Documentation that makes business legal. Wrong Business: Where and How to Report Illegal Business Activity? On the types of illegal business activities

Desperate to make a large sum of money for state enterprise, some daredevils decide to have own business... This is a risky business, but if the outcome is positive, it brings good income.

However, the situation is not limited to one risk: starting your own business, you should first find out what obligations the state imposes on entrepreneurs of this kind, and in which case your activity will be legal.

Features of the crime

Each of us is periodically faced with the need to provide any service to other people. For example, girls often do each other's hairstyles for symbolic payment, however, such activities cannot be regarded as entrepreneurship, because a single case of selling a product (say, a dress brought from abroad) or a service rendered (for example, fixing plumbing) does not form a permanent income.

In other words, the sale of a limited amount of goods, and even with a narrow assortment, just like the casual provision of services does not lead to systematic profit.

According to Article 2 of the Civil Code, entrepreneurship should be understood as an activity carried out independently and at your own risk. The purpose of this activity is to generate a systematic income.

The signs of entrepreneurship are given in the letter of the Federal Tax Service dated 18.03.2010 No. 20-14 / 2/028463. This:

• The manufacture or purchase of goods or property with the aim of subsequently making a profit (for example, the purchase of housing or transport);
• Keeping records of operations, that is, the availability of documentation that reflects the activities of the organization;
• The presence of a relationship between the individual actions of a certain individual for a period of time, correlated with the conduct of him entrepreneurial activity;
• The systematic nature of the activity.

Courts, on the basis of the above characteristics, often prove that the activity carried out by a particular person is business, which gives grounds to bring him to justice, depending on the type. So, now you know the structure of the crime and the features of illegal entrepreneurship, let's talk about the punishment for it, for example, about the penalty for illegal entrepreneurship individuals.

The following video contains legal advice on the issue of illegal business activities of an individual:

Responsibility for illegal business

So, having decided to start a business, a citizen is obliged to register as or individual entrepreneur(IP).

• Failure to do this, the citizen deprives himself of state protection, which is guaranteed to figures who have registered themselves as a legal entity or individual entrepreneur.
• In addition, when considering any transactions concluded by an illegal entrepreneur, he has no right to refer to the fact that he is not an entrepreneur.

It is not only civil law that applies to illegal entrepreneurs. In case of violation of the obligations established by the state for entrepreneurs, violators may be called to administrative or criminal liability.

Administrative

Article 14.1 of the Administrative Code is applied when it is possible to prove that a person was engaged in entrepreneurial activity that brought income up to 1,500,000 rubles a year, but it was not registered, contrary to the law. The violator is fined from 500 to 2000 rubles.

The main feature of doing business is the systematic income generation. In other words, if a person has performed a certain operation that brings him profit at least twice a year, we can talk about entrepreneurship. The income received once a year does not become the basis for the application of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation (illegal business).

As evidence that a person is engaged in business, the following facts are cited:

• Testimonies of buyers or users of the services provided by this person;
• Documents confirming payment, acts of acceptance and transfer of property, receipts, account statements, etc .;
• Advertisements and banners;
• Data on the purchase of goods;
• Information about the lease of commercial premises.

An interesting point: although profit is the main objective entrepreneurship, its absence does not cancel the application of Article 14.1, since it is not an obligatory result of the activity of an individual entrepreneur.

The following video is devoted to the discussion of improvements to the existing regulations of the Russian Federation in order to influence illegal entrepreneurship:

Criminal

A separate article is devoted to illegal entrepreneurship and in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation - Art. 171. The first part of it stipulates the implementation of entrepreneurial activity

• without registration;
• with a significant violation of the registration rules; c) with the provision of false data to the registration authority;
• in the absence of a license, when its presence is required. If these actions cause major damage to the state, organizations or ordinary citizens or are associated with the extraction of large (more than 1,500,000 rubles) income, one of the following measures is applied to the accused:
  • (up to 300,000 rubles or equal to the maximum income for 2 years);
  • (180 - 240 hours);
  • (up to six months).

When the specified activity was carried out by an organized group, or the income was received in an especially large (more than 6,000,000 rubles) amount, 2 part 171 of article of the Criminal Code applies. The punishments here for illegal entrepreneurship are provided for the following:

• Fine (100,000 - 500,000 rubles) or withdrawal of income (for 1 - 3 years);
• (up to 5 years), supplemented by a fine (up to 80,000 rubles) or seizure of income for a maximum of six months.

It should be borne in mind that income is understood as the profit received by the illegal individual entrepreneur during the period of his activity without deducting expenses.

According to the Resolution of the Plenum of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation No. 23 of November 18, 2004 on illegal entrepreneurship, for the application of Article 171, it must be clearly established that a person's activities fall under the definition of entrepreneurship (Article 2 of the Civil Code). If a citizen, carrying out a one-time transaction with obtaining a large income, say, from the sale of an apartment, evades paying taxes, Article 198 of the Criminal Code is applied.

Now let's look at some cases from judicial practice on illegal entrepreneurship and its consequences.

Arbitrage practice

Since only a legal entity or individual entrepreneur can act as a plaintiff or defendant in an arbitration court, a person who conducts business, but has not registered it, can only participate in sessions of courts of general jurisdiction. The question of jurisdiction is raised in the following example.

Example 1. Citizen K. filed a supervisory complaint with the Supreme Court, because he believed that when a decision was made against him in a case on administrative responsibility under Article 14.1 of the Administrative Code, the rules of jurisdiction were violated, which means that the decision itself must be canceled.

The crux of the matter was as follows. Citizen Sh. Reported that K. was carrying out illegal business activities, namely, installing double-glazed windows. Evidence was presented to the court: information about the purchase of K. 91 double-glazed windows, invoices, copies of invoices for payment of services, Flyers etc. On the basis of the materials presented, the magistrate found K. guilty. The defendant did not agree with the verdict and appealed to the district court, and then the regional one.

Example 2. Administrative cases are considered by district courts, but according to the rules of proceedings are carried out in the court of first instance. This is what happened in K.'s case: the case was heard by a district judge, and after an administrative investigation, the materials were transferred to the magistrate, who ruled that K. was guilty under Article 14.1. Thus, the Supreme Court found no grounds for declaring the decision illegal.

Many of our readers are entrepreneurs and know that such activities can both enrich and ruin. In civil law, this is how private business- activity based on risk, the purpose of which is to make a profit. There are hundreds of types of entrepreneurship - in the first place, of course, trading activities followed by construction, real estate, etc. Approximately the same number of types of illegal business activities, fines and other liability for which is provided for by the legislation of the Russian Federation.

Entrepreneurship concept

In Russia, this term is defined using the following features:

All these features are typical for commercial activities. In addition, there are additional signs, which are mentioned in the explanations of the Supreme Court and the Office of the Tax Service of the Russian Federation: maintaining documentation on completed transactions, as well as on the general work of the individual entrepreneur, the presence of a relationship between transactions and counterparties, etc.

Illegal business

Russian legislation prohibits conducting illegal business activities, for which both administrative (in the form of a fine) and criminal liability are provided. Inconsistency with the law will be if such activity:

• carried out without registration;
• carried out without a state license.

Without registering

This means that you have not submitted information about yourself as an individual entrepreneur to the tax office, and at the same time, you are actively conducting commercial activities to make a profit.

Signs of illegality may also include such actions of a businessman, which were originally registered in accordance with the requirements of the law, but then the registration was terminated (on application, in connection with a court decision, etc.).

Example No. 2... Rakitin P.E. for a long time he was engaged in commercial activities (furniture production and subsequent sale), he registered an individual entrepreneur several years ago. In view of the onset of the economic crisis, P.E. Raktinin decided to discontinue the proceedings and filed an application to exclude him from the register of entrepreneurs, which was done. A few months later, P.E. Rakitin decided to resume production, hired workers, set up machines, restored ties with suppliers and buyers, but did not register again as an individual entrepreneur in the prescribed manner. In this case, there are grounds for bringing Rakitin to responsibility for illegal business.

In rare cases, such actions of a private owner are recognized as illegal entrepreneurship, when registration is available, but it was carried out illegally. In such situations, the falsity of the documents submitted for registration, on the basis of which an entry in the register was mistakenly made, is revealed.

Example No. 3... Konovalov E.N. submitted documents for registration of an individual entrepreneur, among which there was a statement indicating the OKVED code according to retail... On the basis of the presented by E.N. Konovalov. documents, an entry was made on his registration as an individual entrepreneur in the register. Later it was established that actually Konovalov E.N. conducted a wholesale trade, while there was no registration of him as an individual entrepreneur. Konovalov's actions were regarded as illegal business.

Based on the explanations of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, it follows that the actions of a citizen who initially acquired a certain thing, object, real estate for personal use, and subsequently entered into a lease agreement (even for a long period), will not be considered illegal entrepreneurship, since the property belonging to him was not useful.

Example No. 4... Nikeshina R.G. acquired a one-room apartment where she lived. A year later, she got married and moved in with her husband, and began renting out her apartment to replenish the family budget. In this case, in the actions of Nikeshina R.G. there are no violations, since the originally purchased apartment was intended for personal use. However, if Nikeshina R.G. will not report for additional income and will not pay 13% of it, then there may be questions from the tax inspectorate, up to criminal prosecution under Art. 198 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

No license

In some cases, provided by law, for the legal activity of an individual entrepreneur, registration alone is not enough, you need to obtain a license.

So, in accordance with the Federal Law ФЗ-99 dated 04.05.2011 "On licensing certain types activity ", the license must be obtained:

• for the production of alcohol-containing products;
• for the activities of credit institutions;
• non-state pension funds;
• joint stock investment funds;
• insurance activities;
• private security activities;
• for entrepreneurial activities in the management of apartment buildings, etc.

The lack of a license in those cases that are reflected in the list of FZ-99 entails liability for illegal entrepreneurial activity for individual entrepreneurs.

Example No. 5... A.P. Leonova, who has a higher Teacher Education in the area of foreign languages, opened at her place of residence Education Centre, while she was registered as an individual entrepreneur for the purpose of activities - "the provision of other types of services." During the audit carried out by the tax authorities, it was found that, in violation of the requirements of the law "On licensing", Leonova A.P. did not receive a license for educational activities, which was the basis for bringing her to justice.

Violation will also occur in cases where the entrepreneur continues to operate, but:

• the previously obtained license was canceled;
• an application for a license has already been submitted to the licensing authority, but a decision has not yet been made (or a refusal to issue has followed);
• if the permit has expired.

When an entrepreneur has a license for a certain type of activity and at the same time is engaged in another type, for which it is also necessary to have a special permit, such entrepreneurship will also be considered not in accordance with the law.

Example No. 6... Doreen G.O. for many years he was engaged in private medical practice under a license obtained by him in the Ministry of Health of the region. After many years of work, he also began to engage in pharmaceutical activities, however, in violation of the requirements of federal legislation, he did not receive a license for this type, he was prosecuted in the form of a fine for illegal entrepreneurial activity.

Administrative responsibility

The decision on bringing to administrative responsibility Article 14.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation is made by the magistrate of the judicial district, on the territory of which the offense was recorded.

How is an offense detected? A representative of the tax inspectorate, the police, the state inspectorate for trade, etc., can visit with a check at the request of citizens or on their own initiative. These officials draw up a protocol, which reflects all the violations that were recorded.

After drawing up the protocol, the person can be brought to administrative responsibility within two months, after which the proceedings on the material are terminated. Under Part 1 of Art. 14.1 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation for illegal entrepreneurial activity without registration is provided for fine from 500 to 2000 rubles.

Verification may also consist in conducting a test purchase, the result of which will be a significant, undeniable proof of guilt. Typically, test purchases are used by the police to identify illegal business without a license, often in the sale of alcoholic beverages. In such cases, liability arises under Part 2 of Art. 14.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, where the punishment can be in the form of a fine from 2000 to 2500 rubles with or without confiscation of manufactured products.

Example No. 7... The police received a message about the illegal entrepreneurial activity of individual entrepreneur A.A. Rasulova, who was trading in products in own store, located in a residential area of ​​the city. A resident of the house, on the first floor of which the store was located, received complaints about Rasulov's lack of a license to sell alcoholic beverages. At the same time, as follows from the complaints, at night he sells vodka and beer to people who immediately use the purchased drinks in the courtyards of residential buildings. During the test purchase, the fact of the sale of alcohol in the absence of a license was confirmed, a protocol was drawn up under Part 2 of Art. 14.2 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation. Subsequently Rasulov A.A. a fine of 2,500 rubles was imposed.

Part 3 of Art. 14.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation provides for a penalty in the form of a fine up to 2000 rubles for illegal business, when there are violations of the terms of the license. If such violations are recognized as gross, then a punishment is imposed under Part 4 of this article of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation (fine up to 8000 rubles). For each type of activity, the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation establishes individual criteria according to which this or that violation of the conditions can be attributed to a number of gross ones.

Example No. 8... E.P. Markin registered as an entrepreneur, he was issued a license to carry out transportation activities by car, equipped to accommodate more than 8 people. E.P. Markin challenged in court his prosecution under Part 4 of Art. 14.1 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation, considering that the lack of equipment for checking the technical serviceability of cars is not a gross violation, did not agree with the fine imposed on him in the amount of 8,000 rubles. Contrary to the arguments of E.P. Markin, the court recognized the protocol drawn up against him under Part 4 of Art. 14.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, since paragraph 5 of the Regulations on Licensing of Transportation, approved by the Government of the Russian Federation, repeated absence of equipment and premises for car repairs within a year is considered a gross violation.

Responsibility under the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

For criminal liability for illegal business, one of the mandatory signs, according to Art. 171 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, is the infliction of major damage - that is, exceeding 2 million 250 thousand rubles. Damage can be caused to both citizens and any organizations, as well as the state.

As an alternative criterion, which may be instead of “causing major damage”, “income generation” is envisaged in the same amount.

Example No. 9... Kolaev G.E. carried out private security activities as an individual entrepreneur with an expired license. He was prosecuted for committing a crime under Part 1 of Art. 171 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, but appealed against the conviction due to disagreement with the prosecution - he believed that he did not harm anyone. As a result of the appeal consideration of the case, the verdict was left unchanged, since its income from illegal activities for 2020 amounted to 3,500,000 rubles, that is, exceeded 2,250,000 rubles, and the presence of a sign of "causing major damage" is not required here.

Note that when recalculating income, according to the explanations of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, the proceeds received by the entrepreneur are taken into account without taking into account expenses and costs, as well as taxes.

Under Part 1 of Art. 171 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for illegal entrepreneurship (both without registration and without a license or in violation of the terms of the license) threatens fine up to 300,000 rubles or compulsory work up to 480 hours.

In the presence of additional signs (part 2 of article 171 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), the punishment for illegal entrepreneurial activity can be in the form of:

• fine up to 500,000 rubles;
• imprisonment up to 5 years with a fine of up to 80,000 rubles or without it.

Such additional (qualifying) features can be:

1. commission of a crime by an organized group - when several criminals have united for the purpose of carrying out entrepreneurial activities illegally, while roles are clearly distributed between them, each receives a part of the income, etc.
2. if the income received as a result of criminal activity is especially large, that is, exceeds 9 million rubles.

Combination with other crimes

Often, simultaneously with illegal entrepreneurial activity, the actions of the perpetrator include other corpus delicti, for example:

• use of someone else's trademark or name, various product designations belonging to another organization - then the actions are additionally qualified under Art. 180 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation;
• production, storage, transportation or sale of goods without excise marking, if it is mandatory in accordance with the law - there will be additional qualifications under Art. 181 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation;
• if a product is sold that does not meet the safety requirements of citizens, then in addition the offender's actions will be qualified under Art. 238 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Usually the purpose of illegal business is tax evasion. Meanwhile, if an individual entrepreneur conducts illegal activities, additionally qualify his actions under Art. 198 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (tax evasion) is impossible. In the course of the investigation, all the income obtained by the guilty person will be recognized as material evidence in the framework of the criminal case under Art. 171 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and, in the event of a guilty verdict, everything will be turned into state revenue.

If an entrepreneur conducted such criminal activities as the sale of weapons, the manufacture of psychotropic substances, etc., then these actions are fully covered by specific articles of criminal law, without Art. 171 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Outcomes

So, you should know about responsibility for illegal entrepreneurship under Article 171 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

1. it occurs as a result of a person's ongoing activities aimed at systematic profit without state registration, without a license or in violation of licensing conditions, if such actions caused damage to citizens in the amount of more than 2,250,000 rubles, or an income was obtained for this amount (if less than 2,250,000, liability arises under Article 14.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation);
2. as an accused, both an entrepreneur and a person who actually conducts such activities, but does not have state registration, as well as the head legal organization whose activity is not registered;
3. any regulatory authorities, as well as the police and the prosecutor's office, can conduct an inspection and identify violations, where you can write a complaint, if necessary, declare the fact of illegal business;
4. the maximum punishment provided for in Article 171 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is imprisonment for up to 5 years.

Hello! Today we will talk about illegal entrepreneurship.

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

What is entrepreneurial activity

Before talking about legality, one should understand the very concept of entrepreneurial activity.

According to the law, this is an activity that:

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

The systematic sale of goods at a value equal to or less than that at which it was acquired cannot be considered an enterprise, since there is no profit.

Types of illegal entrepreneurship

Illegal business activity - business that does not meet legal requirements.

What law does a business have to violate to become illegal? In fact, any answer is correct. There are many types of illegal business, but let's focus on the most common ones.

Situation 1. Carrying out business activities without proper registration

Simply put, doing business without or. The date of the entry into the appropriate state register is considered to be the moment of registration.

It will be considered a violation not only to conduct business without filing an application with the registration authority, but also to start such activities before receiving a positive response. State registration can only be confirmed by a certificate of the established form; before it is received, it is illegal to conduct entrepreneurial activity.

Situation 2. Inconsistency of the type of activity with the declared at registration

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

Situation 3. Lack of necessary permits (licenses)

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

• The entrepreneur has not applied to the appropriate authority for a permit when it is required by law;
• An application for a license has been submitted, but a positive response has not yet been received, and activities are already underway;
• Commercial activity continues after the suspension or revocation of the license, the expiration of its term.

Situation 4. Violation of licensing conditions

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

Complaints about illegal business activities

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

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

You can file a complaint at:

• Department of Economic Security;
• Prosecutor's Office (considers all complaints and redirects them to other authorities);
• FTS (complaints against entrepreneurs who hide significant profits);
• The police (handle complaints about street vendors and illegal alcohol producers);
• Licensing authorities (complaints regarding the lack of a license or violation of its terms).

The application must indicate:

• Information about the intruder;
• Subject of violation;
• Direction of illegal activity;
• A package of proof documents (receipt of payment, contract for the provision of services).

Responsibility for illegal business

Cases of illegal commercial activity can be identified and recorded:

• Law enforcement officers, prosecutors;
• Inspectors of Rospotrebnadzor or the Antimonopoly Service;
• Employees of the tax and other inspection bodies.

The most common reason for the visit of inspectors is complaints from citizens and reports of illegal business. The result of the check is a protocol containing all the charges.

Depending on the scale of the violation, liability for illegal business can also vary in severity.

For example, along with the ones below, there may also be violations Labor Code, requirements of the fire inspection, the antimonopoly service and many others. Will have to answer for violations of all the rules of law.

Criminal liability (CC)

The worst thing for an offender is that criminal liability for illegal entrepreneurial activity is provided for by Article 171 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. They are attracted to it only for violations that entailed large (more than 1.5 million rubles) damage to citizens or other organizations.

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

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

Measure	Lack of state registration or required license	Conducting illegal business by an organized group or causing damage over 6 million rubles.
Fine in rubles	Up to 300,000	100,000 to 500,000
Penalty in the income of the convicted person for the period	Up to 2 years	One to three years
Forced labor	Up to 480 hours	Up to five years
Arrest	Up to six months	Up to five years, sometimes an additional fine of about 80,000 rubles is imposed

Persons over 16 years of age can be prosecuted:

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

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

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

Administrative responsibility

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

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

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

Violation	For citizens		For officials	For legal entities
No compulsory licenses		2000-2500 rubles	4000-5000 rubles	40,000-50,000 rubles
Failure to comply with licensing terms		1500-2500 rubles	3000-4000 rubles	40,000-50,000 rubles
Gross violation of licensing conditions (in addition to the fine, the activities of an enterprise may be suspended for up to three months)		4000-5000 rubles	4000-5000 rubles	40,000-50,000 rubles

Sometimes administrative punishment can be avoided. For example, when the verification protocol was drawn up incorrectly or if there are contradictions in it. The protocol with inaccuracies must be reissued, and if this procedure takes more than two months, the judge is obliged to close the case. The decision on bringing to administrative responsibility is made by the magistrate.

Tax code

Tax office she is especially interested in identifying illegal entrepreneurship, since the state does not receive a share of taxes due to unregistered activities.

An article of the Tax Code that punishes illegal entrepreneurship most often becomes article 116.

According to her:

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

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

Tax sanctions are imposed only by a court decision.

Civil liability

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

Failure to fulfill the obligation of civil liability can also be presented in court.

Appeal

To bring charges against an entrepreneur of illegal activity, the supervisory authority will have to collect a lot of evidence. All revealed facts are recorded in the act, on the basis of which the protocol is formed.

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

Only the protocol can be appealed, but not the act - it only confirms the fact of verification. But it is precisely the lack of proof of the circumstances in the act that will have to be referred to in the appeal.

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

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

What is illegal business activity

Illegal entrepreneurship is the implementation of entrepreneurial activity in violation of the law. The main criteria: lack of registration, violation of registration rules, lack of a license, submission of false information to the tax authorities.

Illegal activities, as a rule, are aimed at obtaining maximum profit by bypassing the tax authorities.

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

The actions of one person will not in any way affect the formation of the state's economy, and if you collect all the illegal figures together, this causes considerable damage to the state and social sphere.

The law is uniform, failure to comply with it leads to criminal, administrative and tax liability, which is provided for both an illegally operating large corporation and a person who systematically sells vegetables on the market.

Types of illegal business activities

Illegal business is divided into three types:

1. Commercial activity without registration and . A person constantly carries out certain activities: provides services, sells products. This is usually the only source of income, but the tax authorities and Pension Fund no deductions are made. The most striking common example is the renting of apartments by private individuals. Real estate is rented on a paid basis, but the activity is not registered with the tax office.
2. Business without licensing, if such is provided by law. There are groups of goods and services for which a license must be purchased: alcoholic and tobacco products, cosmetology and medical services. A license costs a lot of money. Therefore, many entrepreneurs do business either without a license, at their own peril and risk, or provide services at home.
3. Conducting business activities in violation. For example, an entrepreneur submits documents to open one business, say, a household chemicals store, but in fact opens a hairdresser or cafe. It so happens that the address in the registration documents does not coincide with the actual location of production facilities.

All this can be attributed to illegal entrepreneurship.

Complaints about illegal business

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

If a person sells children's clothes for a small price, for example, or sells a self-knitted sweater on the market, this can hardly be called illegal activity. But if someone begins to provide cosmetological services at home, without the necessary conditions and appropriate registration, then this is already an illegal activity.

A complaint about illegal business can be filed with the Economic Security Department, the prosecutor's office, the police or the tax office. At the same time, you need to understand that you cannot sew words to a deed, you need proof.

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

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

Complaint to the tax office

If you have a reason to file a complaint against an illegal businessman, you must write a statement to the tax office. The established sample is not provided. The following information must be indicated in the application:

1. The surname and initials of the person engaged in illegal business, and what is its violation. For example, no license.
2. What is the business: cosmetology, object renovation, construction or something else.
3. What time is the activity.
4. It is necessary to register a request for the intervention of the tax office.
5. A package of documents as evidence.

Important! The tax office will accept the application if you provide the fact of receipt Money an entrepreneur. Perhaps you still have a receipt, agreement, or a copy of a document.

Punishment for illegal business

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

• for systematic engagement in business without the required registration;
• for receiving funds from illegal business on an especially large scale;
• for causing material damage to the state and citizens during illegal activities, or harm to health.

According to Article 171 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation "Illegal Business", punishment occurs in the following cases:

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

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

Other types of liability of individuals and legal entities

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

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

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

Administrative punishment is carried out not only for illegal work, but also for the use of other people's logos, copyright infringement, deceiving buyers, and selling fakes. Get more information on the responsibility of individual entrepreneurs -.

Illegal business and tax services

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

In fact, it looks very different. If you, for example, implement via social networks products self made, and you are sent money by cash on delivery for this, it is better to register yourself as an individual entrepreneur, otherwise you cannot avoid tax prosecution. The amount of the fine depends on the type of violation:

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

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

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

What is important to know about illegal entrepreneurship (video)

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

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

Many of us periodically provide some kind of services to our friends (or their acquaintances): help with repairs, get a haircut, order some goods via the Internet, sew a dress or repair a car. And they do it for a certain reward. And if such a business clearly goes beyond the small side job and begins to bring tangible profits, it can be qualified as illegal entrepreneurship. This activity can be seriously interested not only by the tax authorities, but also by the police and other structures.

You also need to know that to perform some types of work, it is not enough to register as an individual entrepreneur or open a company - you will also need a special permit (license). This applies to medical and cosmetic services, passenger transportation, design work, etc. To conduct such a business without completing all the proper documents is a much more serious offense than just an unregistered business.

Letter of the law

Entrepreneurial, in accordance with the Civil Code, is an activity that is carried out with the aim of systematically making a profit at your own risk. Profit can be obtained through the implementation of work, the sale of goods, the lease of property, the provision of paid services. A citizen conducting a commercial activity must register as an entrepreneur without fail.

As you can see, the main differences between a private transaction between citizens and entrepreneurship are the systematic nature of activities and profit making. So, a one-time purchase and sale transaction or once rendered chargeable service cannot be considered illegal business activity. But produced twice or more in a year, they become systematic and fall under the definition of commercial activity.

However, if we are talking about the sale of goods at the cost for which it was purchased (or less), this in any case will be considered a private matter: there is no profit. Such activity cannot be considered entrepreneurial, even if it is carried out systematically.

Illegal business in Russia is considered to be:

1. Commercial activity that is carried out without registration individual entrepreneurship or legal entity... This also includes activities that are executed with violations or with false data indicated in registration documents.
2. Business activities carried out without a license, if required.
3. Gross violations of licensing requirements.
4. Illegal business conduct can cause serious trouble for an entrepreneur. For this offense, the law provides for three types of liability: tax, administrative and even criminal.

Administrative responsibility

The Code of Administrative Offenses for conducting illegal commercial activities provides for the following penalties:

1. For activities unregistered in accordance with the established procedure (individual entrepreneur or LLC), a fine is imposed in the amount of 500 to 2000 rubles.
2. Fines may be imposed for carrying out those activities that are subject to compulsory licensing without appropriate permits: individuals - from 1 to 2.5 thousand rubles, for officials - 4-5 thousand rubles, for legal entities - 40-50 thousand rubles. In this case, unlicensed products and the means of their production may be confiscated.
3. If there is a license, but the licensing requirements are violated, this is also fraught with penalties: for citizens - in the amount of 1.5-2.5 thousand rubles, for officials - 3-4 thousand rubles, for organizations - from 30 to 40 thousand . rubles.
4. If the licensing conditions are grossly violated, entrepreneurial activity may be suspended for 90 days, the fine in this case is 4–5 thousand rubles for individuals and officials, and 40–50 thousand rubles for organizations.

The fact of illegal entrepreneurship can be established by:

• tax office,
• antimonopoly committee,
• consumer market supervisors,
• police,
• the prosecutor's office.

A record of violations can be drawn up as a result of verification activities: inspection of the premises, making test purchases, etc. Any signal that illegal business activity is being conducted or violations of the work are allowed as a reason for such a check.

Cases of illegal business are considered by a magistrate at the place of its implementation or at the place of residence of the offender. Such a case must be considered within two months after the corresponding protocol has been drawn up. If this does not happen, the case should be closed. If the protocol is drawn up with violations, there are contradictions and inaccuracies in it, the violator can avoid punishment: while the protocol is being reissued and errors are corrected, the time allotted for prosecution may expire.

Criminal liability

In some cases, illegal business activities can lead to criminal liability. This happens if the state, organizations or individuals are seriously damaged as a result of such activities, or when an entrepreneur makes large profits from an illegal business. A large amount (both damage and profit) is considered to be the amount of 250 thousand rubles, especially large - from 1 million rubles.

In this case, the illegal entrepreneur will be punished in accordance with the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

1. Causing damage on a large scale is punishable by a fine of up to 300 thousand rubles or in the amount of the offender's earnings for 2 years, 180-240 hours of compulsory work or imprisonment for 4-6 months.
2. Damage on an especially large scale or the same actions committed by a group of persons entail a fine in the amount of 100-500 thousand rubles or in the amount of 3 years' earnings or imprisonment for up to 5 years with payment of 80 thousand rubles to the state or in the amount of the convicted person's income for 6 months.

The prosecutor's office or the police must prove the fact of damage or large income. I must say that it is quite difficult to detect an offense that would fall under criminal sanctions: test purchases are usually made for small amounts, and therefore they cannot become evidence of excess profits.

Responsibility for illegal business that leads commercial organization, completely falls on its leader. The following are not subject to criminal liability:

• citizens who have concluded labor contract with an illegal entrepreneur and acting under this agreement;
• owners of leased real estate, regardless of the amount of income.

There are also circumstances that can mitigate criminal penalties. These include the positive characteristics of the perpetrator, as well as the singularity of the case of bringing him to justice.

In addition to the very fact of illegal entrepreneurial activity, I can bring an entrepreneur to criminal liability for:

• the use of someone else's trademarks without appropriate permissions or the indication of deliberately false information about the origin of the goods;
• production, sale, purchase of counterfeit products.

Tax liability

Sanctions for commercial activities without registration are governed by Articles 116 and 117 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. They involve the collection of taxes that have not been received by the state, and fines for evading the payment of these taxes.

1. An entrepreneur who is not registered with the Federal Tax Service is fined in the amount of 10% of his income (at least 20 thousand rubles). Such a penalty is applied if, at the time of the tax audit, registration documents had not been submitted to the tax office at all.
2. Doing business without registration for 90 days or more is punishable by a fine of 20% of income (but not less than 40 thousand rubles).
3. The fine for late registration of entrepreneurship with the Federal Tax Service is 5 thousand rubles. If the delay with registration is more than 90 days, a fine of 10 thousand rubles will be charged. Such penalties apply if documents for registration are submitted after the first proceeds, but before the tax audit. The delay in registration is considered from the moment of the first proceeds.

In addition to fines for the absence of state registration or its delay, the tax authority may charge additional unpaid taxes. In this case, an illegal businessman will need to pay personal income tax (PIT) on the entire amount of income, the receipt of which will be proven. To this should be added all penalties for late payment of taxes and the possible penalty for non-payment - it is 20% of the additionally assessed amount.

All these sanctions are applied to the offender only by a court decision.

As you can see, liability for illegal business activities can be quite serious. In addition, the tax authorities are quite actively engaged in collecting information about "illegal immigrants", so it will be quite difficult to conceal their activities from interested services.

In some cases, registration can be avoided. For example, if your business is to provide services to enterprises and organizations, you can formalize this cooperation with documents (conclude a work contract or a one-time labor contract).

It is not necessary to register as an entrepreneur and for those who rents out housing: it is enough to conclude an agreement with the tenant and pay personal income tax (personal income tax). In this case, you only need to submit a declaration to the Federal Tax Service annually.

However, if you are seriously planning to engage in entrepreneurial activity, you should not delay its official registration: for a serious entrepreneur, there is nothing more important business reputation, and trouble with government agencies can do a disservice here.