Tax authorities often refuse to allow organizations to deduct VAT, citing the absence of the chief accountant's signature on the invoice. We have to admit that in most cases they act legally. However, there are also nuances.

General rule

The requirement for the signature of the chief accountant is contained in paragraph 6 (an explanation of the tax position, in particular, is contained in).

If the taxpayer has accepted VAT for deduction on the basis of such unsigned invoices, then the tax authorities will demand that it be restored and paid to the budget, applying penalties (clause 1). In addition, the taxpayer will be required to pay a penalty for each calendar day of delay on unpaid VAT in the amount of 1/300 of the refinancing rate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation in force at that time (clause 4).

So: as a general rule, it is impossible to deduct VAT on an invoice that does not have the signature of the chief accountant.

There are no rules without exceptions

Economic life often turns out to be more complicated than the structure described by the Tax Code.

Practice has revealed the following exceptions to our general rule.

1. The invoice was issued by an individual entrepreneur. If the invoice is issued by an individual entrepreneur indicating the details of state registration this individual entrepreneur, the accountant’s signature should not be in the document. The individual entrepreneur does not sign instead of the chief accountant - the line remains empty. However, the presence of an “extra” signature for the chief accountant will not be grounds for denial of the deduction.
2. The invoice is signed by another authorized person. An invoice can be signed for the chief accountant by a person authorized to do so by order, other administrative document for the organization or power of attorney.

   According to the requirement of paragraph 2 of clause 7 of the Rules, when making corrections to invoices, the organization draws up an additional sheet of the purchase book for the quarter in which VAT on the invoice was unlawfully accepted. In such an additional sheet, a record is made of the cancellation of incorrectly completed invoices. This is where the need to submit an updated VAT return arises. To avoid penalties, an organization should pay additional VAT and, if necessary, penalties.

   However, there is arbitration practice according to which VAT on a corrected invoice is accepted not on the date of the correction, but during the period of the business transaction:

   • Resolution of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of North Kazakhstan region dated April 30, 2009 No.
   • Resolution of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Moscow Region dated February 21, 2008 No.)

   So, you need to be very careful when filling out the invoice signature. If necessary, you can correct the situation by making a correction in the same tax period as the business transaction. This will avoid disputes with the tax authorities.

Allows not only the manager and chief accountant to sign the invoice: “other persons” can also sign.

The reason for enshrining this possibility in law is obvious: if in large organizations with a large turnover the manager and chief accountant sign each invoice, then we can assume that they will have to do only that and do everything work time. In addition, in small companies, under certain circumstances (illness, business trip, etc.), the head of the organization and the chief accountant may assign another person to sign this and other similar documents. However, when signing invoices by persons other than the head of the organization and the chief accountant, it is necessary to correctly formalize both the delegation of the right to sign and the signature itself on the invoice.

Often, an error made in an invoice by a supplier of goods (works, services) can lead to serious financial losses for the buyer: he will not be able to accept the VAT specified in this document for deduction (and its amount, as a rule, ranges from 10 to 18 %). If a company violates the requirements of the law, then it cannot avoid conflict situations both with the tax authorities and with its counterparties, who will require the issuance of correctly executed invoices accompanied by copies of documents confirming the authority of the persons who signed them.

Therefore, in practice questions arise:

• In what cases and to whom can the right to sign invoices be transferred?
• How to properly formalize such delegation?
• What are the features of reflecting in the invoice the fact of its signing by persons other than the head of the organization and the chief accountant?

Now let’s answer these and related questions one by one.

To whom do we delegate the right to sign invoices?

The rules for registration and the composition of the mandatory details of invoices are established by Article 169 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

Document fragment

Clause 6 of Article 169 of the Tax Code Russian Federation

The invoice is signed by the head and chief accountant of the organization or other persons authorized to do so by an order (other administrative document) for the organization or a power of attorney on behalf of the organization.

Thus, as a general rule, the invoice must contain two signatures: the head of the organization and the chief accountant.

If the chief accountant basically does not exist?

Sometimes small companies that do not have a chief accountant position on their staff recklessly ignore the signature details of the chief accountant. This approach is incorrect and can lead to disputes with the tax authorities. The absence of any of the two signatures on the invoice entails its recognition as invalid.

This is indicated, for example, by the letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated November 29, 2004 No. 03-04-11/212, which is a response to a private question from the taxpayer: “If one of the above signatures is missing on the invoice, in this case- a person authorized to sign invoices for the chief accountant, such an invoice is recognized as being drawn up in violation of the established procedure and cannot serve as a basis for deducting the corresponding amounts of value added tax.”

But arbitration courts do not always take such a categorical position. After all, the responsibility for the organization accounting- in organizations are managers who, at their discretion, can:

• or introduce the position of chief accountant into the staff,
• or conduct accounting personally (Article 6 of the Federal Law - “On Accounting”).

Thus, the law allows that an organization may not have an accountant position at all.

If accounting is entrusted to the head of the organization, then he himself must put his signature in the place provided for this. Thus, the law allows for the possibility of having the same signature on invoices for the head of the organization and the chief accountant. In this case, the fact that the duties of the chief accountant are assigned to the manager must be confirmed by a corresponding order for the organization.

We transfer the right to sign to our employees and “outsiders”

As already noted, the Tax Code of the Russian Federation allows for the delegation of the right to sign invoices. At the same time, the circle of persons to whom the right to sign is transferred is not limited by law. So these could be:

• as employees of the organization,
• and persons external to the company.

Moreover, from the wording of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation it is not clear whether such an “other person” can be a legal entity. After all, there are common cases when accounting is outsourced to another company that specializes in providing accounting support services. But a legal entity by itself cannot sign anything; a personal flourish is always given by a specific person. Therefore, in such cases, we recommend delegating the right to sign to this specific person (an employee of a third-party organization).

"Figaro is here, Figaro is there"

When making a decision to delegate the right to sign, another question may arise: can one person be trusted to put both signatures - (for both the head of the organization and the chief accountant)?

Analysis current legislation about taxes and fees allows us to conclude that it is possible. As we have already noted, the Tax Code of the Russian Federation does not contain any restrictions on the transfer of the right to sign an invoice: by entrusting one person to put both signatures on an invoice at once, the organization will not violate anything.

How to document delegation of signature authority?

The delegation of the right to sign invoices is formalized (there is a direct indication of this in clause 6 of Article 169 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation):

• or by order (other administrative document) for the organization,
• or a power of attorney on behalf of the organization.

From the executed documents it should be clearly clear that in one period or another, certain persons were assigned the responsibility of signing invoices for the head of the organization and / or for the chief accountant.

Order or power of attorney?

The question arises: in what case should the delegation of signature rights be formalized by order (another administrative document for the organization), and when should a power of attorney be issued?

The Tax Code of the Russian Federation does not contain an answer to it. The only thing that the legislator indicates is the alternative nature of the documents: one of them is enough.

In practice, there are several points of view on this matter.. - Here are the main ones:

As you can see, both of these points of view look convincing under certain circumstances. However, let's figure out what is the advisability of preparing these documents for the company. Correct documentation of the delegation of the right to sign invoices in the organization designed to solve the following main problems:

• avoid conflict situations with tax authorities and counterparties - the possibility of submitting, at their request, documents confirming the authority of the persons who signed the invoices is not excluded;
• along with fixing the transfer of the right to sign invoices, at the same time assigning to certain persons responsibility for the content and correctness of execution of the invoices they sign.

The company's management is naturally interested in establishing the personal responsibility of the persons who sign the invoices. A power of attorney formalizes only the granting of “rights”, but not the direct delegation of the corresponding duties and liability for their failure to fulfill them. These circumstances are fixed by an order (other administrative document) for the organization, and from the point of view of labor legislation, the assignment of new responsibilities is possible, as a rule, by including them in the employment contract (Article 57 Labor Code Russian Federation) and/or the employee’s job description. If the right to sign is not delegated to an employee of the organization, then the corresponding obligations and responsibility for their failure to fulfill them must be clearly stated in the text of the civil law agreement (agreement paid provision services, etc.).

A situation may arise when the counterparty may object that an order (another administrative document for the organization) regulates only relationships within the organization, and a power of attorney is required for representation before “external” persons. But in practice, tax authorities are unlikely to pay attention to the absence of a power of attorney if there is a properly executed order.

So you can do the following conclusions:

We issue an order

An order (other administrative document) must be drawn up in the following manner:

• as a rule, on the organization’s letterhead (when using approved forms in document flow) and
• signed by the head of the organization (the person replacing him or acting on the basis of constituent documents).

This document is organizational and administrative and it is better to draw it up in compliance with the provisions of GOST R 6.30-2003 “Unified documentation systems. Unified system of organizational and administrative documentation. Requirements for paperwork."

The text of such a document can be compiled in any form. We recommend that you include in it:

As discussed above, in such an order (other administrative document) it is possible to fix the corresponding duties and responsibilities of the employees who are responsible for signing invoices.

It is not necessary to issue a separate order for the organization, dedicated only to the delegation of the right to sign invoices. Of course, you can include such an instruction in a “general” order, which establishes the distribution of powers and granting the right to sign in different areas of activity (production, sales, finance, legal, accounting, etc.).

But formalizing the delegation of the right to sign invoices using a separate administrative document is much more convenient, since copies of it will need to be provided upon request of both the tax authorities and numerous counterparties. And it will not always be beneficial for your organization to show them the distribution of other powers between employees.

Now here are sample orders that you can use when delegating the right to sign invoices:

• for the duration of the duties of the absent head of the organization (see Example 1);
• for the head of the organization and the chief accountant “on a permanent basis” (see Example 2);
• several employees who can sign invoices for the head of the organization and the chief accountant (see Example 3).

Example 1

Example 2

*2) ... Meanwhile, in paragraph 6 of Art. 169 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation directly establishes that the invoice is signed by this “other person”

*3) ... True, in this case it will be necessary to take into account that the instructions for a specific position will apply to all employees hired for this position, and not just to a specific employee to whom the right to sign invoices is delegated.

*4) ... Although for the tax authorities, by virtue of clause 6 of Art. 169 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, one document will be sufficient: either an order (other administrative document) for the organization, or a power of attorney. IN employment contract And job description the employer is more interested.

*5) ... In accordance with the constituent documents, this may be “ CEO", "director", "president", etc.

As you know, only authorized persons can act on behalf of an organization, that is, represent its interests and sign documents. Let's consider who and on what grounds has the right to sign the primary accounting document, invoices, as well as tax returns and calculations.

Source documents

Invoices, acts, invoices, payments, cash orders and other primary documents constitute the main document flow of the accounting department. Very often they are drawn up in different departments of the company, so it is quite logical that they are signed by different persons. However, the right to sign documents must be assigned to these persons.

The procedure for signing primary documents is regulated by two regulations:

• Federal Law No. 402-FZ “On Accounting” dated December 6, 2015;
• Regulations on accounting and financial reporting in the Russian Federation, approved by Order of the Ministry of Finance dated July 29, 1998 No. 34n.

The mentioned norms require that the head of the organization, in agreement with the chief accountant, approve a list of persons who have the right to sign certain documents. Thus, in order to give an employee the authority to sign the primary accounting document, the director only needs to issue the appropriate order or instruction. This also applies to settlement and monetary documents.

Note! The position of the person authorized to sign must correspond to the position indicated in the primary document. In other words, if, for example, the invoice form requires the signature of the chief accountant, another employee does not have the right to sign this document, even if it is included in the corresponding order of the manager. Therefore, experts recommend that companies independently develop forms of primary documents and indicate, for example, “Manager or other authorized person” in the details of the signatory.

Invoices

They stand apart from the rest of the documentation because they are used to calculate one of the main payments of the Russian tax system - VAT. The procedure for signing these documents is enshrined in paragraph 6 of Article 169 of the Tax Code. It differs depending on the form in which the invoice is prepared - paper or electronic. We also note that the law does not oblige the company to inform the Federal Tax Service about the delegation of the right to sign invoices to another person.

Signing a paper invoice

This rule of law requires that classic paper invoices be signed by the head and chief accountant of the organization or other authorized persons. These can be any person, and it doesn’t matter at all whether they work for the company or not. The main thing is that the authority to sign invoices is transferred to them in accordance with the law.

Organizations have two ways to do this: include this person in the order or draw up a power of attorney for him. If we are talking about an individual entrepreneur, then in order to transfer the right to sign invoices to another person, it is necessary to issue a notarized power of attorney for him.

Since, in accordance with the requirements of the Tax Code, the document must bear the signatures of the manager and the chief accountant, the order or power of attorney should indicate which of them the authorized person will sign for. Please note that one person can sign documents both on behalf of the manager and on behalf of the chief accountant. In practice, often only the chief accountant signs the invoice. In this case, he must be authorized to sign these documents on behalf of the manager.

Electronic invoices

Unlike their paper counterparts, invoices in in electronic format are signed with only one signature - a reinforced qualified one electronic signature(UKEP) manager or other authorized person. You can transfer the right to sign to another person according to the same rules that apply to a paper invoice.

Tax returns

Signing Rules tax returns and calculations are established in Article 80 of the Tax Code. They state that these documents must be signed by the taxpayer or his representative. A taxpayer is understood to be the head of a company or an individual entrepreneur, that is, a person who can act without a power of attorney. The signature of this person must be affixed to the declaration or calculation. If the document is signed by, say, the chief accountant, then it is necessary to give him such powers through a power of attorney.

Note! The tax authorities must be notified of the transfer of these powers. Before submitting a report signed by an authorized person to the Federal Tax Service, you must send there a copy of the power of attorney. In addition, its details must be entered in the appropriate field of the declaration, and a copy of the power of attorney must be attached to it.

VAT reporting

As you know, since last year all companies . An exception is tax agents who are not VAT payers. The electronic declaration is signed by UKEP and transmitted via telecommunications channels (TCC) using an electronic document management operator (EDO).

How can you delegate the authority to sign a VAT return to another person? In general, everything is the same - you need to draw up a power of attorney and notify the tax authority about the transfer of powers. The only difference is that this can be done electronically, and an information message about the power of attorney must be attached to the declaration each time. This procedure applies to any tax report (calculation) submitted through TCS channels.

Transfer of authority to communicate with the Federal Tax Service

The need to report electronically entails the taxpayer’s obligation to ensure electronic communication with the Federal Tax Service, including receiving messages from the inspectorate. This is implemented through EDF operators. In this case, it is necessary to submit to the tax authority an agreement with the operator and a document authorizing him to receive messages that are intended for the taxpayer. If the operator provides a channel between the inspectorate and an individual, then it is also necessary to submit a document that will confirm the right of the individual to receive messages from the tax authority. A power of attorney for a person entrusted with the authority to communicate with the tax office must be submitted to the Federal Tax Service within 3 days from the date of registration.

In practice, a company or entrepreneur often transfers accounting functions, including filing electronic reporting, a third party organization. In this case, you will also need a power of attorney to delegate these powers. It is drawn up in accordance with general rules drawing up powers of attorney. If an organization is chosen as a representative, then it, in turn, must also delegate the delegated powers to a specific employee. That is, the accounting company needs to draw up a power of attorney for one of its employees, who will communicate with the Federal Tax Service on behalf of the taxpayer-client.

Rules for drawing up powers of attorney

Depending on who delegates its powers - an organization or an entrepreneur - the rules for drawing up a power of attorney will differ.

A power of attorney on behalf of an organization must meet the requirements of Articles 185–187 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. In accordance with them, the power of attorney must be executed in writing, indicating the date of issue and validity period, and signed by the director. If there is no validity period, then the power of attorney will be considered issued for one year. It can be compiled both for legal and individual regardless of whether he works for the grantor organization or not. Such a power of attorney does not require a sample signature of an authorized person or notarization.

If the powers are delegated by an individual entrepreneur, then the power of attorney must be notarized (Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation dated July 30, 2013 No. 57).