In March the moratorium on field tax audits of IT-companies will end. Tax Compliance tax consultant Anastasia Arzhanova commented on the important changes in the Pravo.ru review.

Purpose of the moratorium

It should be reminded that the moratorium was introduced to strengthen the pace of IT-industry development in the country. It is no secret that any field audit involves a significant administrative burden for a taxpayer. In fact, by declaring a moratorium, the legislator gave IT-business an opportunity to concentrate not on bureaucratic interaction with tax authorities, but on the development of technology. 

How the end of the moratorium will affect the IT-sector

According to our expert, the abolition of the moratorium will not lead to an inspection of the entire IT-market at once. Most likely, the tax authorities will start with small IT-companies, which were established at the beginning of the introduction of the relevant benefits and did not always comply with all the necessary requirements. The so-called captive IT-companies - high-tech «subsidiaries» of Russian corporations - may fall into the second wave of inspections. This conclusion is based on the fact that, in practice, large subsidiary IT companies that are part of the group have much better documentation of the services provided and well-built internal processes to control compliance with all the necessary conditions for the application of IT benefits. An additional incentive for such companies is, of course, the large turnovers.

How business minimizes potential risks

Any on-site audit of an IT company can potentially lead to a challenge of tax benefits and subsequent additional accrual of income tax and insurance contributions at standard rates. 

The resumption of on-site tax audits from March 2025 has forced businesses to «test» themselves in advance for the legitimacy of the application of tax benefits and fulfillment of the main condition - the presence of 70% of the core revenue from IT activities. In particular, companies audit primary documentation, analyze job descriptions of IT specialists, and also check the marketability of the cost of services.

Tax Compliance experts support IT-business and prepare companies for possible audits, assessing all potential risks and accompanying them during control measures. Read more about legal support for IT companies here.