Sergey Tarasevich told Novy Prospect about the importance of being present at the workplace at the time of inspections

Despite Russia’s moratorium on inspections, regulatory authorities continue to carry out control measures. These include inspections of premises, interviews with employees and document requests. At the same time, unlike a full-fledged field inspection, regulatory authorities are not required to notify the inspected entity of their visit, which, in turn, “must ensure unimpeded access of the inspector to buildings, structures and premises”. Failure to fulfil this requirement may result in fines, which are not always possible to be disputed.

“The inspector may arrive even in the evening, but must complete the inspection before the end of the working hours of the inspected organisation. The absence of a representative at the time of the visit may be qualified as obstruction. However, in practice, inspectors usually wait about half an hour,” Sergey Tarasevich, an Associate of Tax and Administrative Law Practice at Maxima Legal, explained to Novy Prospect.

The expert specified that a similar situation may occur outside the inspection visit. For example, when the tax authorities check the validity of the company’s address (often referred to as the legal address) specified in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities. “There were cases when at the time of the arrival of the inspector, the employee went out for lunch. As a result, the protocol stated that there was no organisation at the relevant address,” Sergey noted.

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