Efficiency of accounting: the period of storage of documents

The effectiveness of accounting largely affects the competent organization of storage of documents that are accumulated in the enterprise. Therefore, in order to avoid problems, any accountant must necessarily familiarize himself with the requirements for the terms and procedure for keeping documents in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation.

What is the order of storage of documents?

Federal legislation from 2013 requires that any enterprise store all primary documents, accounting records, accounting registers and work standards, as well as any other documents related to the activities of this economic entity. This rule is also distributed for the period of storage of documents in electronic form, which are increasingly used in the economic activities of enterprises of various organizational and legal forms.

How long does it take to store documents?

The period of storage of documents is not less than five years, or more (in accordance with the rules established in the organization). It is interesting that the tax code provides for other periods of storage (four years). This applies to all financial statements, and the period is calculated from the moment of its last use. It is best, of course, to keep documents for five years, which will save you a lot of time and nerves, if something happens! Documents on foreign trade transactions should be considered separately. If a longer period of storage of documents is required in a foreign counterparty state than in the Russian Federation, it is better to choose it, and not to expect that there will be no problems with the deal in the future. And it is necessary to provide for this in the internal regulations of the enterprise, which will prevent a lot of mistakes of employees.

Who is responsible for keeping the documents?

In accordance with the "letter" of the law, the head of the organization, i.e. Its general director, is personally responsible for saving documents in the company's archives. If the period of storage of documents or the organization of document circulation is not observed, then a fine of ten thousand rubles will be collected from the enterprise, and thirty thousand rubles for repeated violation. In the event that such irresponsibility has led to an understatement of the tax amount, you will have to pay twenty percent of the unpaid tax, but this fine can not be less than forty thousand rubles. The legislation of the Russian Federation also separately establishes penalties from officials for losses, which resulted in inefficient organization of storage of documents at the enterprise.

How is the destruction of documents whose limitation period has already expired?

First of all, it should be noted that some documents are not destroyed, but transferred to the municipal archive, so it is very important not only to note their shelf life, but also to take care of putting the inscription "Expert-verifying commission" (EPC). If there is no need to transfer documents to the archive, the head of the organization must issue an act on the destruction of documents. If such an act was not drawn up, the documents are considered missing, and an order is required to appoint a commission to investigate such a loss.