home Accounting Can an individual entrepreneur export goods? Foreign economic activity of individual entrepreneurs

Can an individual entrepreneur export goods? Foreign economic activity of individual entrepreneurs

According to the Civil Code, an individual entrepreneur (IP) can engage in activities that commercial organizations are allowed to engage in, with the exception of those types of activities for which other laws impose certain restrictions.

Types of activities that an individual entrepreneur cannot engage in:

Production and sale of alcohol
Production and sale of weapons, ammunition, military equipment
Production and sale of pyrotechnics belonging to the 4th and 5th classes (the fourth class of pyrotechnics includes those that can harm a person at a distance of up to 20 meters, for example, professional fireworks. The fifth class is when pyrotechnics may contain fragments or a shock wave.)
Development, production, testing and repair of aviation equipment
Banking activities
All kinds of asset management in the securities markets (including, cannot create mutual investment funds, non-state pension funds, etc.)
Organization and conduct of gambling
Private security activities
For some reason - by selling electricity
Production of medicines

How are the types of activities prescribed when registering an individual entrepreneur?

Does an individual entrepreneur need to register different areas of activity when registering - for example, an individual entrepreneur plans to initially promote websites, and in the future create an online store and sell spare parts for cameras, lenses and household appliances?

The number of types of activities for an individual entrepreneur when registering is about 10, and then there is a phrase like “as well as any other activity not prohibited by law.” As a rule, the types of activities that the entrepreneur actually intends to engage in are listed first, and the rest are the most frequently encountered ones, so to speak in reserve. For example, 51.70 - “Other wholesale trade”, 52.61 - “Retail trade by order”, 52.61.2 - “Retail trade carried out through television stores and computer networks”, etc.

No matter how intertwined the types of activities prescribed during registration are, this is normal, and therefore legal. There is nothing wrong with the fact that an individual entrepreneur will do something that is not specified during registration - if this does not contradict the law. The only problems that may arise is if you come across a picky client who asks the individual entrepreneur for an extract from the Unified State Register of Individual Entrepreneurs, does not see there the type of activity that you are going to engage in with him and starts asking unnecessary questions. In this case, you need to competently and correctly answer the client’s questions; problems, as a rule, are resolved.

Can an individual entrepreneur import goods from abroad?

Yes, it can, but there are some caveats.

Importing goods from abroad is a foreign economic activity.

VAT must be charged and paid accordingly on the cost of imported goods.

You need to know that foreign economic activity involves a huge number of documents and regular scheduled tax audits.

If an individual entrepreneur experiences difficulties with maintaining documentation, he can consider working with logistics companies. Any logistics company, in addition to delivering goods from abroad, can usually offer customs clearance. Any goods can be purchased within Russia from a Russian legal entity, and no foreign trade activity will arise. You just need to make sure that logisticians issue invoices not from a fly-by-night company, but from a normal organization.

Can an individual entrepreneur engage in foreign economic activity? For example, the individual entrepreneur is on the simplified tax system. He buys goods in Europe from catalogs via email, places an order from an individual entrepreneur, THE FOREIGN ORGANIZATION SENDS HIM AN INVOICE FOR ADVANCE PAYMENT and pays for it through foreign currency accounts, and then receives the goods, it is cleared through customs by a specialized organization here when the goods arrive. Can an individual entrepreneur do this? What restrictions do individual entrepreneurs have regarding foreign trade activities compared to an LLC?

Answer

For an individual entrepreneur there are no special features or restrictions on foreign economic activity compared to legal entities. Changes for an individual entrepreneur applying the simplified tax system will occur in relation to the taxation of import transactions. Payers of the simplified tax system are not exempt from paying VAT when importing goods (work, services).

The rationale for this position is given below in the materials of the Glavbukh System

simplified tax system

The composition of the reporting of those who use the simplification is very small. After all, entrepreneurs under such a special regime are exempt from paying:

Personal income tax (in relation to your income, not the income of employees);
property tax for individuals;
VAT (except for VAT payable when importing or importing goods, * when carrying out operations under agreements of joint activities, trust management of property, under concession agreements).

This is stated in paragraph 3 of Article 346.11 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

This means reporting on personal income tax (in relation to one’s income) and VAT, which is submitted entrepreneurs on the general taxation system, they don’t need to give it up.

Instead of these taxes, simplified businessmen pay a single tax and hand over simplified single tax declaration(Article 346.23 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). Prepare reports based on data books of income and expenses.

Oleg Horoshiy

State Advisor to the Tax Service of the Russian Federation, 2nd rank

Is it possible to keep records using the individual simplified tax system for foreign economic activity?

Answer

Organizations and individual entrepreneurs that do not have the right to apply the simplified system are listed in paragraph 3 of Article 346.12 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. Entrepreneurs engaged in foreign economic activity are not included among them. It means that When engaged in foreign economic activity, you can apply the simplified tax system.

However, there is one caveat. He touches VAT which you will have to pay when importing goods. The fact is that organizations and entrepreneurs using the simplified tax system are VAT payers on transactions related to the import of goods into the territory of Russia (clauses 2 and 3 of article 346.11 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

However You will not be able to deduct the VAT paid.(Subclause 1, Clause 2, Article 171 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). VAT paid upon import at customs, you will be able to include:

when importing fixed assets - at their cost (subclause 3, clause 2, article 170 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation);
when importing goods, raw materials and supplies:

in the cost of goods, raw materials and supplies, if you apply the simplified tax system with the object of taxation being income (subclause 3, clause 2, article 170 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation);

included in expenses if you pay a simplified tax on the difference between income and expenses (subclause 8, clause 1, article 346.16 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

Is foreign economic activity possible for individual entrepreneurs? Many domestic entrepreneurs are interested in this issue. In many ways, commercial activity is associated with the supply of products from the manufacturer to the consumer. This also applies to individual entrepreneurs, whose activities involve the production of various goods suitable for sale in our homeland, as well as for export to countries near and far abroad, since for normal business development it is necessary to look for additional sales opportunities.

But here the question arises: can an individual entrepreneur conduct foreign economic activity? To deal with this dilemma, you will need to find out as much information as possible about this type of service. Therefore, we will further examine this issue in detail.

Individual entrepreneur and foreign economic activity

Can an individual entrepreneur engage in foreign economic activity? In connection with the desire of most citizens to open their own business and start doing business, many provisions have appeared in the legal framework of our state that are aimed at creating favorable conditions for this. Particular attention was paid to representatives of small businesses, since without too much initial capital it is very difficult to effectively develop the chosen commercial area.

Several fairly convenient taxation systems have been developed that allow not only to reduce interest rates, but also to get rid of the need to pay a whole set of various taxes that are mandatory for owners of larger organizations. In addition, we were given the opportunity to engage in various types of trade on the territory of the state, and, if we have certain documents, to supply our products beyond its borders.

This has significantly expanded the range of opportunities for individual entrepreneurs who supply agricultural products, produce souvenirs, and transport goods from neighboring countries with subsequent sales in Russia.

In addition, this way of doing business is suitable for all tax systems that are provided for individual entrepreneurs by current legislation. Its provisions also include foreign economic activity.

An individual entrepreneur has the right to conduct business relations with foreign partners, providing the services they need or delivering their products to their retail space. The implementation of this procedure is set out in detail in Article 10 of the Federal Law “On the Fundamentals of State Regulation of Foreign Trade Activities”.

It states that any citizen of the country has the right to engage in foreign economic activity if they have the appropriate registration in one of the federal districts or entities that have issued a permit to engage in entrepreneurial activity in accordance with the legal framework of the state.

This gives the right to carry out export transportation to most countries of the world, and, if desired, supply imported products. At the same time, if an individual entrepreneur is a VAT (additional value tax) payer, then, in accordance with the law, his compensation is carried out by state financial institutions in the volumes and terms provided for by the current regulatory documents.

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Foreign economic activity for individual entrepreneurs

The basic rules of this type of commercial activity are to conduct a transaction with representatives of a foreign company, while observing the terms of the drawn up agreement and taking into account the requirements of legal acts of both parties.

As for the economic feasibility of carrying out this operation for an individual entrepreneur, this definition implies compliance with several main provisions, which include the following:

Such a transaction is based on the principle of absolute self-financing and self-sufficiency, including when performing foreign exchange transactions. The export-import agreement is based on the principle of self-financing.
The volume of the transaction must be based on the resources at our disposal. These may well include material, intellectual and currency opportunities.
Before conducting such a transaction, it is necessary to carry out a full and thorough analysis of the conditions that the current market offers, take into account the features of other proposals and perform a feasibility study. This will allow you to avoid unforeseen situations involving risks.
A transaction that involves contact with companies located outside our country must be carried out in compliance with bilateral government agreements, international laws and regulations that apply in the territory of all parties to this process.

In most cases, conducting business with other countries for small businesses is associated with a significant number of risky situations in which there is a danger of losing profit from the transaction. This may be a consequence of the legislative characteristics of the country in which the partner is located. Therefore, most businessmen prefer to contact law firms that specialize in international law and provide their services when concluding transactions.

Before answering the question of how to become a participant in foreign economic activity in Russia, you should first decide what foreign economic activity is. Foreign economic activity (FEA) is the functions of an enterprise oriented towards the world market. In our case, foreign trade will be international trade (foreign trade activities).

Participants in foreign economic activity are both legal entities and individuals (IP) engaged in foreign economic activity. Foreign economic activity participants can be:

Importers - import into another country;
Exporters - export from another country;
Intermediaries - provide assistance in import and export;
The state - regulates foreign economic activity in the country;
International organizations - regulate foreign economic activity;
Currency control agents - monitor compliance with Russian currency legislation.

Russian legislation establishes that all persons have the right to import and export goods into the country. However, to speed up and simplify the customs clearance procedure, it is necessary to register as a participant in foreign economic activity and obtain a UK FEA (registration card for a participant in foreign economic activity). Such a card serves as a means of identifying a participant in foreign economic activity. It is also established by law that the absence of the Criminal Code of Foreign Economic Activity cannot be a reason for refusal of customs clearance. But if you have it, you will not always need to present the entire package of documents. All you need is this card and the documents required for customs clearance of a specific batch of goods.

Registration of the Criminal Code of Foreign Economic Activity

The procedure for obtaining an account card is quite complex and requires the preparation of a large number of documents. You can prepare everything yourself or seek help from a law firm. If all documents are presented, the registration time should not exceed 5 calendar days.

To register the Criminal Code of Foreign Economic Activity, the following documents are required:

A copy of the Charter;
Certificate of state registration of the subject (OGRN);
Certificate of registration with the tax authorities (KPP/TIN);
The decision to create an LLC;
A copy of an extract from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities;
A copy of the certificate from the State Statistics Committee of the Russian Federation;
Order on the appointment of a chief accountant;
Original certificates of opening bank accounts;
Document on the appointment of the General Director;
Copies of passports of the general director and chief accountant, certified by the seal of the organization;
A lease agreement for premises at a legal address or a certificate of ownership.

All copies of documents must be notarized.

Can an individual entrepreneur with the simplified tax system receive goods from abroad and clear them through customs?

They must be presented to the customs post at the place of your state registration.

Before starting foreign economic activity on your own, you need to calculate the benefits of such an event and its feasibility, as well as all the nuances that you may encounter. It may be much more efficient to outsource this to another company.