How long should primary accounting documentation be kept? Storage periods for accounting documents

This question is asked by all entrepreneurs, without exception, who have recently opened an enterprise and have not understood the intricacies of the system. So how long to keep LLC documents, a year, two or more? You can understand this issue in detail by reading Federal Law No. 125-FZ “On Archiving in the Russian Federation” point by point.

The storage periods for accounting documents vary. What can be said by combining all the subpoints? Accounting documents must be kept in an LLC at least as long as there is a possibility that a tax audit may require them. According to Article 89 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, inspection is subject to a period not exceeding three years preceding the decision to conduct this inspection. That is, we store it for exactly three years, and then the fun begins.

Article 23 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, subclause 8 of clause 1, clearly informs us that tax payers are required to keep documentation confirming the accrual of taxes for four years and no less. That's it, gentlemen. Not for three years, but for four, we have been carefully storing accounting documentation and making sure that not a single piece of paper is lost.

What specific documents do we give preference to and keep as the apple of our eye?

• tax accounting data;
• documents confirming income;
• documentary evidence of expenses;
• proof of tax withholding;

Accounting also confirms the rules for storing primary documentation. According to the order “On Accounting” No. 129-FZ, financial statements should be stored as specified in the rules of state archival affairs. But no less than five years after the last time financial statements were compiled for them.

What happens? And the fact is that you are obliged to store documents strictly for the period during which the tax service may request them for verification. That is three years. If, as a result of the inspection, you do not have documents that are five years old, you may be fined for improper storage of documentation and nothing more.

But not everything is so simple and transparent in the accounting and tax jungle. There is documentation that should be stored much longer than the periods that we just discussed. What are these documents?

1. Primary documents for the acquisition of property. We save these documents for as long as necessary. What is it for. First, depreciation. Secondly, when selling property, you need to get confirmation of its initial value somewhere7 and don’t forget about property tax.
2. Fixed assets. For unprofitable companies, Article 283 of the Tax Code provides for a rule for reducing the tax base of the current period due to losses of the previous tax period. Naturally, the documentation should confirm this. Losses can be taken into account for ten subsequent years, which means that the documents must be in proper order (Article 283, paragraph 4). Tax inspectors have the right to request primary documents confirming the financial result to confirm the data on losses specified in the submitted declaration.
3. For rural enterprises working with a single agricultural tax, it is also necessary to store documents on losses during the entire period of their write-off. Article 346.6 paragraph 5 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.
4. For persons working under the so-called “simplified” system, unified social tax. Article 346.18 paragraph 7 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.
5. To write off bad receivables, it is also necessary to have supporting primary documents for the tax service. Destruction of supporting documents deprives the company of the right to recognize a bad debt as an expense, because there will be nothing to confirm the amount.
6. We won’t dwell too much on joint-stock companies, since the question was still raised about how long it is necessary to store the documents of an LLC, and not an OJSC. So, to put it briefly, you need to keep documents for tax reporting in an OJSC - annual financial statements, as well as the charter, as long as the company exists. If a company goes into liquidation, the documents are sent to the state archive. An agreement concluded with the archive in advance for this procedure is required. If there was no such agreement, only the document on the company’s personnel gets into the archive. Where the remaining documents will be stored will have to be decided by the chairman of the liquidation commission, or maybe the bankruptcy trustee.
7. The company is required to keep annual tax reports for at least 10 years. quarterly - five years, this is in the presence of annual ones.
8. If there are no quarterly reports, monthly reports are also stored for at least five years.
9. Purchase and sales books and invoices should be kept for a full five years from the date of the last entry in the journal. Clause 15.27 of the “Rules for Maintaining Accounting Logs”. In the List of Standard Management Documents there is an item regarding invoices, and it says that these same invoices should be stored for five years, period.

Again, tax authorities during audits must be guided by the legislation on taxes and fees. But the List is not included there.

Let's conclude: How long should LLC documents be kept? It turns out that no less than five years, and in terms of fixed assets, generally throughout the entire existence of the company. The storage period for documents must be calculated from the first of January following the year in which they were created.

How to store paper documents?

The accounting policy of the enterprise must state how and where documentation should be stored, and also appoint a person responsible for the implementation of this item or even a commission consisting of the most qualified employees.

By the way, it is not necessary to store documentation in the office. The law does not prohibit choosing other places for storage, for example, specialized archiving companies. But a joint stock company is required by law to store documents such as annual reports and articles of association exactly where the head office is located. By the way, storing documentation in electronic form is permitted by law with the small caveat that the documents will necessarily contain an electronic signature of the person responsible for drawing up the document. To store documentation in electronic form, the company creates a corporate information system. It is served by a certification center, which ensures the use of electronic signatures in electronic documents.

Documents that are subject to long-term storage will deteriorate and fade over time. To ensure that their contents are readable, those responsible for storage must take care and make copies in a timely manner.

When a company is liquidated, documents subject to long-term storage are handed over to the archives. If the company is reorganized, the documents are transferred to the successor organization. When a new company is spun off, it receives the personal files of the employees who transferred to the new structure and documents related to the scope of the new company.

Destruction of documents. To destroy a document, you must first draw up an act, which will be signed by the head of the company, and only then can you proceed directly to the destruction of documents. Moreover, in the act it is not necessary to carefully rewrite each of the papers going for destruction. It is enough to rewrite the names of homogeneous groups. What is considered homogeneous groups should be thought out independently. For example, invoices can be considered homogeneous documents and so on.

How to properly destroy documents?

Just burn it? The answer is incorrect. In this case, you may well have problems with environmental services.
Should I recycle it as waste paper? The option is good, but there is no guarantee that the documents will not end up with a competing company, which is not good. To prevent this from happening, folders with documents should be submitted for disposal with an invoice. Moreover, the removal of documents should be carried out under the supervision of a company employee responsible for storing documentation.

It is also impossible to simply throw it away because, by law, the employer is obliged to keep the personal data of employees secret.

What's left? The best thing to do is to use a special paper shredding machine. In general, it’s up to you to decide how you will get rid of unnecessary papers.

To avoid the desire to lighten your documentary archive ahead of schedule, I will add that the absence of accounting registers or invoices for the tax period is considered a gross violation and is punishable by a fine of five thousand rubles.

And this is if there are missing documents for one tax period. In more severe cases, the fine will no longer be 5,000, but 15,000 rubles.

If the tax base is understated by losing documents confirming income, the taxpayer will pay a fine in the amount of 10 percent of the amount of unpaid tax and no less than the same 15,000 rubles.
By the way, the criminal law also has clauses regarding ensuring the safety of accounting documents. If it is proven that documents were damaged for personal reasons, the person involved could be jailed for at least a year. If you want to get acquainted with this paragraph in more detail, see Article 352, paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Also keep in mind that representatives of archival authorities have the right to check the proper storage of archival documentation in your organization. And here you, according to Article 13.20 of the Code of the Russian Federation on violations of the rules of storage, accounting and acquisition, as well as the use of archival documents, can be punished with a fine of 300 to 500 rubles or an administrative punishment.

The director of the company is responsible for creating places for storing documents and, in particular, archiving, and the chief accountant must preserve these same documents in an organized manner and correctly transfer them to the archive.

E.V. Whiteman Expert of the Russian Tax Courier magazine, with the participation of specialists from the Federal Tax Service of Russia
Magazine "Russian Tax Courier", No. 6 for 2009

All business transactions carried out by any organization must be documented with supporting documents. They are primary accounting documents and serve as the basis for accounting. This is stated in paragraph 1 of Article 9 of Federal Law No. 129-FZ of November 21, 1996 (hereinafter referred to as Law No. 129-FZ). In addition, these same documents are used to calculate and pay taxes and fees. Often the archive of documents for the entire period of a company’s activity is so voluminous that there is no place to place new documents. This means that you need to figure out how long you need to store certain documents. Perhaps it's time to destroy some of them

Accounting documents

The general storage periods for primary accounting documents, accounting registers and financial statements are established in Article 17 of Law No. 129-FZ. It states that the organization must store these documents for at least five years. To determine the storage periods for specific types of documents, it is necessary to be guided by the List of standard management documents generated in the activities of organizations, indicating storage periods, approved by the Federal Archive on October 6, 2000 (hereinafter referred to as the List). Information on the most common types of documents is presented in the table below.

Please note: the deadlines established in the List must be counted not from the date of preparation of the document, but from January 1 of the following year. This is written in paragraph 2.9 of the Instructions for the use of the List, approved by Rosarkhiv on October 6, 2000 (hereinafter referred to as the Instructions). For example, the calculation of the storage period for cases completed in 2008 begins on January 1, 2009.

Moreover, the organization, taking into account the specifics of its activities, has the right to increase the duration of document storage compared to the period established in the List (clause 2.11 of the Instructions). Such a decision is formalized by order of the head of the company or enshrined in its accounting policies.

Tax returns and documents for tax calculations

The periods during which an organization is required to maintain tax reporting are established in paragraph 170 of the List. Thus, annual tax returns must be kept for at least ten years, quarterly tax returns for at least five years, and monthly tax returns for at least one year. If there is no annual reporting (for example, for VAT), quarterly and monthly tax returns must be kept for at least ten years. Monthly reporting in the absence of quarterly reporting should be retained for at least five years.

The storage periods for documents on the basis of which an organization calculates taxes and fees are not clearly stated anywhere. Only subparagraph 8 of paragraph 1 of Article 23 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation states that taxpayers are obliged to ensure the safety of documents necessary for the calculation and payment of taxes for four years. These documents, in particular, include accounting and tax accounting data, as well as other documents confirming the receipt of income, expenses, payment and withholding of taxes.

A similar requirement is established in subparagraph 5 of paragraph 3 of Article 24 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation for tax agents. For four years, they must ensure the safety of documents necessary for the calculation, withholding and transfer of taxes.

From what date is this four-year period calculated? The Russian Ministry of Finance believes that the specified period begins after the reporting (tax) period in which the document was last used for preparing tax reports, calculating and paying taxes, confirming income received and expenses incurred (letter dated October 18, 2005 No. 03-03- 04/2/83).

note

For joint stock companies - special rules

The periods during which joint-stock companies must store their documents are established in the Regulations on the procedure and periods for storing documents of joint-stock companies, approved by Resolution of the Federal Commission for the Securities Market of Russia dated July 16, 2003 No. 03-33/ps. Thus, they are required to keep annual financial statements permanently, that is, for the entire life of the organization. Permanent storage documents also include:

• documents on the creation and reorganization of the company;
• the charter of the company, amendments and additions made to it;
• certificate of state registration of the company;
• decisions on the issue of securities, prospectuses for the issue of securities;
• minutes of general meetings of shareholders;
• minutes of meetings of the board of directors (supervisory board);
• lists of affiliated persons of the company;
• regulations on branches and representative offices of the company;
• minutes of meetings of the board (directorate) of the company, decisions of the director (general director, president) of the company;
• voting papers;
• conclusions of the audit commission (auditor) of the company, etc.

Let's say a joint stock company is being liquidated. If he has an agreement with the institution of the Russian Archive, he transfers documents for a permanent storage period and regarding personnel to the state archive.

If there is no contractual relationship with the archive, the state archive is obliged to accept for storage only documents on the personnel of the company’s employees. The place of storage of other documents is determined by the chairman of the liquidation commission or the bankruptcy trustee.

If a joint stock company ceases to operate as a result of a reorganization, the originals of its documents can be transferred only to one of the newly created companies (as a rule, the company with the highest net asset value)

The tax base and tax amount are determined at the end of the tax period (Clause 1, Article 55 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). For most taxes, this period is the calendar year. The exception is VAT, the tax period for which is quarter. Thus, the storage period for documents necessary for the calculation and payment of taxes must be counted from the day following the end of the tax period.

Example 1

Giatsint LLC was registered in April 2004. The organization applies a general taxation system.

The four-year period during which Giatsint LLC must store documents related to calculations of income tax, unified social tax, and corporate property tax for 2004 is the period from January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2008. Accordingly, the organization will be required to retain the documents used to calculate these taxes for 2005 until December 31, 2009.

The working chart of accounts, other accounting policy documents, as well as computer data processing programs should be stored for at least five years after the year in which they were last used to prepare financial statements (clause 2 of Article 17 of Law No. 129-FZ)

Until 2008, the VAT tax period was established as a calendar month, and for certain categories of taxpayers - as a quarter (Article 163 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation)

Taxpayers are required to submit to the tax authorities and their officials the documents necessary for the calculation and payment of taxes (subclause 6, clause 1, article 23 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation)

Tax agents are required to submit to the tax authority at the place of their registration the documents necessary to monitor the correctness of calculation, withholding and transfer of taxes (subclause 4, clause 3, article 24 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation)

A loss identified at the end of 2001 (before the entry into force of Chapter 25 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation) can be carried forward to the future in an amount not exceeding the amount of loss recorded as of July 1, 2001 (clause 4 of article 10 of the Federal Law of 06.08 .2001 No. 110-FZ)

At the same time, as part of an on-site tax audit, a period not exceeding three calendar years preceding the year in which the decision to conduct the audit was made (clause 4 of Article 89 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation) can be checked. For example, a tax audit scheduled for December 31, 2008 may cover the years 2005-2007 and last for a maximum of six months in 2009. This means that during the entire audit period, the organization is obliged to preserve documents related to tax calculations for the audited period. But she is already obliged to do this according to Law No. 129-FZ. After all, the basis for calculating taxes, as a rule, are the same primary accounting documents that are used to reflect transactions in accounting. The minimum storage period for such documents is five years (Clause 1, Article 17 of Law No. 129-FZ). It turns out that, according to the legislation on accounting, during the current year the organization is obliged to store documents related to tax calculations and for those periods that the tax authorities can no longer verify.

The storage period for purchase books and sales books is specifically stipulated. It is established in paragraphs 15 and 27 of the Rules for maintaining logs of received and issued invoices, purchase books and sales books when calculating value added tax, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated December 2, 2000 No. 914. Its minimum duration is five full years from the date of the last entry in the specified documents.

We also note that according to paragraph 150 of the List, the organization must store issued and received invoices for at least five years. However, if during a tax or other audit a disagreement arises with the inspectors, then the invoices must be kept until a final decision is made based on the results of this audit.

Although invoices must be retained for a minimum of five years, an organization is not required to submit upon request of the tax authority invoices whose four-year retention period has already expired. For example, having received a request from the tax inspectorate in 2009 to submit an invoice for 2004, the taxpayer (tax agent) may not comply with it.

Example 2

Let's use the condition of example 1. Let's say that before 2008, the VAT tax period for Giatsint LLC was a calendar month.

The organization must keep purchase books and sales books for April 2004 until April 30, 2009 (provided that the last entries in them were made in April 2004).

The five-year storage period for issued and received invoices is calculated from January 1 of the year following the year of their preparation - from January 1, 2005. That is, Giatsint LLC is obliged to store invoices dated April 2004 until December 31, 2009.

Since in 2004-2007 the tax period for VAT for a company was a calendar month, the four-year storage period for other documents necessary for calculating VAT is determined for each month. The mandatory minimum storage period for documents used by an organization to calculate VAT for April 2004 is from May 1, 2004 to April 30, 2008.

The four-year storage period for documents related to the calculation of VAT for the first quarter of 2008 begins on April 1, 2008 and ends on March 31, 2012. The company will be required to keep purchase books and sales books for the first quarter of 2008 until March 31, 2013 (if the last entries in them were made in March 2008), and invoices for this period until December 31, 2013.

So, primary accounting documents must be stored for at least five years. However, in some situations, supporting documents should be retained for much longer.

Situation 1. The organization transfers losses to the future

In accordance with Article 283 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, a company that is a profit tax payer has the right to reduce the tax base of the current tax period by the amount of the loss it received in previous tax periods. The loss can be carried forward to the future within ten years following the tax period in which it was received (clause 2 of Article 283 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

During the entire period of loss transfer, the organization must keep documents confirming the amount of loss incurred. This is stated in paragraph 4 of Article 283 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. In letter dated 04/03/2007 No. 03-03-06/1/206, the Russian Ministry of Finance explained that writing off losses is possible only upon presentation of primary documents confirming the financial result obtained.

Similar requirements are established for payers of the single agricultural tax and organizations using the simplified taxation system. When carrying forward losses to the future, they are also required to keep documents confirming the amount of the loss incurred and the amount by which the tax base was reduced for each tax period. This is stated in paragraph 5 of Article 346.6 and paragraph 7 of Article 346.18 of the Tax Code, respectively.

Example 3

Azalia LLC is a profit tax payer. At the end of 2003, the organization recorded a loss in its tax accounting. Its amount was transferred to the future during 2006-2008 in parts.

According to the requirements of tax legislation, the organization was obliged to store the primary accounting documents necessary to calculate income tax for 2003 for four years - until December 31, 2007. Since the tax bases for 2006-2008 were reduced by the amount of the 2003 loss, the company continues to store these documents. She must maintain them for another four years after the end of 2008 (the last year for which the tax base was reduced by the amount of the loss of previous years) - until December 31, 2012.

Situation 2. Losses from previous years have been identified or bad debts have been written off

Losses from previous tax periods identified by the taxpayer in the current reporting or tax period are equated to non-operating expenses on the basis of subparagraph 1 of paragraph 2 of Article 265 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. In other words, such losses reduce the tax base for income tax for the period in which they were identified.

In addition, the amounts of bad debts are also equated to non-operating expenses, and if the organization forms a reserve for doubtful debts, the amounts of bad debts not covered by the reserve funds (subclause 2, clause 2, article 265 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

According to the general rule established in paragraph 1 of Article 252 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, when calculating income tax, only those expenses that are documented can be recognized. This means that in order to take into account for tax purposes losses from previous years identified in the current year, or to write off bad debts, the organization must have the appropriate supporting documents. Moreover, it is obliged to retain these documents for at least four years after the end of the year for which the tax base was reduced by the amount of the specified loss or written off bad debt.

Situation 3. The organization owns fixed assets

Let's say the company owns a fixed asset that was purchased more than ten years ago. It would seem that the storage period for documents on its acquisition and commissioning has already expired.

However, such documents must be retained for the entire useful life of the property. After all, during this period the organization calculates depreciation in tax and accounting. To recognize depreciation charges, during the entire depreciation period she must have documents confirming the acquisition of the object and its commissioning.

In addition, the company pays property tax on the residual value of fixed assets. Consequently, to justify the calculations for this tax, she also needs the mentioned documents.

Suppose an organization decides to sell depreciable property. According to subparagraph 1 of paragraph 1 of Article 268 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, she has the right to reduce the income received from the sale by the residual value of this property. But the residual value of the object must again be confirmed by relevant documents.

Thus, even if an organization that owns depreciable property does not plan to sell it, it is advisable for it to retain documents on the acquisition of this property, its commissioning, and the calculation of depreciation amounts for the entire life of the company.

In the case of the sale of other property (with the exception of securities, products of its own production, purchased goods), the organization reduces the income received by the price of acquisition or creation of this property (subclause 2, clause 1, article 268 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). Naturally, provided that she can document the indicated price. In the absence of such documents, the company does not have the right to reduce the tax base for income tax by the amount of expenses for the acquisition of property, since these expenses do not meet the requirements of paragraph 1 of Article 252 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. The storage periods for these documents do not matter in this case. A similar position is given in the letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated September 15, 2005 No. 03-03-02/84.

Document storage

Expenses are recognized as justified and documented expenses of the taxpayer, and in the cases provided for in Article 265 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation - losses incurred by him (Clause 1 of Article 252 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation)

For tax purposes, the residual value of depreciable property is determined according to the rules set out in paragraph 1 of Article 257 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation

The list of documents of a joint stock company that it must store at the location of the executive body is established in paragraph 1 of Article 89 of the Federal Law of December 26. 95 No. 208-FZ

The conditions under which an electronic signature in an electronic document is equivalent to a handwritten signature in a document on paper are stipulated in Article 4 of the Federal Law of January 10, 2002 No. 1-FZ “On Electronic Digital Signature”

Organizations whose documents are not subject to acceptance into state or municipal archives destroy documents with expired storage periods without agreement with archival authorities (clause 3.9 of the Instructions)

Responsibility for organizing the storage of accounting documents, accounting registers and financial statements lies with the head of the organization (clause 3 of article 17 of Law No. 129-FZ)

Each organization determines where documents are stored independently. As a rule, most documents are placed in the company's office. If there are significant volumes of documentation, it is advisable to allocate a special place for the archive or even rent a separate room where you can transport processed documents that are no longer used in current work.

Another option is to transfer documents for storage to a specialized archival company. However, if the organization is a joint-stock company, then it needs to take into account the following feature. Paragraph 2 of Article 89 of Federal Law No. 208-FZ dated December 26, 1995 states that a joint stock company must store a number of documents at the location of its executive body. Such documents, in particular, include financial statements, accounting documents, documents confirming the company’s rights to property on its balance sheet.

Naturally, over time, the volume of archives of any organization increases, and new premises are required to house them. Maybe it’s more convenient to store documents not in paper, but in electronic form?

This possibility is directly provided for in relation to primary accounting documents and accounting registers (clause 7, article 9 and clause 1, article 10 of Law No. 129-FZ). In addition, Article 314 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation states that tax accounting registers are maintained on paper, electronically or any machine media. At the same time, they must be protected from unauthorized corrections.

In a letter dated July 24, 2008 No. 03-02-07/1-314, the Ministry of Finance of Russia explained that storage of primary documents, accounting and tax accounting documents is allowed in electronic form, unless otherwise provided by regulatory legal acts of the Russian Federation and provided that electronic documents certified using an electronic digital signature (EDS).

The basic rules for the work of archives of organizations were approved by the decision of the board of Rosarkhiv dated 02/06/2002 (hereinafter referred to as the Basic Rules). Clause 2.3.1 of the Basic Rules establishes that it is necessary to conduct an annual examination of the value of documents, that is, determine their storage periods and select documents for long-term storage and destruction.

Destruction and disposal of documents

The organization has the right to destroy documents whose storage period has expired independently (tear them up manually or using a shredder, throw them away, burn them) or transfer them for disposal to a specialized company engaged in processing secondary raw materials. The list of documents subject to destruction or disposal is approved by the head of the organization. It can be issued in the form of an order or instruction from the manager, or in the form of an act developed by the company independently. An example of such an act is given below.

Drawing. Sample act on the selection of documents for destruction

In addition, an organization can use a sample act on the allocation for destruction of documents that are not subject to storage. Its form is approved in Appendix No. 4 to the Basic Rules.

When compiling a list of documents to be destroyed, it is not necessary to indicate the details of each document. This follows from the provisions of paragraph 2.4.5 of the Basic Rules. It states that similar cases (documents) are included in the act under a general heading indicating the number of cases assigned to this group (for example, advance reports for 2000).

The transfer of documents for recycling is issued with an invoice, which indicates the date of transfer, the number of documents transferred (number of folders, boxes, etc.) and the weight of the waste paper. Loading and removal for disposal are carried out under the control of an employee responsible for the safety of documents in the organization (clause 2.4.7 of the Basic Rules).

If a company destroys documents on its own, it formalizes this fact with a separate document destruction act. Since there is no unified form, it is also drawn up in any form. Let us note that the destruction of documents after the expiration of the storage period is the right and not the obligation of the organization (see letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated October 18, 2005 No. 03-03-04/2/83). In other words, the company can continue to store documents even after their mandatory retention periods have expired.

Responsibility for loss of documents

Tax. The absence of primary documents, invoices or accounting registers from the taxpayer is regarded as a gross violation of the rules for accounting for income and expenses and taxable items. For such a violation, Article 120 of the Tax Code provides for liability in the form of a fine in the amount of:

5000 rubles - if there are no documents for one tax period;

15,000 rub. — in the absence of documents for more than one tax period;

10% of the amount of unpaid tax, but not less than 15,000 rubles, if the tax base was underestimated due to lack of documents.

In addition, if the taxpayer (fee payer, tax agent) does not provide documents or other information at the request of the tax inspectorate, a fine of 50 rubles will be collected from him. for each document not submitted (clause 1 of Article 126 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

Administrative. Violation of the rules for storage, acquisition, recording or use of archival documents entails a warning or the imposition of an administrative fine on officials in the amount of 300 to 500 rubles. This is stated in Article 13.20 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. For violation of the procedure and terms for storing accounting documents, officials may be subject to an administrative fine in the amount of 2,000 to 3,000 rubles. (Article 15.11 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation).

Criminal. Theft, destruction, damage or concealment of official documents committed out of mercenary or other personal interest is punishable by a fine of up to 200,000 rubles. or in the amount of wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to 18 months, or correctional labor for a term of up to two years, or arrest for a term of up to four months, or imprisonment for a term of up to one year (Clause 1 of Article 325 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation)

Perhaps not a single day in an organization goes by without drawing up documents. Letters, contracts, orders, reporting - this is the array of documentation that every organization acquires. Do I need to keep all documents? If necessary, where and for how long?

Three groups

All rules for storing documents arising in the course of an organization’s activities can be divided into three large groups. The first will include the rules established by tax legislation. Accordingly, they apply to documents necessary for the calculation and payment of taxes and fees. The second group will include personnel documents. And in the third - accounting documents and documents on business activities. Let's look at them all in order.

Tax documents

The general rule for storing tax documents is established in subparagraph 8 of paragraph 1 of Article 23 of the Tax Code. It states that the taxpayer must retain accounting records and other documents necessary for the calculation and payment of taxes for four years. The same deadline is established for documents confirming tax payment. However, the Tax Code does not contain a special procedure for calculating this four-year period. This means that four years must be counted from the day following the drawing up of the document. And they will expire on the corresponding date and month, which will occur in 4 years (Article 6.1 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

There are two exceptions to the four-year shelf life. The first concerns taxpayers using tax breaks. They will have to keep documents confirming the right to benefits for the entire period of application of the benefit. After all, during a desk inspection, the inspection has the right to request such documents (Clause 6, Article 88 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). But even after the benefit ends, there is no need to rush to destroy documents. After all, there is also an on-site inspection, which can be carried out over the previous three years (clause 4 of Article 89 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

Hence the conclusion: documents on rights to benefits must be kept for three years after the end of the period in which the organization ceased to apply the benefit.

The second exception relates to depreciable property. Since expenses for it are written off over a certain period, during this entire time the organization will have to keep documents confirming the original cost of such property, as well as depreciation accrued and included in expenses. And, of course, don’t forget about the possibility of an on-site inspection.

Taking into account its depth, we arrive at the conclusion: documents on depreciable property can be destroyed no earlier than three years after the end of the period in which depreciation was stopped.

Violation of the deadlines for storing tax documents, in addition to additional taxes and penalties, can also result in fines. Thus, according to Article 120 of the Tax Code, the absence of primary documents, invoices, and accounting registers is a gross violation of the rules for accounting for income and expenses and taxable items. And this entails a fine of 5,000 rubles. up to 15,000 rub. If this violation led to an underestimation of the tax base, then the fine will be 10% of the amount of unpaid tax, but not less than 15,000 rubles.

Personnel documents

Let's now move on to personnel documents. Here, storage periods are determined by archival legislation. This is, in particular, the List of standard management documents generated in the activities of organizations, indicating storage periods (approved by Rosarkhiv on 10/06/2000). Summarizing the information contained in this List allows us to derive the following storage rules for personnel documents.
Documents with which the law relates the provision of any payments or benefits are stored for at least 75 years. This is exactly the period set for personal cards, personal files, employment contracts, lists of workers engaged in hazardous working conditions, etc. Perhaps the only exception here will be an unclaimed work book, which needs to be kept for “only” 50 years.

For other documents, the deadlines are much shorter. Thus, agreements on liability are kept for 5 years. Information about employee safety training, orders establishing shortened working hours, and transfers is required to be kept for the same amount of time. Also, a five-year period is established for orders on business trips and awards.

Documents on recording working hours and labor discipline can be stored for even less: 3 years. And for the time sheet, the period has been reduced to 1 year. Also, vacation schedules and documents for employees who are denied employment are stored throughout the year.
Please note that, unlike the Tax Code, the List specifies that the storage period for documents is calculated from January 1 of the year following the year in which they were processed (clause 2.9).

Failure to comply with the requirements for storing personnel documents may result in an organization being fined under Art. 13.20 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (300-500 rubles for failure to comply with the requirements for storing documents), and negative consequences in the form of inspections by the State Labor Inspectorate, the Pension Fund, or in the form of a court decision to reinstate the employee at work. So don’t rush to get rid of your personnel documents!

Accounting and business documents

In theory, the storage periods for accounting documents should be established in the Accounting Law. But this Law, although it contains an entire article devoted to the storage of documents (Article 17), provides very meager information on this matter. Thus, the Law requires storing primary accounting documents, accounting registers and financial statements for at least five years. At the same time, it is specifically stipulated that in relation to the working chart of accounts and other documents of accounting policy, this period is counted from the year following the one in which these documents were used for the preparation of financial statements for the last time.

For the rest, the Accounting Law refers organizations to archival legislation. And more precisely, to the already mentioned List of standard management documents generated in the activities of organizations, indicating storage periods. It provides storage periods for almost all possible documents that may be generated in the activities of an organization. Moreover, with regard to accounting documents, all terms in the List are exactly five years. This is how long it is necessary to store accounting reports (both annual and quarterly), all kinds of business contracts, primary and cash documents, acceptance certificates, etc. In this case, these deadlines are counted from January 1 of the year following the year of termination of use of the document (clause 2.9 Instructions for using the List).

Another feature of storing accounting documents is that the legislation clearly states where and how such documentation should be stored. Responsible persons and procedures for access to papers are also established.
Thus, according to clause 6.2 of the Regulations on Documents and Document Flow in Accounting (approved by the USSR Ministry of Finance on July 29, 1983 No. 105), primary documents, accounting registers, accounting reports and balance sheets can be stored either in the organization’s archives or in the accounting department in special rooms or locked cabinets . And strict reporting forms should be stored in safes, metal cabinets or special rooms to ensure their safety.

The chief accountant is responsible for the safety of documents. It is he who has the right to make a decision on issuing such documents to employees of structural divisions of the enterprise.

As for liability for failure to comply with the rules for storing accounting documents, it can be both administrative and tax. After all, as mentioned above, the absence of primary documents and accounting registers is a gross violation of the rules for accounting for income, expenses, and taxable items and entails a fine of 5,000 to 15,000 rubles. (Article 120 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

An administrative fine in this case can be imposed both for violation of archival requirements for storing documents (Article 13.20 of the Administrative Code - 300-500 rubles), and for a gross violation of accounting rules if, due to the lack of documents, the accounting statements are distorted (Article 15.11 of the Administrative Code - 2-3 thousand rubles).

Reporting and registers for a certain period of time is a requirement of current legislation.

It means that within the specified period access to documents and the possibility of their full use should be ensured if necessary.

What documents require mandatory storage?

Documents requiring mandatory storage, conditionally can be divided for documents:

• which are in operation during the reporting year;
• which are always necessary in work, despite the fact that they are not used daily.

TO first group documents include:

Keep documents related to the first group are required:

• for accounting purposes (Article 29, Law “On Accounting” No. 402-FZ) - at least five years from the end of the reporting year or the year in which these documents were last used;
• for tax accounting purposes (Article 23, Tax Code of the Russian Federation) - for a period of at least 4 years. At the same time, the Code may establish longer storage periods. For example, a participant in an investment project of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation is obliged to store all documents for 6 years. And to confirm the amount of loss incurred - for the entire period during which it is reduced with its help and which can be calculated in more than one or two years.

Co. second group These include documents that must be stored at the enterprise during the entire period of its activity. In particular, for LLCs the Law “On Limited Liability Companies” No. 14-FZ provides the following list of mandatory storage on-site documentation:

• registration documents, including the constituent meeting (decision) on the creation of the company;
• documents confirming ownership of property on the company’s balance sheet;
• minutes documenting meetings of founders and other persons;
• documents on the issue of securities;
• regulations on separate divisions of the enterprise;
• lists of affiliates;
• conclusions of various regulatory authorities on certain issues of the enterprise’s activities (on inspections carried out, etc.);
• and other documents that the enterprise must have in accordance with current legislation.

How long should accounting documents be kept?

The general storage period for any accounting documents is no less than 5 years.

But in some cases it can be much higher. A summary table with shelf life is presented below.

Despite the fact that a significant part of this list consists of personnel documents, they are an integral part of accounting. On their basis, compensation payments and remunerations are calculated, as well as various benefits.

The storage periods for reporting documentation are described in the following video:

If you have not yet registered an organization, then easiest way This can be done using online services that will help you generate all the necessary documents for free: If you already have an organization and you are thinking about how to simplify and automate accounting and reporting, then the following online services will come to the rescue and will completely replace an accountant at your enterprise and will save a lot of money and time. All reporting is generated automatically, signed electronically and sent automatically online. It is ideal for individual entrepreneurs or LLCs on the simplified tax system, UTII, PSN, TS, OSNO.
Everything happens in a few clicks, without queues and stress. Try it and you will be surprised how easy it has become!

Order and storage location

To organize document storage, the enterprise can:

• or turn to the services of a special archival organization;
• or create your own archive. This is permitted by Article 13 of the Law “On Archival Affairs” No. 125-FZ of October 22, 2004.

Creating own archive, the enterprise must allocate a separate room for these purposes and equip it with racks, shelves or closets. If there are windows in this room, they must be curtained or otherwise shaded to prevent sunlight from entering the documents, causing them to fade.

In addition, you need your own archival space equip with protection from unauthorized access and from fires - a metal entrance door, bars on the windows and an alarm system.

To organize a quick search for the necessary documents, you should develop a list of cases.

In case of transfer of cases for their storage at specialized structure, it is necessary to choose an organization that is equipped with modern equipment and all conditions for long-term storage of documents, including the presence of fire alarms and access control systems.

Regarding documents on registration of an organization, her and other similar documents, they are usually kept by the head of the organization in originals and in a safe. And their copies are in the accounting department.

Employees of the enterprise, their blank forms and inserts for them should always be in the personnel service or in the accounting department, if it is entrusted with personnel records management. At the same time, work books are always kept in a safe.

It is worth noting that documents in electronic form must be protected from unauthorized changes to them, and at the same time their storage must provide the ability to create a copy on paper if necessary.

Transfer of documentation to the archive

Documents are transferred to the archive for long-term (more than 10 years) and permanent storage.

Transferring these materials to the archive carried out according to the schedule approved by the head of the organization in the order on the formation of the archive.

The same order appoints a person responsible for maintaining the archive and approves the rules:

• depositing documents in the archive and issuing them;
• maintaining an archive;
• destruction of documents whose storage period has expired;
• organizing events for the preservation of archival files.

All documents in the archive are accepted only in the form of originals, and in their absence - in the form of certified copies. The transferred documents must be bound according to some criteria, and on the cover of their file there is a mark identifying information, in particular:

• year of execution of documents;
• accounting area;
• serial numbers;
• the period for which registers and primary documents were generated;
• type of documents filed;
• number of sheets filed, etc.

As for submitting documents to the archive in electronic form, this procedure is approved separately in the Order of the head on the archive of the organization. But usually these documents are first duplicated onto other media.

An example of storing accounting documentation is presented in the following video:

What to do in case of loss

Documents can be lost either due to a natural disaster or as a result of the actions of third parties or your own employees. But in any case, confirmation of the fact of loss by the relevant authorities will be required. These could be law enforcement agencies (if documents are stolen), or fire authorities (if documents are burned), etc.

If the destruction or loss of documentation is detected, the head of the organization, by his order, must form a commission to find out the reasons for the identified fact. If necessary, representatives of a security company, fire department or investigative structure may be invited to participate in the investigation.

Based on the results of an internal investigation an act is drawn up in any form with a statement of all the facts. This act becomes an excuse for the lack of documents if they are requested by regulatory authorities.

What to do with documents if their storage period has expired?

Before destroying documentation you will need conducting an examination her values. For this purpose, a permanent commission is created at the enterprise by order of the manager. It should include specialists who are able to give a qualified assessment of the need to destroy certain documents.

It is this commission that makes a decision on the destruction of documents if they can no longer be stored for a period of time. Their destruction is carried out by drawing up an act in any form, which must have the mandatory details of the primary document and which must be approved by the accounting policy of the enterprise.

Before destruction there must be inventory taken documents for a certain period. Without this procedure, documentation cannot be destroyed.

If storage rules are violated?

Responsibility for this violation There are tax and administrative, in particular:

1. officials can be punished if they do not store documents within the legal period, from 5 thousand to 10 thousand rubles. If this violation is detected again - 10-20 thousand rubles or disqualification for 1-2 years (Administrative Code of the Russian Federation, Article 15.11);
2. an organization for the same acts can be punished by 10 thousand rubles, and in case of repeated violations - by 30 thousand rubles (Tax Code of the Russian Federation, Art. 120).

For information on penalties for these violations, see the following video:

Accounting is the most paper-heavy department of any company. But you need to get rid of all kinds of documents wisely. They should be stored for at least several years. And some documents cannot be destroyed for as long as 75 years! So how long should accounting papers “live”?

Of course, documents must be kept at least as long as tax inspectors may require them during an audit. Based on paragraph 4 of Article 89 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, an inspection can be carried out for a period not exceeding three calendar years preceding the year the decision on the inspection was made. This means that documents from the previous three years must be kept.

Meanwhile, tax legislation adds another year to this period. According to subparagraph 8 of paragraph 1 of Article 23 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, taxpayers are required to ensure the safety of documents necessary for the calculation and payment of taxes for four years. These include accounting and tax accounting data, as well as documents confirming the receipt of income, expenses and payment (withholding) of taxes. A similar requirement is established for tax agents (subclause 5, clause 3, article 24 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). At what point do you start counting the four-year period?

Taxes are calculated based on the results of tax periods (Clause 1, Article 55 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). It turns out that the four-year period must be counted from the next day after the end of the tax period. For example, let's take VAT: until what date should we keep documents related to the calculations of this tax for the fourth quarter of 2004? The four-year term will begin on January 1, 2005 and end on December 31, 2008. It turns out that in 2008 it is necessary to store documents from 2004. That is, a year that is not subject to on-site inspection.

Storage periods for documents are also established in accounting legislation. From Article 17 of the Federal Law of November 21, 1996 No. 129-FZ “On Accounting” (hereinafter referred to as the Accounting Law) it follows that:
- primary accounting documents, accounting registers and financial statements must be stored for periods established by the rules of state archival affairs, but not less than five years;
— accounting policy documents and computer data processing programs must be stored by the organization for at least five years after the year in which they were last used to prepare financial statements.

A few exceptions to the general rule

So, as a general rule, you need to store papers for at least five years. This is the maximum period established by the Accounting Law. At the same time, the maximum depth of a tax audit is three years. Therefore, it is especially important to maintain the safety of papers related to the calculation of taxes during this period. If you do not have enough documents from, say, five years ago, you can only be fined for violating the rules for storing documents.

Meanwhile, in a number of cases, the storage period for documents is determined according to special rules. As a result, the absence of papers even, for example, six years ago can lead to fines for underestimating tax payments. Let's look at such situations separately.

“Primary” for acquired property. Documents for the acquisition of fixed assets must be preserved regardless of the useful life of these objects. After all, papers are needed to confirm the original cost for the purposes of calculating depreciation, as well as property tax. In addition, without a “primary” document, the company will not be able to confirm the value of the property when it is sold. Moreover, this applies to both fixed assets and other property (letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated September 15, 2005 No. 03-03-02/84).

Special requirement for loss-making companies. The income tax payer has the right to reduce the tax base of the current period for losses of previous tax periods in the manner prescribed by Article 283 of the Tax Code. Losses can be taken into account for the next 10 years. Since Chapter 25 of the Tax Code has been in effect since 2002, this year's loss can be used to reduce the company's tax burden up to and including 2012. Moreover, Article 10 of Federal Law No. 110-FZ of August 6, 2001 allows for the recognition of losses identified at the end of 2001.

However, if a company transfers losses to the future, then during the entire period of using this benefit it is obliged to keep documents confirming the amount of losses incurred (clause 4 of Article 283 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). This provision allows tax authorities to request documents on past losses that the company declares in its declaration for the current period. Based on this, the Ministry of Finance of Russia, in letter dated April 3, 2007 No. 03-03-06/1/206, explains that writing off losses is possible only upon presentation of primary documents confirming the financial result obtained.

True, the volume of losses can be confirmed by previously conducted tax audits, during which the “primary” data relating to them have already been examined. In this case, repeated documentary verification is not required. This conclusion was reached by the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation in its ruling dated June 6, 2008 No. 6899/08.

Let us add that the requirement to store documents on losses during the entire period of their write-off also applies to payers of the unified agricultural tax (clause 5 of Article 346.6 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation) and for “simplified workers” (clause 7 of Article 346.18 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

Write-off of bad receivables. And in this case, documents will have to be stored for longer than five years.

Let us remind you: in accordance with subparagraph 2 of paragraph 2 of Article 265 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, the amounts of bad debts are equated to non-operating expenses of the taxpayer as a loss received in the reporting (tax) period. Such expenses reduce the tax base when calculating income tax. Naturally, with supporting documents.

Thus, the primary accounting documents substantiating the amount of receivables characterize the value of the disposed property rights, that is, the amount of expenses. Therefore, the countdown of the storage period for such documents must be started anew from the moment the bad debt is written off. If you destroy documents ahead of schedule, the company will lose the right to recognize bad debts as expenses, since it will not be able to confirm their amount to the tax authorities.

Retention period for documents by joint stock companies. When storing documents, joint stock companies must be guided by the Regulations approved by the FCSM Resolution No. 03-33/ps dated July 16, 2003. In particular, according to this regulatory document, they are required to keep the charter and annual financial statements permanently. That is, during the entire life of the company. And in the event of liquidation of the company, documents with a permanent shelf life and personnel records are transferred to the state archive. This is if an agreement was concluded with him. If there is no agreement with the archive, then it is obliged to accept for storage only documents on the personnel of the company’s employees. The storage location of the remaining documents is determined by the chairman of the liquidation commission or the bankruptcy trustee.

Tax reports. The company must keep annual tax returns for at least 10 years, and quarterly tax returns, if there are annual ones, for five years. This is determined by paragraph 170 of the List of standard management documents generated in the activities of organizations, indicating storage periods, approved by Rosarkhiv on October 6, 2000 (hereinafter referred to as the List of standard management documents) in conjunction with clause 2.4.2 of the Instructions for using the List. Quarterly reports must also be kept for at least 10 years, if there are no annual reports (for example, for VAT). But monthly reports in the absence of quarterly forms must be kept for 5 years.

Invoices, purchase and sales books. According to paragraphs 15 and 27 of the Rules for maintaining logs of received and issued invoices, purchase books and sales books... approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of December 2, 2000 No. 914, purchase books and sales books should be kept for a full five years from the date of the last records. That is, these papers for the fourth quarter of 2004 should be kept throughout 2009.

A five-year retention period is also established for invoices. Reason - clause 150 of the List of standard management documents.

At the same time, although tax authorities have the right to demand documents serving as the basis for calculating taxes and confirming their payment, but only in accordance with the legislation on taxes and fees. But the above List is not included in it. Therefore, for example, in 2009, the tax authorities’ request for an invoice for 2004 can be ignored.

Retention period for a number of other documents. The storage periods for a number of other documents are established by a special federal executive body - Rosarkhiv (Clause 3 of Article 6 of the Federal Law of October 22, 2004 No. 125-FZ, Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of June 17, 2004 No. 290). And they often exceed five years. Let us turn to the already mentioned List of standard management documents.

The accountant is primarily concerned with Section 4 “Accounting and Reporting”, as well as Sections 7 “Labor Relations” and 8 “Staffing”. We have summarized the individual items of the List into a table.

The table contains documents with a shelf life of one year. But if these papers belong to “primary” documents, then in accordance with accounting legislation they must be stored for at least five years.

How to properly store and destroy documents

A permanent expert commission should select documents for storage and destruction, as well as set deadlines. It consists of the most qualified specialists from the main structural divisions, and one of the company’s senior employees is appointed as chairman.

How to store. The storage of documents is an element of document flow and therefore must be regulated by the accounting policy (clause 5 of PBU 1/98 “Accounting Policy of the Organization”). In this case, one should be guided by the Regulations on Documents and Document Flow in Accounting (approved by the USSR Ministry of Finance dated July 29, 1983 No. 105, hereinafter referred to as the Regulations). But to the extent that does not contradict current legislation. Clause 6.1 of the Regulations states that primary documents, accounting registers, accounting reports and balance sheets are subject to mandatory transfer to the archive. Processed primary documents are completed monthly (clause 6.4 of the Regulations).

The company determines the storage location for documents independently. As a rule, this is the company's office. Please note that you can store papers outside of the office - this is not prohibited by law. For example, you can use the services of specialized archival companies, which is often both more profitable and more reliable. But joint-stock companies must store a number of documents (for example, the charter and annual reports) exclusively at the location of their executive body (clause 2 of Article 89 of the Federal Law of December 26, 1995 No. 208-FZ “On Joint-Stock Companies”).

Of course, hosting a paper archive requires office space, which is constantly becoming more expensive. Therefore, it is easier to store accounting and tax documents electronically. This possibility is provided for in Articles 9 and 10 of the Law on Accounting and Article 314 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. This was confirmed by the Russian Ministry of Finance in a letter dated July 24, 2008 No. 03-02-07/1-314.

However, officials explained that information on computer media should be stored using an electronic digital signature. In accordance with the norms of the Federal Law of January 10, 2002 No. 1-FZ “On Electronic Digital Signature”, such a signature is equivalent to a handwritten signature in a paper document. For electronic document management, the company creates a corporate information system. It is serviced by a certification center that ensures the use of digital signatures in electronic documents.

What to do with documents if the company is liquidated? Then the liquidation commission transfers documents on personnel for storage to the state or municipal archive. And other archival papers, the temporary storage period of which has not expired, can also be transferred to the archive by concluding an agreement with it. Or store it in any other place. Let us note that simply destroying these papers is prohibited by clause 9.7.3 of the Basic Rules for the Operation of Archives of Organizations, approved by the decision of the Rosarkhiv Board of February 6, 2002. And in order to avoid possible problems with law enforcement agencies, it is better not to do this.

When a company is reorganized, documents are transferred to the successor organization or organizations. If a new organization is spun off, files related to the profile of its activities are transferred to it, as well as personal files and personal accounts of employees who have transferred to work for this organization.

How to destroy. The destruction of documents is documented by an act approved by the head of the organization.

At the same time, it is not necessary to indicate the details of all papers in the document disposal act. This conclusion follows from paragraph 2.4.5 of the Basic Rules for the Operation of Organizational Archives. These rules provide a unified form of the act on the allocation of documents for destruction. And in it you can make a single entry for a group of similar documents. The company has the right to determine independently which documents are considered homogeneous. For example, these could be documents with the same name, say invoices.

According to the law, folders with documents subject to destruction must be transferred for recycling (disposal). For example, to a company that processes recyclable materials. The transfer of papers is issued with an invoice. Loading and removal for disposal occurs under the control of an employee who ensures the safety of documents in the organization.

There is a simpler approach to document destruction. Let's say, use a paper shredder for this. In addition, documents can be burned or simply thrown away. However, it should be taken into account that unauthorized burning is a violation of environmental legislation. Throwing away unnecessary documentation is also risky. For example, according to labor law, the employer is obliged to ensure the protection of personal data of employees. And other securities may well be of interest to competitors.

Responsibility for violation of document storage rules

According to Article 120 of the Tax Code, the absence of primary documents from the taxpayer, or the absence of invoices or accounting registers is regarded as a gross violation of the rules for accounting for income and expenses and taxable items. Such a tax offense entails a fine of 5,000 rubles. But only on the condition that the “shortage” of these documents was discovered only for one tax period. Otherwise, the taxpayer will face a fine of at least 15,000 rubles. If a lack of documents leads to an underestimation of the tax base, the taxpayer faces a fine of 10 percent of the amount of unpaid tax, but not less than 15,000 rubles. The safety of documents is not ignored in criminal law. Based on paragraph 1 of Article 325 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, theft, destruction, damage or concealment of official documents out of personal interest can be punished by imprisonment for up to one year. But, of course, law enforcement agencies will have to prove such interest. And finally, how the company complies with archival legislation can be checked by archivists. According to Article 13.20 of the Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Offences, violation of the rules for storage, acquisition, recording or use of archival documents threatens officials with a warning or a fine in the amount of 300 to 500 rubles.

How is responsibility for storing documents distributed?

The head of the company and the chief accountant are responsible for storing documents. Moreover, on the basis of the Accounting Law, the director is responsible for organizing storage, in particular for the availability of special premises, lockable cabinets, and safes. And the chief accountant ensures the safety of documents and their transfer to the archive. For this purpose, he can appoint responsible persons (clauses 6.6 and 6.2 of the Regulations). For example, over time, information reflected on paper may be lost (faded). In this case, you need to take care of making copies of these documents and certifying them with the company’s seal. This recommendation follows from the letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated April 3, 2007 No. 03-03-06/1/209.

What do you do with documents whose storage period has expired?