How to number advance invoices. How to correctly number advance invoices

We thank the chief accountant of LLC “What to do Zapolyarye” Elena Gennadievna Romadina, Murmansk, for the proposed topic of the article.

For many accounting program is configured in such a way that advance invoices have their own separate numbering. For example, from the same date the following were issued: invoice No. 145, invoice No. 146, and then advance invoice No. 38/A. That is, according to the company that developed the program, Government Decree No. 1137 does not require that advance invoices be numbered “in the general queue” along with regular and adjustment invoices. Government Decree No. 1137 dated December 26, 2011 (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 1137). Accountants are perplexed: is this correct?

How to number advance invoices

The numbering of invoices and adjustment invoices must be the same. This is expressly enshrined in Resolution No. 1137.

You can read the answers to the first questions about new invoices: ;

What is called an advance invoice in the accounting community is nothing more than a regular invoice, only completed in connection with the receipt of an advance payment from the buyer. Resolution No. 1137 provides for certain features of its completion Rules for filling out an invoice, approved. Decree No. 1137. However, such invoices must be numbered in general procedure- there are no special features here. It turns out that invoices issued by the seller upon receipt of an advance payment cannot be numbered separately.

If we assume that the advance invoice and the shipment invoice are different documents, then it turns out that we have neither approved form for an advance invoice, neither the rules for filling it out, nor the rules for registering it anywhere. Which, you see, is implausible.

FROM AUTHENTIC SOURCES

Department Advisor indirect taxes Department of Tax and Customs Tariff Policy of the Ministry of Finance of Russia

“ Resolution No. 1137 establishes the chronological order of assigning numbers to invoices (including adjustment invoices) subp. "a" clause 1 section. II Appendix No. 2 to Resolution No. 1137. In my opinion, it provides a chronology by the date of their compilation and/or display in ascending order of numbers. Thus, invoices issued by the seller to the buyer upon receipt of an advance payment from him (advance invoices) must be numbered within the framework of the general numbering. Resolution No. 1137 does not provide for their separate numbering.

If you need to separate advance invoices from shipping and adjustment invoices, for convenience, you can put letter designations after the number, for example “A”. Thus, the invoice number will be a composite number (from numbers and letters). The digital part of the number is determined within the framework of a single chronology, and the alphabetic part only shows the peculiarity of the operation. The letter part of the number can be considered as an additional detail of the invoice. Neither the Federal Tax Service nor the Ministry of Finance objects to such details. Letters of the Ministry of Finance dated 02/09/2012 No. 03-07-15/17; Federal Tax Service dated January 26, 2012 No. ED-4-3/1193.

For example, the invoice number for shipped goods is 76, followed by an advance invoice with number 77/A. The Ministry of Finance specialists have nothing against such numbering.

FROM AUTHENTIC SOURCES

“ In my opinion, the serial numbers assigned to invoices and adjustment invoices in chronological order can be made up of numbers and letters. The main thing is that the numerical part of the number is assigned sequentially - within the framework of chronological order.”

Ministry of Finance of Russia

What happens if invoices are numbered incorrectly?

The purpose of the uniform numbering laid down in Decree No. 1137 is quite obvious. This is a fight with those who love backdating write out source documents. Keeping invoice numbers in order should make it easier for inspectors to check.

True, there are no penalties for the seller for incorrect numbering of invoices. This was confirmed by specialists from the Ministry of Finance.

FROM AUTHENTIC SOURCES

“ For assigning serial numbers to invoices and adjustment invoices not in chronological order according to the norms current legislation There is no liability for value added tax.”

Ministry of Finance of Russia

The buyer should also not have any problems, even if it turns out that the invoice he received was numbered incorrectly by the supplier. Tax authorities do not have the right to refuse deductions because of this. clause 2 art. 169 Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

If you want your invoices to be issued in full compliance with Decree No. 1137, you will have to:

<или>contact the company that developed the program to change the settings. The downside of this is that you may be asked to pay extra for such an exclusive service;
<или>manually correct invoice numbers.

The article discusses the procedure for registering invoices in “1C: Accounting 8” when advances are received from the buyer. 1C:ITS specialists provide options for issuing invoices for advance and practical example explain how in the program, using the “Registration of advance invoices” processing, you can batch enter “advance” invoices for a specified period. The setting up of the organization's accounting policy parameters regarding the procedure for registering advance invoices, as well as the numbering procedure for issued invoices, including those implemented in accordance with the explanations of the Ministry of Finance of Russia*, are discussed in detail. The information provided will help the user determine how to register advance invoices and number the invoices issued.

When an advance is received from the buyer, an organization that is a VAT payer is obliged to issue an invoice for the advance and calculate VAT.

To issue invoices for advance payments in the 1C: Accounting 8 program, there are two options for creating a document Invoice issued with invoice type For advance: together with registration of admission documents Money(advances) and automatically (list) using processing .

Option No. 1 - together with registration of documents for receipt of funds (advances)

Funds received into the current account are registered using a document . If the funds received are an advance, then based on the document Receipt to the current account You can immediately issue an “advance” invoice.

How to issue “advance” invoices based on a document Receipt to the current account, you can read in the article “Sale of finished products in bulk (prepayment - shipment)” on ITS http://its.1c.ru/db/hoosn#content:83:2 (see operation “2.2 Issuing an invoice for advance payment "

Option No. 2 - automatically (list) using the “Registration of advance invoices” processing

This option is recommended to be used when the total number of issued invoices is large and it is necessary to automate their issuance. In this option, invoice registration can be done for one day or for an arbitrary period.

To use option No. 2, you need to set up the procedure for registering invoices for advances accepted by the organization in accounting policy.

Let's look at the description of option No. 2 using an example.

Example

The following business operations are performed (see table):

Setting up an organization's accounting policy

To perform operation 1 “Setting up the organization’s accounting policy” (see table), you need to go to the tab VAT specify accounting policy parameters. Setting up an accounting policy allows processing track the timing of invoices.

If there is no accounting policy for the required period, one should be created.

Change settings Accounting policies of organizations(Fig. 1):

1. Call from the menu: Company - Accounting policy - Accounting policies of organizations.

2. Select the organization and period of application of the accounting policy.

3. Press the button Change current element .

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Setting up a bookmark General information accounting policy (Fig. 2):

1. Set the switch General in field Tax system- in this case a bookmark appears VAT.

2. When applying UTII for some types of activities, you must check the box A special taxation procedure applies to certain species activities.

3. When carrying out production activities (performing work, providing services), you should check the box Production of products, performance of work, provision of services, when carrying out retail trade - checkbox Retail.

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Setting up a bookmark VAT accounting policy (Fig. 3):

In field Procedure for registering invoices for advance payments You can choose one of the proposed options for registering invoices for advances:

1. Always register invoices upon receipt of an advance. This option is installed in the program by default. With this option, invoices for advances received will be created for each amount received. The exception is prepayment amounts that are offset on the day of their receipt, for such received invoice amounts for advance processing Registration of invoices for advance payments are not created.

2. Do not register invoices for advances offset within 5 calendar days. With this option, invoices for advances received will be created only for those prepayment amounts that were not offset within 5 calendar days after their receipt. This option implements the rule enshrined in paragraph 3 of Article 168 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, according to which the seller must issue an invoice to the buyer for the amount of the prepayment within five calendar days after its receipt, if the shipment of goods (performance of work, provision of services, transfer property rights) against the received prepayment is also made within the specified five days (letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated March 6, 2009 No. 03-07-15/39).

3. Do not register invoices for advances credited before the end of the month. With this option, invoices for advances received will be created only for those prepayment amounts that were not credited during the month in which they were received. According to the clarifications of the Ministry of Finance of Russia, given in letter dated 03/06/2009 No. 03-07-15/39, for continuous long-term supplies of goods (provision of services) to the same buyer (supply of electricity, oil, gas, provision of communication services, etc. . p.) invoices for advances received on account of such supplies are issued to customers at least once a month, no later than the 5th day of the month following the previous month. In this case, the amount of the prepayment is determined as the difference between the payment received in the corresponding month and the cost of goods (work, services) shipped during this month.

4. Do not register invoices for advances offset until the end of the tax period. With this option, invoices for advances received will be created only for those prepayment amounts that were not credited during the tax period (quarter) in which they were received. This option is intended for organizations that are ready to resist possible claims from tax authorities regarding the timing of issuing invoices for advance payments. There is a position that payments cannot be recognized as advance payments if payment and shipment of goods occurred in the same tax period. Because the tax period according to VAT, a quarter is considered (Article 163 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation), then the seller should not issue invoices for advances received in the quarter in which the goods were shipped (work performed, services provided).

5. Do not register invoices for advances (Clause 13, Article 167 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). The option is intended for organizations whose activities fall under paragraph 13 of Article 167 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, i.e., which are engaged in the production of goods (work, services) (according to the list determined by the Government of the Russian Federation) with a production cycle duration of more than six months. In the case of receiving an advance payment for the specified goods (work, services), these organizations have the right to determine the moment the tax base arises as the day of shipment (transfer) of these goods (performance of work, provision of services).

One of the selected options will apply to all contracts in the organization.

If an agreement with a specific buyer has specific features, then for this agreement you can establish an individual procedure for generating advance invoices. To do this, you need to uncheck the box in the contract form Register advance invoices in a manner consistent with accounting policies and select the required element from the list (Fig. 6).

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Issuing an invoice to the buyer

To perform operation 2 “Issuing invoices to the buyer” (see example table), you need to create a document Invoice for payment to the buyer. The document does not generate transactions.

Creating a document Invoice for payment to the buyer(Fig. 4):

1. Call from the menu: Sale - Check.

2. Button Add .

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Filling out the document header Invoice for payment to the buyer(Fig. 5):

1. In the field Stock select the warehouse from which you plan to ship goods.

2. In the field Counterparty select a buyer from the directory Counterparties.

3. In the field Agreement select an agreement with the buyer. Attention! In the contract selection window, only those contracts that have the contract type are displayed With buyer(Fig. 6).

4. In the field Bank account select a bank account to transfer funds from the buyer.

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Checkbox Register advance invoices in a manner consistent with accounting policies is removed when, for a specific contract, it is necessary to establish an individual procedure for generating advance invoices that differs from the accounting policy settings (see Fig. 3).

In field Generalized name of goods for an advance invoice the name of goods (works, services) is indicated (from the directory Nomenclature), which will be inserted into the “advance” invoice issued to the buyer in the absence of an invoice for payment. When issuing an invoice in the “advance” invoice, in the field Nomenclature (general name), the item specified in the invoice is transferred.

Filling out a bookmark Goods document Invoice for payment to the buyer(Fig. 7):

1. Click the button Add .

2. In the field Nomenclature select the products sold (in the directory Nomenclature The product name is usually located in the folder Goods).

3. Fill in the remaining fields as shown in Figure 7.

4. To save the document, click the button Write down.

5. To call the printed Invoice form, use the button An invoice for payment.

6. Button OK.

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By analogy with this document, two more invoices are created for payment to the buyer:

Receipt of advances from the buyer

To perform operation 3 “Receipt of advances from the buyer” (see example table), you need to create a document based on document Invoice for payment to the buyer. As a result of the document Receipt to the current account The corresponding postings will be generated.

Creating a document Receipt to the current account(Fig. 8):

1. Call from the menu: Sale - Check.

2. Select the base document ( Invoice for payment to the buyer).

3. Click the button Enter based on.

4. Select Receipt to the current account with document operation type Payment from the buyer . Moreover, based on the document Invoice for payment to the buyer a new document is created and automatically filled in Receipt to the current account. It is necessary to check the completion of its fields and edit them.

Filling out the document Receipt to the current account(Fig. 8):

1. In the field from indicate the date of payment according to the bank statement.

2. In the field In. number Enter the buyer's payment order number.

3. In the field In. date Enter the date of the buyer's payment order.

4. In the field Settlement account check that account 62.01 “Settlements with buyers and customers” is indicated.

5. In the field Advance account check that account 62.02 “Calculations for advances received” is indicated.

6. In the field Money movement article. funds you must select the appropriate article.

7. Fill in the remaining fields as shown in Figure 8.

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To post a document, click the button Conduct , to view transactions, click the button Result of the document .

Figure 9 shows the result of the document Receipt to the current account.

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By analogy with this document, two more documents are created Receipt to the current account:

From 05/12/2012 in the amount of RUB 1,500,000;

From 06/12/2012 in the amount of 2,000,000 rubles.

As a result of these documents, transactions will also be generated reflecting the receipt of advances from the buyer:

1. Debit 51 “Current accounts” - Credit 62.02 “Calculations for advances received” - RUB 1,500,000.00.

2. Debit 51 “Settlement accounts” - Credit 62.02 “Calculations for advances received” - RUB 2,000,000.00.

Registration of invoices for advance payment by list

To perform operation 4 “Registration of advance invoices by list” (see example table), you need to process Registration of invoices for advance payments.

Processing is intended for automatic generation of documents Invoices issued with a view For advance.

Start processing Registration of invoices for advance payments(Fig. 10):

Call from the menu: Sale - Maintaining a sales book - Registration of invoices for advance payments.

Filling out the processing header Registration of invoices for advance payments(Fig. 11):

1. In the fields Period from... to... select the period for which processing is performed.

2. Click on the hyperlink Always register invoices upon receipt of an advance. A window appears Accounting policies of organizations(see Fig. 3), in which on the tab VAT an option for registering invoices for advances is indicated.

3. Click on the hyperlink Uniform numbering of all issued invoices. A window appears Setting up accounting parameters(Fig. 12), in which on the tab VAT You can determine the numbering order of issued invoices:

Uniform numbering of all issued invoices- all issued invoices will be numbered in chronological order sequentially, regardless of their type, in particular, “advance” invoices will not have the prefix “A”.
The setting is installed by default and takes effect after updating the configuration to release 2.0.39.6. When switching to this numbering, previously issued invoices are not renumbered; Separate numbering of invoices for advance payments with the prefix “A”

- issued invoices will be numbered in chronological order sequentially, with the exception of “advance” invoices, which have a separate numbering with the addition of the prefix “A”. This mode was used before changes were made to the accounting settings (before release 2.0.39.6). The possibility of a single numbering of all issued invoices was implemented in connection with the clarifications of the Ministry of Finance of Russia given in letter No. 03-07-11/284 dated August 10, 2012. In it, the financial department indicated that the serial numbers of the adjustment invoice and invoice are assigned in general chronological order (clause “a”, clause 1 of the Rules for filling out the adjustment invoice, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of December 26, 2011 No. 1137) . At the same time, separate numbering of invoices for advances is not provided for by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of December 26, 2011 No. 1137. Please note that the tax authorities allow the presence of additional information in invoices (letter of the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated March 12, 2012 No. ED-4-3/4061@ together with letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated February 9, 2012 No. 03-07-15/17) . In particular, a number assigned in chronological order may be supplemented by a letter designation, for example the letter “A” for advance invoices

. Thus, if an organization assigned invoice numbers not in chronological order, then in accordance with the norms of the tax legislation of the Russian Federation, the taxpayer is not liable for this. At the same time, in accordance with paragraph 2 of Article 169 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, an organization can accept VAT as a deduction.

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Rice. 12 Registration of invoices for advance payments Filling out the processing tabular part

1. Click the button (Fig. 13): Fill For tabular part of processing based on accounting data. When filling out the list, the balances of advances received from customers are analyzed for each date for the specified period. Amounts of advances for which the invoice registration period has not yet arrived or the invoice is not registered are not taken into account. If in an earlier period (not covered by running processing) there was an advance payment, on the basis of which an invoice was not issued, then the line with such an advance payment is also placed in the tabular part of processing and highlighted in red. The criteria for this analysis are the period selected by the user and the accounting policy settings (or the agreement with the buyer).

2. After filling out the list, you can change the field data, for example, adjust the advance amounts (field Advance amount) and etc.

3. Press the button Execute for the generation and processing of invoices for advance payments.

4. Press the button List of invoices (issued) to view the list of created invoices for the specified period (Fig. 14). Open each document to view and edit Invoice issued(Fig. 15).

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Editing the document invoice issued (Fig. 15):

1. In the window that opens Invoice issued The document fields will be automatically filled in.

2. Checkbox Correction number is established in case of registration of a corrected invoice. In our example, corrected invoices do not appear, so there is no need to select this checkbox.

3. Field Invoice type filled with default value For advance.

4. Field Nomenclature (general name) is filled in automatically with data from the invoice for payment (see Fig. 7) or (if there is no invoice) with data from the directory Contracts of counterparties(see Fig. 6).

5. Fields date And Number payment and settlement document are filled automatically with data from the document Receipt to the current account.

6. Field Operation type code is filled in automatically and corresponds to the code of the operation being carried out, which is displayed in column 4 Logbook of received and issued invoices.

8. Swipe the document by pressing the button Conduct.

9. To call the printed Invoice form, use the button Invoice.

10. Button OK.

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To view transactions generated when posting a document Invoice issued click the button Result of the document . Figure 16 shows the result of the document.

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Invoices issued are recorded in the journal of received and issued invoices (Fig. 17) and the sales book (Fig. 18).

To call printed form magazine you can use the menu Sale - Maintaining a sales book - Journal of invoices according to Decree No. 1137, Also this magazine can be called from the menu Purchase - Maintaining a purchase book - Journal of invoices according to Decree No. 1137.

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Creating a printed form of the sales book (Figure 18):

1. Call from the menu: Sale - Maintaining a sales book - Sales book according to Decree No. 1137.

2. In the fields Period from... to... select the period for which the book is created.

3. Using a button Settings select JSC "TF-Mega" (Fig. 19).

4. Press the button Form .

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My accounting policy stipulates that advance invoices have a separate numbering in chronological order with the letter A. Could this be a basis for refusing a deduction? input VAT from the contractors who sent me an advance?

The numbering of all invoices must be the same; prepayment invoices cannot be assigned separate serial numbers, since inspectors may refuse to deduct VAT from buyers. Advance invoices should be numbered in general chronological order, but for convenience, you can assign them a letter code (see example below). This procedure will not constitute an error due to which tax authorities may deny the buyer a deduction.

The rationale for this position is given below in the recommendations of the Glavbukh System, in the article of the Glavbukh magazine, which you can find in the Journals tab.

Start filling out the invoice by indicating the serial number and date of the document. Invoices (including invoices for advances received) must be numbered in chronological order as they are compiled (subparagraph 1, paragraph 5, article 169 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, paragraph 1 of Appendix 1 to, letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated August 10, 2012 No. 03-07-11/284).*

Olga Tsibizova

2.Situation:what errors in the invoice can be considered acceptable (not interfering with the right to deduct input VAT)

Errors that do not interfere with identifying the seller or buyer, the name and cost of goods, are considered acceptable. tax rate and the amount of VAT.

Tax inspectorates do not have the right to refuse a deduction to the buyer (customer) if the invoice contains incomplete information or errors are made that do not interfere with the identification of:

seller (performer) or buyer (customer). In particular, if the TIN is correctly indicated on the invoice, then an inaccurate postal code or abbreviated name of the subject of the Russian Federation in line 2a “Address” cannot be grounds for refusing to deduct VAT on such an invoice (letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated June 7, 2010 . No. 03-07-09/36);
name and cost goods sold(work performed, services rendered, property rights transferred). For example, if the invoice indicates an abbreviated name of the product (letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated May 10, 2011 No. 03-07-09/10) or the unit of measurement code is not indicated (letter of the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated July 18, 2012 No. ED-4 -3/11915), this cannot serve as a basis for refusing to deduct VAT on such an invoice;
tax rate and VAT amount charged to the buyer.*

This procedure is provided for in paragraph 2 of Article 169 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

In addition, according to the regulatory authorities, grammatical (spelling, syntax) errors and technical defects that do not distort the content of the invoice details are not grounds for refusal to deduct VAT. For example, such as:

indication of the postal code not at the beginning, but at the end of the lines intended for entering the corresponding address;
indication of any name (street, last name, product) in violation of the spelling rules adopted in the Russian language (including typos, typos), for example: “st. Gocharov" instead of "st. Goncharova";
abbreviation of the words “prospect”, “house”;
placing a comma between the street name and house number;
discrepancy between the digital code and the name of the country of origin of the goods.

This, in particular, is stated in letters of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated November 9, 2011 No. 03-07-09/41, Federal Tax Service of Russia dated September 4, 2012 No. ED-4-3/14705. Representatives of the financial department adhere to the same position in private explanations.

At the same time, additional requirements for the preparation of invoices, which are provided for in Appendix 1 to Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of December 26, 2011 No. 1137, must be strictly followed. Even if these requirements are not directly stated in paragraphs 5.1, 5.2 and Article 169 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

Olga Tsibizova
Head of the Indirect Taxes Department of the Tax and Taxation Department
customs and tariff policy of the Ministry of Finance of Russia

3.Article: Explanations from officials that will help you issue new invoices without errors

What changes to consider: The numbering of all invoices must be the same. Dividing marks can only be used if the company sells goods through branches. Invoices for intermediary transactions must now be issued according to new rules.

New invoices became mandatory not so long ago - from April 1, but they probably already raised a lot of questions in you. In particular, how to number invoices correctly? What should such a document look like if the shipment is made through intermediaries or the purchase is made through separate divisions of the company?

You will find ready answers to all these questions in the article. And in the table below there are a number of important explanations from officials for ambiguous situations, for which there are no direct clues in the rules themselves.

How to fill out new invoices, following the explanations of officials

What numbering of invoices are currently recognized by controllers?

Let's start with the problems associated with invoice numbering. If in the old procedure practically nothing was said about how to assign numbers to invoices, then in the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of December 26, 2011 No. 1137, several rules appeared in this regard.

How do you number advance invoices?

Source: survey on www.site

Is it permissible to start numbering invoices from the beginning of the quarter or month?

The new rules do not say at what point to start numbering invoices. Companies often count this from the beginning of the year. And by the way, this is the safest option.

At the same time, if an organization has a lot of shipments, you can update the numbering from any period - quarter or month. However, here you need to keep the following in mind. The shorter the period chosen for numbering, the higher the likelihood that during the audit, tax authorities will find invoices from the same seller with the same numbers from the buyer. This may raise questions in their minds.

Important detail

The new rules do not prohibit numbering invoices from the beginning of each quarter.

However, the judges confirm the supplier’s right to assign numbers not from the beginning of the year. For example, this is indicated in the resolution of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Ural District dated May 13, 2008 No. Ф09-3337/08-С2. Of course, we were still talking about the old rules, but the judges’ conclusions can be applied to the new invoices. Since Resolution No. 1137 did not regulate this issue.

The main thing is to maintain chronological order so that there are no invoices from the same date with the same numbers. Skipping numbers is also not advisable. You don't need any unnecessary complaints from inspectors.

Does the supplier have the right to use separators and numeric indexes in the invoice number?

Companies have the right to put separating marks in invoice numbers only in situations that are expressly stated in paragraph 1 of the Rules for filling out invoices. This was emphasized by employees of the Russian Ministry of Finance in letters dated May 22, 2012 No. 03-07-09/59 and dated May 15, 2012 No. 03-07-09/53. That is, a digital index must be added to the invoice number through a dividing line only when the company sells goods through separate divisions. Or if he is a member of a partnership or a trustee.

By the way, the rules are silent about what is meant by a dividing line. It's most likely a slash. However, inspectors may claim that these are also, for example, hyphens. So, if you want to completely avoid nagging from inspectors, it is better to generally avoid composite numbers, the parts of which are somehow separated from each other.

All these recommendations apply to digital indexes. After all, they are usually entered into numbers through a slash or a hyphen. So, digital codes It is also safer to use only in those situations specified in paragraph 1 of the Rules.

Let's explain with an example. Let’s say, despite the opinion of the controllers, the company’s accountant supplements the invoice number through the “/” sign with a code that is assigned to a specific counterparty. Let's say the code is "15". And the invoice number issued to this buyer looks like this: “470/15”. How can tax authorities interpret such a number? Most likely, they will consider that the invoice was drawn up for goods sold through a separate division of the seller with code “15”. The same applies when the supplier adds the number of the month in which the invoice was issued.

In general, to avoid confusion, we advise you not to supplement invoices with such indexes. It is better to number invoices as simply as possible, without separating marks and digital codes, which are not provided for by the new rules. Then the buyer can calmly claim tax as a deduction. But let’s assume that the supplier still uses a different numbering system that is convenient for him. The extent to which claims from auditors are justified in such a situation is discussed in the commentary below.

Tax authorities do not have the right to refuse a buyer a deduction due to an error in the invoice number

An error in the invoice numbering does not affect the buyer's right to deduct VAT. After all, such an error does not interfere with determining the seller, buyer, name of goods, their cost, rate and amount of tax. Moreover, even if the inaccuracy is related to the code of a separate unit. Since controllers can identify the seller, who is a company and not a branch, based on line 2 of the invoice.*

If local inspectors have a different opinion, the company will have to file a complaint with the Federal Tax Service or in court. Thus, on old invoices, buyers were often able to defend deductions when the supplier assigned numbers out of chronological order. An example is the resolution of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the North-Western District dated March 16, 2009 in case No. A05-8288/2008.

For the seller, errors in invoice numbers should not lead to negative consequences. Article 120 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation establishes a fine only for the absence of invoices themselves.

Can a company somehow allocate advance invoices?

Companies often keep their numbering based on advance invoices. But this is not true. The fact is that all invoices, including advance and adjustment ones, must be numbered in general chronological order. This is established in paragraph 1 of the Rules for filling out an adjustment invoice, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of December 26, 2011 No. 1137.

Let's say a company issues an invoice for shipment number 155. It then issues an invoice for prepayment. So, according to general rules it should be numbered No. 156.

Another question. Is it possible to enter any special feature into the advance invoice number? In general, as we have seen, situations in which the account number must contain any indexes are given in paragraph 1 of the Rules for filling out an invoice. And this norm does not say about advance accounts. But many accountants find it convenient to somehow allocate invoices for prepayment. We believe that a letter code can be used for this. Anyway, significant mistake it definitely won't.

Important detail

Advance invoices should be numbered in general chronological order. But for convenience, you can assign them a letter code.

What might this look like? Let's assume you have created an invoice for shipment No. 304. You issue the next invoice for prepayment and assign it No. 305A. With this option, the requirement for a uniform numbering of invoices is met. In addition, there are no dividing marks or digital codes in the room. So tax authorities are unlikely to find fault with such a numbering system.

Some special attribute can also be added to adjustment invoices. For example, the letter code "K".*

4.Article: “We number invoices for advance payments separately. What will happen to us?

What you risk: The company does not face a fine for separately numbering invoices for advance payments. But inspectors may refuse to deduct VAT from your customers. Therefore, there is a risk that those who do not want to argue will demand that you correct the documents.

But let's say that for some reason you assigned separate serial numbers to your prepayment invoices. And by the way, this is a very common mistake among companies. What could it lead to?

Let us say right away that inspectors do not have the right to fine your organization for failure to comply with the uniform numbering of invoices. Such a punishment tax legislation not provided. A fine under Article 120 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation is possible only if there are no invoices as such.

There is a different risk here. Inspectors may deny VAT deductions to your counterparties because the invoices were issued in violation of the rules. Therefore, buyers who do not want to argue will demand corrected invoices from you.

Of course, you can meet halfway. But in order to establish a single numbering, you will need to correct literally all the documents. And that means issuing corrected invoices to almost every counterparty. Luckily it won't affect you tax base according to VAT. You will only record corrections in the quarter in which you received the advance or shipped the goods.

But the buyer will be forced to remove deductions for the period in which the original invoice was recorded and transfer them to the one in which he received the corrected one. And if these are different quarters, he will submit a VAT clarification and pay additional tax with penalties. It is unlikely that this option will suit those who did not require you to correct the documents.

So it’s easier to ignore such requests. They say that an incorrect number does not interfere with identifying the seller, the buyer, the name and cost of goods, the rate and amount of VAT. And this means that it does not deprive the buyer of the right to deductions (clause 2 of Article 169 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

To eliminate disputes in the future, start uniform numbering of all invoices now, without waiting for 2013. It is possible from the beginning of the month or quarter. Write down the new numbering option in the accounting policy. We wrote more about the requirements for invoice numbers in the article “Explanations of officials that will help you issue new invoices without errors” (published in the magazine “Glavbukh” No. 13, 2012).*

Sincerely,

expert of the Glavbukh System Natalya Chekalova.

Answer approved:

leading expert Hotline"Chief Accountant Systems" Natalya Kolosova.

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The answer to your question is given in accordance with the operating rules of the “Hotline” of the Glavbukh System, which you can find at: http://www.1gl.ru/#/hotline/rules/?step=14

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They are numbered separately from other documents. That is, invoices No. 136, No. 137 and advance invoice No. 36/A can have the same date. Do I need to number advance accounts along with general and adjustment accounts, or can I save the existing settings?

The numbering of invoices and adjustment invoices must be the same. This is directly enshrined in Resolution No. 1137.

What is called an advance invoice in the accounting community is nothing more than a regular invoice, only completed in connection with the receipt of an advance payment from the buyer. Resolution No. 1137 provides for certain features of its completion. However, such invoices must be numbered in the general order - there are no special features here. It turns out that invoices issued by the seller upon receipt of an advance payment cannot be numbered separately.

Note. If we assume that an advance invoice and a shipping invoice are different documents, then it turns out that we have neither an approved form for an advance invoice, nor rules for filling it out, nor rules for registering it anywhere . Which, you see, is implausible.

Vikhlyaeva Elena Nikolaevna – Advisor to the Department of Indirect Taxes of the Department of Tax and Customs Tariff Policy of the Ministry of Finance of Russia

"Resolution No. 1137 establishes the chronological order of assigning numbers to invoices (including adjustment invoices). In my opinion, it provides for a chronology by the date of their preparation and/or issuance in ascending order of numbers. Thus, invoices, issued by the seller to the buyer upon receipt of an advance payment from him (advance invoices) must be numbered within the framework of the general numbering. Resolution No. 1137 does not provide for their separate numbering."

For example, the invoice number for shipped goods is 76, followed by an advance invoice with number 77/A. The Ministry of Finance specialists have nothing against such numbering.

"In my opinion, the serial numbers assigned to invoices and adjustment invoices in chronological order can be made up of numbers and letters. The main thing is that the numerical part of the number is assigned sequentially - within the chronological order."

What happens if invoices are numbered incorrectly?

The purpose of the uniform numbering laid down in Resolution N 1137 is quite obvious. This is a fight against those who like to issue primary documents retroactively. Keeping invoice numbers in order should make it easier for inspectors to check.

True, there are no penalties for the seller for incorrect numbering of invoices. This was confirmed by specialists from the Ministry of Finance.

Vikhlyaeva Elena Nikolaevna, Ministry of Finance of Russia

“The norms of the current legislation on value added tax do not provide for liability for assigning serial numbers to invoices and adjustment invoices not in chronological order.”

If you want your invoices to be issued in full compliance with Decree N 1137, you will have to:

contact the company that developed the program to change the settings. The downside of this is that you may be asked to pay extra for such an exclusive service;

or manually correct invoice numbers.

A different position can be found in the explanations of the Ministry of Finance. If you receive payment and sell goods in the same quarter, you may not need to issue an advance invoice. The main thing is that no more than five days pass between these two events. This point of view is conveyed, for example, by department letters dated October 12, 2011 No. 03-07-14/99 and dated March 6, 2009 No. 03-07-15/39. However, the clarifications of the Ministry of Finance are advisory in nature, so the risks of additional VAT assessment if tax authorities identify such a fact are significant.

Advice. If the company is not ready to sue tax authorities, always issue invoices for prepayment.

Misconception No. 2. The advance invoice must contain the prefix A in the number

Some accountants argue that the numbering for advance invoices should be separate; in no case should continuous numbering be carried out with invoices for shipment. Other specialists try to force sellers to redo a document if its number does not have the prefix “A”.

The rules and procedure for filling out documents reflecting VAT are enshrined in Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated December 26, 2011 No. 1137. There are no prefixes for advance invoices.

In addition, the Ministry of Finance of Russia believes that separate numbering of invoices for advances is not expected (letter of the department dated October 16, 2012 No. 03-07-11/427). The Ministry refers to subparagraph “a” of paragraph 1 of the “Rules for filling out an adjustment invoice” of Resolution No. 1137. And it says that all invoices are numbered in general chronological order.

Let’s say that on September 1, 2016, three invoices were issued for shipment from serial numbers 124, 125, 126. The next day, the accountant needs to issue an invoice for the advance payment, which was credited to the bank account from the buyer. This means that the number of the advance invoice will be the next in order - 127.

At the same time, the Federal Tax Service will not be able to refuse a deduction to the buyer due to an error in the number, because the number does not interfere with identifying the seller and buyer.

Advice. Don’t follow your clients’ lead; draw up and number documents in accordance with laws and regulations.

Misconception No. 3. It is necessary to write in the name that this is an advance payment

Buyers are attentive to incoming invoices, because the possibility of accepting VAT for deduction depends on this. Often, clients insist that the seller indicate in the “Name of Product” column that this is an advance payment.

In fact, the legislation does not contain such a requirement, because it is very simple to distinguish an advance invoice from a regular one: just look at the rate indicated in it. An estimated rate of 18/118 or 10/110 is a sure sign of a prepayment invoice. And the shipment document contains a tax rate equal to 18% or 10%.

If you turn to regulatory documents(clause “a” clause 2 of Appendix 1 to Resolution No. 1137; clause 5.1 of Article 169 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation), then you can see that in this column you only need to indicate the name of the goods (description of services, works). This means that the seller has no obligation to make a note about the advance payment on the invoice. Even if you write about an advance payment, it will not be a mistake - provided that the name of the product is indicated.

The correct options for filling out the name column look like this:

Advice. Be sure to indicate the name of the product, or at least its category, in the invoice for the advance payment. For example, it is acceptable to indicate the general name “shoes” instead of the specific name “boots”.

Misconception No. 4. You may not indicate payment order numbers

The numbers of all payments for which an advance was received from the buyer must be indicated. You also need to indicate the dates of documents for payment. If the advance is made in cash, you must indicate the number and date of the receipt cash order. He says this directly tax code(Subclause 3, Clause 5.1, Article 169 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

In practice, if the payment order number consists of more than three digits, only the last three digits are written on the invoice.

Advice. Do not forget to indicate the details of payment orders, otherwise the buyer may be denied a deduction. Issue a separate advance invoice for each payment document.

Misconception No. 5. You cannot add additional details to the invoice for prepayment.

The seller has the right to include additional details in the advance invoice to simplify his work. For example, you can mark “advance payment” using a special stamp.

Advice. You can enter additional data into the invoice, but you cannot delete existing columns and lines.

Kontur service expert. SKB Kontur company standard

Elena Rogacheva