Responsibility for non-filing of primary statistical data is strengthened

In the end of December, 2015 the Federal law as of 30.12.2015 №442-FZ “On introduction of an Amendment to Article 13.19 of Administrative Offences Code of the Russian Federation” came into force. 

The introduced amendments strengthen companies’ administrative responsibility for non-filing, untimely filing or filing of unreliable primary statistical data to the government statistics agency. Fines for the corresponding offenses are imposed on officials at a rate from 10 to 20 th RUB and on legal entities - from 20 to 70 th RUB. Earlier fines for the corresponding offenses were imposed at a rate from 3 to 5 th RUB. For the repeat violations the amounts of fine increase to 30 – 50 th RUB for officials, and respectively to 100 – 150 th RUB for legal entities.

In order to understand properly what kind of data is being referred to, it is useful to dwell on the terminology. All the terms are subject to the Federal law as of 29.11.2007 №282-FZ (23.07.2013 revised) “On official statistical accounting and state statistics system in the Russian Federation”.

Primary statistical data – documented information in the forms of the Federal statistical monitoring, received from business subjects or information being directly documented during the course of the Federal statistical monitoring.

Federal statistical monitoring – collection of primary statistical and administrative data.

In its turn the collection of primary statistical data is operated upon forms of the Federal statistical monitoring which represents record sheets, i.e. samples of statistical documents containing questions of monitoring program, places for answers as well as signature requisites of the official. The record sheets make it possible to unify the gathering and automated processing of the statistical data.  Forms of the Federal statistical monitoring include the documentation containing data on key indicators of company, small business or sole entrepreneur’s activity, their basic funds, performance of research and development, manufacture of products and other important data needed for Rosstat (Federal State Statistics Service) to make monitoring, researching and forecasting. Filled forms of the Federal statistical monitoring are commercial confidentiality; the transmission of data on several companies from these forms is prohibited.

Due to introduction of amendments it is necessary to recollect the initiative of the Rosstat (in April, 2015) to strengthen the administrative responsibility for non-filing, untimely filing and filing of an incomplete compulsory copy of an annual financial account and audit report of the financial account subject to compulsory audit. At that moment fine sanctions at the rate from 100 to 500 th RUB were offered. However the initiative wasn’t endorsed.

Filing of the copy of the financial account is provided by the Article 18 of the Federal law as of 06.12.2011 №402-FL (04.11.2014 revised) “Concerning Accounting”. This article lay under obligation economic entities, excluding government sector companies and the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, to file one at a time compulsory copy of an annual state financial account to the state statistics agency at the place of the state registration. Forms of the financial accounts contained in the Rosstat agencies are not confidential and might be shared with third parties on request.

If the financial account isn’t filed at the stated time, the enterprise might be imposed a fine in accordance with an Article 19.7 of Administrative Offences Code of the Russian Federation  on citizens at the rate from 100 to 300 RUB; on officials – from 300 to 500 RUB; on legal entities – from 3000 to 5000 RUB.

Subscribers of the Information and Analytical system Globas- i® may get acquainted with statutory financial accounts, filed to authority having jurisdiction. Presently the System contains the accounts of more than 3 mln 660 th Russian companies and the total number of balance sheets amounts to 13 mln 200 th with archives for more than 20 years.