed on the act of transfer of goods, on the signature, or accepted the cargo. Such a seal is not put on contracts. At least this applies to large organizations.

Where can you put it and when do you use printing for documents?

At the beginning of April 2015, Federal Law No. 82-FZ was issued, according to which printing ceases to be a mandatory attribute of organizations.

What should it be

Regardless of the organizational form, the organization cliché must contain its full name and address. It is allowed to indicate the name on foreign language. Regulatory acts do not regulate either the size of the cliche or its color.

Moreover, it is unknown whether it is possible to indicate the abbreviated name of the company, as well as supplement the seal with such details as the inscriptions “for documents” or “for invoices”. It can be concluded that the legislation left the affixing of the abbreviated name and inscriptions to the discretion of entrepreneurs.

The generally accepted size is 38-42 mm. Typically the company stamp is blue or purple. If it is lost or worn out, the company must produce a new copy. The same applies to situations where the organization’s details indicated on the print (for example, address or name) have changed.

Federal Law No. 82-FZ allows for the possibility that an organization may not have a seal, however, the law obliges the use of a seal on letterhead strict reporting, in work books, as well as in cash orders. It follows from this that as long as the reference to the mandatory affixing of a seal on some documentation remains in regulations, the company is obliged to have one.

The use of seals is mandatory if the company has not written down a clause in the contract with a specific counterparty regarding its possible non-use. If there is no such clause, then the transaction may be considered invalid.

List of documents

A stamp is placed on documents to give them legal force. However, not all documentation needs this. On some personnel documents You may miss adding this detail.

Some are certified with a stamp accounting papers(for example, estimates and instructions). All constituent documentation, agreements, additional agreements.

The imprint is placed at the bottom of the text next to the signature of the official. Under no circumstances should the stamp appear on the transcript of the signature. Sometimes the mark “M.” is placed in the place where the seal was affixed. P." or “Place of seal” and the imprint should be placed on it.

Primary

Primary documentation in a company refers to the so-called primary accounting, which means the very first stage of summarizing operations in an organization. Primary documents are those that can confirm the existence of a business transaction. All information contained in the “primary” must be reflected in accounting.

The stamp is placed on those primary papers that are made in a unified form. An example of a unified primary document is a consignment note made according to the TORG-12 form. If the company itself approves the form of any primary document, then affixing a stamp is not mandatory.

Orders

The order is an internal document in the organization, i.e. he does not go beyond it. Thus, putting an imprint on the order is not mandatory, and in most cases it is omitted. If an employee asks to provide a copy of the order, then the copy is certified according to all standards, with a seal and other relevant details affixed.

Organization letterheads

The stamp is placed on the organization’s letterhead depending on how the form was made. So, if the company’s letterhead belongs to strict reporting forms, then an imprint on such paper is required. If the organization’s letterhead is issued on multi-colored paper with the company logo, then no imprint is placed.

To certify a regular information letter on the organization’s letterhead, it is enough to affix the signature of an official. In some cases, an imprint on the company letterhead is required. The seal is placed on letters of guarantee, as well as on powers of attorney (for example, to represent the company’s interests in court or to receive material assets).

Other

Placing a stamp on a document on which it is not affixed will not lead to any proceedings. However, if you do not put this detail on the papers required to be certified in this way, the consequences may be unfavorable.

In addition to the above documents, certification is required the following types of papers:

contracts (both internal and external);
additional agreements;
acts (acceptance and transfer, examination, etc.);
references and characteristics;
travel papers;
petitions;
letters of guarantee;
staffing tables, instructions;
work books.

When filling work book The following points should be considered. The stamp of the organization must be on the title side of the book. If the employee’s personal data has changed - on the inside cover. When dismissing, the notice of dismissal must always be accompanied by the blue seal of the organization.

Typical impressions

Depending on the organizational form of the enterprise Seal impressions may vary appearance . Thus, the imprint of an individual entrepreneur is a little simpler than that of an LLC or CJSC, and contains fewer mandatory elements. Let's look at typical stamp impressions depending on the type and shape of the company.

Simple. Contains the name of the organization in the middle, and in the border there is a form organizational activities, as well as ORGN and checkpoint. The company address can also be included in the border.
With microtext. In such seals, unlike the previous ones, there is a more complex edging, running along the edge in 2 layers. In the outer layer there is smaller text, which is used to write, for example, her registry number. In the inner layer of the edging, as well as in a simple print, there is an address, OGRN and checkpoint, as well as organizational form companies.
With ornamental edging. Large companies They prefer to use fantasy prints in their work, in which there is a pattern between the inner and outer layers of the edging.
For individual entrepreneurs. As a rule, it contains the full name of the entrepreneur in the middle, while along the edge there are details such as OGRNIP, address, and TIN.

You can find out what documents are stamped on from this video.

Features of affixing

The seal is required to be affixed to all contracts, most personnel documents, as well as to primary documentation. Letters of guarantee and acts have no legal force unless they are stamped. Nothing bad will happen if you put it on a document on which a stamp is not required. However, it should always be placed where its presence may later be needed during legal proceedings.

Some companies develop special regulations or instructions for using the seal. As a rule, it is approved by the manager and contains sections such as a list of stamps used in the organization, their storage location, and the procedure for use.

The legal meaning of this detail is to certify the signature of that official who is part of the management circle of people working in the company whose name is indicated on the seal.

The imprint cannot be placed next to the signature of an ordinary company employee. It is desirable that the seal does not overlap the official’s signature, is readable and makes it possible to distinguish all the information on it.

How to refuse printing on primary documents is presented in this video.

Copying of materials is permitted only when using an active link to this site.

Where can I put a stamp on documents - sample?

Send by mail

Stamp for documents - where to put it her and what she should be? The answer to these seemingly simple questions is characterized by a number of nuances—let’s look at them.

What type of seal should be used for documents?

Organizations and individual entrepreneurs can use the following seal to certify documents:

main;
structural unit;
special (for example, seal for documents for internal use).

The legislation of the Russian Federation does not contain any classification of seals - the use of the above varieties has developed in practice.

Need for involvement stamps for documents, different from the main one, may be due to the difficulty of obtaining operational access to the main seal by structural divisions of the company or specific employees. Therefore, they may be given the opportunity to use appropriate alternative instruments for document certification.

From a legal point of view, all types of seals used by a company are equivalent if:

through them it is possible to record on paper the full name of the company, as well as its address;
they are round in shape;
the name of the type of seal used (for example, “For the HR department”) does not contradict the scope of its use (that is, the HR department cannot certify documents of the sales department with its seal).

If a document is sent to a government agency, it should be certified only with the main seal. The use of special seals or seals corresponding to structural divisions by the company when interacting with partners and contractors is carried out with their consent.

In accordance with the amendments made by law dated 04/06/2015 No. 82-FZ to a number of federal regulations, Russian organizations in general, they are not obliged to use a seal in legal relations, unless otherwise expressly prescribed by certain rules of law.

You can learn more about the specifics of the application of legal norms governing the use of seals by organizations in the article “A seal is not a mandatory attribute of the primary property.”

But if the company still uses its own stamp for documents - where can you put it? her, in what part of the sheet?

Which part of the document is stamped?

Is affixed seal for documents in most cases, next to the signature of the person who certified the official document. As a rule, the abbreviation “M.P.” is present in the corresponding area of the document. (place for printing). But if it is not provided in the original form, you should not enter it manually.

Where can I stamp documents? at their certification? So, on the document being certified, the seal must be placed in such a way that it allows:

recognize other significant details of the document (the names of the columns and the information they contain);
certify the authenticity of the signature of the person who verified the document.

It is also desirable that the seal partially covers one of the words that makes up the job title of the person signing the document.

Contractors, tax authorities and other government agencies always welcome the clearest possible print on paper (but not bold).

Where can I find samples of seals for documents?

Our specialists have prepared several samples for you stamps for documents, which are used in various cases. You can also see an example of how to properly stamp a document.

Results

In order to optimize document flow Russian companies has the right to use not only the main one, but also additional seals for documents. However, in official structures Documents certified only with the main seal should be sent.

It is important to ensure that the structure of the main and additional stamps for documents company names and addresses. All types stamps for documents, used by the company to certify them, sent to external entities - counterparties, government agencies, must be round.

Where is the stamp placed on documents? It must be placed in such a way that it does not cover other significant entries present in the document.

You can get acquainted with other nuances of using a seal when organizing document flow at an enterprise in the article “It is better to put a round seal in work books.”

Be the first to know about important tax changes

Have questions? Get quick answers on our forum!

When can you use additional seals?

Many organizations, in addition to the main seal, also use additional ones in their work. They may be identical to the main one, or they may contain various inscriptions indicating the type of structural unit of the company (for example, “HR Department”, “Accounting”, “Warehouse”, “Secretariat”, “Branch”) or the type of documents on which the seal is placed ("For financial documents» “For invoices”, “For inquiries”, “For contracts”, etc.). This is especially convenient when you urgently need to put a stamp, but there is no access to the main seal. However, counterparties are often suspicious of such seals and sometimes even ask to replace the document. Sometimes the tax authorities and the Resolution of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the North-West District dated October 13, 2009 No. A21-8887/2008 cling to special seals. Let's find out whether such claims are legitimate.

Is it possible to have additional stamps?

What additional printing might look like

Let's remember what the main seal should look like, and, based on this, we will highlight the types of additional seals.

What documents can be stamped with additional stamps?

If a seal on a document is not required, then you can put any seal on it, even a stamp.

If printing on a document is mandatory, then you can use a special seal, but only if you follow a few rules.

Reader's opinion

“ We sent the driver to receive the goods by proxy with the stamp “For documents.” The goods were not shipped to him - they said that such a seal was invalid. They explained that they were wrong, because the seal was round and indicated the name and place of registration of the organization, but it did not help. I had to redo the power of attorney and go again.”

accountant, Moscow

RULE 2. Special seals are used in accordance with their purpose and Resolution of the Seventh AAS dated December 17, 2010 No. 07AP-10623/10; FAS VVO dated April 16, 2004 No. A43-10946/2003-25-340. For example, the “For accounts” seal should not be placed on contracts, and the branch seal should not be placed on documents of the head office. But the seal “For documents” has a general purpose, so it can be used for any document in accordance with the Resolution of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of November 11, 2010 No. A70-4089/2010.

RULE 3. On contractual documentation, as well as documents for the acceptance and transfer of goods (work, services), a special seal is used, unless the contract prohibits this. Resolution of the Seventh AAS dated December 17, 2010 No. 07AP-10623/10. For example, if there is no clause in the agreement that the parties can only use the main seal, then you can put the “For documents” stamp on the documents.

It is still better to put the main stamp on documents for government agencies. This will save the company from possible quibbles and disputes on their part. And for convenience, you can make several identical seals.

Let us remind you that printing is required, for example, on the following documents:

If stamps in several companies, In order to avoid confusion about which stamp should be put on which document, it is better to issue an order or approve a regulation regulating these issues.

When using additional stamps, remember that the tax authorities do not care much about them. This is important mainly for counterparties. For example, in situations where your company is the buyer. Because they are afraid that you, putting on the acceptance documents additional printing, subsequently refuse to pay for goods (work, services). That is, you will challenge the fact of their acceptance, citing the fact that neither the seal nor the signatures in these documents have anything to do with you. Eighteenth AAS dated 06/01/2011 No. 18AP-4749/2011; Eighth AAS dated April 19, 2010 No. A70-10916/2009; Fourth AAS dated December 22, 2009 No. A19-12082/09; Thirteenth AAS dated August 25, 2008 No. A56-43993/2007.

Therefore, for the same reasons, you should carefully check the authority of your buyers to sign shipping documents and the compliance of the seals they put with the requirements we have named.

Topic: Where can I put the stamp “For documents”?

Theme Options

Search by topic

Where can I put the stamp “For documents”?

The seal is officially registered. But I want to protect in advance the person who will have this seal, and write an order (regulation) in which it is detailed where such a seal can and cannot be placed, who has the right to “ask” for such a seal to be placed and on what documents.

For example, acts of completed work, acts of debt reconciliation, invoices, invoices - can they be entered or not?

What about received letters and notices?

Not sure how to spell a word - look in dictionary .

If you refer to clause 5 of Article 185 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, then a seal is a mandatory requisite of a power of attorney issued on behalf of a legal entity.

I believe that if the law, another legal act and the agreement of the parties provide for the sealing of this or that document, then this document should be affixed with the seal referred to in paragraph 5 of Article 2 of the LLC Law.

and the fact that your seal will be “for documents”, then give an example when the seal is not placed on documents. Is a bank card not a document?

lat.Documentum - written certificate.

Stas®

It’s just that the original question, as I understand it, was about a seal different from the one on a bank card.

And you can either not put any stamp on the contract at all, or put any stamp on it, it doesn’t change the essence

And then stamp the scarves with the same seal.

WITH SAMPLES OF SIGNATURES AND SEAL IMPRINTS

8. A sample of the seal of a legal entity (separate division) affixed by the client to the Card must correspond to the seal that the client has according to his constituent documents (regulations on separate division), other documents and federal laws establishing requirements for seals of legal entities.

GENERALIZATION OF THE PRACTICE OF APPLYING THE INSTRUCTIONS OF THE BANK OF RUSSIA

FROM 06.21.2003 N 1297-U "ON THE PROCEDURE FOR ISSUE CARDS

WITH SAMPLES OF SIGNATURES AND SEAL IMPRESSIONS"

7. Should the bank carry out a check when accepting cards with sample signatures and seal imprints? official seals for compliance with the requirements of the State Standard Russian Federation GOST R 51511-2001 "Seals with reproduction of the State Emblem of the Russian Federation. Shape, dimensions and technical requirements"(adopted and put into effect by Resolution of the State Standard of Russia dated December 25, 2001 N 573-st)? Should the inclusion of words not provided for by GOST in print be considered as a contradiction to GOST and does the bank in this case have the right to refuse to accept cards to the client, provided that that the basic information about the legal entity (name, TIN, OGRN) is reflected in the press correctly?

In accordance with clause 8 of the Directive, a sample stamp of a legal entity (separate division), affixed by the client in a card with sample signatures and seal impressions, must correspond to the seal that the client has according to his constituent documents (regulations on a separate division), other documents and federal laws establishing requirements for seals of legal entities.

According to subclause 26 of clause 6 of the Regulations on the State Committee of the Russian Federation for Standardization and Metrology (hereinafter - Gosstandart of Russia), approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated 05/07/1999 N 498, Gosstandart of Russia establishes the procedure for state supervision of compliance mandatory requirements state standards, and also organizes the said control and supervision.

The regulation on the organization and implementation of state control and supervision in the field of standardization, ensuring the uniformity of measurements and mandatory certification, approved by the Government of the Russian Federation dated May 16, 2003 N 287, stipulates that this control and supervision includes, among other things, state control and supervision of compliance legal entities and individual entrepreneurs of the mandatory requirements of state standards for products (goods), works and services.

I do not know. But I wouldn’t order such a stamp “For documents” for myself - it’s a fact. I am confused by the wording “For documents” because of its lack of meaning. I just want to say: of course, for documents, what else?

The seal itself is made exactly like the original one (with all the details), only under the name of the organization there is an inscription - for documents.

The point is that we need a second seal, which can be used to certify documents, because the first one is very often not available, and they do not give it to us.

The director is afraid that behind his back someone will put a stamp on the contract for the sale of property or someone will make a payment without his knowledge.

Therefore, the idea was expressed - to make a seal different from the original, with certain “authorities”! So that you could spank her anywhere except contracts and bank documents.

Today the question arose: is it possible for her to certify copies of documents that have a photocopy of the original seal on them?

In our office, for example, we had stamps “Warehouse No..”, “For invoices”, just stamps, etc. The main seal was placed on contracts and acts, bank documents, reporting documents, and important outgoing documents.

or does the presence of details and identification number on a seal make it a “valid” seal? (I may not have expressed it that way - for example, we have a stamp stamp on which there is simply the name of the organization in a circle and nothing else - they put it on all sorts of “unimportant” letters).

For accepted correspondence there is a stamp with the name of the organization.

Stas®, but what about invoices? MP is also located there.

What, such a seal is not valid?

We just have a few stamps from our “subcontractors” - which are “simply made” from a fax copy. And there are a couple of seals that were generally made on a computer and were already made “in kind” from a printout. I'm not even sure that such companies exist.

The point is that this “For documents” seal could be in the hands of God knows who, who has nothing to do with contracts. To prohibit putting it on contracts means to somehow delimit the powers of the holders of different seals, which would not hurt.

it makes sense to print: “for acts and invoices” - it’s clear what and why

however, I would wrap up the contract, sealed with the counterparty's seal "for invoices."

Why? and to avoid risks

But! would accept an agreement without a seal at all, if its presence is not provided for by law or by agreement of the parties

Topic information

Users viewing this topic

This topic is viewed by: 1 (users: 0, guests: 1)

There is no legislation general rule, according to which all documents in mandatory must be sealed. Stamp as a required requisite personnel document is strictly necessary only in specially established cases, for example, in a work book.

In addition, the direct regulatory requirement to have a seal does not apply to all organizations. For example, seals are not mentioned in relation to additional liability companies and partnerships.

Note that the Federal Law of August 8, 2001 No. 129-FZ “On State Registration of Legal Entities and Individual Entrepreneurs” also does not oblige organizations or individual entrepreneur have a seal. When registering legal entities, in accordance with the said Law, it is not required to submit to the registration authorities either a sketch of the organization’s seal or other information about it.

At the same time, federal laws concerning other forms of legal entities require a seal. This requirement is defined in:

paragraph 5 of article 2 of the Federal Law of February 8, 1998 No. 14-FZ “On companies with limited liability»;

paragraph 7 of article 2 of the Federal Law of December 26, 1995 No. 208-FZ “On joint stock companies»;

paragraph 3 of Article 2 of the Federal Law of November 14, 2002 No. 161-FZ “On State and Municipal Unitary Enterprises”;

These laws establish that the seal of a legal entity must be round, contain the full company name and an indication of the location of the company.

So, the need to have a seal is directly established only for some organizational and legal forms of legal entities. However, the requirement for seals can be justified not only by a direct indication of the relevant legal act, but also indirectly, from the meaning of the legislation. This is exactly the interpretation given Supreme Court RF, resolving one specific case: “... in business practice, the presence of a seal for any legal entity and private entrepreneur is recognized as mandatory and self-evident. Without such a seal, a current account cannot be opened in a bank or other credit institution, transactions and other documents cannot be properly certified. Under such conditions, in accordance with Article 6 Civil Code The Russian Federation allows the application of civil legislation by analogy."

So, legal entities and individual entrepreneurs are required to have a seal, otherwise they will not be able to properly register individual required documents, including personnel.

Printing details

As already mentioned, certain laws establish the following details as mandatory: round stamp : full company name and location. The seal may also contain the company name in any language of the peoples of the Russian Federation and (or) a foreign language. Sometimes a trademark or other means of individualization is placed on the seal (usually in the center). If they are absent, the abbreviated name of the legal entity is placed in the center.

Previously, the production of seals was strictly controlled by government agencies. This was established in the previously effective order of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs dated February 13, 1978 No. 34 “On approval of instructions on the procedure for opening stamp-engraving enterprises (workshops), manufacturing seals and dies.” Thus, it was possible to order an organization’s seal from a stamping and engraving workshop only with a special permit issued by the internal affairs bodies. To obtain such permission, it was necessary to submit an application accompanied by an extract from the charter and a sketch of the seal itself. The Instructions stipulated that the seal had to contain the name of the organization (not abbreviated). Separate requirements were imposed on the seals of branches. And even the production of so-called "simple" seals (seals of the general department or personnel department, triangular seals, corner stamps, seals for certificates) was impossible without authorization by the internal affairs bodies.

This Instruction lost force on the territory of the Russian Federation due to the publication of Order No. 48 of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation dated February 14, 1994. However, regional legislation remained for quite a long time after that licensing procedure production of seals. For example, in Moscow, to obtain permission to make a seal, they applied to the district or city department of internal affairs (clause 4.14 of the Regulations on the procedure for registering enterprises in Moscow, approved by Decree of the Moscow Government of September 17, 1991 No. 97). This order existed in Moscow until 1997.

At one time, Moscow legislation established additional requirements for mandatory seal details. These requirements were established in the Temporary Rules for the production and basis for the destruction of seals and stamps on the territory of Moscow (approved by the mayor’s order No. 843-RM dated August 25, 1998), which became invalid on February 8, 2005.

In particular, the mandatory indication of the following details was provided:

full name of the organization in Russian indicating the organizational and legal form;

location;

main state registration number;

number of the city Register of seals.

For “simple” seals, in addition to the listed details, an additional inscription was provided, for example, “secretariat”, “office”, “administration of affairs”, “personnel department”, “for accounts”, “for certificates”, “for certificates”, etc. .d.

It was possible, at the discretion of the organization, to indicate the tax identification number (TIN) and tax code All-Russian classifier enterprises and organizations (OKPO).

To obtain permission to make a seal or stamp, it was necessary to obtain permission from the Moscow Registration Chamber. To do this, the organization had to submit a sketch of the seal (stamp) and other Required documents.

Currently, the registration of legal entities and individual entrepreneurs is the responsibility of the federal government, which does not establish any additional requirements for seal details and their production, except for indicating the full name and location. However, legal entities follow business customs that have developed in practice and do not limit their seals to only mandatory details. On the contrary, it is customary to indicate as many details as possible.

If an organization decides to create a “simple” seal, for example, for the personnel department, this seal must contain all the details that are on the “main” seal of the organization. However, in the center, instead of the logo, the inscription “FOR THE HR DEPARTMENT” is placed. If the organization does not have a personnel department (for example, there is only a personnel inspector or a personnel manager), then ordering a seal for the personnel department is completely impractical. Then the additional details in the center of the print look like this: “FOR HR DOCUMENTS.” However, the Rules and Instructions indicate specifically the seal of the HR department (that is, the seal of the corresponding structural unit), and not another “simple” seal (however, inspectors very rarely pay attention to this).

If in an organization the HR department is called the “HR Department” and its functions include working with work books, then in the center of the seal it is advisable to put exactly this additional detail: “HR DEPARTMENT.” The procedure for using this seal should be fixed in the regulations on this structural unit or other local normative act organizations.

Stamp on the employment contract

The Labor Code of the Russian Federation (Article 67) mandatory requires the existence of an employment contract in writing in two copies (one for the employee, the other for the employer). Requirements for the content of an employment contract are determined in Article 57 Labor Code of the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as the Labor Code of the Russian Federation), however, the legislator does not provide for the mandatory presence of a seal of a legal entity or individual entrepreneur on it. At the same time, an unstamped signature of the employer’s representative may raise questions about its legality, especially if the employer’s representative signing employment contract, is not the head of the legal entity (director, CEO, president), and another authorized person (for example, deputy head, HR director, etc.). It is quite possible that during “corporate wars” a manager, deprived of his powers by the founders, refuses to leave his post and continues to “manage” the organization, including hiring employees and signing employment contracts with them. Such a “leader” no longer has access to the organization’s seals, so his signature remains uncertified. This means that the absence of a seal of a legal entity (individual entrepreneur) on an employment contract should alert the employee. Typically, auditors also make a remark if the employment contract is not sealed by the employer. Actually we're talking about about the legal custom that has developed in the industry labor law and prescribing the sealing of contracts (labor, full financial liability) and additional agreements (appendices) to them.

It is also a mistake to certify the signature of the employer (his representative) not with the seal of the organization, but with any so-called “simple” seal (for example, a seal “for the personnel department”).

Printing on orders

Orders are not stamped. This is due to the fact that the order is an internal administrative document that includes the newly hired employee in the organizational ties of the enterprise. So, personnel workers start to lead to of this employee timesheet, record the appointment in the work book, etc. based on the admission order. Unified form the order for hiring an employee does not provide for this detail (the abbreviation “M.P.” is missing). Basically personnel orders It is also permissible to write in any form, but in this case a seal is not needed.

However, we should not forget that the employee has the right to demand a copy of the employment order (Part 2 of Article 68 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). Copies of employment orders, as well as other copies of personnel documents coming from the organization, require proper certification, which is impossible without affixing a seal.

How to certify copies of personnel documents

Article 62 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation obliges the employer to provide the employee with copies of work-related documents, and these copies must be “properly” certified. Let's look at exactly how copies need to be certified and what regulations should be followed.

According to the Decree of the Presidium of the USSR Armed Forces of August 4, 1983 No. 9779-X, which is still in force today, “On the procedure for issuing and certification by enterprises, institutions and organizations of copies of documents relating to the rights of citizens” (hereinafter referred to as the Decree), the accuracy of the copy of the document must be certified by the signature of the head or an authorized official and a seal (except for cases where a certain document requires notarization).

GOST R 6.30-2003 defines exactly what the certification inscription should look like (see Example 1):

below the “signature” attribute the inscription “True” is placed;

his personal signature is affixed;

the signature is deciphered (initials, surname);

the date of certification is indicated;

stamp is affixed.

Also in practice you can find the following certification (see Example 2). This method of assurance is completely acceptable.

Most often, employees apply for a copy of their work record book (for example, to obtain a foreign passport, etc.). Sometimes they ask for a copy of the order for part-time employment so that the “main” employer can make a corresponding entry in their work book.

Since we are talking about personnel documents that are stored in the personnel department, their copies are certified by the inspector of the personnel department. It is desirable that in the local regulatory act of the organization (for example, in the Regulations on the personnel service of the enterprise or in the instructions for personnel records management) the procedure for such certification was determined, and it was also determined which copies are permissible to be certified with the seal of the personnel department. This is fully consistent with the recommendations of GOST R 6.30-2003, which allows copies to be certified with a seal determined at the discretion of the organization (clause 3.26).

Of course, GOST R 6.30-2003 is not generally binding; in fact, it contains recommendations. However, the Decree does not place emphasis on the type of seal, defining only that “the accuracy of a copy of a document is evidenced by ... a seal” (without specifying “the seal of the organization”). In other words, the regulatory legal act is indifferent to the type of seal affixed during certification. Therefore, the recommendations of the State Standard of the Russian Federation do not contradict the rules of law in this part.

The decree also requires that the copy indicate the date of its issue and make a note that the original document is in this enterprise, institution, organization. In practice, this requirement is hardly observed, for which there are many explanations. For example, the HR department issues a copy of the work book. It is clear that its original, in full compliance with the Rules for maintaining and storing the work book, approved by Government Decree No. 225, is stored in the safe of the personnel department. However, this original will not be stored there forever; sooner or later the work book will be handed over to the employee upon dismissal (unlike, for example, a hiring order, which is stored for at least 75 years). An indication of the date of issue also has no legal significance to certify the authenticity of a copy of a document. Rather, this has to do with the internal relationship between the employee and the employer, because the employer is obliged, no later than three working days from the date the employee submits the application, to give him copies of work-related documents (Article 62 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). In addition, it is absolutely not necessary to make such a mark on the document itself if the enterprise keeps a log of the issuance of certificates and copies of documents.

Stamp in the work book

With regard to work books, this requirement is enshrined in the Rules for maintaining and storing work books, producing work book forms and providing them to employers, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of April 16, 2003 No. 225 (hereinafter referred to as the Rules) and the Instructions for filling out work books, approved by the resolution Ministry of Labor of the Russian Federation dated October 10, 2003 No. 69 (hereinafter referred to as the Instructions).

Yes, printing is required on title page and is affixed when registering a work book (clause 2.2 of the Instructions). To do this, there is a corresponding field in the lower right corner, marked with the abbreviation “MP.” In this case, you can use both the organization’s seal and the HR department’s seal.

The seal is also affixed to the inside cover when changes are made to the information contained on the title page (clause 2.3 of the Instructions).

For example, the most common case is that an employee got married and changed her maiden name to her husband’s last name. The personnel officer is faced with the task of reflecting these changes in the employee’s work book. To do this, he crosses out the previous surname with one thin line, allowing what has been crossed out to be read, and carefully enters the new surname above it. The instructions require making such changes only on the basis of relevant documents (in this case, a marriage certificate) and making a reference to them on the inside cover of the work book. Such a reference must be certified by the signature of the employer or a person specially authorized by him and the seal of the organization (or the seal of the personnel service).

Particular attention should be paid to the certification of records upon dismissal of an employee (clause 35 of the Rules). Thus, upon dismissal of an employee, all entries made in his work book during his work in this organization are certified by the signature of the employer or the person responsible for maintaining work books, the seal of the organization (personnel service) and the signature of the employee himself.

Note that similar requirements were contained in the Instructions on the procedure for maintaining labor books at enterprises, institutions and organizations (approved by Resolution of the USSR State Committee for Labor of June 20, 1974 No. 162).

When certifying records upon dismissal, the most common mistake that occurs is that the personnel officer mistakenly affixes the seal of another organization. This usually happens in holding-type structures. Then a situation arises when the certification was carried out by an organization that is not related to the organization that opened this block with its name (full and abbreviated).

How to fix this error? Unfortunately, neither the Rules nor the Instructions provide any answers to this. Many experts suggest that after an incorrectly closed block of records, open a new block of the same organization in the form of a full and abbreviated name, make a corrective entry declaring the dismissal record invalid, certify it with signatures and affix the correct seal. Such a decision is not flawless, because there are no grounds to recognize the dismissal record as invalid. In this record, all details (serial number of the record, date, wording, order details) correspond to reality. In addition, the certification record has a completely independent nature and applies not only to the dismissal record, but to the entire block of records (see paragraph 35 of the Rules: “upon the dismissal of an employee... all entries ... are certified..."). It seems completely pointless to recognize all records with a given employer as invalid.

The certification record in this case is erroneous due to the incorrect “seal” detail. Therefore, it is this that needs to be corrected. Many people get by by affixing the correct seal next to it. But the presence of two seals as details in the document looks incorrect. Imagine an employment contract, sealed by the employer with two seals, one of which has nothing to do with legal entity, acting as an employer. Of course, this is unacceptable.

Some personnel officers suggest making a corrective entry with the following content under the following serial number:

They offer to put the correct stamp next to this entry. However, the block of records has already been closed with a record of dismissal and certified (even if certified not entirely correctly). Therefore, the former employer has no reason to make any entries thereafter. And opening a block of records to make just one certification entry is pointless, because such a record cannot exist in isolation from those records that are being certified.

So, there is no ideal way out of this situation; any correction of an incorrectly affixed seal will in one way or another contradict the Instructions and Rules. It seems that any of these methods can be chosen, but the employee should be given a certificate confirming the period of work with this employer, and advised to keep this certificate for presentation to other employers and pension authorities (if necessary).

In the same way, explanations should be made if the seal on the inside cover of the work book is mistakenly affixed (“the seal of such and such an organization is affixed incorrectly”). For example, when making an entry about a change in surname, the personnel officer used the wrong stamp during certification. Only instead of a supporting certificate in this case, it is appropriate to issue a certified copy of the order, on the basis of which the employee’s surname was changed in the organization’s documents.

If an erroneous stamp is affixed under the entry about the addition of information about education and / or profession, then in this case you can issue a certificate drawn up in any form, which will certify that the corresponding entry on the cover was made by this particular employer.

Sometimes it happens that the stamp affixed partially does not correspond to the name of the organization in the title. This may be a mistake made by the personnel officer who carelessly opened the block of records. An incorrect organization name is also almost impossible to correct because it is not numbered. In this case, the solution would also be to issue a certificate confirming the corresponding period of work experience.

A similar error also occurs if a record of a change in the organization's name is missed. For example, Romashka LLC was renamed Romashka Audit Firm LLC, and this is reflected in its constituent documents. Accordingly, when dismissing an employee, the employer will affix a seal belonging to Romashka Auditing Firm LLC. But since they simply forgot to make a record of the renaming, the name of the block of records does not correspond to the printing details. That is, it is formally considered that these entries were made by two different organizations.

Until the block of entries is closed, it is quite easy to make a missing entry (clause 3.2 of the Instructions). But if the entries are already closed, then there is no longer any reason to make a missing entry. Of course, you can open a new block of records and make the missing entry, but by the time such an error is discovered, the employee may already be working in a new place. In this case, a certificate is again issued, which reflects information about the employee’s length of service and about the renaming of the organization that occurred during the period of his work. The employee has the right to present such a certificate at a new place of work, and the employer is obliged to make an appropriate entry based on this certificate (clause 27 of the Rules). The employee should keep such a certificate as a supporting document.

Quite often there are work books in which a block of records of an organization is closed with a notice of dismissal, the signature of the personnel officer and the signature of the employee, but the seal of the organization (the seal of the personnel department) is missing. This defect can be eliminated quite simply - the employee just needs to come to his previous place of work and ask for a stamp. The main thing is not to delay this, since the organization can change its name, order new seals and destroy old ones. Then certification with a seal may cause difficulties. But even in this case, issuing a confirming certificate will help.

Problems can also arise if they try to correct the lack of a seal when the previous organization has already been liquidated or reorganized. In these cases, for supporting certificates, you need to contact the legal successors of the organization or the archives where the personnel documents were submitted. However, the safety of documents on personnel is not always ensured properly, so it is likely that you may not receive an archival certificate. And then the corresponding block of records will forever remain without a seal and will be considered improperly certified. In principle, the subsequent employer can open his own block after such a block of records. However, recording seniority based on improperly certified previous records will be problematic.

An even more complicated situation arises when the work book lacks not only a certifying seal, but even a record of dismissal. Then the employer who hires the employee will not be able to maintain such a book, because formally the employee is considered to be working in another organization, although in reality this organization may already be liquidated. But if the employee presents an archival certificate, from which it will be clear that the dismissal was made, the “new” employer has the right to start his own block of records and, in its composition, reflect information about the dismissal of the employee with previous place work.

Location of the seal on the document

Placing a seal on a personnel document is also of no small importance. The most common mistake: the seal completely covers the personal signature of the official, thereby making it impossible to compare it with signatures on other documents or on signature samples (that is, its identification as genuine). Sometimes such stamping is intentional, because an unauthorized person signed for the official. Such a document has all the signs of a fake document and indicates the dishonesty of such an organization.
It is generally accepted that the seal covers part of the title of the position, leaving the personal signature of the official and its decoding open for reading. Similar rules have always existed in the USSR, and currently such requirements are enshrined in departmental acts that prescribe the relevant government agencies a certain procedure for office work.

Another defect that is often found on documents is a seal imprint on a document that is too thick or too pale, as well as a print with a partially missing image (usually when the pressure is light). We recommend that the print be clear and readable.

* * *

Thus, the seal of the organization on personnel documents is necessary in cases where the document formalizes any mutual rights and obligations of the employer and employee, as well as in cases where the document or its copy certifies any facts or rights of the employee (including former employee). The employer's internal documents are not subject to sealing. And since the seal indicates the importance of the document, mistakes should not be made when affixing it. Otherwise, negative situations may arise both for the employee, who is deprived of the opportunity to prove his rights by presenting a document, and for the employer, who risks being brought to administrative liability for violating the procedure for conducting personnel records.\

2 In some cases, the law does not mention the indication of location as a mandatory seal detail (clause 4 of article 3 of the Federal Law of January 12, 1996 No. 7-FZ “On Non-Profit Organizations”).

3 Order of the Moscow Registration Chamber of January 20, 1999 No. 17 “On the procedure for approving sketches of seals and stamps” (in fact, the document has lost force). See also Moscow Law No. 44 of June 30, 2004 “On the Accounting of Seals” (lost in force due to the adoption of Moscow Law No. 28 of June 22, 2005).

4 Note that in the work book of the 1974 sample, as many as three columns were provided for such changes in the “last name” field. Therefore, in such books, the new surname is entered not at the top, but at the bottom, in a free column.

5 The employee’s signature may be missing if he was absent from work when drawing up a work book on the day of dismissal (for example, due to illness, etc.) or if he himself refuses to sign (usually in cases of “conflict” dismissal, “under article ").

6 See: “ State system documentation support for management. Basic provisions. General requirements to documents and documentation support services" (approved by the decision of the board of the USSR Main Archive of April 27, 1988, order of the USSR Main Archive of May 23, 1988 No. 33).

7 See: Standard instructions on office management and archive work in customs authorities(regional customs departments, customs houses, customs posts), approved. by order of the Federal Customs Service of Russia dated October 18, 2004 No. 160; Instructions for office work in the bodies and institutions of the prosecutor's office of the Russian Federation, approved. by order of the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation of December 28, 1998 No. 93.