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- We are going to collect: the Federal Tax Service has collected a record amount from bankrupts
We are going to collect: the Federal Tax Service has collected a record amount from bankrupts
The tax service has collected a record amount from companies undergoing bankruptcy proceedings. Revenues under this item increased by a quarter, to 252 billion rubles, in 2024, according to the report of the Federal Tax Service (Izvestia has it). This is the highest figure since at least 2015, and this year the trend will only intensify. The service itself stated that the main reason is to strengthen and improve the efficiency of debt collection activities. However, experts believe that the main reason is the growing number of bankrupt companies: due to high rates and the departure of foreigners. What will happen to the insolvency of legal entities in the near future is in the Izvestia article.
Bankruptcy of a business in Russia
Budget revenues from bankruptcy proceedings increased by 26% in 2024 compared to 2023. They reached 252 billion rubles, according to the report "Results of the activities of the Federal Tax Service", which was studied by Izvestia. This is a record since at least 2015 (the tax service does not provide earlier statistics).
The main income under this item falls on insolvent companies. Although individuals are included in these statistics, they practically have no effect on it, since the amounts there are insignificant, explained Maxim Barashev, managing partner of BBNP, a member of Moscow Business Russia.
Recovery from bankrupts occurs due to the formation of a bankruptcy estate: it includes the property of a company or citizen, which will then be sold at auction, and the money received due to challenging any transactions, explained Elena Gladysheva, lawyer, managing partner of the Moscow City Insurance Company RI-Consulting. The money received is distributed among creditors, including, for example, employees of the company who were not paid their salaries, banks, and, in fact, the tax service.
The Federal Tax Service explained to Izvestia that the increase in budget revenues from bankruptcies is associated with an increase in revenues from conciliation proceedings (that is, under settlement agreements with debtors) by 43%, to 42 billion rubles.
The tax service also explained the dynamics of technological changes: the Restructuring Assistance Fund began operating to resolve the most difficult situations. In addition, the Integrated Debt Management and Administration System (ACS) has begun to be implemented in the service's activities.
— It identifies the risks in the debtor's activities long before bankruptcy. For example, it establishes the facts of asset withdrawal. This helps to collect an evidence base for challenging transactions, bringing to subsidiary responsibility (the personal responsibility of the person who controls the company's work)," the Federal Tax Service added.
They noted that over the past three years, more than 110 billion rubles of tax debts have been repaid through collection from dependent and controlling persons.
Why is the number of bankruptcies growing in Russia
But there are other reasons, more significant, experts interviewed by Izvestia believe. First of all, the number of corporate bankruptcies in Russia increased by a comparable amount in the three quarters of 2024 — by a quarter, said lawyer Alexander Khaminsky, referring to data from Fedresurs.
— At the same time, the tax authorities have begun to initiate insolvency proceedings more often. The Federal Tax Service acted as an applicant in 25% of bankruptcy cases of legal entities against 13% for the same period last year," the expert cited the figures.
The larger the authorized body's share in the register of creditors' claims, the higher the chance that it will be the first to receive settlements in the bankruptcy procedure, said Elena Gladysheva from RI-Consulting.
A significant increase in revenue may also be associated with the departure of foreign companies from the Russian Federation, Maxim Barashev from Delovaya Rossiya believes.
— Many foreign subsidiaries faced liquidation restrictions: not all firms were ready to promptly obtain permits from the government commission. Meanwhile, the business was suspended, and tax debts could accumulate. Many foreign organizations had to resort to bankruptcy proceedings a few years later," he said.
Among them, for example, the Russian subsidiaries of Google, Oracle and General Motors. In total, in 2024, Russian arbitration courts introduced 72 bankruptcy procedures against foreign companies to protect the rights of domestic creditors.
But not all domestic enterprises were able to adapt to the rapidly changing economic conditions, said Yulia Kovalenko, associate professor of the Basic Department of Financial Control, Analysis and Audit of the Main Control Department of the City of Moscow at Plekhanov Russian University of Economics. These include regularly changing logistics routes, difficulties in paying foreign counterparties, and changes to the regulatory framework, she explained.
Many firms are also unable to cope with loan repayments. For example, in 2024, the Moscow Arbitration Court declared the Ralph Ringer company bankrupt for debts over 20.7 million rubles. A similar fate befell Svyaznoy. The company was a defendant in 1.3 thousand lawsuits for debt collection totaling 18 billion rubles.
Is it worth waiting for a wave of company bankruptcies in the Russian Federation
Despite the significant increase in budget revenues from bankrupt organizations, it is premature to talk about large-scale risks to the economy due to the insolvency of companies, says Vladimir Saskov, an expert at the Institute of Tax Management and Real Estate Economics at the National Research University Higher School of Economics. Moreover, in some cases it should be considered as cleansing the market of inefficient or biased structures, he added.
However, the record key rate of 21%, which has been in place for more than six months, may put pressure on companies in the future, creating risks of new liquidations. As previously reported by Izvestia, the bankruptcy of developers began in the Russian regions. Due to tight monetary policy, this sector is over-leveraged, while sales are falling, as mortgages are prohibitively expensive. To solve the problems, the authorities even talked about the need to impose a moratorium on bankruptcy of developers, such a proposal was made by the Chairman of the Federation Council, Valentina Matvienko.
According to the CMACP, companies with debt servicing problems account for 30% of the market, compared with 12% in 2023. Experts believe that Russia may face a chain of corporate bankruptcies as early as mid-2025.
So far, individual cases of payment problems for medium and large companies are quite likely, fears Alexey Kurasov, head of the corporate finance department at Finam. However, it's too early to talk about mass production. According to Natalia Pyryeva, a leading analyst at Digit Broker, the risks of non-payments and defaults are growing: problems will begin to appear closer to the end of the second quarter.
— However, it is obvious that the Bank of Russia will reduce the key rate only if inflation slows down and stability in the economy as a whole is achieved. Other reasons, such as the growth of bankruptcies, will not be taken into account," said Alexey Tarapovsky, founder of the Anderida Financial Group.
In these circumstances, it is important that enterprises receive support from the state, the expert concluded.
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