Recommendations on controversial situations of deduction and accrual of VAT on advances

The article is devoted to the consideration of controversial situations arising from VAT-paying buyers in the case of their prepayment to suppliers. Despite the fact that Chapter 21 "Value Added Tax" of the Tax Code (hereinafter - the Tax Code of the Russian Federation) has been in force since 2001, there are currently controversial issues of its application. The Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation and the Federal Tax Service of Russia in their letters constantly explain to taxpayers the application of certain norms of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation to resolve disputes in practice, including those resolved in arbitration courts. The authors pay attention and give practical recommendations to accountants on how to act in these ambiguous situations. The article draws attention to the timing of issuing an advance invoice if prepayment and shipment occur in different quarters, and the interval between them is no more than five days, which directly affects the acceptance of advance VAT deduction. The situation of VAT recovery from the advance payment transferred to the supplier is considered if the facts of shipment of the goods and its receipt at the buyer's warehouse fall on different quarters. Recommendations are given on the inclusion in contracts of formulations on prepayment to suppliers, on the timing of advance invoices, and the organization of document flow between the parties to the transaction.