Permanent representative office in the Russian Federation. Registration of representative offices of foreign companies for tax registration

A representative office is one of the divisions of a legal entity that is located outside its location, empowered to represent and protect the interests of the legal entity. A representative office, like a branch, does not belong to legal entities. The head of the legal entity appoints the head of the representative office in a certain state, who acts by proxy.

Representative offices are open for:

• .Efficiency of assistance in the implementation of various cooperation agreements in the following areas: trade, economics, finance, science and technology, transport, tourism and other areas, searching for opportunities for development, improving forms of cooperation, as well as the exchange of economic, commercial and scientific-technical experiments, simplification of trade and economic relations with Russian companies;
• .To provide assistance in business activities, assistance to domestic companies in the export of products, services, and works.

Foreign representative offices are created for the period necessary to implement the above goals, for a period of no more than three years, with the further possibility of extending the period of operation of the representative office if the organization applied for this action to the Tax Authority in time, if the tasks of the representative office have not been fully completed and it would be advisable to carry out these tasks, then the Representative Office is accredited for up to three years.

A branch also refers to a subdivision located outside the location of a legal entity, but the difference is that a branch performs the functions of a legal entity, which cannot be performed by a representative office.

A foreign representative office must be accredited on the territory of Russia.

A foreign representative office is accredited for a period of 1 to 3 years, and a branch - from 1 to 5 years.

The Branch Regulations must indicate the value of the capital contributed by the organization to the branch funds specified in the Branch Regulations.

The definition of “Representative Office” for tax purposes given by the Tax Code differs from the definition given by the Civil Code.

A permanent representative office is a kind of branch of a foreign organization, through which a foreign company conducts its activities on the territory of the Russian Federation - this is how a representative office is defined under tax legislation.

According to civil law, a representative office is a separate division of a legal entity created to represent its interests outside the place of registration of the legal entity.

The creation of branches of foreign companies, representative offices or other separate divisions does not yet create a permanent establishment for tax purposes. A permanent representative office for tax purposes will be created from the moment it begins to regularly conduct activities in Russia.

Unlike Registration of an LLC, or other type of legal entity. A foreign representative office or branch is accredited for a certain period by the Tax Authority. Until 2015, the accreditation of branches and representative offices was carried out by the Ministry of Justice - the State Registration Chamber. Next, after accreditation, you need to register with the Social Insurance Fund and open an account. Since 2017, the Tax Service has been administering the transfer of contributions to the Pension Fund and therefore there is no need to register with the Pension Fund.

After the accreditation period comes to an end, you will need to close your current accounts, deregister with the social insurance fund and deregister with the tax authority, but before that you need to pre-pay all tax debts on contributions to extra-budgetary funds.

In order to accredit a representative office or branch of a foreign company, you will need the following documents:

• An application containing a description of the purpose of the activity, where the foreign legal entity has indicated its intention to open its branch or representative office, and the application must also contain information about business partners;
• Documents from a foreign company (Charter, registration documents, extract from the trade register, if it is a bank, then you need a document authorizing you to engage in banking activities);

Registration documents from a foreign company (charter, extract from the register, if it is a bank - an extract from the bank register or a document authorizing this activity).

Permission from the authorized body of the country of registration to open (or obtain accreditation) a representative office or branch in Russia, if obtaining such permission is required by law.

The accreditation body may also request other documents about the functioning of the foreign company (letters of recommendation from the bank that services it, a tax certificate).

Documents imported from abroad must be certified by notaries or certified in accordance with the established procedure by a Russian consular office or with an apostille under the Hague Convention, with a notarized translation into Russian.

Representative offices of foreign companies act on behalf of the companies they represent or companies that have permission to open representative offices and branches.

If a representative office of a foreign company intends to use the labor of foreign citizens, it is necessary after the representative office is registered, first, to obtain permission to use foreign citizens and for the manager, second, after the permission, it is necessary to register each employee for work and obtain a work permit for each employee.

In order to open a branch or representative office of a foreign company, the foreign company must make a payment of 15,000 rubles. to the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Russia, the Tax Authority of the Russian Federation pays a state duty in the amount of 120,000 rubles.

For registration we prepare the following documents:

• The decision to create a representative office or branch;
• Application for registration;
• Regulations on the representative office, branch;
• Power of attorney from the Head of a foreign company to the head of a Representative Office or Branch;
• Power of attorney to represent interests in the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Tax Authority in the Social Insurance Fund.

The activities of a representative office or branch in Russia are terminated:

1. Expiration of the permit and if the company has not applied for an extension of the period of activity;
2. Liquidation of a company, closure of a company that has opened a representative office or branch in Russia;
3. Termination of an agreement concluded between the Russian Federation and a foreign state under which a representative office was opened, if this is provided for in such an agreement;
4. By decision of the accreditation body in case of violation of the legislation of the Russian Federation by the representative office or branch;
5. The decision of a foreign company.

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1) on what basis the activities of foreigners. company will not be considered regular? If a company provides services in the Russian Federation 6 days a year on an annual basis.
Aigerim

Regular activity will begin when you register a representative office in the Russian Federation and provide services on the territory of the Russian Federation on your own behalf

2) I agree with the Convention between the Russian Federation and Great Britain, the provision of services through an independent agent in the Russian Federation does not lead to the formation of a permanent establishment. in this case, how will the invoices be issued (agent or our company). Is it necessary to register such an agreement and submit any reports to the state? Russian authorities?
Aigerim

The invoices will be issued by the agent, in accordance with your agency agreement, there is no need to register the agreement, and you don’t need to submit reports either (you don’t need to, but the agent does, based on his tax system)

3) according to paragraph 6 of Article 306 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, the activities of foreigners. company under a simple partnership agreement does not lead to the formation of a permanent establishment. in this case, how will the invoices be issued (the second party to the contract or our company). Is it necessary to register such an agreement and submit any reports to the state? Russian authorities?
Aigerim

In this case - as you agree with your partner - so it will be

Article 1044. Conducting common affairs of comrades
1. When conducting common affairs, each partner has the right to act on behalf of all partners, unless the simple partnership agreement establishes that the business is carried out by individual participants or jointly by all participants in the simple partnership agreement.
When conducting business together, each transaction requires the consent of all partners.
2. In relations with third parties, the authority of a partner to make transactions on behalf of all partners is certified by a power of attorney issued to him by the other partners, or by a simple partnership agreement concluded in writing.
3. In relations with third parties, partners cannot refer to restrictions on the rights of the partner who made the transaction to conduct the common affairs of the partners, unless they prove that at the time of concluding the transaction the third party knew or should have known about the existence of such restrictions.
4. A partner who has made transactions on behalf of all partners in respect of which his right to conduct the common affairs of his partners was limited, or who has entered into transactions in the interests of all partners on his own behalf, may demand compensation for expenses incurred by him at his own expense, if there were sufficient grounds to believe that these transactions were necessary in the interests of all comrades. Partners who have suffered losses as a result of such transactions have the right to demand compensation.
5. Decisions concerning the common affairs of the partners are made by the partners by general agreement, unless otherwise provided by the simple partnership agreement.

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Hello dear Aigerim!

From the letter of the RUSSIAN MINISTRY OF FINANCE dated June 24, 2008 - No. 03-08-05

If the activities of a Swedish company on the territory of the Russian Federation lead to the formation of a permanent representative office for tax purposes in the Russian Federation, then such company, on the basis of Article 7 “Profits from business activities” of the Convention between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Kingdom of Sweden for the avoidance of double taxation in relation to taxes on income dated June 15, 1993, as well as articles 246 and 307 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as the Code) will be an independent payer of income tax in the Russian Federation.
The criteria and signs of the presence of a “permanent establishment” are established by the provisions of Article 306 of the Code. In addition, when determining the presence of a permanent establishment, one should be guided by the provisions of the relevant international treaty on the avoidance of double taxation, the provisions of which, in accordance with Russian tax legislation, are priority. International treaties establish a set of signs of permanent representative office, namely: the presence of a place of activity, conducting business activities and the regular nature of such activities. The criterion of “regular activity” is determined based on an analysis of the actual implementation of the activities of the foreign organization itself or other organizations or individuals in favor of the foreign organization in each specific case (based on clause 2.2.1 of the Methodological recommendations to tax authorities on the application of certain provisions of 25 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation concerning the specifics of taxation of profits (income) of foreign organizations, approved by order of the Ministry of Taxes of Russia dated March 28, 2003 No. BG-3-23/150).
In addition, in accordance with subsection 2.1 of the Regulations on the peculiarities of accounting by tax authorities of foreign organizations, approved by order of the Ministry of Taxes of Russia dated 04/07/2000 No. AP-3-06/124 (hereinafter referred to as the Regulations), Foreign organizations that carry out or intend to carry out activities in the Russian Federation through separate divisions for a period exceeding 30 calendar days a year (continuously or in aggregate) are registered with the tax authorities.
Moreover, according to the Regulations, foreign organizations are required to register with the tax authority, regardless of the presence of circumstances with which the legislation of the Russian Federation on taxes and fees and international treaties of the Russian Federation link the emergence of an obligation to pay taxes.

Thus, if the activity is carried out 6 days a year, it cannot be considered regular, in which case the company will not be a payer of income tax in the Russian Federation

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Hello.

On what basis are the activities of foreigners? company will not be considered regular? If a company provides services in the Russian Federation 6 days a year on an annual basis.

A permanent representative office of a foreign organization is considered established from the beginning of regular business activities in Russia through its branch. At the same time, the activity of creating a branch in itself does not create a permanent representative office (paragraph 1, paragraph 3, article 306 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

The moment of establishment of a permanent representative office will be recognized as the first day of carrying out business activities in Russia through this representative office.
From the above rule there are two exceptions.
The first concerns the moment of creation of a permanent representative office by a foreign organization that conducts activities related to the use of subsoil and (or) the use of other natural resources.
In this case, the permanent representative office is considered established from the earlier of the following dates (paragraph 2, paragraph 3, article 306 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation):
- the date of entry into force of the license (permit) for the right to carry out the relevant activity;
- the date of actual commencement of such activities.
The second exception affects foreign organizations operating at a construction site.
The beginning of the operation of the construction site is considered to be the earlier of the following dates (clause 3 of Article 308 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation):
- the date of signing the act on the transfer of the site to the contractor (the act on the admission of the subcontractor’s personnel to perform its part of the total scope of work);
- date of actual start of work.

Based on judicial practice, the issue is controversial. Indeed, earlier (2008-2010) 6 days of activity could not be considered a permanent establishment.

in accordance with subsection 2.1 of the Regulations on the peculiarities of registration with the tax authorities of foreign organizations, approved by order of the Ministry of Taxes of Russia dated 04/07/2000 No. AP-3-06/124 (hereinafter referred to as the Regulations), foreign organizations that carry out or intend to carry out activities in the Russian Federation through separate divisions for a period exceeding 30 calendar days a year... Maxim Lobanov

The provision was repealed in 2010.

I agree with the Convention between the Russian Federation and Great Britain, the provision of services through an independent agent in the Russian Federation does not lead to the formation of a permanent establishment. in this case, how will the invoices be issued (agent or our company). Is it necessary to register such an agreement and submit any reports to the state? Russian authorities?

Here I agree with the opinion of my colleagues - it all depends on the amount of the transaction.
In this case, regarding the transaction passport, the following activities should be taken into account:

In accordance with paragraphs. 5.1.1 and 5.1.3 clause 5.1 of Bank of Russia Instruction No. 138-I dated June 4, 2012 “On the procedure for residents and non-residents to submit documents and information related to currency transactions to authorized banks, the procedure for issuing transaction passports, as well as the procedure for accounting by authorized banks of foreign exchange transactions and control over their implementation" requirements for the execution of a PS apply to agreements (contracts, agreements) concluded between residents and non-residents and providing for the export from the territory of the Russian Federation or import into the territory of the Russian Federation of goods (with the exception of the export ( import) of securities in documentary form), as well as contracts concluded between these persons, providing for the performance of work, provision of services, transfer of information and results of intellectual activity, including exclusive rights to them.
Thus, the main qualifying criteria for classifying contracts as requiring registration of a contract are:
- in relation to supply contracts - the conclusion of an agreement between a resident and a non-resident, as well as the cross-border movement of the supplied goods;
- in relation to other contracts for the performance of work - the conclusion of an agreement between a resident and a non-resident (regardless of the location of the work).
By virtue of clause 5.2 of the Instructions, the mandatory subsidiary criterion for the corresponding contract when drawing up a PS is the excess of the amount of obligations under the contract by 50,000 US dollars.

According to paragraph 6 of Article 306 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, the activities of foreigners. company under a simple partnership agreement does not lead to the formation of a permanent establishment. in this case, how will the invoices be issued (the second party to the contract or our company). Is it necessary to register such an agreement and submit any reports to the state? Russian authorities?

According to paragraph 6 of Art. 306 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, the fact of a foreign organization concluding a simple partnership agreement (an agreement for joint activities carried out on the territory of the Russian Federation) does not in itself lead to the formation of a permanent representative office.

As I understand, you want to avoid the formation of a permanent establishment in the Russian Federation and, accordingly, do not want to pay income tax in the Russian Federation.

Aigerim, in my opinion, the provision of services by a foreign company for 6 days a year does not lead to the formation of a permanent establishment for the following reasons:

1) If we turn to the Double Taxation Agreement between the UK and Russia, then Article 5 of this Agreement states that the expression “permanent establishment” means a permanent place of business through which the activities of the enterprise are carried out in whole or in part.
Moreover, the concept of “permanent establishment” includes: place of management, department, office, factory, workshop, etc.
That is, according to the logic of the Agreement, a permanent unit is understood to be a permanent activity. There is no phrase “regular activity” in the Agreement between the World Bank and the Russian Federation at all!

2) Article 306 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation states that a permanent representative office of a foreign organization is any place of activity of the organization through which the organization regularly carries out business activities on the territory of the Russian Federation.

Based on Art. 2 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, entrepreneurial activity is understood as activity independently carried out at one’s own risk, aimed at systematically generating profit.

It should be understood that the moment of formation of a permanent representative office is not the date of registration with the state. authorities, and the date of commencement of regular business activities.

The Tax Code of the Russian Federation does not describe what “regularly carried out entrepreneurial activity” means.

Until 2011 It was determined that if the activities of a foreign organization on the territory of the Russian Federation last less than 30 days a year, then a permanent representative office is not formed.

But since 2011 There is no such clear classification due to the cancellation of the Order of the Ministry of Science of the Russian Federation dated April 7, 2000. No. AP-3-06/124.

Therefore, now we need to be guided only by the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

Article 83 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation states that a company is subject to tax registration at the location of its separate division. According to Article 11, a separate unit is formed only where stationary workplaces are equipped. If employees of a foreign organization come on a business trip, then this is not considered a permanent location.

Aigerim, based on the description of the situation, employees of a foreign organization come to the territory of the Russian Federation for 6 days a year. Since it is not indicated otherwise, they come on a business trip, and the business trip of foreign specialists definitely does not lead to the creation of regular activities on the territory of the Russian Federation. Accordingly, it does not lead to the formation of a permanent representative office in the Russian Federation.

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Social interaction is a complex and structured process that arises, develops and is implemented directly between people. However, it is not chaotic. The bottom line is that social interaction is a legal relationship emanating from legislation. They exist within the framework of existing regulations of various industry and target orientations. In addition, legal relations appear almost constantly. Any human action can give rise to them. Take, for example, a banal purchase in a supermarket. Many people do not know that even this minor action constitutes a classic purchase and sale agreement. But there are legal relations of a more complex, qualified nature. They arise on the basis of specific ones and concern only certain subjects. Similar legal relationships are found in all industries today. One of these interactions can be called representation. This institution is found in many branches of law, but is most developed in civil law. Therefore, we will consider the concept of representation, types of representation and other aspects of this legal structure, taking into account all the theoretical developments in this area.

Differentiation of terms

In the Russian language there are concepts that have several meanings. Representation is one of them. The term is widely used today both in the legal and economic-political spheres. In the first case, a specific legal relationship in connection with which one person gives authority to another to act on his behalf is a legal relationship, representation. Representative offices of legal entities are a completely different institution. The interaction of individuals in terms of delegation of their powers is extremely popular today, as will be discussed later in the article. In the second case, a representative office can be called a part of a legal entity that is located at a distance from it. Formation of this kind represents the interests of the title authority. Thus, in both cases, the category has its own structure, characteristics and subjects who implement it.

The essence of the legal relationship

To begin with, it is necessary to understand the features of representation, which relates directly to the legal sphere. As stated earlier, the category represents a legal relationship between subjects in which one transfers its powers to another. may occur on the basis of a contract or the norms of current legislation. In some cases, representation is conditional on the factual situation of the parties. For example, the seller is authorized to represent the interests of his enterprise. The institute is most developed in the civil branch of law. However, there are similar legal relations in other legal fields, namely: criminal, international, etc. The civil branch of law has quite fully developed the entire structure of the institution, so it must be considered in the context of civil law.

Civil representation

In the civil law of the Russian Federation, representation is the process of making a transaction by a person on behalf of another. The basis of such activities is the actual transfer of powers. It should be noted that representation depends on the legal basis. That is, in civil law the delegation of powers does not happen just like that. A special regulatory act is needed.

Legal basis of representation

The concept of representation, types of representation are all interconnected categories. But their study is possible only in the presence of certain regulations, which are the basis of the institute. The existence of a representative office is thus possible on the basis of:

In addition to the legal basis, the presented documents allow us to classify the representative office as a civil legal institution.

Parties to the legal relationship

Any interaction occurs between people or other persons. That is, in all cases there are certain aspects of the legal relationship. These persons are also given responsibilities. They bear legal responsibility for their actions, the implementation of which is of a certain interest to them. Thus, we can talk about the presence of parties to representation. In the theory of civil law, it is customary to distinguish two main aspects of the mentioned legal relationship:

• represented;
• representative

It should be noted that the parties to the legal relationship can be both individuals and legal entities. However, there are certain limits for representatives. According to the law, they can only be fully capable persons. Otherwise, legal relations simply will not arise.

Classification of legal relations

So, we found out that representation is a specific interaction between two persons, based on some legal fact. It is thanks to the last category that the mentioned legal relationship can be classified. The point is that representation can arise from completely different legal facts. Thus, the following types of legal relations can be distinguished, namely:

• contractual representation;
• representation under the law.

The legal relations of these two types are fundamentally different from each other. Contractual representation is a mutual agreement between two persons to transfer certain powers from one of them to the other. The key document of such a legal relationship is the power of attorney. Features of the conclusion and form of the agreement are fixed in the current

This kind of representation is often called voluntary, because the parties enter into an agreement based on their beliefs. That is, their interests are realized, first of all.

A completely different legal construct is representation by law. It is, firstly, mandatory, and, secondly, it realizes the interests of not only the parties, but also the state. Legal representation arises from the norms in force today, the provisions of official legal acts.

For example, the Civil Code states that adoptive parents, guardians and parents are representatives of children who have not yet reached the age of 14 years. Thus, the represented people can carry out certain transactions, as well as other legal actions, on behalf of minors.

Of course, there are other types of classification of the legal relationship mentioned in the article. For example, representation can be divided according to branches of the legal system of the Russian Federation. In other words, the institution of representation exists not only in civil law, but also in criminal procedure, etc.

Category frames

Many people mistakenly think that the powers of a person representing another person are not limited in any way, but this is far from the case. The scope of any legal relationship is always regulated by law or contract. In this case, the representative directly acts on behalf of a person only on the basis of the powers given to him. It should be noted that it is quite rare to find legal relations where one party is endowed with unlimited freedom. As a rule, representatives operate within strict legal frameworks, which they are obliged not to violate. Otherwise, the represented person may make claims regarding actions taken on his behalf.

A Different View of Representation

Many scientific terms can be used in several related fields of knowledge. The concept of representation and types of representation were mentioned in our article as elements of the legal relationship between various persons. However, this term also characterizes the organizational form of some objects. In this case, we mean branches and representative offices of legal entities. The point is that the term in this context does not represent a relationship or interaction between individuals, but an existing division of an organization. In other words, the concept characterizes a really functioning structure.

Category Features

They exist and carry out their activities on the basis of internal official acts of the organization and the norms of current legislation. In addition, there are a number of features that characterize representation of this kind.

1. Branches are located outside the territorial location of the main legal entity.
2. Representative offices are endowed with certain property rights.
3. They operate on the basis of their own regulations.
4. Branches represent the interests of legal entities.
5. The representative office operates on the basis of a power of attorney, which details its powers in the process of implementing certain tasks.

Such separate structures allow organizations to more effectively spread their influence and operate in a particular area. It should be noted that representations can be both frequent and state. Everything in this case will depend on the title legal entity that directly created the branch. An example of one of these organizations is the Moscow representative office of MNIPI, the National Tourism Organization of Korea, etc. These organizations operate on the basis of powers of attorney, as autonomous divisions. The Moscow representative office of each of the represented companies is not uniform in the Russian Federation. There are also other similar divisions.

Representation of foreign organizations

Today, the Russian Federation is an active participant in the international economic arena. The open market became available after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation gained independence. This factor influenced the growth of interest in Russia as a subject of international trade on the part of foreign organizations. Today, the territory of our state is filled with branches of various companies that actually belong to other countries.

But in this case, it should be noted that a permanent representative office of a foreign company can operate on the territory of the Russian Federation only if it is registered with the relevant official bodies. This process is called accreditation. Confirmation of the organization’s activities can be carried out in various bodies. In this case, everything will depend on the scope of his immediate activity. For example, any kind of credit organizations are registered with the Central Bank of Russia, the media - with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, airlines - with the Federal Aviation Service, etc. Thus, without exception, all representative offices of foreign companies or legal entities of a different organizational form are held in mandatory state registration. Only after this procedure their activities become legal.

International representation

It should be noted that the state is a kind of organization that combines in its structure various elements, a large number of people, and also owns extensive resource reserves. In the process of political, economic and other types of interaction with other powers, any country acts through its representative offices. This type combines both legal and organizational aspects. The representation of the Russian Federation in the international arena is carried out with the help of unique “branches” that act on behalf of the state.

The concept of consular-type missions

Consular missions are special bodies that operate on the territory of foreign states. The titular state delegates to them a certain amount of powers. As a rule, consular missions perform more practical functions than embassies. In other words, they strengthen relationships with local authorities of a particular territory, are engaged in servicing individuals, issuing passports, visas, notarial documents, etc. Thus, consulates are, in fact, a representative office of the government of a power or a foreign body of practical character.

Conclusion

So, we tried to consider in this article the concept of representation, types of representation. But research into this category is carried out by scientists from various fields of knowledge to this day. The main issue is the distinction between the practical and legal aspects of representation. Perhaps in the future, scientists will come to a consensus about all the existing features of the category presented in the article.

You will need

• - a power of attorney in the name of the person who will directly carry out all formalities;
• - an application for opening a representative office with a translation into Russian or in Russian, if you speak it well enough;
• - the charter of your company or a document equivalent to it according to the laws of your country, notarized translated into Russian;
• - a document on state registration of your company with a notarized translation into Russian;
• - the company’s decision to open a representative office on the territory of the Russian Federation, certified by the signature of its first person and seal and translated into Russian;
• - Regulations on the representative office of the company with translation into Russian;
• - bank statement on the solvency of the company with translation into Russian;
• - letters of recommendation from Russian business partners;
• - a document confirming the legal address of the representative office (a letter of guarantee or a lease agreement and a copy of the certificate of ownership of the premises or a copy of your certificate of ownership if the office belongs to your company.

Instructions

Start working on opening a representative office by finding an office for it. The future legal address must be reflected in the decision to open a representative office. The easiest way is if you own commercial real estate in Russia. Otherwise, you will need a letter of guarantee from the owner or a lease agreement. Any of these documents must be accompanied by a copy of the certificate of ownership of the premises you are renting or intend to rent.

Contact the Registration Chamber of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation in any convenient way. In a number of cases, representative offices of foreign companies in Russia are registered by other organizations. The list of them is too extensive, so it would be better to contact the Ministry of Justice for advice on what to do in your situation. In addition, even if you register a representative office through another organization, for example, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, after registering for tax purposes, it is still advisable to obtain accreditation from this agency, especially if you plan to send citizens of your country to Russia to work in the representative office. Otherwise, it will be more difficult for them to resolve visa issues.

Prepare a decision on opening a representative office in accordance with the legislation of your country, indicate in it the purposes for which you are opening it, for what period (according to Russian laws, up to three years with the possibility of extension) and at what address.

Write an application addressed to the Registration Chamber of the Ministry of Justice or another body, depending on your situation. Be sure to include the name of your company, the date of its foundation, address in the country of residence, types of activities, position and name of the first person or the name and composition of other management bodies in accordance with your Charter, the purpose of opening a representative office, information with whom and how cooperate in Russia and what plans do you have regarding the development of this cooperation. The more convincing the arguments in the application, the greater the chances of a positive decision. If you do not speak Russian well enough, prepare the document in your native language.

Develop the Regulations on the representative office in the Russian Federation in accordance with the Charter of your company and the legislation of the country of its residence. Reflect in this document the goals of creating the representative office, its functions, powers, and future address.

Take from your bank documents confirming the solvency of the company: a statement of the account balance or the history of the movement of funds in the account for a period of six months.

Prepare a power of attorney for the person who will handle all formalities in Russia. In it, reflect his first and last name, position, if this is your employee, passport and Russian visa data, if relevant (for citizens of the Russian Federation - internal passport data and registration address) and what exactly you trust him with: to represent the interests of your company when registering its representative office in the Russian Federation, interact with government and commercial organizations on this issue and sign the necessary documents.

Translate all necessary documents into Russian. Russian official organizations only accept translations certified by a notary. You can receive such a translation at the nearest Russian consulate or use the services of any Russian translation agency.

Submit the entire package of documents to your representative, who will deal with formalities in Russia. In case of a positive decision, he will register the representative office for tax purposes. To do this, he needs to write an application in the prescribed form and contact the tax office servicing the legal address of the representative office with all the documents that he receives from the registration authority. And then, if necessary, with the same sets of documents and all the papers that will be received at the tax office - to the Registration Chamber of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation for accreditation.

When planning to enter the Russian market, foreign companies are considering various options for resolving the issue of presence on the territory of the Russian Federation. When choosing a way to organize its presence in Russia, a foreign company must carefully consider the advantages and disadvantages of each, based on the goals, objectives and needs of its business. This could be, or accreditation of a representative office of a foreign company, the advantages and features of which we will describe in this article.

Features of the work of a representative office of a foreign company in Russia

The main features of representative offices of foreign companies in Russia:

1. Representative offices are not independent legal entities, i.e. cannot act as an independent party to a contract, cannot be a defendant or plaintiff in court;
2. Representative offices do not have the right to carry out commercial activities in Russia. The main tasks of representative offices of foreign companies are business development in the Russian Federation and representation of the company’s interests in Russia. Thus, the representative office has the right to search for business partners, conduct marketing research, represent the company at various events, etc.

Advantages of a representative office and working through it

Working through a representative office of a foreign company in Russia, in addition to its own characteristics, has a number of advantages, which we will now briefly consider:

• Firstly, these are VAT benefits.

A representative office can enjoy VAT benefits in terms of renting premises, of course, if such benefits are enshrined in international treaties.

• Secondly, simplified accounting requirements.

A representative office is not exempt from the requirement to maintain accounting records, but they are not maintained in full. Maintaining accounting records in a representative office is determined by the need to calculate its tax liabilities.

• Thirdly, the representative office is exempt from some customs duties

Imported property of a foreign company necessary for the functioning of the representative office is exempt from customs duties for the period of accreditation of the representative office. Such property may include cars, office equipment, etc.

• Fourthly, it facilitates the registration of foreign employees

The representative office is exempt from the need to obtain a work permit for accredited foreign employees. Registering a representative office of a foreign company can be a very profitable solution for your company.

If a dear reader needs help and needs professional assistance in accrediting a representative office of a foreign company in Russia, IMPEX CONSULT specialists will be happy to help! Order services for accreditation of representative offices of foreign companies in Russia.

All the advantages described above are designed to facilitate the activities of a foreign company in Russia. If the goal of organizing a presence on the territory of the Russian Federation can be achieved by opening a representative office of a foreign company in Russia, then its accreditation will be the right decision.

Find out details about the activities of representative offices of foreign companies in Russia and the accreditation procedure.