Legal entity or individual entrepreneur. Is an individual entrepreneur an organization with all the consequences

The legal status of an individual entrepreneur raises many questions. First of all, it is not clear to many that an individual or legal entity is an individual entrepreneur from the point of view of legislation.
We will tell in the article what the tax authorities think about this and how individual entrepreneurship is characterized by law.

○ Concept Individual Entrepreneur.

From the point of view of legislation, an individual entrepreneur is not a legal entity. This follows from the definition.

Art. 11 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation:
Individual entrepreneurs - individuals registered in the prescribed manner and carrying out entrepreneurial activities without forming a legal entity, heads of peasant (farmer) households. Individuals engaged in entrepreneurial activities without forming a legal entity, but not registered as individual entrepreneurs in violation of the requirements of civilof the legislation of the Russian Federation, in the performance of the duties assigned to them by this Code, are not entitled to refer to the fact that they are not individual entrepreneurs.

In accordance with this text of the legislation, an individual entrepreneur is a natural person who conducts commercial activities. This is quite clear. However, the legal status of an individual entrepreneur implies a certain similarity with the status of a legal entity. Let's look further at the similarities and differences between these concepts.

○ Signs of individuals and legal entities.

An individual is a person who has rights and obligations within the framework of the legal regulation of the state. An individual has certain characteristics:

• Identification is carried out by full name.
• There is no need for additional registration, except for obtaining a birth certificate and a civil passport.
• The right to carry out economic transactions with other persons and organizations.

A legal entity is an organization registered in the register and having separate property, which is responsible for its obligations.

Art. 48 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation:

1. A legal entity is an organization that has separate property and is liable for its obligations, can, on its own behalf, acquire and exercise civil rights and bear civil obligations, be a plaintiff and defendant in court.
2. A legal entity must be registered in the unified state register of legal entities in one of the organizational and legal forms.
3. Legal entities, on the property of which their founders have real rights, include state and municipal unitary enterprises, as well as institutions.

Legal entities have the following characteristics:

• The presence of registration in a single register.
• Certain property owned.
• Separate name and registered address.
• The presence of a structured team with managers and subordinates.
• The right to obtain licenses for certain activities that are not available in other forms.
• Mandatory presence of a seal and a bank account.

A legal entity is responsible for conducting activities with its property. This sign is identical to the responsibility of an individual and an individual entrepreneur.

○ Comparison of an individual entrepreneur and a simple individual.

In fact, an individual and an individual entrepreneur have many common features. However, conducting certain types of entrepreneurial activity without registration is not allowed. We will tell you what are the similarities and differences between an individual entrepreneur and an individual.

✔ General signs.

Common facts include the following:

1. Legally, individual entrepreneurs and individuals are equal.
2. This is a specific person with a full name and identification number.
3. The place of permanent registration is the same.
4. An individual entrepreneur can act as a citizen when concluding transactions.
5. Individuals and individual entrepreneurs have the right to conduct business transactions, conclude transactions, draw up the necessary documents and perform legally significant actions.
6. In the event of a debt, individuals and individual entrepreneurs are liable with the property they own.

From the point of view of legislation, an individual entrepreneur is the status of an individual. However, there is still a difference between these concepts.

✔ Features.

The difference between an individual entrepreneur and an individual lies in the income taxation system and the permissible field of activity. For example, an individual with the status of an individual entrepreneur cannot be an employee and at the same time conduct entrepreneurial activities. A person, being an individual entrepreneur, can be an employee, but as an individual.

Many types of commercial activities are not available to an individual who does not have the status of an individual entrepreneur. So, for example, he cannot open a pavilion and sell any goods there or engage in the provision of household services to the population.

○ Comparison of individual entrepreneur and legal entity.

Quite often you can find the identification of the status of an individual entrepreneur and a legal entity. This is not entirely correct from the point of view of legislation, but nevertheless, there are certainly similarities between these statuses. Let's take a look at the similarities and differences.

✔ Commonality in activity.

The commonality of activity lies in the following factors:

• The purpose of the establishment is to conduct business and make a profit.
• The need to pass the state registration procedure.
• Availability of taxation systems - simplified tax system, UTII, etc.
• The possibility of employment of employees in accordance with the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.
• May have a bank account (not required for individual entrepreneurs).
• In court, there can be a plaintiff and a defendant.

This is where the similarity ends. Consider the difference between individual entrepreneurs and legal entities.

✔ distinctive characteristics.

The main differences are as follows:

• An individual entrepreneur is a specific person, a legal entity is an organization.
• Registration of a person as an individual entrepreneur is carried out at the place of permanent residence, and a legal entity is registered at the legal address.
• An individual entrepreneur operates independently, a legal entity is a team of people (however, both of them can be employers).
• The property of the organization and its founders is separated from each other, the individual entrepreneur, in turn, is liable with all his property, as an individual.
• IP does not have its own name.
• A legal entity is required to have a seal and a bank account, for individual entrepreneurs, both are advisory in nature.
• The activity of a legal entity is impossible without the availability of statutory documents.

Organizations have the right to conduct commercial activities in any area that does not contradict the law. Entrepreneurs are subject to certain restrictions.

Conducting entrepreneurial activities by a person who has not passed state registration is prohibited in Russia. But before choosing the organizational and legal form of a business, it is worthwhile to figure out - is an individual entrepreneur an individual or a legal entity?

What is the difference between individuals and legal entities?

The procedure for registering individuals and legal entities doing business varies significantly. To understand whether an individual entrepreneur is a legal entity, one must understand the definitions given by the legislation.

• Citizens (individuals) and legal entities acquire and exercise their civil rights of their own free will and in their own interest (Article 1 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).
• A citizen has the right to engage in entrepreneurial activities without forming a legal entity from the moment of state registration as an individual entrepreneur (Article 23 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).
• Upon state registration of an individual as an individual entrepreneur ... (Article 22.1 of the Law of 08.08.2001 No. 129-FZ).
• A legal entity is an organization that has separate property and is liable to them for its obligations (Article 48 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

From these provisions it is absolutely clear that the question of whether an individual entrepreneur is a legal entity should not even arise.

An entrepreneur is an individual, and an individual is a citizen or a person with a certain legal and legal capacity. After this, an individual can independently engage in business and dispose of the income received from it. Moreover, this business exists as long as a citizen is registered as an entrepreneur. After the individual entrepreneur is removed from tax records, the business entity ceases to exist.

A legal entity or organization does not depend on its founders, whose composition may change completely. Shares in the authorized capital of a legal entity are sold, inherited, donated or pledged. An organization can be fully redeemed as a property complex and continue to exist without its original creators.

And yet, there is some confusion in the concepts of an individual and a legal entity. It was caused by Article 23 of the Civil Code, which states that the rules governing the activities of legal entities are applied to the entrepreneurial activities of citizens. Thus, although an individual entrepreneur is undoubtedly an individual, the same rules can apply to him as to commercial legal entities.

Administrative responsibility of an individual entrepreneur

It is especially important to understand whether an individual entrepreneur is a legal entity within the framework of administrative responsibility. Why is this so special?

If you open the Code of Administrative Offenses, then in many articles you can see that fines for organizations are several times higher than for individuals. Take for example a typical violation - the sale of goods or the provision of services in cases where this is established by law.

Article 14.5 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation specifies the following sanctions:

• for citizens - from 1,500 to 2,000 rubles;
• for officials - from 3,000 to 4,000 rubles;
• for legal entities - from 30,000 to 40,000 rubles.

Who in this case is an individual entrepreneur - is it a legal entity or an individual (citizen)? Neither one nor the other, because the status of an individual entrepreneur in administrative legal relations is an official, equal in responsibility to the head of the organization.

An indication of this is spelled out in article 2.4 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. However, a reservation is also made here that the entrepreneur is equated with an official, unless otherwise provided by the Code. And indeed, there are such norms where special responsibility is provided for individual entrepreneurs.

For example, in article 14.1.2, the fines for carrying out entrepreneurial activities in the field of transport without a license are:

• for citizens and officials - 50,000 rubles;
• for individual entrepreneurs - 100,000 rubles;
• for legal entities - 400,000 rubles.

Thus, answering the question - is an individual entrepreneur a legal entity in administrative legal relations, we can say a firm "no".

Features of the IP employer

Not so long ago, the question of whether an individual entrepreneur is a legal entity was not of interest to future businessmen, but to employees. The fact is that individual entrepreneurs received the right to conclude employment contracts and draw up work books only in 2006. Accordingly, employment in organizations gave employees more rights than employment with individual entrepreneurs.

Interestingly, the Labor Code still contains additional obligations for employers-legal entities, as more solvent business entities. So, article 178 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation obliges to pay severance pay to employees upon dismissal due to staff reductions only for organizations. It turns out that although an individual entrepreneur basically bears the same obligations as a legal entity, there are still some indulgences for him.

Entrepreneur in tax law

Tax legislation treats individuals and legal entities more fairly, calling everyone equally taxpayers. If we talk about the amount of fines for tax offenses, then they are the same for individual entrepreneurs and for organizations.

And yet, there are certain privileges for entrepreneurs here too. In particular, individual entrepreneurs do not keep accounting records, which means they can do without an accountant. In addition, there is a special preferential tax regime (PST), which is available only to individuals. And, finally, tax holidays with the possibility of not paying taxes for two years are also provided only to individual entrepreneurs.

Summing up

1. Despite the fact that in some situations the law equates the rights and obligations of individual entrepreneurs to commercial organizations, the answer to the question: “Is an individual entrepreneur a legal entity?” - negative.
2. An individual entrepreneur is an individual who has been registered with the IFTS and has received the right to run his own business.
3. An individual is an ordinary citizen, so his entrepreneurial activity continues until he is removed from the tax register. It is impossible to sell or donate an individual entrepreneur as a legal entity.
4. In administrative legal relations, when collecting fines, an individual entrepreneur has the status of an official, unless certain articles of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation indicate otherwise. As a rule, fines for individual entrepreneurs are several times less than for legal entities.
5. As an employer, an individual entrepreneur is not much different from a legal entity, however, organizations have more responsibilities to employees.
6. The Tax Code practically equalizes taxpayers of legal entities and individuals, however, it must be admitted that organizations fall under tax control more often than entrepreneurs. In addition, individuals, when doing business, enjoy additional tax benefits that are not available to legal entities.

The emergence of this question is connected with the dual interpretation of the above concepts. People may be confused about how an individual entrepreneur, being an individual, enjoys the rights and performs the duties of a legal entity. In this article, we will understand the individual or legal entity is an individual entrepreneur, and we will clearly distinguish between these concepts.

What is IP

Article 11 The Tax Code gives the concept of the term individual entrepreneurs. These include individuals who are registered in the prescribed manner and carry out entrepreneurial activities without forming a legal entity. Already in this normative legal act a clear answer to the question is given. It is also confirmed by the following rules.

Article 23 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation practically duplicates this provision. A clear distinction is also made in the following definitions specified in the law "On state registration ..." dated 08.08.2001.

That is, for the legislation of the Russian Federation there are no problems with the distinction between these concepts. Let's try further to understand all the subtleties and nuances.

The fact that an individual is engaged in entrepreneurial activity is evidenced by the following:

1. A person carries out a certain type of activity for profit (exclusively for himself).
2. Property is produced and acquired also for the purpose of generating income.
3. Accounting for business transactions. To do this, under any taxation regime that the individual entrepreneur has chosen, he keeps a book of income and expenses. It contains records in chronological order and information about primary documents confirming the implementation of transactions.
4. Established contacts with suppliers, buyers and other contractors.
5. The activity is carried out at the risk of the businessman, and he also bears any responsibility personally and with all his property.

An interesting norm is the one that establishes the possibility of applying the norms of legislation that regulate legal relations related to the activities of legal entities to the entrepreneurial activities of individuals. But certain conditions are provided for here: otherwise should not follow from laws, regulations or the very essence of legal relations. It is this provision, enshrined in the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, that raises questions.

We also note that an individual entrepreneur and an individual is a specific person who is endowed with the necessary amount of legal capacity and capacity.

The legal capacity of the subject is the ability to have rights and bear obligations. According to the norms of the Civil Code, citizens can both independently engage in entrepreneurial activities and create legal entities. This list also includes the ability to make transactions within the law, to have property and non-property rights, and more.

Legal capacity is the ability to manage rights and obligations, which is acquired from the moment of majority, i.e. from the age of 18. But the legislation also provides for cases in which legal capacity may arise at the age of 16.

IP acquires its status from the moment of state registration.

To understand an individual entrepreneur is an individual or legal entity, it is necessary to analyze what is common and different between these terms.

Common for IP with physical. faces

Individuals- These are citizens of the Russian Federation, foreign citizens and stateless persons. But in order for them to become subjects of economic legal relations, they must have a sufficient amount of legal capacity and legal capacity. For legal entities, this is not required, just state registration is enough.

An individual may carry out one of the following activities:

1. Work under an employment contract.
2. Provide services under a civil law contract.
3. Be a private, self-employed person. This activity is similar to entrepreneurial, but differs in its social orientation (lawyers, notaries, private security guards, private detectives).
4. Individual entrepreneurs.

What an individual entrepreneur and an individual have in common is as follows:

1. These two terms are equated with each other by the norms of the legislation.
2. This is a specific person who has a surname, name, patronymic, identification number.
3. They have a certain place of residence where they live and are registered as an individual entrepreneur.
4. Endowed with the necessary amount of law and legal capacity.
5. A business entity registered as an individual entrepreneur can act both as an entrepreneur and as a citizen. in Russia This is not prohibited, but expressly provided for by law.
6. They have the right to conduct various business operations, conclude contracts and make transactions.
7. They can also be in economic relations with legal entities and perform legally significant actions on their own behalf.
8. In the event of debts, they are liable with all their property, except for that which, according to the law, cannot be levied. By decision of the arbitration court, a citizen who is unable to satisfy the requirements for monetary obligations may be declared bankrupt.

In order to avoid all kinds of risks in the implementation and conduct of business, an individual entrepreneur needs to find out all the nuances for himself even before registration. In particular, what type of activity will be chosen, whether it is subject to licensing, what method of taxation will be used, whether settlement accounts will be opened in banks, etc. These factors also influence the success of doing business.

Common for individual entrepreneurs and legal entities. persons

According to the legislation of the Russian Federation, a legal entity is:

• organization (LLC, CJSC, etc.)
• which has separate property (is on the balance sheet and is used in work)
• for obligations can be responsible only within the limits of this above property (personal is not included here)
• can enjoy all the rights and obligations (conclude transactions, pay taxes)
• may act as a plaintiff and a defendant in litigation.

To understand what common for an individual entrepreneur and a legal entity, it is necessary to clearly understand, first of all, what are their differences.

1. A legal entity is an organization, an individual entrepreneur is a specific person. Those. in the latter case, it is a real-life subject, and in the first case, it is an organized society (which, as it appeared, may disappear in one moment).
2. Registration of an individual entrepreneur is carried out at the place of residence, and a legal entity - at the legal address.
3. It is characterized by organizational unity, which means its own management system. An individual entrepreneur carries out its activities independently, but can also act as an employer when using hired employees.
4. Ownership and liability. This term refers to the property that the organization has separately, and the founders or members of the organization have separate property. And these concepts must be distinguished and not confused. Since the organization bears property liability only within the limits of the amount (property) of the authorized capital, and the individual entrepreneur is liable for obligations with all his own property. This is considered the most important difference.
5. The presence of its own name, in contrast to the individual entrepreneur, which is registered only under the full name;
6. A legal entity is required to have a current account and its own seal. For an individual, this obligation is voluntary and recommendatory.
7. The presence of a charter, which is a constituent document, is another necessary condition for the activities of legal entities.
8. Organizations can carry out any type of activity in any area, there are restrictions for businessmen.

The general is as follows:

1. They are created solely for entrepreneurial activities and are intended to make a profit.
2. Personal property and non-property rights are exercised on their own behalf.
3. In order to become a full participant in economic legal relations, it is necessary to carry out state registration with the relevant authorities.
4. Tax systems such as the simplified taxation system and the single tax on imputed income may be the same.
5. The recruitment process is the same. Everyone is recorded in the work book. For employees, the necessary contributions to the Pension Fund are made and personal income tax is withheld.
6. They may have a checking account. Although, as mentioned above, for organizations this is an obligation, but for individual entrepreneurs it is not. For banks, an IP is a legal entity in the implementation of non-cash transactions. That is, look for tariffs for various services in the sections intended for organizations.
7. In court, they can act as a plaintiff and a defendant.

Status of an individual entrepreneur, namely the physical is it a person or a legal entity. a person must be understood even before state registration is carried out. Since in the process of doing business you will understand all the pros and cons, that is, all the advantages can be used in your activities.

Starting businessmen, when registering their activities, are trying to figure out: an individual entrepreneur (individual entrepreneur), is it an individual or is it still a legal entity (LE)?

It is necessary to understand the terminology of the definitions of legal and natural persons (FL).

Entity

To understand whether an individual entrepreneur is a legal entity, one should understand the meaning of the last term. In the description of a legal entity, we are always talking about an organization that owns property and assumes obligations. She is responsible for them with all her property, according to the constituent documents. An organization can be a plaintiff or a defendant in litigation and have property or non-property rights.

A legal entity is an exclusive form of a registered group of people who have common interests, goals and objectives. The main characteristic of a legal entity is organizational unity.

Its essence lies in the creation of their own management systems with administrative bodies and a clear hierarchy. A legal entity has other important features:

• isolation by property;
• individual name;
• property liability.

Isolation by property is the presence of property in the company that does not belong to other people, including members of the organization or its founders. Ownership is secured on a different legal platform. Liability for property in legal entities occurs only within the funds amounting to the amount of the authorized capital.

Organizations must have a seal and a current account. The transfer of cash to other companies is limited for them. The amount cannot exceed 100,000 rubles. Also, legal entities are required to draw up a charter - constituent documentation describing individual powers and work procedures.

A legal entity has a large state responsibility in mandatory reporting for its activities, therefore many aspiring entrepreneurs prefer to limit themselves to the status of an individual entrepreneur at the first steps of business development.

Only a stable financial situation leads an individual entrepreneur to transform into an LLC or other suitable forms.

The essence of an individual

An individual is a person with a certain range of rights and obligations. One of the prerogatives of an ordinary citizen is economic activity. In this sphere, a person is equal in rights with other participants. Thus, the activities of an individual may be associated with:

• transport;
• trade;
• production;
• work on the stock exchange, etc.

An ordinary person can engage in business transactions, the conclusion of transactions, contracts and agreements. An individual can interact with legal entities. For this, it is not necessary to create organizations and enterprises.

Similarities and differences

Future merchants are usually concerned about the question: is an individual entrepreneur a legal entity? Consider the differences and similarities between LE and FL.

Common features:

• The need to pay dues and taxes.
• Accountability to a number of instances and the obligation to keep records of their activities.
• The ability to hire employees, with mandatory registration in accordance with labor legislation and the payment of wages with all necessary contributions to state funds.
• An individual entrepreneur has the right to open a current account. For an LLC that is a legal entity, this is mandatory.
• Both a company and an individual may have a seal to certify documentation.
• Violations of economic activity by individual entrepreneurs and firms are punishable, but fines for individual entrepreneurs are less than for legal entities.

What is the difference between different types of commercial activities?

Table comparing the characteristics of FL and YL.

Individual entrepreneur

The legislative definition of the concept of "individual entrepreneur" distinguishes in individual entrepreneurs individuals who are officially registered with the tax authority for doing business without specialized education of individual organizations and firms.

Russian law uses synonymous concepts: “private” or “without the formation of a legal entity”, but an active entrepreneur who has not formed a separate organization is an individual entrepreneur.

A simple conclusion can be drawn: an individual entrepreneur is not a legal entity. The rights and obligations of individual entrepreneurs are controversial, in order to make a decision on the registration of their activities, it is necessary to carefully study all the pros and cons of the statuses adopted.

The practical side shows that successful entrepreneurs always transform the activities of individual entrepreneurs into legal entities. This is justified in the application of taxation schemes, as well as in cases of certain encumbrances and liability for the activities carried out.

The most popular organizational form of commerce is an individual entrepreneur. Taking into account the peculiarities of the industry specifics of the activities of the IP, as well as organizations, they have the right to perform a number of legal actions: to hire employees, open bank accounts, conclude contracts, etc. In this regard, many people have a completely logical question: is an individual entrepreneur a legal entity or an individual? To substantiate the answer, we turn to the norms of the current legislation of the Russian Federation.

What does the term entrepreneur mean?

The term individual entrepreneur of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation is interpreted as an opportunity to conduct legal activities from the moment of state registration with the control authorities (Article 23 of the Civil Code). Obtaining the status is formalized in the Federal Tax Service at the place of residence of the citizen. The registration procedure is regulated by Law No. 129-FZ of 08.08.01.

Figuratively speaking, an individual entrepreneur is an individual who has a legitimate registration number in the Unified Register, who, at his own peril and risk, conducts independent activities with regular profit. Other names for an indus entrepreneur are PE (private entrepreneur) and PBOYuL (entrepreneur without forming a legal entity). As it becomes clear, the opening of a business does not imply the creation of a legal structure for the plan of LLC, JSC, NPF, etc., but it means securing an official status for conducting individual commercial activities and paying mandatory taxes and fees in favor of the state.

Separately, it should be noted that the legal work of an individual entrepreneur has nothing to do with illegal trade. It should also be borne in mind that one-time transactions are not recognized as entrepreneurship and do not require official registration of an individual with tax and other authorities. To become an SME (subject of small business), having issued the status of an individual entrepreneur, every citizen has the right, subject to the following restrictions:

• The individual must be of legal age, i.e. over 18 years of age.
• A minor citizen can open an individual entrepreneur upon reaching the age of 16, subject to entering into a legal marriage or with the consent of guardians (parents).
• At the time of registration, a citizen must have permanent or temporary registration on the territory of the Russian Federation, the fact of citizenship does not matter - both a Russian citizen and a foreigner can become an IP.

Note! It is forbidden to register individual entrepreneurs for civil servants, as well as municipal ones - deputies, judges, officials, employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Internal Affairs Department, prosecutors, etc.

Common features of individual entrepreneurs and legal entities

Since we have already found out that an individual entrepreneur is an individual with an officially registered legal status, it is logical to assume that, along with organizations, entrepreneurs have their own rights and obligations. What do they consist of? We list the main similarities between individual entrepreneurs and companies-legal entities:

1. An individual entrepreneur has the right to hire workers under employment contracts with making records of experience in work books, paying wages, providing vacation pay, sick leave and other guarantees under the Labor Code.
2. Calculation and subsequent transfer of income tax and insurance premiums from personnel income.
3. Calculation of the tax base depending on the working regime of taxation and payment of the amounts of accrued taxes and fees.
4. Preparation of reports to social funds, IFTS, statistical authorities.
5. The right to open a bank account - unlike legal entities, entrepreneurs can open bank accounts at will.
6. Production of seals and stamps.
7. Conclusion of contracts with counterparties - as well as legal entities, individual entrepreneurs can draw up contracts in writing listing the essential terms of transactions.

Differences between sole proprietorship and enterprises:

1. The amount of property liability - LLC is liable for obligations only within the amount of the authorized capital. At the same time, each founder of the company is liable in proportion to the size of his share, and the entrepreneur alone risks all personal property, with the exception of certain objects listed in the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation.
2. Registration address - the creation of a legal entity is possible at a legal address, an individual entrepreneur is registered with the Federal Tax Service strictly at the place of residence (temporary or permanent).
3. Types of activity - the OKVED list for LLCs is much wider than for individual entrepreneurs. For example, it is forbidden for an entrepreneur to sell alcohol, except for beer.
4. The amount of insurance premiums payable - an individual entrepreneur is obliged to transfer fixed amounts annually, regardless of the actual conduct of business or downtime.
5. Available tax regimes - an LLC cannot use the PSN, which is allowed for use only by individual entrepreneurs.
6. Disposal of income received - it is easier for an individual entrepreneur to use money and at the same time no additional taxes need to be paid, while in an LLC the founder is obliged to pay 13% of dividends in order to withdraw funds from profits.
7. Accounting - according to Law No. 402-FZ of December 6, 2011, individual entrepreneurs should not keep accounting (Article 6), and legal entities are obliged and for lack of accounting they are fined under the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

Signs of an individual entrepreneur

Despite the fact that the legislation of the Russian Federation clearly defines the obligation of individuals to undergo official registration in order to conduct activities, many citizens do not comply with the established regulations and work “in the black”. Nevertheless, inspection bodies pay close attention to illegal immigrants and it is recommended to officially open a business in order to avoid problems and punishment.

Among the signs of IP in 2017, it should be noted: regular trade in goods or the provision of various services (performance of work), the involvement of employees for informal work, the systematic conclusion of contracts with other individuals and enterprises, “gray” cash payments. Also, confirmation of illegal activity is the presence of internal reports indicating the dates and amounts of payments / receipts - the “black” cash desk.

Note! With an individual form of entrepreneurship, an entrepreneur undergoes a simplified registration procedure, which takes 3 working days according to Law No. 402-FZ.

In what cases is an individual entrepreneur a legal entity?

So, we figured out that the concept of an individual entrepreneur means an individual registered in an approved manner. This is also confirmed in stat. 11 of the Tax Code, that is, the norms of the tax legislation of the Russian Federation. And stat. 2 of the Civil Code defines entrepreneurial activity as one that is carried out systematically, with profit and at one's own risk, that is, with the full responsibility of an individual.

Thus, summing up all of the above, we can state that an individual entrepreneur and a legal entity are two completely different legal and organizational forms, each of which has its own drawbacks, as well as advantages. Before embarking on a free voyage and opening your own business, you need to carefully read the regulations of the Russian Federation in order to choose the best option for doing business. However, are there situations when it can be noted that an individual entrepreneur is a legal entity? Or rather, that the IP acts on a par with legal entities?

Of course, such cases are possible and the point is not at all in national illiteracy, but in the real norm of the Civil Code, or rather, paragraph 3 of Art. 23 of the Civil Code, which states that the same requirements of civil law that apply to legal entities can apply to entrepreneurship, unless otherwise approved in other legal acts / laws. In practice, this means that individual entrepreneurs, as well as enterprises, are often subject to equal requirements from the Federal Tax Service, social funds, labor inspectorates, statistics agencies and other government agencies. Entrepreneurs have to defend their rights, for example, on the lack of calculation of the cash limit, with the help of lengthy proceedings and complaints to higher authorities. What to do?

First of all, it must be remembered that at certain points an individual entrepreneur must act on a par with a legal entity. This happens when registering hired employees, when accruing taxes from objects of taxation, when opening bank accounts, when issuing primary documents and observing the rules of document flow, etc. In addition, and in accordance with the norms of tax legislation, the use of any of the available taxation systems obliges an individual entrepreneur, acting or acting, to calculate taxes on income received and submit appropriate reports within the established time limits - declarations, calculations, etc.

In other cases, of course, the individual entrepreneur does not act as a legal entity, but on his own behalf, that is, as a citizen. And the measures of responsibility applied to individuals are much softer than those established for organizations. An exception is the personal property liability of an entrepreneur for obligations arising in the course of activities.

Conclusion - in this article we told whether an individual entrepreneur is an individual or a legal entity. Additionally, the main differences and similarities between enterprises and individual entrepreneurs are indicated, the signs of entrepreneurship are considered. In conclusion, it is worth noting that in Russia an entrepreneur is a person who, taking into account economic risks, is able to extract regular profits while carrying out legal activities and in compliance with current legislation.