Criminal liability for illegal business. What is illegal business (consequences)? Illegal business in administrative law

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What is illegal business

Everyone at least once concluded this or that transaction, performing a certain job. Often such transactions are of a personal nature, and therefore are not of interest to the tax authorities. Transactions of another category are concluded on an ongoing basis, as a result, a person regularly has income. Such transactions are within the scope of the interests of the tax inspectorate.

For example, you bought a car, and then decided to profitably resell it to a neighbor and made a profit from the transaction. These actions will not be regarded as entrepreneurial activity, since the transaction is concluded between citizens and is of a single nature. However, if a person regularly resells cars in order to make a profit, then such a person acts as an entrepreneur in civil circulation.

Attention! If the specified person is not registered as an individual entrepreneur, then his activities are outside the law. As practice shows, some citizens deliberately avoid registration in order not to pay taxes, while others are honestly mistaken and cannot give a correct assessment of the activities they are engaged in, not considering themselves individual entrepreneurs.

There are various forms entrepreneurial activity such as renovations, tourism services, wholesale trade products, etc.

Often people who are engaged in entrepreneurial activities consider themselves freelancers.

As a rule, these persons receive a salary in an extra-contractual manner or according to a work contract. This means that the tax burden falls on their counterparty under the contract.

Therefore, an activity that generates income, but is not permanent, is not entrepreneurial. This type of activity does not entail the onset of legal liability.

According to the provisions of article two of the Civil Code Russian Federation Entrepreneurial activity is understood as an activity that is carried out independently, is risky in nature and aims to make a profit. Such activities are carried out by a person who is registered in accordance with the requirements of the law, in various forms: work or services, sale of property.

What is the difference between freelancing and entrepreneurship? Entrepreneurial activity is carried out on a regular basis and has the goal of making a profit. If, for example, a person has received a large amount of income as a result of a transaction for the sale of a country house belonging to him, this will not be regarded as entrepreneurial activity.

Signs of illegal business activity

The following signs are distinguished:

• the systematic extraction of profit, which is the purpose of the activity;
• risky nature of activities and independence in the economic aspect;
• use of property, sale of goods and provision of services for profit.

It is required to distinguish between the listed signs and forms of illegal entrepreneurial activity, which are contained in Article 171 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

The independence of economic activity is understood as the direct participation of a person in civil circulation. The person acts on his own behalf.

Consequently, economic activity, which is not independent in nature, cannot be considered entrepreneurial. Such activity qualifies as an employment relationship that arises between an employee and an employer.

Important! As a rule, registration of such activity is carried out in the form employment contract. If we compare it with a civil law contract, a number of differences are revealed. The main difference lies in the subject matter of the contracts.

Subject of the employment contract labor activity employee, and the subject of a civil law contract is the result of such activity. After clearance labor relations the employee is enlisted in the staff of the employer, relations of subordination are established between them, and disciplinary measures apply to the employee.

Civil legal consequences

According to Part 4 of Article 23 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, a person who actually carries out entrepreneurial activities, but is not registered as an individual entrepreneur, is not allowed to refer to the absence of such registration in matters of transactions concluded by him.

This means that during the judicial review of the case, the judge has the right to apply to concluded transactions the rules that regulate entrepreneurial activity: laws No. 135-FZ, No. 184-FZ, No. 315-FZ and No. 294-FZ.

Tax Penalties

Please note! If a person is engaged in activities permitted by law without registration, the following circumstances will affect the amount of the fine:

• the term for the implementation of illegal entrepreneurial activity until the moment of registration;
• the amount of profit that the person has received or could receive. The amount is calculated in accordance with the received data and is not linked to the actual funds received. For example, if the documented amount of the transaction is 50,000 rubles, and the person received only 35,000 rubles, then the amount of 50,000 rubles is taken into account.

Consequently, when the fact of conducting illegal business activities is revealed, the person is held liable for the fact of concealing information about such activities and for non-payment of the relevant income taxes.

According to the provisions of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation (Article 116), if you registered as an individual entrepreneur thirty or more days after the start of your activity, you are liable to pay a fine. The amount of the fine is 10,000 rubles. If you have been illegally active for three or more months, the fine will be 10% of the estimated income. Wherein minimum size the fine is 40,000 rubles.

Attention! Our qualified lawyers will assist you free of charge and around the clock on any issues.

Indemnification cases:

• if the age of the person carrying out the specified activity is less than 16 years;
• if the three-year limitation period has expired;
• if the reason for not registering is valid (hospital stay, natural disaster, etc.)

Mitigating circumstances (for example, a difficult financial and material situation) will help reduce the amount of the fine imposed by two or more times. If there are aggravating circumstances (for example, if the offense is repetitive), then the amount of the fine will be increased by two or more times.

For non-payment of taxes on profits that a person received in the course of entrepreneurial activities, the following fines will have to be paid (Article 122 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation):

• 20% of the tax amount;
• 40% of the tax amount if there is evidence of deliberate concealment of income.

In this case, tax is payable on the profit that was received during the conduct of this activity.

Watch the video. Illegal business activity:

Administrative responsibility

Remember! For the implementation of illegal business activities, administrative liability in the form of a fine is also applied to a person in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. Penalties are imposed in the absence of registration and the absence of an appropriate license.

General provisions and amounts of possible fines

Currently, the amount of an administrative fine for carrying out entrepreneurial activities in the absence of registration is from 500 to 2000 rubles (Article 14.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses). The size of the fine is affected by the scale of activity and other circumstances.

If a person violated the licensing norms and did not obtain the necessary license, he is obliged to pay the following fines (Clause 2, Article 14.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses):

• 2000-500000 rub. for individual entrepreneurs;
• 4000-5000 rub. for an official;
• 40000-500000 rub. for a legal entity. This applies to confiscation of property.

If the licensing requirements are violated, fines of the following size are additionally imposed (Clause 3, Article 14.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses):

• 1500-2000 rub. for individuals. In the presence of gross violations: 4000-8000 rubles;
• 3000-4000 rub. for officials. In the presence of gross violations: 5000-10000 rubles;
• 30000-40000 rub. for organizations. In the presence of gross violations: 100,000-200,000 rubles. At the same time, the activities of the organization are suspended.

Attention! Penalties for illegal business in certain categories:

• for illegal trade in medicines (Article 6.28 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation): 1500-3000 rubles. for individuals, 5000-10.000 rubles. for officials and 20,000-30,000 rubles. for organizations;
• for conducting illegal gambling outside gambling zones (Article 14.1.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses and Article 171.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation): 700,000-1,000,000 rubles. Confiscation of equipment and imprisonment for up to six years are also applicable;
• for the sale of things that are withdrawn from civil circulation or limited in it (weapons, potent poisons, etc.) (Article 14.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses): 1500-2000 rubles. for individuals, 3000-4000 rubles for officials, 30000-40000 rubles for legal entities. In this case, the property will be confiscated;
• fine for conducting illegal business activities in the transport industry (Article 14.1.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses): 5000 rubles. for citizens, 100,000 rubles. for individual entrepreneurs;
• for organizing illegal games in special gambling zones, the amount of the fine is as follows (clause 4, article 14.1.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses): 2000-4000 rubles. for citizens, 30,000-50,000 rubles. for officials, 500,000-1,000,000 rubles. for legal entities.

A separate type of offense is the illegal sale of tickets for the 2018 World Cup matches.

If a person resold tickets for profit in the absence of required documents, then he is obliged to pay a fine (Article 14.15.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses), the amount of which is equal to 25 times the cost of a ticket for individuals, 30 times the cost of a ticket for officials and 500,000- 1000000 rub. for organizations. For the sale of fake tickets in the absence of corpus delicti, individuals are required to pay a fine in the amount of 50,000 to 70,000 rubles, officials - from 150,000 to 200,000 rubles, and legal entities - from 1,000,000 to 1,500,000 rubles.

In accordance with the current legislation of the Russian Federation as of 2016-2017, an individual is prohibited from engaging in entrepreneurial activities in order to generate income without registering with the tax authorities at the place of residence. In accordance with the interpretation of the Civil Code, entrepreneurial activity is any activity aimed at systematic profit.

Any type of commerce requires registration of an individual entrepreneur, payment of taxes and fees, timely reporting to the relevant authorities. Illegal activities lead to administrative and criminal liability - the imposition of fines, the initiation of criminal cases, etc. The degree of responsibility depends on the type of business, the amount of turnover, the timing of the activity, and much more.

What activities are classified as illegal entrepreneurship in 2016-2017?

Any activity of an individual, the purpose of which is to make a profit (even very small amounts), must be formalized as an entrepreneurship. Even if you sell homemade jewelry or roasted sunflower seeds, this already falls under the definition of entrepreneurial activity. The degree of liability and the amount of fines depend on the type of activity and the amount of income received.

In 2016-2017, the activities of individuals are regarded as entrepreneurship on the following grounds:

• wholesale purchases of goods;
• certificates of persons who paid for the purchase of goods or the provision of services;
• accommodation advertisements on the sale of goods, the provision of services;
• conclusion of lease agreements for the use of commercial buildings and premises;
• issuance of receipts for loans Money;
• conclusion of partnership agreements with suppliers of raw materials, materials, equipment.

If two or three signs from this list are identified, the tax inspectorate can interpret the activity of an individual as entrepreneurial. If an individual rents out housing, concludes contracts and carries out big deals on sale and pays personal income tax, this is within the law. And if trade transactions are repeated several times without registering an IP, such activity is already considered illegal business, for which fines of various sizes are threatened.

That is, some types of transactions can be carried out by concluding civil law contracts but you can't advertise your product. In addition, most firms or individual entrepreneurs will not risk being contacted by an individual doing business illegally.

You can - at the place of temporary registration, by contacting the relevant tax authorities.

The main requirements of Russian legislation for the registration of IP in 2016-2017

In order to have the right to carry out commercial activities on the territory of the Russian Federation, it is necessary to follow a number of simple steps:

• determine the type of entrepreneurial activity and classify it in accordance with OKVED (all-Russian classifier of types of economic activity);
• register as an individual entrepreneur in the tax office at the place of registration;
• make (optional requirement if you will not open a bank account and work with large companies);
• register with a pension fund, social insurance funds, etc.;
• if you open retail outlet, will be required (when providing services) or a corner of the buyer (when selling goods). It is also mandatory to regularly submit reports on your business activities, pay taxes and fees, the amount of which is determined by the type of individual entrepreneur and the amount of income. The big advantage of the work of the Federal Tax Service is the opportunity without leaving home. If an entrepreneur hires workers, then he must also calculate and transfer it to the local budget.

Advice: when registering an individual entrepreneur in 2016-2017, it is better to immediately choose a wide range of types of commerce, within which you will be engaged in entrepreneurial activities. The number of activities affects the amount of taxes only if this species subject to a special fee or require permits or licenses.

On responsibility for conducting illegal business in 2016-2017

If an individual conducts entrepreneurial activities illegally, then upon establishing such a fact, he faces administrative or criminal liability.

In what cases is an individual or legal entity brought to administrative responsibility (as of 2016-2017) for illegal business activities:

• Carrying out entrepreneurial activities without registration with the relevant tax authorities entails a fine in the amount of 500-2000 rubles.
• Carrying out illegal business without a license (if this activity requires the obligatory receipt of such a permit). An individual faces a fine of 2000-2500 rubles with the possibility of confiscation of manufactured goods, raw materials and materials, equipment. Fines for legal entities illegally operating without a license can range from 40,000 to 50,000 rubles.
• In case of violation of a special permit or license during the implementation of illegal business activities, violating entities may be issued a warning or fined. Individuals face a fine of 1500-2500 rubles, legal entities - from 30,000 to 40,000 rubles, officials enterprises - 3000-4000 rubles.
• In case of gross violation of the license, individuals are punished with fines in the amount of 4,000-8,000 rubles, legal entities with fines from 100,000 to 200,000 rubles or suspension of activities for three months.

The onset of criminal liability for conducting illegal business (regulated by Article 171 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) may entail cases of conducting economic transactions without registering an individual entrepreneur or legal entity with illegal income in excess of 1,500,000 rubles (large amounts) and 6,000,000 (especially large sizes). Large administrative penalties and criminal liability may also result from the implementation of illegal entrepreneurship in areas requiring a license (sale of tobacco or alcohol products, security services, transport services, etc.), without obtaining permits.

When committing illegal entrepreneurial activities on a large scale, an individual entrepreneur faces a fine of 300,000 rubles or a penalty for the amount of income that the individual entrepreneur received during the two years of the commercial transactions without registering. Another punishment may be compulsory work for up to 480 hours or arrest for 6 months. In case of illegal entrepreneurship on an especially large scale, the violator faces a fine of 100,000 - 500,000 rubles, recovery of income for 1-3 years, 5 years of forced labor or 5 years of imprisonment with the need to pay 80,000 rubles or 6 months of income.

In addition to individual entrepreneurs and legal entities, individuals are also required to submit information about their income to the tax office. For failure to provide a declaration or the inaccuracy of the specified data, the subject is threatened with a fine or forced labor for 1-3 years (the amount of the penalty and the term of imprisonment or forced labor are determined in accordance with the amounts that were not declared and the type of activity). In order to avoid criminal liability, in case of violations on a particularly large scale, the violator can pay all the amounts of fines and penalties and thus avoid forced labor or imprisonment.

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Even if you just want to sell fried seeds, sew or knit at home, quietly and legally making a profit from it, it is better to register as an individual entrepreneur, so you can avoid many problems - you will not face fines or other administrative penalties. You do not need to do business, you just need to pay taxes on time and file income tax returns on time.

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More and more people are engaged in entrepreneurial activity today. There is a certain procedure for starting any business, the legislative framework and responsibility for violation of the law. Increasingly, cases of illegal business activity or fraud are emerging.

What is illegal business activity

Illegal business- This is the implementation of entrepreneurial activities in violation of the law. The main criteria: lack of registration, violation of registration rules, lack of a license, provision of false information to the tax authorities.

Illegal activities are usually aimed at obtaining maximum profit bypassing the tax authorities.

Each person sells something or provides services during the period of his life. It would seem that there is nothing illegal in the sale of used equipment, clothing, real estate. Someone can do a friend's hair at home or fix a car. But if you do it all the time, then it is illegal business.

The actions of one person will in no way affect the formation of the state economy, and if you bring all the illegal figures together, this causes considerable damage to the state and social sphere.

The law is unified, non-compliance with it leads to criminal, administrative and tax liability, which is provided for both an illegally functioning large corporation and a person engaged in the systematic sale of vegetables on the market.

Types of illegal business activities

Illegal business is divided into three types:

1. Commercial activity without registration and . Man is constantly doing certain activity: provides services, sells products. This is usually the only source of income, but the tax authorities and Pension Fund no deductions are made. The most striking common example is the rental of apartments by private individuals. Real estate for rent paid basis, but the activity is not registered in the tax office.
2. Entrepreneurship without a license, if so provided by law. There are groups of goods and services for which you need to purchase a license: alcohol and tobacco products, cosmetic and medical services. The license costs a lot of money. Therefore, many entrepreneurs are engaged in business either without a license, at their own peril and risk, or provide services at home.
3. Conducting business activities in violation. For example, an entrepreneur submits documents to open one business, say, a household chemicals store, but actually opens a hairdresser or cafe. It happens that the address in the registration documents does not match the actual location of the production premises.

All this can be attributed to illegal business.

Complaints about illegal business

Everyone knows that you need to pay taxes, but deliberately refuse to do so. Many motivate this by saying that the taxes are too high, the income from the business is not constant, you need to somehow survive. Here it is necessary to divide illegal figures into two categories.

If a person sells children's things for a small price, for example, or sells a sweater knitted by oneself, this can hardly be called illegal activity. But if someone starts providing cosmetic services at home, without having the necessary conditions and appropriate registration, then this is already an illegal activity.

A complaint about illegal business can be filed with the Department of Economic Security, the prosecutor's office, the police or the tax office. At the same time, you need to understand that words cannot be sewn into deeds, evidence is needed.

First, evaluate the scale of the deed. You should not run to the police or the tax office if your neighbor sold a bucket of potatoes on the market. But if a whole beauty salon has settled in one of the apartments, and there is no end to visitors, it is worth signaling to the relevant authorities.

If you yourself have become a victim of an illegal business: bought counterfeit products or used paid service, resulting in harm to your health, you can freely initiate a complaint to the tax office by providing checks and certificates.

Complaint to the tax office

If you have reason to file a complaint against an illegal businessman, you must write an application to the tax office. There is no established pattern. The application must include the following information:

1. Surname and initials of a person engaged in illegal business, and what is its violation. For example, the lack of a license.
2. What is the business: cosmetology, repair of objects, construction or other.
3. What time is the activity.
4. It is necessary to register a request for the intervention of the tax service.
5. A package of documents as evidence.

Important! tax office will accept the application if you provide the fact of receipt of funds by the entrepreneur. Perhaps you have a receipt, contract or a copy of the document.

Punishment for illegal business

Criminal prosecution against an illegal businessman occurs most often for repeated violations:

• for systematic business without necessary registration;
• for receiving money from illegal business in especially large amounts;
• for causing material damage to the state and citizens during illegal activities, or causing harm to health.

According to article 171 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Illegal business”, punishment occurs in the following cases:

1. If a businessman worked without registration and a license, as a result of which great damage was caused to the state, organization or citizens. The activist shall be punished with a fine of up to three hundred thousand rubles or compulsory work up to four hundred and eighty hours. In some cases, arrest is provided for up to six months.
2. For carrying out the same activity by a group of persons, causing significant damage to the state or citizens, a businessman will be punished in the form of a fine of one hundred to five hundred thousand rubles, forced labor up to five years, imprisonment up to five years with a fine of eighty thousand rubles.

Additional Information. Article 171 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is used extremely rarely, since it is very difficult to prove that an entrepreneur receives large incomes.

Other types of liability of individuals and legal entities

Criminal liability for an illegal act comes into force in the event of damage to the state or social society in the amount of one and a half million rubles and more. In all other cases, administrative liability arises and penalties are applied, the amount of which depends on the degree of violation:

• If the entrepreneur does not register his activity, a fine in the amount of from five hundred to two thousand rubles.
• For the implementation of activities without a license, a fine from two to fifty thousand rubles with the withdrawal of all products. The most widespread is the illegal sale of alcohol.
• Violation of the terms of the license in the process of implementing a business entails a fine from one and a half to forty thousand rubles. For gross violation four to fifty thousand rubles with termination of activity up to 90 days.

What kind of punishment to apply is determined by the court. If the entrepreneur did not take care of acquiring a license to conduct his business, then such a violation is considered the most serious. AT this case serious harm to the health of consumers.

Administrative punishment is carried out not only for illegal work, but also for the use of other people's logos, copyright infringement, deception of customers, and the sale of fakes. Get more information about the responsibility of the IP -.

Illegal business and tax services

The tax authorities apply penalties in the form of fines for the illegal activities of entrepreneurs, relying on articles 116 and 117 of the Tax Code. Many believe that if the profit from the systematic sale of products or services is minimal, then this is not punishable.

In reality, it looks quite different. If you, for example, implement via social networks products self made, and they send you cash on delivery for this, it’s better to register yourself as individual entrepreneur, otherwise you will not be able to avoid tax prosecution. The amount of the fine depends on the type of violation:

1. If the entrepreneur has not registered his activity with the tax office, then the amount of the fine is 10% of all income received by him, but not less twenty thousand rubles. Such punishment is applied to entrepreneurs who, at the time of the detected violation, had never filed an application for registration with the tax authority.
2. If the illegal activity continues for more than ninety days, then the amount of the fine here will be 20% of all profits, but not less forty thousand rubles.
3. If during the inspection it turns out that the entrepreneur registered later than he began to operate in the business sector, a penalty for late registration is provided. Here the fact of receiving the first profit is established. For failure to register up to ninety days, the fine will be five thousand rubles over ninety days ten thousand rubles respectively.

The tax service, in addition to penalties, can make an additional accrual of lost taxes for the time illegal work. A businessman will be forced to pay income tax on the entire amount that the tax authorities could prove. Penalty for missed tax payments and a penalty for non-payment of them will be 20% of the amount of additional accrued profit.

Important! The tax service has the right to charge fines and penalties, and the punishment is established by a court decision on the basis of current legislation.

What is important to know about illegal business (video)

Let's watch a short video where an experienced lawyer talks in detail about illegal activities citizens and gives examples. What are the consequences and punishment for an entrepreneur for illegal activities:

Taxes on business income are quite high today. Many entrepreneurs after paying taxes remain at a loss, so they work without registration. You need to understand that sooner or later you will have to pay not only taxes, but also fines. Before starting any business, calculate everything in advance, and do not delay registration.

Hello! Today we will talk about illegal business.

You will find out what kind of entrepreneurial activity can be called illegal, and what liability for illegal business is provided for by Russian law.

What is entrepreneurial activity

Before talking about legality, it is necessary to understand the very concept of entrepreneurial activity.

According to the law, this is an activity that:

• It is carried out independently and on its own initiative by an individual or legal entity, which also independently bears all possible risks;
• It is aimed at systematic (not a one-time) profit: cutting a friend’s bangs once for money is not yet entrepreneurship, but to open your own even a mini-salon and regularly make money on hairdressing services, you will already need to register with the tax office;
• Uses property for commercial purposes (for example, renting a car), sells goods (trade) or services (repairs, cosmetic services, and so on).

The systematic sale of goods at a cost equal to or smaller one, for which it was acquired, cannot be considered an entrepreneurship, since there is no profit.

Types of illegal business

Illegal business activity - a business that does not meet the requirements of the law.

What law must an entrepreneurial business break in order to become illegal? In fact, the correct answer is any. There are many types of illegal business, but let's focus on the most common ones.

Situation 1. Carrying out business activities without proper registration

Simply put, doing business without or. The moment of registration is the date of making an entry in the appropriate state register.

It will be recognized as a violation not only to conduct business without filing an application with the registration authority, but also to start such activities before receiving a positive response. Only a certificate of the established form can confirm the state registration; it is illegal to conduct entrepreneurial activities until it is received.

Situation 2. Inconsistency between the type of activity and the one declared during registration

For example, an entrepreneur registered as an individual entrepreneur planning to open a car service, but at the construction stage he decided to change direction to a roadside cafe, which he did not report to the registration authority. Since the entrepreneur has not been issued a permit to work in the catering sector, such activities will be considered illegal.

Situation 3. Lack of necessary permits (licenses)

For example, the sale of clandestine alcohol or other unlicensed products. A complete list of activities subject to mandatory licensing is specified in Article 17 federal law №128.

• The entrepreneur did not apply to the relevant authority for permission when it is required by law;
• An application for a license has been submitted, but a positive response has not yet been received, and the activity is already underway;
• Commercial activity continues after the suspension or cancellation of the license, its expiration.

Case 4: Licensing violation

• Violation of the conditions for products (the date of manufacture is not indicated);
• Violation technical requirements to licensed activities (sanitary and hygienic conditions in food production);
• Activities outside the territory specified in the license.

Complaints about illegal commercial activities

The Russian government is seriously concerned about the scale of illegal business in the country. When one person in a million without state registration systematically sells potatoes and does not pay taxes, the country's budget will not notice this, but when such violations are massive, tax system sounds the alarm.

The desire of entrepreneurs not to pay taxes on their already meager income is understandable, but everything has a limit. Perhaps no one will complain about a neighbor who illegally bakes cakes to order once a month, but you can already file a complaint against a full-fledged hairdresser, open without registration and license in an ordinary apartment.

You can file a complaint at:

• Department of Economic Security;
• Prosecutor's Office (considers all complaints and redirects them to other instances);
• Federal Tax Service (complaints against entrepreneurs hiding significant profits);
• Police (considering complaints about street vendors and producers of illegal alcohol);
• Licensing authorities (complaints regarding the lack of a license or violation of its conditions).

The application must indicate:

• Information about the offender;
• the object of the violation;
• Direction of illegal activity;
• A package of documents-evidence (receipt of payment, contract for the provision of services).

Liability for illegal business

Establish and record cases of illegal commercial activities can:

• Law enforcement officers, prosecutors;
• Inspectors of Rospotrebnadzor or antimonopoly service;
• Employees of tax and other inspection bodies.

Most often, complaints from citizens and reports of illegal business become the basis for the visit of inspectors. The result of the check is a protocol containing all the allegations.

Depending on the scale of the violation, liability for illegal business can also be of varying severity.

For example, at the same time as the following, there may also be violations Labor Code, the requirements of the fire inspection, the antimonopoly service and many others. You will have to answer for violations of all rules of law.

Criminal liability (CC)

The most terrible for the violator is criminal liability for illegal entrepreneurial activity provided for by Article 171 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. They are brought to it only for violations that caused large (more than 1.5 million rubles) damage to citizens or other organizations.

Responsibility under Article 171 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is difficult to prove, so it is rarely used.

Depending on the damage caused, this article provides for the following penalties:

Persons over 16 years of age may be held liable:

• Managers, founders of the company;
• Actual business owners without state registration.

Criminal liability is mitigated by the lack of a criminal record of the accused.

Regardless of the amount of damage, citizens working with an unregistered entrepreneur and owners of leased real estate cannot be held criminally liable.

Administrative responsibility

According to the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation, liability arises if the violation did not entail damage to third parties in excess of 1.5 million rubles.

Unregistered entrepreneurial activity can result in an administrative fine of 500-2000 rubles.

For violation of the licensing system, equipment and manufactured products may be confiscated, as well as the following fines:

Sometimes administrative punishment manages to avoid. For example, when the verification protocol was drawn up incorrectly or if there are contradictions in it. The protocol with inaccuracies must be re-drawn, and if this procedure takes more than two months, the judge is obliged to close the case. The decision to bring to administrative responsibility is made by the justice of the peace.

Tax code

The tax service is particularly interested in identifying illegal entrepreneurship, because due to unregistered activities, the state receives less of its share of taxes.

Article 116 most often becomes an article of the Tax Code punishing illegal entrepreneurship.

According to her:

1. For violation of the deadlines for filing an application for registration of entrepreneurial activity - a fine of 10,000 rubles.
2. Doing business without registration, that is, if an application for registration has not been submitted at the time of the claim - a fine of 10% of the income received for the entire period of work, but not less than 40,000 rubles. In practice, the amount of such a fine is rarely objective, since it is very difficult to reliably establish the date of commencement of unregistered entrepreneurial activity and the amount of income received.

In addition to fines for illegal business activities, the tax authorities may require the entrepreneur to pay all taxes and penalties for their delay.

Tax sanctions are imposed only by a court decision.

Civil Liability

After commercial activity is declared illegal, all agreements concluded within its framework are terminated, and the entrepreneur has civil legal obligations to customers. For example, to return the paid funds and pay a penalty. Dissatisfied customers may require a refund within three years.

Failure to fulfill an obligation under civil liability can also be presented in court.

Appeal

To charge an entrepreneur with illegal activities, the regulatory authority will have to collect a lot of evidence. All revealed facts are recorded in the act, on the basis of which the protocol is formed.

You need to appeal the protocol before presenting it in court, since after that it will be almost impossible to prove your innocence.

You can only appeal against the protocol, but not the act - it only confirms the fact of the check. But when appealing, it is necessary to refer precisely to the lack of evidence of the circumstances in the act.

Based on the results of the appeal against the protocol, the court may cancel it and withdraw the charges against the defendant, or may leave it in force and continue the consideration of the case.

For doing business without registering as an individual entrepreneur, administrative, tax and criminal liability is provided. Each of the types of liability implies its own rules for fixing a violation, drawing up documents and actually bringing to responsibility.

By Civil Code Entrepreneurial activity in the Russian Federation is an independent activity carried out at one's own risk, aimed at the systematic receipt of profit from the use of property, the sale of goods, the provision of services.

To confirm the conduct of activities, it is necessary to prove two circumstances: systematic and profit. Systematic activity is considered if it is carried out two or more times a year. When a citizen once sold some property or rendered a service to someone, from this he will not be considered to be engaged in entrepreneurial activity. Similarly, if a person sells goods, including systematically (that is, more than twice), but for the same money for which he bought them, or cheaper, the transactions will not be considered entrepreneurial activity. Because there is no profit.

Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation

Let's start with administrative responsibility. It is provided for by Part 1 of Art. 14.1 of the RF Code of Administrative Offenses. The possible fine is from 500 to 2000 rubles.

The decision to prosecute is made by the justice of the peace (Article 23.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation). The case may be considered either at the place where the offense was committed, or at the place of residence of an individual (if he files a petition for consideration of the case at his place of residence). A protocol on violation, that is, conducting activities without registration, is entitled to draw up: the police, the tax inspectorate, the territorial bodies of the Ministry of Antimonopoly Policy, state inspection on trade, quality of goods and consumer protection (Article 28.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation). In addition, file a case for administrative offense the prosecutor can (Article 28.4 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation). Usually, employees of one of the listed departments come to an individual with an inspection, inspect the premises or test purchase, find that the individual is operating illegally, that is, without registering as an individual entrepreneur, after which a protocol is drawn up.

Operating without registering as a sole trader is a continuing offence. It is possible to bring a citizen to responsibility only within two months from the date of drawing up the protocol.

Note. For the implementation of entrepreneurial activities without registration as an individual entrepreneur, administrative, tax and criminal liability is provided.

When the protocol is drawn up incorrectly, there are contradictions in it, the judge must return the document to the department by which it was drawn up for revision. Two months is a fairly short period, and while the protocol is being finalized, the period often has time to expire. If the case is not considered by the judge within two months from the date of drawing up the protocol, the judge will issue a decision to terminate the proceedings on the case of an administrative offense.

Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

Criminal liability for illegal business is provided for in Art. 171 of the Criminal Code. It occurs if, as a result of an audit conducted by the police or the prosecutor's office, it is proved that either the infliction of large damage to citizens, organizations or the state, or the receipt of income on a large scale, that is, in the amount of at least 250 thousand rubles. (Note to Article 169 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

Considering that test purchases are usually carried out for small amounts, it is unlikely that such a criminal offense will be detected as part of a test purchase. Cases of illegal entrepreneurship are usually discovered during the investigation of cases on the legalization of proceeds from crime. The rest of unregistered entrepreneurs should not worry about criminal liability, because to prove the receipt of income in the amount of more than 250 thousand rubles. difficult, so the police usually open cases under Art. 171 of the Criminal Code, if he does not have evidence of receiving income on a large scale.

Liability for illegal business causing damage from 250 thousand rubles. up to 1 million rubles (that is, on a large scale) as follows: a fine of up to 300 thousand rubles. or in the amount of the salary (other income) of the convicted person for a period of up to two years, or compulsory work for a period of 180 to 240 hours, or arrest for a period of four to six months.

For illegal entrepreneurship with causing damage or deriving income on an especially large scale, a fine of 100 to 500 thousand rubles is provided. or in the amount of the salary (other income) of the convicted person for a period of one to three years, or imprisonment for up to five years with a fine of up to 80 thousand rubles. or in the amount of the salary (other income) of the convicted person for a period of up to six months. Damage or income exceeding 1 million rubles is considered especially large.

If a citizen is brought to criminal responsibility for the first time, and even positively characterized by neighbors, at the place of work, is not a malicious violator of public order, then most likely he will be awarded only a fine.

Owners of residential premises, renting them out, must keep in mind that for renting out residential premises to be held criminally liable under Art. 171 of the Criminal Code is impossible, regardless of the amount of rent that the investigator can prove. This was reported Supreme Court RF in the Decree of the Plenum of the RF Armed Forces dated November 18, 2004 N 23.

tax code

In the Tax Code, liability for activities without registration is provided for in two articles at once: 116 and 117. For evading registration with the inspection, a fine of 10 percent of the income received, but not less than 20 thousand rubles, is threatened. In the case when the activity was carried out for more than 90 calendar days, the fine will be 20 percent of the amount of income, but not less than 40 thousand rubles. (Article 117 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). For violation of the deadline for registration with the inspection, the fine will be 5 thousand rubles. or 10 thousand rubles, if the delay is more than 90 calendar days (Article 116 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). Only one of the articles can be punished. Let's see when each of them applies.

A citizen must register with the inspection before he begins to receive income from activities. Therefore, the periods of delay for the application of the above articles should be counted from the moment of the first proven case of receipt of proceeds. According to Art. 116 will be fined if an application for state registration is submitted before the tax audit report is drawn up, but later than the day the first revenue is received. If, as of the date of drawing up the tax audit report, the application has not yet been submitted, liability arises under Art. 117 of the Tax Code.

In addition to the fine for the lack of state registration, inspectors have the right to charge additional taxes by calculation. A failed merchant will be charged additional personal income tax and contributions to extra-budgetary funds. And if in the region where the individual entrepreneur works, the activity has been transferred to UTII, and the activity of the entrepreneur falls under this regime, then instead of income tax, inspectors will calculate UTII. Penalties for late payment will be added to the amount of taxes calculated by the inspectors. In addition, a fine of 20 percent of the amount of additionally assessed taxes and penalties is established for non-payment of taxes (Article 122 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

Note. In addition to the fine for the lack of state registration, inspectors have the right to charge additional taxes by calculation, as well as set penalties and a fine for their late payment.

Taxes and fines from individuals are collected in court according to the rules provided for by the Code of Civil Procedure, in a court of general jurisdiction. So the decision of the controllers or the protocol alone is not enough, the perpetrator will pay the fine only on the basis of a court decision.

We pointed out possible sanctions that threaten individuals who carry out activities without registration. The final verdict depends on the situation, the facts and the decision of the court. The most effective method of protection against inspectors is not to let them into your territory, especially if the activity is carried out by a citizen at home. Inspectors have the right to enter the residential premises only by a court decision. But inspectors can get information about the conduct of illegal activities not only during the audit. Of course, there is the possibility of an accidental visit, but it is small. Basically, controllers come after receiving messages from the businessman's competitors or complaints from offended buyers. Tax inspections collect information about unregistered entrepreneurs. Having accumulated information, they can appoint an on-site inspection, inspect the premises and territories used to generate income. Other departments (police, prosecutor's office, Rospotrebnadzor) will come to check an unregistered entrepreneur, most likely in connection with complaints received by deceived buyers.