Supreme Court: the bankrupt’s vat expenses relate to the costs of selling the collateral

The Supreme Court recalled that in accordance with paragraph 1 of Art. 168 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, the tax amount is part of the rental price. Therefore, the amount of VAT allocated from lease payments and payable to the budget within the framework of the debtor’s current obligations must be considered expenses for the sale of the pledged item. This means that the costs of paying VAT accrued on the lease of pledged property in the course of bankruptcy proceedings are paid off at the expense of the rent before its distribution, and cannot be passed on to other creditors of the debtor, explained the Supreme Court.

Anton Makeychuk, a lawyer and partner of the law firm Tenzor Consulting Group, stressed that such distribution of expenses is fair, since these expenses cannot be attributed to the general bankruptcy estate and should not violate the rights of other creditors.

The lawyer also noted that the determination of the Supreme Court is also important for banks, which sometimes illegally refuse to carry out such payments.

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