As of November 1, individuals' tax debts began to be collected under new rules.

      On November 1 a new procedure for collecting tax debts from individuals came into effect in Russia. Now taxes can be collected out of court if the citizen agrees with the amount of the debt.

      Previously all cases were referred to the courts, even if the taxpayer did not dispute the debt. This increased costs — penalties, a state fee and an enforcement fee were added to the debt. According to the Federal Tax Service (FTS), for a debt of 30,000 rubles the additional costs could exceed 12,000 rubles.

      Now the judicial procedure will be retained only for disputed cases. Moreover, if a person disagrees with the charges, the amount of the debt is temporarily excluded from the balance of the single tax account — that is, while the dispute is being resolved, one can safely pay other taxes without fear that funds will be debited to cover the disputed debt.

      According to the FTS, the changes will reduce the burden on the courts and save taxpayers’ money, since court costs and penalties currently average up to 40% of the amount of the debt.

      In addition, the period for filing objections has been increased. Now, after an appeal is rejected, the taxpayer has 30 days to file a repeated appeal (previously 20 days).

      A complaint or a request for recalculation can be filed:

      in the Taxpayer’s Personal Account on the FTS website

      by registered mail.

      The FTS website has a dedicated promo page with detailed explanations of which debts can be contested and how to submit an application.