Is it safe to log off the enterprise? Tax bureau: many enterprises have been forced to resume tax registration!

Is it safe for enterprises to log off? Many bosses have such a misconception that as long as the enterprise is cancelled, the tax related risks of the enterprise can be swept away, and they can rest easy from now on. However, this is not the case! No, the tax bureau has taken action, and many enterprises have been restored to tax registration and paid back taxes!

According to the information on the official website of Jiaozhou Taxation Bureau, Jiaozhou Taxation Bureau has successively issued a number of notices on tax matters, restoring tax registration to a supply chain management company in Qingdao, an international trade company in Qingdao, a trade company in Qingdao and other enterprises whose tax registration has been cancelled.

The notice on tax matters stated that the enterprises whose tax registration has been restored involved in the failure to declare value-added tax and surcharges, income tax, stamp tax, etc. as required. If the relevant enterprises do not cooperate with the restoration of tax registration, declaration and payment of taxes within the limited date, the tax authorities will restore the tax registration of the relevant enterprises in accordance with the law after the expiration of the announcement.

The national enterprise credit information publicity system shows that the above enterprises are still in business (opening) status, and some of them have made or are making simple cancellation announcements.

It is worth mentioning that the operation of the tax bureau to restore tax registration has a precedent: as early as 2022, a property management company in Daqing that had been cancelled was informed by the tax bureau to restore tax registration within a time limit due to suspected tax evasion, otherwise it would be forced to restore tax registration.

Here we remind you that according to the Company Law, the Tax Collection and Management Law and other provisions:

1. If an enterprise fails to pay or underpays taxes during its operation, the tax bureau may pursue the payment of taxes. Especially in the case of tax evasion, tax fraud, tax refusal, etc., it is possible to recover taxes and late fees indefinitely. The relevant provisions of the collection period are as follows:

(1) Failing to pay or underpaying taxes due to the responsibility of the tax authorities

The recovery period is three years. Only taxpayers and withholding agents can be required to make up the tax payment, and no late fees are allowed.

(2) Failing to pay or underpaying taxes due to errors of taxpayers and withholding agents in calculation

If a taxpayer or withholding agent fails to pay or underpays tax due to an unintentional error in the application of the calculation formula and an obvious clerical error, and the cumulative amount of tax does not exceed 100000 yuan, the recovery period is three years; if the cumulative amount of tax does not exceed 100000 yuan, the recovery period is five years.

In this case, the tax authorities can not only collect taxes, but also charge overdue fines according to regulations.

(3) In case of tax evasion, tax fraud or refusal to pay taxes, the tax authorities may pursue tax collection indefinitely.

2. When the company is in simple cancellation, the shareholders need to submit a letter of commitment related to liability for the company's debts. If the enterprise fails to pay taxes, even if the cancellation is successful, the tax authority may also recover taxes from the company's shareholders.

In practice, after the simple cancellation of enterprises, there are many cases in which shareholders are pursued by the tax bureaus and fined.

For example, according to Ning Shui Ji Er Xiao Gao [2023] No. 89, an industrial limited company in Jiangsu Province had a simple cancellation of industrial and commercial registration on August 11, 2022, and was later found to have evaded taxes. The tax authority requires all investors of the company to bear the tax payable, late fees and fines according to the investment proportion.

It is suggested that enterprises should pay attention to avoiding relevant risks, and fully realize that cancellation is not a "magic weapon" for enterprises to evade their responsibilities. If an enterprise has tax related problems, even if it is successfully cancelled, it may be restored to tax registration, or even subject to tax inspection and punishment.