Checking the counterparty on the tax website: INN, risks and reliability
Many people have heard about the importance of checking the counterparty before signing a contract, but not everyone knows how to do it in practice. The article details what information about a potential partner can be obtained using its INN and OGRN on the tax service website or through specialized services. We will consider not only the basic aspects of verification, but also more complex issues that arise for those who have already encountered this process. In particular, the article will answer the following questions: should the approach to verification be changed depending on the amount of the transaction or other factors? How to properly interpret the data received? And finally, what risks does the lack of proper verification of the counterparty on the tax website carry for good faith? In the article you will find detailed answers to all these questions.
Why check the future partner
Exercising due diligence in business relationships with partners is a crucial aspect under special control of the FNS. According to Article 54.1 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, taxpayers are required to carefully check their future counterparties before concluding transactions. Despite the fact that the tax legislation does not contain a clear list of necessary documents or specific criteria for verification, a certain principle of risk assessment has developed in practice. It is that the less significant the scale of the counterparty's activity and the more significant the amount of the planned transaction, the more thorough verification of foreign counterparties will be required.
If tax authorities have reasonable doubts that the transaction was concluded in order to avoid paying taxes, the FNS has the right to refuse to recognize expenses or to apply a VAT deduction. Such doubts may arise if the counterparty has signs indicating its fictitiousness or bad faith. Such signs include: mass registration at one legal address (so-called "mass address"), one-day director, absence of significant assets, presence of significant tax arrears, or other signs indicating the potential risk of cooperation. In these cases, proof of prudence is extremely important.
Court practice actively relies on the concept of prudent behavior, detailed in paragraph 14 of the Letter of the FNS of Russia dated March 10, 2021 No. BV-4-7/3060@. According to this document, a good faith entrepreneur, before signing a contract, must make sure that the counterparty is able to fulfill its obligations and has sufficient assets to cover potential losses. If the FNS recognizes that the taxpayer conducted a thorough enough check, then the refusal of tax benefits will be illegal.
Checking the counterparty through the tax website is important not only to avoid problems with the tax inspection, but also to minimize commercial and reputational risks. For example, the insolvency of the counterparty may lead to significant delays in payments and the formation of significant receivables, which may negatively affect the financial condition of the enterprise. Conclusion of a contract with a person not authorized to do so on behalf of the counterparty may make the contract invalid, which will exclude the possibility of compensation for losses or protection of interests in court. Liquidation or bankruptcy of the counterparty will significantly complicate the performance of contractual obligations, and significantly increase the time of receiving due payments. Moreover, in case of bankruptcy, there may not be enough money for all creditors, and you may end up at the end of the queue. Thus, careful verification of the counterparty is not just a formality, but a necessary condition for minimizing financial and legal risks. It is important to remember that the verification must be documented and confirmed by appropriate documents, which will allow to prove the good faith of actions during a tax audit.
How to check a potential partner by INN and OGRN on the tax website
Choosing a reliable business partner is the key to the success of any business. Before concluding a deal or starting cooperation, it is extremely important to make sure of the financial stability and legal purity of the potential counterparty. One of the most effective ways to do this is to check its data by INN and OGRN on the website of the FNS of Russia. However, independent search and analysis of data on the FNS website can be time-consuming and confusing process, requiring special knowledge. Therefore, the use of specialized services, such as Directorium Limited, greatly simplifies and accelerates this procedure.
Directorium Limited is your reliable tool for quickly obtaining exhaustive and updated information about legal entities and individual entrepreneurs by Taxpayer Identification Number (INN) and Main State Registration Number (OGRN). We collect data directly from public sources, including from the website of the Federal Tax Service (FNS), which ensures a high degree of reliability and relevance of the information provided.
No more need to waste time on tedious searches on official web resources and figure out complex site structures. With Directorium Limited, all the necessary information is presented in one place, in an intuitive and convenient form. Before concluding an agreement, it is critically important to make sure of the reliability of your potential partner.
Information for search
To fully verify a potential partner (legal entity or individual entrepreneur), its requisites are required: OGRN, INN, KPP, full name of the organization (or IPE name) and region of registration. Knowledge of only the company name or name is insufficient for reliable verification, as there are organizations with the same names and people with the same names.
However, INN (Taxpayer Identification Number) and OGRN (Main State Registration Number) are original identifiers. Even if different organizations have the same names, their INN and OGRN will always be different. Therefore, having correct INN and OGRN, you can effectively check the counterparty. It is important to make sure of the correctness of the specified numbers before verification.
Information about the company or IP in IFNS
This information includes basic registration data: foreign legal entity or full name of individual entrepreneur, date of registration, legal address, type of activity (OKVED), taxpayer status (legal entity, individual entrepreneur). This basic data is the starting point for further analysis.
Debts for reporting and taxes
Special attention should be paid to the section on tax and fee arrears. A high level of debt is an alarming signal. Check information about the participation of the counterparty in courts. This will help assess its financial position and performance of obligations. The presence of arrears for taxes and fees is one of the most important indicators of the financial condition of the company. Through Directorium Limited you will be able to check the presence and amount of debt, which will allow to assess the payment discipline of the potential partner and minimize the risks of non-performance of obligations. Information about overdue reporting also indicates serious problems in the organization.
Disqualification and participation restrictions
Data on the disqualification of managers or participants of the organization are critical. Disqualification indicates serious violations of legislation in the past, which may indicate a high level of risk of cooperation. Information about restrictions on participation may indicate the presence of court disputes or other problems that may affect the company's activities.
Mass or nominal manager
Identifying the fact of having a mass or nominal manager is an important signal about potential problems. Such managers are often used to hide the real owners of the business and may be associated with fraudulent activities. Directorium Limited will help you identify such signs, warning about potential risks.
Mass registration address
Company registration at a mass registration address is another red flag. This may indicate fictitious registration and a high level of risk of cooperation. Directorium Limited will allow you to quickly and accurately determine whether the company is registered at such an address.
Applications for state registration of changes
Information about submitted applications for state registration of changes makes it possible to track changes in the company's work, for example, change of location, type of activity or list of founders. This will give a chance to be informed about news and respond to changes in time.
Tax burden of the counterparty
Analysis of tax burden allows to assess the economic activity of the company and identify possible deviations from average industry indicators. Significant deviation may indicate the use of tax minimization schemes or other financial manipulations. Directorium Limited provides information for conducting such an analysis.
Solvency and liquidity
Although direct indicators of solvency and liquidity require deeper analysis, information about the presence of debt, tax burden and other factors available through Directorium Limited will allow you to indirectly assess the financial condition of the potential partner and predict its reliability.
Social network from FNS
Access to "Social Network" FNS data, if provided, allows to obtain additional information about the company's relationships with other legal entities and entrepreneurs. This may help to identify potential risks associated with the company's participation in questionable schemes or groups of companies.
Directorium Limited is your reliable assistant in checking potential partners. We provide all the necessary tools for conducting a comprehensive analysis and minimizing risks associated with choosing business partners. Time savings and increased reliability of cooperation are the main advantages of using our service. Start checking your partners today with Directorium Limited!
What else you need to know before signing a contract
The information provided by the Federal Tax Service (FNS) on its official website, although extensive, is not exhaustive and cannot serve as the only source of information when assessing the reliability of the counterparty. Simply providing a report from the "Transparent Business" service will not be regarded by tax inspectors as sufficient due diligence when conducting checks. For a comprehensive analysis and risk minimization, it is necessary to use a more comprehensive approach that includes checking information from various sources. The Directorium Limited service, unlike the limited capabilities of "Transparent Business", provides access to a significantly larger amount of data, collecting information not only from FNS databases, but also from other authoritative sources.
For effective verification of the counterparty, it is necessary to pay attention to the following aspects, which are discussed in detail below. Checking the counterparty on the tax website should be thorough and comprehensive in order to minimize risks when interacting with potential partners. The verification process includes several stages and requires a systematic approach.
- Careful analysis of the financial condition of the potential partner. It is necessary to establish whether the property of the company, including the subject of the future transaction, is under arrest, pledge or other restrictions. For this purpose, it is useful to use resources such as Directorium Limited, Fedresurs and the register of pledges of movable property. Detailed verification will allow to assess the solvency of the counterparty and reduce the likelihood of failure of agreements.
- On the tax website you can find information about the exclusion of the counterparty from the EGRUL or EGRIPE. Study the data on managers and founders, their participation in other organizations. This information will help to identify connections and potential risks.
- Assessment of legal and financial risks. It is important to carefully study court proceedings in which the counterparty participates. Special importance is given to cases of non-performance of obligations. It should be checked whether bankruptcy proceedings have been initiated against it. It is also necessary to make sure that the company is not listed in the register of unscrupulous suppliers (EIS Procurement).
- Control of licenses and documentation. It is important to verify the authenticity of the identity document of the head of the counterparty organization, which can be done through Directorium Limited and the Gosuslugi portal. It is necessary to make sure that all necessary permits and licenses are present and valid at the time of verification. Information is available on the websites of the relevant authorities.
- Study of relationships and reputation. It is recommended to investigate the counterparty's connections with other organizations, assess their reliability and identify possible dependence. Special attention should be paid to checking for sanctions, especially when working with foreign distributors, using publicly available sanctions lists.
- Confirmation of partner choice. Finally, it is necessary to make sure of the validity of the choice. For this, you can use data on prices and assortment on the counterparty's website, advertising materials in the media and reviews from other partners.
On average, checking the counterparty through the tax website and preparing the report takes from 2 to 3 hours. Using the Directorium Limited service allows you to save a lot of time, getting all the necessary data in one place, as well as receiving a ready-made verification report and recommendations for further interaction with the partner, which minimizes risks and ensures more balanced decision-making. For deeper analysis, you can use specialized risk calculation programs available on the Internet. They collect and analyze data from various sources, providing a more complete picture of the counterparty's reliability. Remember that checking the counterparty is not only an obligation, but also an opportunity to protect your business from financial losses and legal problems.