Rules for drawing up a document on the absence of a debtor

The legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan on rehabilitation and bankruptcy provides for the possibility for the tax authorities to apply to the judicial authorities with an application for the liquidation of the debtor without initiating bankruptcy proceedings in cases of indebtedness to the state budget.

Thus, one of the prerequisites for a tax authority to apply to the court for the liquidation of a debtor without initiating bankruptcy proceedings is the impossibility of establishing the location of the debtor, as well as its participants and officials within 6 (six) consecutive months.

However, until recently, there was no form of a document confirming the impossibility of establishing the location of the debtor, as well as its participants and officials for 6 (six) consecutive months, and the Rules for compiling such a document.

On April 21, 2020, the Order of the First Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan – Minister of Finance of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated April 21, 2020 No. 406 “On approval of the Rules for the preparation and form of a document confirming the impossibility of establishing the location of the debtor, as well as its founders (participants) and officials” for six consecutive months.

So, in accordance with the above rules, in the event that all measures and methods are taken to collect tax debts, as well as debts on customs payments, special, anti-dumping, countervailing duties, interest in relation to a legal entity recognized as inactive in accordance with the Code “On Taxes and other obligatory payments to the budget”, an official of the territorial tax authority provides a visit to the location of the debtor, as well as its founders (participants) and officials, indicated in the registration data of information systems of state revenue bodies. When establishing the actual absence at the location of these persons, a second visit is carried out after 6 months.

Based on the results of a visit by an official of a territorial tax authority, a document is drawn up, in the presence of two or more witnesses, confirming the impossibility of establishing the location of the debtor, as well as its participants and officials within 6 consecutive months, which is one of the grounds for applying to the tax court body with a statement on the liquidation of the debtor without initiating bankruptcy proceedings.

Summing up the above, we conclude that the approval of the form of the document and the rules for compiling a document confirming the impossibility of establishing the location of the debtor, as well as its founders (participants) and officials within 6 consecutive months will allow the tax authorities to apply to the institution of liquidation of the debtor without initiating bankruptcy procedures, and the forced termination of the enterprise’s activities will undoubtedly lead to the cessation of the accumulation of debt obligations of the enterprise, as well as to a decrease in the share of unscrupulous entrepreneurial activity, which is fraught with a violation of the rights of both the state, business entities, and ordinary citizens.