PROTECTION OF TAXPAYERS' RIGHTS

(in the light of liability for breaching regulations on usage of sales registers)

The Inspectorate of the RF Revenue Ministry appealed to the Arbitration Court with a claim to recover from a private entrepreneur K. a fine in the amount of 8349 rubbles imposed by the Tax Return Inspectorate for carrying out settlements with clients without using a sales register.

The key arguments used by the defence of the entrepreneur's rights were as follows.

As it was clarified by the RF Constitutional Court (Regulation N^o 14 dated 12 May 1998), the liability for infringement of the regulation on usage of sales registers is administrative. Consequently, when bringing the private entrepreneur to responsibility, all requirements of the Administrative Code (AC) must be observed.

In accordance with article 33 of the AC, when defining a penalty, the nature of the committed offence, the character of the offender, the degree of his guilt, his financial status, the attenuating or aggravating circumstances should be considered.

The materials of the case testified that the offence committed by the entrepreneur was partly provoked by the behavior of the tax return officer.

Thus, when a decision of the Tax Return Inspectorate on imposing a maximum possible fine was awarded, the principles of penalty fairness and proportionality to the committed offence were breached.

In the result of juridical defence of the entrepreneur's rights "taking into account the degree of guilt of the defendant, his financial status and the attenuating circumstances" the fine was reduced by half, and the entrepreneur was granted a right to pay the fine by instalments within 2 years (Decision of the Arbitration Court of St. Petersburg and Leningrad Region on case N^o 56-26237/99 dated 15 November 1999).

Juridical Practice:

Statement of Defense for a claim of the Inspection of the RF Tax Revenue Ministry for Vyborgskij District of St. Petersburg on case N^o A56-26237/99 (Russian)