Operational units of internal affairs bodies and tax authorities of the Russian Federation: partners or competitors?

The article discusses current issues in the field of countering tax crimes. The article analyses the changes that have occurred due to the liberalization of criminal procedural legislation in relation to the detection of tax offences. It examines the activities of operational units of law enforcement agencies whose tasks include detecting and investigating crimes related to tax evasion as well as the activities of tax authorities whose competence includes carrying out tax audits of tax payers. Despite the seemingly similar functions of these entities, the outcome of their work is somewhat different. At the initial stage, there appears to be a significant contradiction in the goals of these two government agencies. However, in the course of research, it becomes clear that there is a common task for both the tax service and, to some extent, for operational staff, which is to ensure full payment of arrears and penalties imposed during tax inspections in accordance with the laws of the Russian Federation governing taxes and duties.