What to do if the Federal Tax Service has blocked a bank account

The Tax Code of the Russian Federation regulates that a tax authority has the right to block or suspend transactions through a taxpayer’s bank account.

What may be the reasons for blocking

An account may be blocked if an organisation:

1. is late in submitting a tax return by 20 working days;
2. fails to submit 6-NDFL calculations within 20 working days;
3. fails to fulfil the tax service’s demand for payment of tax, insurance contributions, penalties or fines;
4. fails to transmit an electronic receipt of a document from the Federal Tax Service within 6 days.

In addition, blocking may occur if, based on the results of an audit, the FTS determines that the total value of an organisation’s property is less than the amount of arrears, penalties and fines.

Depending on the reason for the blocking, the necessary actions are taken to unblock the account.

Blocking for failure to fulfil taxpayer demands for the payment of tax or insurance contributions

An organisation’s account may be blocked for failure to comply with the tax service’s demands to pay taxes or insurance contributions (paragraph 2 of Article 76 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). In this case, all bank accounts of the organisation are blocked and funds are debited from the accounts until the debt is paid in full.

If the blocking occurs before the arrears are fully repaid, a written application can be sent to the Federal Tax Service. This must be done before the debt is written off from all accounts.

If the arrears have already been written off, there is a prepayment that can be offset against payment of other taxes or an application for a refund can be written.

If the entire arrears are paid, the account will be unblocked automatically, no special authorisation is required.

Blocking for late submission of statements

Blocking of an account may occur in case of untimely reporting, i.e. delay in submission of declarations for more than 20 days (Clause 3 of Article 76 and Clause 6 of Article 6.1 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). In this case, the bank account is completely blocked and its owner cannot freely dispose of it.

However, payments related to labour relations and payment of taxes and levies should continue.

It is possible to resume the full use of funds after the submission of reporting. After the FTS receives the declaration or calculation, it sends an order to the bank to lift the restriction. The process takes approximately 4-5 working days.

Blocking in the absence of a receipt for the electronic receipt of documents by a taxpayer from the Federal Tax Service

A bank account may also be blocked if a taxpayer fails to submit to the Federal Tax Service a receipt for the electronic receipt of documents or claims from the tax authorities. This possibility exists from 1 January 2015 and is regulated by Article 23 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

The taxpayer must acknowledge receipt of electronic documents from the FTS within 6 days. This applies to such documents as requests for the submission of documents, requests for explanations, notices of summons to the FTS authority.

If the receipt is not provided within 6 days, the FTS may block the account, although the decision is usually made within 10 days after the expiry of this period. This gives the taxpayer time to rectify the situation and send the appropriate file to the FTS to unblock the account.

As with the blocking for failure to file a return, mandatory payments are allowed. If the receipt was not sent in advance, the process of unblocking may take about 5 working days.

How to quickly unblock a bank account blocked by the tax inspectorate

In the event that a bank account is blocked, it is necessary to act promptly and without panic. You can check the status of the account on the website of the Federal Tax Service, using the TIN and BIK of the bank. The process of removing restrictions is usually simple and does not require a specialist.

If restrictions are placed on a bank account, the following steps are required:

1. The reason for the restriction is determined. The bank where the account was opened receives information about the decision of the Federal Tax Service that led to the restriction. The details of the FTS decision are clarified.
2. The reason for the restriction is eliminated. In case of underpayment of tax, payment is made, in case of problems with the declaration or electronic receipt, they are eliminated and the information is transmitted to the FTS. In case of problems with the reporting format, the company is connected to a special operator for electronic filing of reports.
3. informing the FTS of the elimination of the violation. Electronic documents are exchanged with the FTS and the FTS is informed that the violation has been eliminated.

According to Article 76 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, the maximum deadlines for removal of restrictions are as follows: in case of underpayment – on the next working day after payment; in case of absence of a declaration or receipt – on the next working day after their submission.