In accordance with Art. 15 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, employees who have signed an employment contract are required to work for a written payment, and the employer must control them and manage the work process.
Do you need to go all the way (up to filing a lawsuit) if your rights have been violated?
Not really
The labor regulations provide for the mandatory provision by the organization of the conditions specified in the written agreement and the Labor Code. Violation of labor and financial conditions by the employer gives employees the right to file complaints against him with the tax service.
A complaint to the tax office against an employer is a pre-trial tool that allows you to identify financial fraud of an organization related to taxation and wages.
On what grounds is a complaint filed with the tax office?
In turn, Russian regulations do not define a strict list of situations on the basis of which a citizen can file a complaint with the tax office. To apply to the Federal Tax Service to protect your rights, you only need to have a substantiated fact of violation of financial legislation in relation to an employee. As a rule, a complaint is filed on the following grounds:
- Payment by the employer of “gray” or “black” wages;
- Violation of deadlines for payment of wages;
- Delay of wages for a long period;
- Dismissal of employees without proper payments.
Such violations are practiced in organizations with the aim of evading taxes, as well as reducing their amount. And, if for companies there is a certain benefit in this, then for ordinary employees there are huge disadvantages in “gray schemes”. For example, the percentage of contributions to the pension fund with a “gray” salary is much lower. But with “black” no transfers occur at all. Ultimately, this will affect the employee’s pension amount to a lesser extent. Well, perhaps, with delays and unlawful deductions of funds from employees, everything is crystal clear. People suffer losses and resort to borrowing and lending due to lack of finances.
Thus, most illegal actions are directly related to violations of tax laws. At the same time, in accordance with Article 123 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, for failure to comply with the procedure for transferring taxes, organizations can be fined 20 percent of the total amount of unpaid taxes.
When will a complaint against an employer help?
Sometimes many people have such serious disagreements with management that it is no longer possible to resolve them among themselves. And problems most often arise with the rights of the employee, who sometimes does not know how to protect them and resolve the conflict that has arisen. Unfortunately, collective complaints against the employer from employees of organizations often arise.
There are many reasons for an employee to complain to an employer. The main ones include:
- the employer's reluctance to enter into a formal employment contract;
- delay in payment of salary and other accruals;
- no overtime pay;
- an employee’s complaint against the employer can be filed if wages were paid unofficially;
- incorrect calculation of payment;
- delay in issuing a work book if necessary;
- any other possible violations.
Now, in order to file a complaint against an employer, you need to go to the labor inspectorate or another body, submitting a document in writing. This organization has all the powers to monitor compliance with the law. Our labor dispute lawyer Yekaterinburg will help you decide on the authorities who will receive the employee’s complaint.
How can a complaint be filed with the tax office?
To send a complaint to the tax office, citizens can use the following methods:
1. File a complaint with the Federal Tax Service.
To do this, you need to fill out the appropriate form and personally contact the territorial office of the Federal Tax Service at the place of registration of the legal entity that is the employer. The applicant must have an identification document and two copies of the complaint. One remains with the tax authorities, and the second is returned to the citizen with an acceptance mark, date, and signature of the employee.
2. Online via the Internet on the Federal Tax Service website.
You can also submit a complaint remotely using the official tax office website. The procedure is available to any user and having a personal account is not necessary. To file a complaint with the tax office online you must:
- Go to the website of the Federal Tax Service;
- Select the “Individuals” menu;
- Go to the section “Filing a complaint to the tax authorities”;
- Choose the appropriate life situation;
- Click “Create a request”;
- Fill out the required form fields following the instructions on the website.
3. Use postal mail.
As in most cases, Russian Post provides a document delivery service via registered mail. The service is paid. However, it provides a guarantee of delivery and receipt of the complaint by the addressee. The letter is sent to the address of the territorial branch of the Federal Tax Service at the location of the employing organization.
To court
Complaints from individuals are mainly resolved within the tax service itself and rarely go to court. However, if the dispute cannot be resolved, and even more so if there is a financial dispute, for example, regarding a deduction, you can go to court through litigation.
To file a claim in court, you must:
- Pay the state fee. For statements of claim challenging the actions and decisions of an authority, the state duty is 300 rubles. If claims are made for the collection of funds, the state duty is calculated based on the amount of claims according to the rules of Article 333.19 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. Pensioners and disabled people of groups I and II are exempt from paying state duty. A receipt for payment is attached to the statement of claim.
- If the application is submitted in paper form, you need to print out the applications with copies of the attachments according to the number of persons participating in the case: for yourself, the tax office and the court.
- Take to the post office a copy of the claim for the defendant along with the attachments and send it to the Federal Tax Service by registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt. Receipts of delivery will also need to be attached to the claim in court.
- Apply to the court. This can be done in three ways:
- come to the court office and hand in the documents in person. Then the secretary will mark your copy as having been received and take away the claim along with all the attachments;
- send the claim by registered mail;
- use the electronic system of GAS Justice and send documents electronically in PDF format. This will require authorization through the ESIA.
We invite you to familiarize yourself with Chapter 39. Financial liability of the employee.
Cases of full financial liability The period for consideration of a case in the first instance takes about two months. When filing an appeal or cassation complaint, the dispute can drag on for up to a year.
Features of submitting an application.
A complaint to the tax office can be filed by individuals and legal entities, depending on the circumstances and type of appeal. It is worth noting that a complaint from an employee alone is not enough to hold an employer accountable. It serves as the basis for an investigation by the tax authorities, during which the applicant and, as a rule, other employees of the organization will be questioned.
At the same time, evidence is being collected. In a number of cases, an unscheduled audit of the company is ordered for tax evasion and other violations of the law. As a result of the measures taken, the guilt or innocence of the organization is established. If violations are detected, the organization is subject to administrative punishment in the form of fines.
Moreover, the employing company comes under the close attention of the tax authorities and will subsequently be subject to frequent audits. This practice exists to prevent recurrence of financial crimes.
Possible negative consequences.
After considering the complaint and collecting evidence of the employer’s guilt, it is held accountable and bears additional costs. At the same time, measures are being taken within the organization to eliminate identified violations. And subsequent payments to employees will be made in full in compliance with tax laws.
In turn, the final result will be negative for the company as a whole and may result in a number of disadvantages for the employee himself. These negative aspects may include:
- Deterioration of the relationship between the employee and the company management;
- Reducing the amount received “on hand”, as the amount of taxes will increase;
- The size of the official salary will increase, as a result, the opportunity to receive social benefits will be lost.
Before filing a complaint, you should carefully weigh all the pros and cons of subsequent developments. Perhaps a complaint to the tax office will not always be the optimal solution and way out of the situation.
Labor disputes (what you need to know)
You can complain about your employer to various authorities, including the tax office. An employee has the right to write an appeal to the supervisory structure independently or to file a complaint on behalf of several colleagues. A complaint to the tax office can be filed if the head of the enterprise:
- Does not officially employ his subordinates;
- Does not make mandatory payments for taxes, pensions and social insurance;
- Issues gray or black wages;
- Provides false information to the tax office about the amount of income of his subordinates and their taxes.
We invite you to familiarize yourself with what documents are needed to register a child at the place of residence in the owner’s apartment: the necessary papers for registration, confirming the possibility of registering a minor and an authorization form from the spouse for registration
Let's look at what white, gray and black wages are:
- White salary is a salary that includes all additional bonuses and charges. The employer pays the established taxes and contributions from the entire amount. The employee also has the right to request a certificate of income, which will indicate the full amount of remuneration.
- Gray wages are wages consisting of two parts. Most often this is the minimum official amount of payment plus additional bonuses. The employer pays contributions and taxes only on official earnings. Additional allowances are unofficial.
- Black wages are payments to workers who are not employed in any way. The employer pays the contractual salary, but no employment relationship is registered between him and the employee.
Do you have a question about filing a tax complaint against your employer?
Ask an experienced employment lawyer as part of a FREE consultation!
The best option for employment is to receive a flat salary. In this case, the employer pays all the necessary contributions, providing his subordinate with medical care and a future pension.
So why are informal labor relations and unofficial wages so popular in the labor market? The main reason is the benefit of business managers. They are not obliged to pay taxes and fees for a non-existent employee, bear responsibility for him, pay sick leave, or provide decent working conditions.
Complaint to the tax office: sample.
The written complaint form is filled out according to the following algorithm:
- The name of the Federal Tax Service branch and its address where the application is submitted is indicated.
- The full name and place of residence of the applicant must be filled in.
- The reasons and circumstances why the violation of rights occurred are listed.
- A request is made for an analysis and resolution of the current situation.
- Method of receiving the review result: by mail or electronically.
- List the attachments to the complaint.
The complaint is usually accompanied by documents that prove the applicant’s point of view. Also, a certified power of attorney must be submitted with the application if the application is made through a legal representative.
Complaint to the tax office
.
HOW TO SOLVE A LEGAL PROBLEM IN 3 STEPS
Fill out the feedback form. Describe your question in as much detail as possible in simple words. For a written response, please include your return email address.
Within a day, the lawyer will respond to you by email explaining the situation and recommendations on what to do next. In the final recommendations, the lawyer will tell you what documents need to be drawn up and their recipients.
After receiving a list of required documents from our lawyer, go to our free legal document archive and find the one you need. Insert personal data, postal details, recipient's address and send to its destination.
Many of us, having not found a common language with our employer, are looking for ways to hold him accountable. This desire intensifies when the employee is not paid in full the salary that was agreed upon when hired.
How long does it take to process a complaint?
The tax authority will consider the complaint and make a decision on it within 1 month from the date of its filing. If difficulties arise during the investigation or new facts are revealed that affect the result, then this period may be extended by another 1 month.
If the specified deadlines are exceeded, you can appeal the actions of the tax service itself in a similar manner.
The final decision adopted by the tax authority may be of the following nature:
- The complaint will not be satisfied;
- The employer's actions are considered illegal.
If a complaint is filed against the work of the tax service itself, then the decision made may:
- Cancel an unlawful tax act;
- Change the decision of the Federal Tax Service or cancel it completely;
- Recognize the activities of tax officials as illegal.
After the decision is made, the result is sent to the applicant within 3 days from the date of its issuance.
How they view
The superior organization has a month to resolve protests from the moment they are received if they relate to decisions of tax authorities on liability for an offense or refusal to do so. If necessary, the period is extended (maximum by 30 days). For other protests, a similar period is 15 days, which will be extended in the same way. If there is no response to the claim within the specified periods, it will be appealed in court. Let us recall that in Art. 139.3 of the Tax Code there are cases when a protest is not considered.
When an act or action is appealed to a higher authority, it is suspended (until a decision is made on the claim only on the relevant application). Moreover, such a suspension is possible when an effective prosecution for a tax violation or refusal to do so is being challenged. The application is submitted together with a petition and a bank guarantee, which must comply with clause 5 of Art. 74.1 of the Tax Code and other conditions from clause 5 of Art. 138 NK. According to it, the bank undertakes to repay the obligatory payment under the controversial decision.