A Tax Authority Requests Documents: How to Respond Under Article 93

A Russian tax inspector who conducts a tax audit may request the documents needed for it, and Article 93 of the Tax Code gives the taxpayer ten business days from receipt to submit them. The period is twenty business days for a consolidated group of taxpayers and thirty business days for a foreign entity required to register under Article 83(4.6). Refusal or late submission is a tax offence under Article 126, and the inspector may also seize documents under Article 94.

A request that arrives in an electronic account or by registered mail is easy to ignore, and the ten business days pass fast. This guide explains what the request must contain, how to deliver the documents, how to ask for more time, what to do if the documents were already filed and what limits protect the taxpayer from vague requests.

What the Request Is and Who Can Make It

The inspector may request documents necessary for the audit, and the request is delivered to the head of the organisation or an authorised representative against signature or sent in a way allowed by Article 31(4). For companies and entrepreneurs with a personal account on the tax website, the request often arrives electronically.

The commentary stresses that the request must describe the documents specifically and relate to the subject of the audit. A request to "provide all documents" with no description gives the taxpayer grounds to object. Courts have held that penalties cannot rest on vague or unrelated requests.

A desk audit, where the inspector reviews the return filed by the taxpayer, has its own limits. Under Article 88, the inspector may not demand additional documents unless the Article allows it, and where no errors or inconsistencies are found the commentary sees no basis to request primary accounting documents.

Ten, Twenty and Thirty Business Days

The standard period is ten business days from the date of receipt. Older printed texts and some commentaries still say "ten days", so the current wording of Article 93(3) should be checked on the date of the request. Under Article 31(4) of the Code, a document that the tax authority sends by registered mail is treated as received on the sixth day from the date it was sent, regardless of the actual receipt date, so the count can start earlier than many expect.

For a consolidated group of taxpayers the period is twenty business days, and for a foreign entity required to register in Russia under the special rule, it is thirty business days. A foreign company with a Russian tax registration should check which rule applies to it and put the deadline into its calendar at once.

Counting in business days excludes weekends and public holidays, and mixing them up with calendar days is a frequent source of mistakes. The first day is counted from the day after receipt.

How to Deliver the Documents

Documents can be handed over in person, through a representative, sent by registered mail or transmitted electronically through telecommunication channels or the taxpayer's personal account. Paper copies must be certified by the taxpayer, numbered and stitched. The inspector cannot require notarisation unless another law provides it.

Electronic documents sent through telecommunication channels must be signed with the enhanced qualified electronic signature of the taxpayer or his representative. A taxpayer who lacks such a signature should obtain it before the deadline, because an unsigned file may be treated as not submitted.

Keep the proof of delivery: the receipt from the tax office, the postal receipt with the list of enclosures or the electronic confirmation. A dispute about the timeliness is decided on this proof.

Asking for More Time

If the taxpayer cannot meet the deadline, he must notify the inspectors in writing by the next day after receiving the request, give the reasons and propose a timeline. Within two days the head or deputy head of the tax authority may extend the period or refuse, by a separate decision.

The notice should be short and specific: what documents are being collected, what the obstacle is and when they will be ready. A taxpayer who simply fails to answer loses the chance of an extension and exposes himself to the penalty.

For a company with foreign management or foreign archives, the obstacle may be the need to obtain documents from abroad and have them translated. This is a valid reason to ask for time, and the translation period should be stated realistically.

Documents Already Filed

Documents previously submitted to the tax authority do not need to be submitted again if the taxpayer notifies the authority by the deadline and indicates the details of the earlier filing. There are exceptions for original documents that were returned to the taxpayer and for documents lost through force majeure.

The notice should give the date of the earlier submission, the number of the registration and the list of documents. A taxpayer who simply writes "already submitted" without details may still be penalised.

A careful company keeps a register of everything it files with the tax authority, with the dates and registration numbers, so it can reply quickly.

Penalty and Seizure

Refusal to submit documents or late submission is a tax offence under Article 126, and the inspector may also seize documents under Article 94. A penalty requires that the request itself was lawful and clear, so a taxpayer can challenge a penalty based on a defective request.

If the tax authority claims that the taxpayer did not respond, the taxpayer's proof of delivery is the main defence. If the dispute concerns documents that are not necessary for calculating or paying taxes, the court may find that the penalty is unlawful.

The taxpayer can appeal the penalty decision to the higher tax authority and then to court, within the periods that the Code sets for such appeals.

Practical Plan

On the day the request arrives, record the date and calculate the deadline. List the documents requested and mark those that exist, those to be restored and those already filed. Decide within one day whether an extension is needed and send the notice. Prepare certified copies or electronic files with the correct signature. Deliver by a method that proves the date. Write a short cover letter that lists the documents by number.

The attorney reviews tax authority requests, prepares responses and requests for extension and defends companies and individuals in disputes about penalties. First review covers the request, the audit's subject and the documents available.

The main channel of communication with the attorney is email: attorneypetrova1@gmail.com.