Unauthorized trade is one of the most widespread violations in the Russian Federation, especially in big cities. They engage in such activities not only themselves Russian citizens who want to earn extra money, but also residents of neighboring countries. Illegal trade is thriving. Many people simply do not understand that there is any harm from this. And some traders don’t understand why they should waste time registering and then also pay taxes to the state. But is the fate of a street vendor without official status in Russia so easy?
Illegal sale of goods
According to Russian legislation, trade without registration as individual entrepreneur strictly prohibited. This applies to selling and things self made, and vegetables with own garden, and spare parts with own car. Unauthorized trade precisely means a situation where entities operate without registration as individual entrepreneurs or in another form.
In order to receive it, you need to register with the tax service. The latter assigns the corresponding status of an entrepreneur or economic entity. Before this, he must choose a taxation system. Once official status is obtained, unauthorized trade can no longer be attributed to it.
However, it must be taken into account that some types of unlicensed activities do not require mandatory registration. For example, selling flowers at retail or small wholesale. To trade them, you only need an agreement with the administration of the retail outlet or market. However, this way you can only sell small volumes of goods.
The concept of illegal trade includes the sale of any goods and provision of services that are considered illegal, promote hatred or discrimination against people, violate copyrights, or offend accepted moral standards. You cannot legalize the sale of such products by registering with the tax service.
The main difference is that unauthorized trade involves the sale of completely normal products and services. They are not considered illegal, do not violate anyone's copyright, and do not promote hatred or discrimination against people based on gender, ethnicity, race or social status.
Legislative norms
The most important document for all enterprises that carry out retail trade, is Government Decree No. 55 of the Russian Federation. It was approved in accordance with the Law “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”, and amendments are periodically made to it. If the rules of relations between the seller and consumers are not followed, then this is already unauthorized trade. Requirements depend on the type of product. Separately, we should highlight goods and services that are generally not subject to sale in accordance with the law of the Russian Federation. For example, firearms. The activities of retail stores are monitored by Rosportrebnadzor, the State Fire Service, and the tax department. Each entrepreneur must familiarize himself with the list of permitted services, the requirements for their quality and safety. At a retail trade enterprise the following must be compulsorily complied with:
- Sanitary standards.
- Fire safety rules.
All basic documentation must be contained in the “Buyer’s Corner” or on a special information stand. There should be rules for the sale of this group of goods, a book of reviews and suggestions, a license, and telephone numbers of regulatory authorities. The store must have price tags, and employees must have badges. The buyer has the right to return non-food and some other goods within fourteen days. 
Consequences of street business
Retail trade rules require mandatory registration as an economic entity. Unauthorized sale of goods and services falls under the Administrative, Tax and even Criminal Code. For trading without registration as an individual entrepreneur, a fine of 500 to 2000 rubles is imposed. This is in accordance with Article 14 of the Administrative Code Russian Federation.
For direct trading without registration, the entity will have to pay a fine of 10% of the income received by him, but not less than 40 thousand rubles. This is stated in Article 116 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.
For illegal trading activities there may also be a fine of up to 300 thousand rubles. This provision is contained in Article 171 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. It also provides for illegal trade with arrest for a period of up to 6 months or compulsory community service of up to 480 hours. If a particularly large income was received as a result of such activity, then a fine of up to 500 thousand rubles may be imposed on the failed entrepreneur. In this case, an arrest for 5 years is even possible.
The sale of alcoholic beverages should be considered separately. According to the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation, a fine of 10-15 thousand rubles is imposed for it. It is mandatory to confiscate all illegally sold products. 
Problems in the fight
There are three main reasons why street trading is thriving in large Russian cities:
- Poor response from the police. Often the actions it takes, if they exist at all, turn out to be ineffective.
- The majority of the population not only does not consider unauthorized trade harmful, but also believes in its usefulness. For example, many people are in a hurry from work, so it’s easier for them to buy vegetables near the metro station, from their grandmothers. In addition, the latter usually sell their products cheaper. However, do grandmothers comply with sanitary standards? They do not issue a receipt, so they will not suffer any punishment if their customers get sick.
- Most people find retail regulations very difficult to enforce.
Police work
Suppose a citizen contacted the police about unauthorized trading near the metro. He reports the observed violation. So what happens next? Police officers usually do not arrive immediately and issue a fine for unauthorized trading. They call back the citizen who contacted them. If he has already left the place where these merchants are standing, then they will not come. Most of them have very close relationships with representatives law enforcement. If the citizen remains in place, then the police come and confiscate all the products. However, all counters and accessories remain with the merchants. And after a few hours everything returns to normal. It is also possible that sellers are informed about the removal, and they “wind up” before the police arrive.
How should citizens act?
It's still worth calling the police. However, you should immediately take a photograph of the place of unauthorized trade. It is desirable that the neighboring panorama be visible on it. If the trade continues, then you need to persistently call the police every half hour. All interactions with law enforcement officials should be recorded. It is also advisable to take photographs of unauthorized points of sale every half hour. If the situation does not change, then you need to collect all information about the calls and contact the authorities. If they also simply unsubscribe from the statements, then you can protest their answers. However, all this takes time. Nobody pays those who fight unauthorized or illegal trade. But the welfare of society and the development of the state depend only on such caring people.
Let's look at the risks of trading without registering an individual entrepreneur: fines, liability, penalties.
Sometimes people think about closing an individual entrepreneur and working illegally or not opening an individual entrepreneur at all in the first place. This is due to an increase in the amount of insurance payments in Pension Fund and Foundation health insurance and unwillingness to pay taxes. Will it be possible to save money in this way or will the fines be much higher and the risk will not be justified?
For trading without an individual entrepreneur, several types of punishments can be applied at once - administrative, criminal and tax. Each case has its own procedures, means of recording the offense and the level of responsibility. First, it is worth deciding on the very concept of entrepreneurship and how to separate such activities from other types and how to prove the fact of its conduct.
The concept and essence of entrepreneurial activity
The Civil Code of the Russian Federation clearly defines the essence entrepreneurial activity, meaning by it actions aimed at systematically making a profit.
Profit may result from trading activities, provision of services or performance of any type of work.
The same code contains a clause obliging citizens to register as individual entrepreneurs in advance of starting business activities.
It is worth emphasizing that it is precisely this definition in the law that leads to difficulties in cases where it is necessary to prove the fact of illegal activity.
This is due to the fact that it will be necessary to prove the systematic nature of the same type of activity and the presence of constant profit.
Systematicity is implied when a person conducts any individual activities more than twice a year. The one-time fact of selling a product or providing a service does not indicate the implementation of activities of an entrepreneurial nature.
In general, illegal trade refers to a number of aspects:
- illegal goods and services;
- copyright infringement;
- goods and services that are discriminatory in any way;
- lack of necessary permission to sell goods subject to licensing;
- lack of registration as an individual entrepreneur when carrying out trade;
- violation of people's moral values.
There are types of activities for which the law does not oblige citizens to register as an entrepreneur. Such activity, among others, is the sale of flowers in the market. To engage in such trading, an agreement with the market administration is sufficient.
Citizens who do not have registration as an individual entrepreneur and are engaged in business face not only a fine. Responsibility can be criminal, up to restriction of freedom. The fact of conducting this type of activity must be proven, but if it is revealed, the consequences can be extremely serious.
Administrative responsibility
According to the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation, a penalty in the amount of 500 to 2000 rubles is provided for trading without an individual entrepreneur. Magistrates decide on the application of this type of liability. The consideration of the case is carried out either at the place where the offense was committed, or at the request of the citizen at the place of registration.
The basis for judicial proceedings is the initiation of administrative prosecution through the preparation of a protocol. Such a protocol can be drawn up by a police representative, a tax inspector, an employee of the trade inspectorate or an antimonopoly policy authority, or an employee of the prosecutor's office, which is stated in the Law.
To draw up a protocol on an administrative offense, employees of authorized bodies must inspect the retail premises or make a test purchase in order to prove the fact that activities without registering an individual entrepreneur actually took place.
Judicial proceedings are initiated only if more than two months have passed from the moment the protocol was drawn up to the transfer of the case to the court. In practice, protocols are drawn up by employees with errors, which causes the protocol to be returned to the agency that compiled it for correction of shortcomings. If the department fails to return the case to the court in a corrected form before the expiration of two months from the date of drawing up the protocol, the prosecution is terminated.
Criminal liability
A business without registering an individual entrepreneur can also be punished from the point of view of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Paragraph 171 provides for punishment for illegally receiving income from activities in an amount exceeding 250,000 rubles. Punishment is also provided for those who cause major damage. individuals, organizations or even the entire country.
If there is evidence that a citizen has illegally received income in an amount exceeding 250,000 rubles, criminal liability is provided in the form of a fine of 300,000 rubles, arrest for 6 months or correctional labor for up to 240 hours. It is quite difficult to prove such high incomes within the framework of a simple test purchase. Such cases, as a rule, are related to the legalization of illegally obtained income and money laundering.
In case of causing harm or receiving illegal profit on a particularly large scale, the penalty varies from 100,000 to 500,000 rubles. The convicted person may also face imprisonment for up to 5 years with a concurrent fine of 80,000 rubles. An especially large amount means illegal income amounting to more than 1,000,000 rubles.
The punishment depends on whether the citizen is charged with this offense for the first time or not, and whether he has positive characteristics. If there are positive characteristics and good public behavior, the citizen receives a fine without imprisonment. Supreme Court of the Russian Federation clarified that paragraph 171 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation does not apply to owners of residential premises who rent them out. Such activity without registration of an individual entrepreneur is not subject to criminal prosecution, regardless of the amount of rent charged.
Tax liability
Activities without registration entail tax liability, outlined in two paragraphs of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation - 116 and 117. The second provides for punishment for failure to register in the form of a fine amounting to 10% of the estimated income, but this amount cannot be lower than 20,000 rubles . According to paragraph 117, when unaccounted activity lasts longer than three months, the fine increases to 20% of unaccounted income, but such a fine will be at least 40,000 rubles. According to paragraph 116, if the deadline for tax registration is not met, a fine of 5,000 rubles is provided. In the event that the deadline is exceeded by more than three calendar months, the amount of recovery increases to 10,000 rubles. However, punishment can only be applied on one of two counts.
According to the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, the obligation to register with the tax inspectorate falls on the citizen before the start of receiving profit from the activity. The moment of delay in in this case the fact of first profit will be considered. This state of affairs leads to the application of clause 117 of the code. In the case where a citizen submitted an application for registration before the inspection, but received proceeds before registration with the tax authority, clause 116 applies.
If a citizen is held accountable for lack of registration with the tax authority, inspectors have the right to assess taxes and contributions to the budget, for which late fees may be calculated. The penalty for late payment of taxes is equal to 20% of the amount of accrued taxes and will be presented along with the taxes.
In any case, the fine is paid only if there is a court decision that has entered into force. Cases are heard in general courts. The drawn up protocol does not oblige the person in respect of whom the check was carried out to anything.
To sell old clothes or furniture, it is not necessary to contact the tax office and register as an individual entrepreneur. What if you sell 5-10 things on Avito and do it every month. Should I expect a fine from the tax authorities for illegal trade without an individual entrepreneur? In this article we will analyze in detail when the sale of goods and services falls under the Criminal Code and when it does not.
When is IP registration required?
The definition of entrepreneurial activity is enshrined in Art. 2 of the Civil Code (Civil Code) of the Russian Federation. This is an independent activity aimed at systematically generating profit from the sale of goods, performance of work, provision of services or use of property. The key word is “systematic”. Selling old things that we do not use will not be a systematic source of income. Such actions are not subject to liability under the Code of Administrative Offenses (CAO) or Art. 171 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Illegal entrepreneurship”.
On the other hand, a citizen (that is, an individual) has the right to engage in business only from the moment he registers as an individual entrepreneur. This rule of law is enshrined in Art. 23 of the Civil Code and Art. 83 Tax Code. In other words, you can legally receive regular profits from trading only if you have the status of an individual entrepreneur. And if the tax authorities manage to prove that selling unnecessary household belongings, gadgets or handicrafts is a regular activity, you will have to pay a fine.
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Responsibility for trading without individual entrepreneur registration
Illegal business harms the state, which does not receive tax revenue. And the employees of the “gray” entrepreneur are disadvantaged in labor rights. Russian legislation establishes different types of liability. Most often, the case ends with a fine for the violator for trading without registering an individual entrepreneur. But the court can impose a more serious punishment.
Illegal business activity, which includes, for example, trading on the market without registering an individual entrepreneur or trading via the Internet, is punishable different types liability - administrative, tax and criminal. The risks of trading without registering an individual entrepreneur in 2018-2019 are described in the table below.
| Type of responsibility | Punishment | Legislative act establishing liability | Note |
| Administrative | Fine from 500 to 2000 rubles. | Article 14.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses “Unauthorized Trade” | This is the “lightest” article under which the court can impose a punishment. The amounts that the illegal trader will earn will be very modest. |
| Tax | a fine of 10 thousand rubles. or 10% of income | Article 116 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation “Violation of the procedure for registration with the tax authority” | |
| Criminal |
|
Article 171 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Illegal entrepreneurship” | Most serious look liability, which applies in cases where activities without registration have led to serious consequences, for example, causing major damage, or deriving large profits from illegal trade. A large amount (damage or income) is recognized as a value (damage or income) in the amount of more than 1.25 million rubles, and an especially large amount - 9 million rubles. |
The fine for selling goods without an individual entrepreneur is not the only kind administrative responsibility in the field of trade. For example, punishment is provided for:
- trading without a license (if required);
- distribution of counterfeit products;
- sale of goods that are restricted in circulation or expressly prohibited;
- fine for trading in the wrong place and others.
When can you trade without registering as an individual entrepreneur?
When selling vegetables and herbs grown at your dacha, you will not face a fine for unauthorized trade. This is enshrined in Part 4 of Art. 2 Federal Law dated 07/07/2003 No. 112-FZ “On personal subsidiary plots”. The document states that agricultural products produced and processed on personal subsidiary plots are not an object of entrepreneurial activity. Income from its sale is not taxed if the conditions are met described in paragraph 13 of Article 217 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation:
the total area of the plot(s) does not exceed maximum size 0.5 hectares (clause 5, article 4 of law No. 112-FZ);
the taxpayer does not use employees in accordance with labor laws.
Will there be new fines for trading without an individual entrepreneur in 2019?
Starting from 2019, the legislation regulating business activities may change with the introduction of taxation for self-employed citizens. The corresponding document has passed several readings in the State Duma, after its final adoption it must be approved by the Federation Council and the President of the Russian Federation. The main goal of the law is to bring out of the shadows citizens who receive income from any activity on a regular basis, but do not register as individual entrepreneurs. It is expected that for some categories of citizens there will be a simpler registration procedure with the tax authorities than for registering an individual entrepreneur.
Along with working on the law on the self-employed, deputies from “ United Russia» proposed to tighten penalties for business activities without registration, including increasing the fine for illegal trade. This initiative is justified by the fact that the existing minimum amounts of punishment are significantly lower than the state duty levied when registering a citizen-entrepreneur.
A seller who evades legalization will pay a fine for trading without registering an individual entrepreneur in 2018 of only 500 rubles, and the duty is 800 rubles. The proposed initiative is still being discussed; it is known that it has found support in the Ministry of Justice. Today it is difficult to say whether this idea will take shape as a law in 2019. But under the conditions of the course. taken by the state to tighten fiscal policy, this is a very likely scenario.
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The question of whether it is possible to trade without an individual entrepreneur is relevant for quite large number Russians. Among them there are those who do not want to pay taxes at all. But many people simply do not dare to register due to uncertainty about the success of their new business. Beginners want to try first: what if it doesn’t work out?
Owners of online stores are also thinking about the need to register as an individual entrepreneur, believing that their income is not subject to taxation. This is a common misconception. There are signs of entrepreneurial activity defined by law, and trading on the Internet fully complies with them.
There's really nothing wrong with official registration no, while trading without registering an individual entrepreneur is an offense for which tax, administrative and even criminal liability is provided. The exception is the sale of crop and livestock products obtained on a subsidiary farm or in a country house. It is hardly worth starting your business by breaking the law.
Advantages of registering as an individual entrepreneur
The procedure for registering an individual entrepreneur is extremely simplified. Registration with the tax authorities is carried out by submitting an application. The tax amounts are quite feasible, especially in cases of application of special regimes (UTII, simplified tax system) or a patent. But the status of an entrepreneur opens up great opportunities for doing business:
- concluding official contracts with suppliers;
- access to credit resources;
- bold promotional activities;
- receiving government support;
- the possibility of obtaining a labor pension in the future;
- the main thing is consumer trust and increased sales.
Engaging in trade involves continuous business development: expanding the range, increasing turnover, leading to greater profits. Working underground, you will not be able to achieve the desired results.
Successful trading without registering an individual entrepreneur is possible only if the activity is carried out legal entity, for example LLC. But it is more profitable and convenient for a novice businessman to obtain the status of an individual entrepreneur. The paperwork in this case is minimal. To prepare reports, you do not need to hire an accountant; keeping records yourself is not difficult. In addition, there are many services on the Internet for filling out tax returns and other necessary documents. If things don’t work out at all, which happens very rarely, you can close the IP in 1 day.
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What activities are entrepreneurial?
When identifying the fact of sale without registration of an individual entrepreneur (of any goods), excuses that this is not a business activity at all will not help. Even if the seller has another main job.
Based on the content of Art. 2 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, we can highlight the main criteria by which the fact of entrepreneurship is established. Economic activity(trade, provision of services, performance of work, rental of property) must be independent, systematic and aimed at making a profit.
The purchase of any product and its further resale at a markup (even minimal) implies making a profit. It doesn’t matter where you trade: a market, a garage, just a street or an online store. An activity is considered systematic if it is carried out more than once a year.
The legislator provided the opportunity for gardeners, market gardeners, summer residents, and owners of personal farmsteads to trade in the harvested crops without any registration. According to Art. 217 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, the sale of livestock products produced on a private farm is not subject to taxation. Amateur flower growers are not considered entrepreneurs either.
It is necessary to conclude an agreement with the administration of the market or other trading enterprise, on the territory of which the specified goods are supposed to be sold, to provide a place to work. In this case, it is necessary to have a certificate confirming that the products were actually produced in a personal household or on summer cottage. Such a certificate can be obtained from the district or village administration, as well as from the board of a horticultural partnership or dacha cooperative.
In other cases, regular trading without proper documents is impossible. After spending test purchase, employees of regulatory authorities will easily establish the fact of trading without registering an individual entrepreneur and record an offense. Then the inevitable sanctions will follow.
Beginning businessmen often do not know whether it is possible to trade without an individual entrepreneur if an application for registration has already been submitted, but the certificate has not yet been received. In this case commercial activity is also considered a violation. In practice, if you have documents confirming the filing of an application for tax registration, you can count on the leniency of the inspectors. But it’s better, of course, not to take risks, but to wait to receive the certificate (only 5 days) in order to protect yourself from possible troubles.
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Consequences of trading in the absence of a registered individual entrepreneur
The activities of entrepreneurs who have not registered as individual entrepreneurs or LLCs are not legal and lead to the bringing of the perpetrators to administrative, tax and criminal liability.
According to Art. 14.1 of the Administrative Code, the amount of the administrative fine can range from 500 to 2000 rubles. More impressive amounts of fines are provided for in Art. 116 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. For violation of the deadline for tax registration, you will have to pay 10,000 rubles, for work without registration - 10% of the income received, but not less than 40,000 rubles.
Criminal prosecution occurs if the income of the guilty person exceeds 1,000,000 rubles (Article 171 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). However, newcomers are unlikely to receive such a significant income, so criminal penalties are rarely used. This circumstance should not reassure violators. The amount of administrative and tax fines is quite significant.
It should be noted that the imposition of a fine does not relieve the merchant from the obligation to pay taxes accrued for the entire period of work without proper registration. In addition, penalties and fines will be added for late payment of taxes.
Official registration of a business allows you to avoid high costs of paying fines and opens up broad prospects for developing your own business.
In the Russian Federation, illegal trade is a common phenomenon. We can say that it is considered widespread and is found almost “at every step.” As a rule, this is most often typical for cities with big amount residents. And this activity is carried out not only by Russians, but also by those who come from neighboring states. In any case, it is worth noting one indisputable fact: such trade is really in a state of “prosperity”. A huge number of sellers do not even realize that such activities are prohibited by Russian legislation. Some people are still aware that it is impossible to trade this way, but they continue to earn money in this way and “run” from law enforcement agencies. But we must not forget that tax evasion is a serious loss for the Russian Federation. So nothing good sellers, who are not individual entrepreneurs, does not wait. They are being fought, albeit not too actively yet. Next, we’ll talk about what kind of fine for unauthorized trade (without registration of an individual entrepreneur) awaits such “businessmen”.
Unauthorized trading is prohibited
Illegal sale of goods
The legislative provisions of the Russian Federation state the following: the sale of any goods is strictly prohibited if the seller has not passed special registration and is not an individual entrepreneur. It's about about almost any commercial legal relationship that may arise between the parties.
There are a lot of things to consider here important point: Even the sale of vegetables and fruits from a personal garden is prohibited, as well as the sale of manufactured with my own hands things and so on. Naturally, one-time sale of a kilogram of cucumbers to your neighbor is not prohibited. But selling goods on a regular basis without having the status of an individual entrepreneur is strictly prohibited by the laws of the Russian Federation. Otherwise, the violator will be subject to penalties for carrying out illegal business activities. It will not be possible to evade responsibility - the tax authorities have information on every citizen of the Russian Federation.
To engage in activities of this kind, the seller must be recognized as an individual entrepreneur or business entity. Putting this into practice is as easy as shelling pears. But our article is not about how a seller can register as an individual entrepreneur. Having received official status, the seller will relieve himself of unnecessary hassle and serious troubles. This is the most best option solutions to the problem that has arisen.
Some types of trade without a license still exist. Not every one of them requires a mandatory registration process. Let’s say you can easily sell bouquets at retail or at wholesale prices. To start selling them, you need to enter into an agreement with the market administration or management of a trading institution. But here it is important to understand the following: this method is suitable for selling only a small batch of goods. If you sell large quantities of flowers, this is already illegal trade. In such a situation, the tax authorities may be interested in you.
Sale of prohibited products
Illegal trade– this is the sale of any product (as well as the provision of services of this kind) that promotes a feeling of hatred. This also includes products that lead to violation of copyright or moral standards. Of course, it is not possible to legalize the sale of such goods with the tax authority.
Legitimate trade– this is the sale of products permitted in the Russian Federation. These are also services of the following nature:
- Not beyond the legal framework.
- Not violating anyone's rights.
- Not promoting hatred or discrimination against citizens based on various criteria.
What legislative norms of the Russian Federation govern the solution of the issue under consideration?
Any enterprise engaged in trade must first study in detail the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 55. It was approved on the basis of the Law “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”. From time to time, certain innovations and changes are made to this law. But they are no different from the resolution adopted by government bodies.
Based on the provisions of the law, unauthorized trading is called failure to comply with the rules of relations of both parties to the transaction. A list of products prohibited for sale in the Russian Federation is also listed. It cannot be legalized under any circumstances. We are talking about narcotic and psychotropic substances, weapons and much more.
What role does Rospotrebnadzor play in resolving this issue?
Rospotrebnadzor is government agency, supervising the work of commercial enterprises and institutions. These organizations are also subject to mandatory control by the fire service and tax inspectorates. Any businessman, when applying for the status of an individual entrepreneur, always carefully studies the list of products permitted for sale. He must know everything about the requirements for their quality and safety. Enterprises engaged in retail sales, must necessarily guarantee the execution of:
- Sanitation standards.
- Fire safety rules.
Another important point: any enterprise engaged in trade must have a “Buyer’s Corner”. This is a special stand with information on which the conditions for the sale of specific products are described.
There must also be a book in which you can enter your complaints and suggestions for improvement. service. It is necessary to indicate the contact numbers of regulatory authorities and the license. If this is a store, the products must have price tags attached. Employee uniforms must have special badges. Customers have the right to return non-food products within two weeks.
What are the consequences of unauthorized trade?
As we all already know, trade rules refer to the mandatory registration process of the seller as an individual entrepreneur or business entity. If you sell goods without a special license, you may be charged with an administrative or even criminal violation. The fine for trading without registration as an individual entrepreneur will be equal to 500 - 2,000 rubles, based on the provisions of Article 14 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.
Important point: Illegal sale of goods can lead to more significant penalties - up to 300,000 rubles. This norm is spelled out in Article 171 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. In addition, the seller may be arrested for a temporary period of up to six months or subject to community service for up to 480 hours. They can be punished in this way in cases where, as a result of illegal business activities, the offender received a fairly substantial profit (in other words, a good income).
If illegal trade has brought good income to the seller, he can be arrested for up to five years. It is also possible to impose penalties - up to five hundred thousand rubles. Thus, it is worth noting the following important fact: Government authorities are continuously fighting illegal trade activities. In other words, sellers should still think about the consequences several times before launching illegal sales.
Sale of alcoholic beverages
A separate issue is the sale of alcoholic and alcohol-containing products in the Russian Federation. It is important to remember the following: such goods cannot be sold even if the seller has registered as an individual entrepreneur or business entity.
To sell alcoholic products(drinks containing alcohol), you must obtain a special license. We must not forget that a business of this kind often leads to extremely negative consequences. Based on the provisions of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, a seller who does not have a license and registration will have to pay a serious fine - from 10,000 to 15,000 rubles. Of course, in such a situation, all found goods are confiscated. If the seller had special equipment on which he produced alcoholic beverages, it must also be confiscated.
What difficulties exist?
And although selling goods without a license is strictly prohibited, large and even small Russian cities are famous for the fact that unauthorized trade flourishes there. Why does this happen? This can be explained quite well:
- Regional law enforcement agencies show a weak response to the issue of selling products without implementing the appropriate registration process. Sometimes they still try to take some action to combat the current situation, but, as a rule, the effect is short-term. But what happens more often is that local authorities simply do nothing.
- This “business” is supported by Russian citizens themselves. Those who are in a hurry home from work often buy vegetables from pensioners near the metro, rather than opting for hypermarkets or fairs. In addition, it is important to take into account the following point: trading with a “live” seller is possible, whereas in a supermarket there is no such opportunity. As a rule, it is possible to purchase the desired product at a better price. At this point, the person is not worried that these entrepreneurs may not care about compliance sanitary standards. In this case, the issuance of receipts is excluded, so it is impossible to punish them for selling goods of poor quality. The reason is the lack of evidence of product sales.
- A huge number of Russians agree that it is extremely difficult to force retailers to comply with their requirements.
How do law enforcement agencies act when unauthorized trade is detected?
Let's say a person submits an application to law enforcement agencies with a complaint about illegal trade near a metro station. Although it is extremely rare to encounter this - as a rule, people just walk by and do not pay any attention to such sellers (if they do not need anything). What will be next? What steps are law enforcement officials taking? Police officers are not dispatched to such calls at the same moment. Issuing fines for legal violations of this kind is also very rare.
Sometimes they wait a certain period of time, and then make a return call and ask the citizen whether such a seller is still there or not. If he suddenly disappeared, the police officers are more likely to not go anywhere.
Important point: a certain part of sellers agree in advance with local authorized persons to sell goods without the corresponding registration process. So law enforcement officials in small towns do not always notice such legal violations.
Law enforcement
Some sellers, upon seeing the police, immediately “curtail” their activities. As soon as the police leave, the trade continues. It’s a shame, but there are countless places like this in our country.
But it is worth noting the following positive fact: over the past year and a half, the fight against unauthorized trade has become clearer and tougher. Thus, in Moscow and the Moscow region a huge number of retail outlets and enterprises. All of them did not have the appropriate rights to carry out their activities within the framework of the law. In small cities, not everything is so rosy, but even there the number of retail outlets and tents near metro stations has significantly decreased. So there are still certain shifts in this direction.
Summarizing
Thus, our article told you whether it is possible to trade without an individual entrepreneur (no) and what responsibility is provided for those who violate Russian legislation. Unfortunately, today there are a huge number of such violators, and not all of them are aware of the sad consequences (including financial) such illegal activities can lead to.
Therefore, if you are opening your own business selling some products, we strongly recommend that you do not be lazy and first register as an individual entrepreneur. Otherwise, there is a high risk of running into serious trouble and large fines (and if you make a profit on a particularly large scale, you may even receive a real criminal penalty). We hope that the information was useful to you!
The sale of any goods is strictly prohibited if the seller has not passed special registration and is not an individual entrepreneur.
