The Draft Tax Code provides for changes to the procedure for the submission of a statement of accounting policy to the tax authorities from 2024.
*According to the current legislation, the deadline for the submission of a statement of accounting policy for the current year is 31 March of the current year (as a rule, it was submitted together with the accounting statements for the expired reporting period).
From 2024, a new obligation is introduced to submit all amendments and additions to the organization’s accounting policy to the tax authorities no later than 30 calendar days from the date of their approval by the manager.
It should be noted that the approved Regulation on Accounting Policy of the Republic of Belarus is applied from the date of state registration of the organization. The accounting policy is based on the principle that it is sufficient to approve it once, i.e. the legislation does not provide for the approval of a new accounting policy of the organization for each year or the annual issuance of an order of the head of the organization on the extension of the ‘old’ accounting policy.
If necessary, the accounting policy is amended and supplemented, namely in cases where:
– changes in the legislation of the Republic of Belarus;
– changes in the methods of accounting, the application of which will increase the truthfulness and relevance of the information contained in the organization’s statements;
– making a decision on reorganization or liquidation of the organization.
According to verbal explanations of the specialists of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Belarus, when making changes to accounting policies in case of changes in legislation, such changes are made from the date of entry into force of the normative legal act that caused these changes. Changes in accounting policies in case of changes in accounting methods, the application of which will lead to increased truthfulness and relevance of the information contained in the financial statements, organizations may make only from the beginning of the year must be included in the provision on accounting policy of Belarus no later than on January 1.
Consequently, all operating organizations which, from January 2024, make changes/additions to the accounting policy statement for accounting purposes due to changes in legislation or changes in accounting methods must submit them to the tax authorities by the end of January 2024.
The deadlines for the submission of accounting policy statements to the tax authorities for other categories of taxpayers in 2024 are as follows:
– accounting policy of newly established organizations in the current year – not later than 30 calendar days from the date of state registration;
– organizations that applied the simplified taxation system without keeping accounting records and started keeping accounting records when applying the simplified taxation system or switched to another special or general taxation regime – not later than the last day of the month from which they started keeping accounting records or applying another special or general taxation regime;
– foreign organizations in case of permanent establishment – not later than 30 calendar days from the date of registration or updating of information on registration in the State Register of Taxpayers (other obliged persons).
For consultations on accounting policy issues, please call +375 29 107-66-02