How to properly formalize the acceptance of work under a construction contract?

An act of completed services is a final document that is generated at the stage of closing a contract and confirms the fact, scope and quality of the supplier’s fulfillment of its obligations under this contract.

What is the certificate of services rendered used for?

After the supplier has fulfilled its obligations under the contract, the customer accepts the fulfilled obligations under the contract. The customer’s specialists check the delivered volumes with the terms of the government contract and analyze the quality of the services provided. If the services are provided in full and properly, then the parties draw up and sign a certificate of work performed or services rendered.

The act stipulates the deadlines allotted for the completion of work in accordance with the government contract. If the deadlines are violated, then penalties are prescribed; if the services are provided on time, this is noted in the report. This primary register confirms the quality and completeness of the work performed. By preparing the final documentation, the parties agree on the results of the purchase. For example, a signed certificate of completion of work for consulting services means that all obligations under the contract have been fulfilled, the customer has no claims against the supplier, and the supplier has no claims against the customer.

The parties sign the deed document if:

• all conditions stipulated by the order documents and included in the contract are fulfilled in full;
• the contractor delivered, and the customer accepted, the services provided, which are the subject of public procurement;
• the parties have no mutual claims against each other.

ConsultantPlus experts discussed what to do if the customer does not sign the work completion certificate. Use these instructions for free.

If any of these conditions are not met (the services are not provided in full or of inadequate quality), then the customer has the right not to accept the work and not to sign the register. In such situations, a recording document is drawn up, which indicates all items that do not allow acceptance. The protocol also specifies the period within which it is necessary to eliminate the identified violations.

A well-drafted protocol of disagreements is a kind of guarantee for the customer. If the organization applies to the judicial authorities for further proceedings, the record of violations and the unsigned act will become evidence of improper fulfillment of obligations on the part of the supplier.

The form is drawn up in two copies: one copy remains with the customer organization, the other with the supplier.

What act of provision of services will the tax authorities not find fault with?

Inspectors pay very close attention to reports on the provision of services. Tax authorities often do not recognize expenses for services, especially consulting or marketing. A poorly drafted act only helps inspectors save costs. There is no unified form for the act of provision of services. Companies must develop the document themselves. Our reader, chief accountant Lyubov Polynskaya, shared her experience in drawing up such acts.

Even if the contract for the provision of services does not provide for the preparation of a document, I always direct my counterparties to the fact that we will prepare the document. Otherwise, how can you then prove to the tax authorities what services were provided and to what extent? An act of provision of services is a supporting document that records the fact of the transfer of services provided from the contractor to the buyer.

Typically, acts of provision of services are drawn up by the contractor under the contract. But I try to control what document the counterparty prepares. This is better than asking partners to make adjustments to the document later.

Despite the apparent simplicity of the document, there are several very important nuances in its preparation. So far, the rules for drawing up the act that I have defined for myself have not let me down. Tax officials did not deduct expenses for services. I'll tell you how I achieved this.

TASK No. 1.

Develop the form of the act.

It is more logical to stipulate the form of the act or at least the information that will be present in it at the stage of concluding a contract for the provision of services. It is even better if it is possible to preliminarily determine with the contractor under the contract the time frame within which he must draw up the act. You can stipulate in the contract penalties for the delay or absence of an act based on the results of services provided. The accepted form of the act must be approved in the accounting policy.

Of course, the act must contain all the information required by paragraph 2 of Article 9 of the Federal Law of November 26, 1996 No. 129-FZ. Then the act can be used in work.

A bilateral act requires full details of both the customer and the contractor. If the performer is an individual, then the act must indicate the address of his permanent residence, as well as the details of an identity document.

TASK No. 2.

Include in the act the content of the service and its measures.

Information about the service in the act must be presented in such a way that the accomplished fact of its provision can be clearly determined. I advise you to ensure that the name of the service in the act corresponds to what is specified by the parties in the contract.

Inspectors want to see their detailed content in the service provision act. When it comes to marketing research, you should not limit yourself to just such a short name of the service. It is better to write what the subject of the research was, where it took place and in what period. For example, “Study of the competitive environment in the field of public catering in the Yaroslavl district of Moscow in the spring of 2011.”

The issue with units of measurement of services is ambiguous. Paragraph 5 of Article 38 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation states that a service is an activity whose results do not have material expression. In principle, this leads to the conclusion that the act can do without units of measurement. But in practice it is better not to be guided by this conclusion.

The cost of services must be stated in the act. And it would be nice if the act described the specific labor costs for their provision. This could be the number of hours spent on work. It is also better to state how much one hour of the performer’s work costs. Then the act will contain information not only about the total cost of services, but also their unit price. In this case, if claims arise regarding inflated prices, it will be easier for the company to defend itself.

The phrase “The above services were completed in full and on time. The customer has no complaints regarding the volume, quality and timing of the provision of services” would be useful. You must remember to indicate the VAT rate and amount in the act.

It is important to understand: even if the parties for some reason do not specify the content of services in such detail in the act, tax authorities do not have the right to deduct expenses only on this basis. To justify its case, the company can use the decision of the Supreme Arbitration Court of January 20, 2009 No. 2236/07. In it, the judges stated that acts of acceptance and transfer of services provided are considered primary accounting documents, even if they do not contain information about the detailed content of the services. After all, the mandatory details of the primary document were still given in the act.

TASK No. 3.

Decide on the need for printing.

The organization's seal is not included in the list of mandatory details of the primary document. But at the same time, we must not lose sight of the fact that both companies and the tax inspectors themselves are already accustomed to the fact that there is a seal on almost all documents. This has become a business custom. That's why I never neglect affixing a seal. This does not require any time investment, but it does add hope that the inspectors will not find fault with the act. By the way, it is necessary to put a stamp if such a condition is in the text of the act. If below the “Signature” details there are the letters “M.P.” (“Print Place”)

Authorized employees must decipher their signatures, not forgetting to include the full names of their positions.

More tips Internal company documents will help if details are missing in the act

Elvira MITYUKOVA, lecturer, Ph.D. Sc., managing partner of consulting:

– Even if the act of provision of services does not contain their details, they can be confirmed with other documents. For example, in relation to company management services, such evidence may include internal local acts, orders on appointments and transfers of employees, accounting and tax reporting. Directions and orders from the manager on various issues of the financial and economic activities of the management company will also help. However, you must be prepared for the fact that tax inspectors will very closely examine situations where the act of providing services is drawn up carelessly and without details.

Evgenia DOMOROSHCHINA, chief accountant of Roquefort LLC:

– I advise you to take a closer look at the date of drawing up the act on the provision of services.
After all, it is on this date that the customer company will write off the cost of services as expenses using the accrual method. Therefore, if possible, the parties should try to ensure that the act is signed in the same reporting period in which the services were provided. To avoid unnecessary problems, I try to date the acts on the last day of the month in which the services were provided. I never neglect the units of measurement of services in the act, otherwise tax inspectors will have questions. And it’s even better not to forget about the place where services are provided. It should also be specified in the act if possible. The article was published in the magazine “Seminar for Accountants” No. 5, 2011
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In what form is it compiled?

The format depends on the procurement object. If the subject of the contract was construction, repair, or major overhaul work, the basis for which was design and estimate documentation, then the document must be generated according to the unified form KS-2 (coding according to OKUD - 0322005, approved by Resolution of the State Statistics Committee of the Russian Federation No. 100 dated November 11 .1999).

IMPORTANT!

When purchasing construction and major repairs, use the unified form KS-2!

In other cases, the fulfillment of obligations is activated in free form. Each institution has the right to develop its own form. This will allow us to take into account the peculiarities of the organizational and legal form, industry and the specifics of a particular purchase. If necessary, the organization has the right to supplement (but not reduce the unified content) the KS-2 form. All developed forms are approved in the accounting policies and local regulations of the customer.

The legislation does not establish strict rules for creating your own form. Here's what to write as a result of work performed under a contract so that the act has legal force:

• details of the parties - names of the supplier and customer, their responsible persons, title documents;
• details of the register itself - number and date of compilation;
• details of the government contract, upon execution of which the final document is drawn up;
• subject of the contract, its main quantitative and qualitative characteristics;
• contract price including VAT and tax allocation;
• if the subject of the contract is not subject to tax, this should be indicated separately.

The finished document is signed by managers or other authorized persons.

Regulatory authorities require correct filling out of legal registers. For this purpose, the authorities approve methodological recommendations for the generation of such reporting. The manuals prescribe both the procedure for filling out the register and the rules for applying and calculating fines and penalties for improper performance of the contract. To do this, the form includes relevant items reflecting the actual quality of the work, identified deficiencies, the amount of penalties and the amount under the contract calculated after deduction of fines and penalties.

How to fill out the act

The final documentation confirming the completion of work or provision of services is prepared by suppliers. The customer only studies the documents and signs them. There are no examples of what a work completion certificate for the supply of goods looks like. The parties register the delivery and acceptance of products with a bill of lading.

Construction or repair KS-2 is filled out according to a strictly unified form, indicating in detail the details of the parties, the name of the construction site and the address of the construction site. The tabular part of the document is filled out in strict accordance with the estimate.

Registers formed for other cases are filled out either on the letterhead of the customer organization or in the format of a regular document.

Regardless of the chosen form, the document must indicate the subject of purchase, the contract price, and the deadlines for completing the work.

Errors and corrections in the form are not allowed. If inaccuracies are found, the documentation is redone, canceling the previous version.

Reporting documents are signed by representatives of the customer and the contractor, and a seal is affixed if available at the institution. For budgetary institutions and in the case of some procurements, forms are drawn up in triplicate: one copy for each party and one copy for the regulatory authority.

Here is an example of how to correctly draw up a certificate of completion for the provision of services in 2022:

What does the legislation say?

The legislation does not force the parties to the agreement to draw up an act of performed services under a service agreement, however, Chapter 39 of the Civil Code provides clarifications regarding the provision of services for a fee. The contract must include a clause explaining exactly how and on what basis the fact of carrying out the work or service is confirmed.

It turns out that even before the execution of the contract begins, the need to draw up such a document is indicated. Such documents are usually called an acceptance certificate or a certificate of services performed.

Since the legislation does not establish a special form of the document, the act is drawn up in any form. The main thing is that it makes it possible to understand when and what services were actually provided. The document can be the basis for calculations and subsequent taxation; it represents an addition to the main agreement.

Certificate of work performed and services provided including VAT.

Tax Code Provisions

Article 38 (section 4, chapter 7) of the Tax Code provides detailed explanations regarding the definition and criteria of works and services subject to taxes. Article 39 reflects the principles of their execution and pricing.

In accordance with the interpretation given by the Tax Code, work and service differ in that the result of the first is a material expression that satisfies the needs of individuals and legal entities. In other words, the performer transfers something, and the customer acquires it .

Based on the results of completion of the work, an acceptance certificate or a work completion certificate is drawn up. The fruits of the services provided are intangible; the service is accepted in the process of its provision. Thus, there is nothing to transmit or receive. In this case, the participants draw up an act of provision of services, which proves only that the service was performed at a certain time.

Provisions of the Civil Code

As practice shows, the cause of disputes is often precisely the fact that the parties do not take into account the difference between work and service. The Civil Code does not contain specific wording for works or services, but Chapter 39, entitled “Paid provision of services,” provides some clarification.

This chapter will apply to contracts for the provision of medical, auditing, educational, information, consulting, veterinary services, as well as communication services, tourism, etc.

This list does not include services provided under a contract, research, technological and development services, transportation services, forwarding services, bank deposits, bank accounts, settlement services, storage and assignment services, commission services, trust management.

The contract for the implementation of work and the provision of services provides for a clause that determines what kind of paper confirms the delivery and acceptance of the subject of the agreement. Most often, for this purpose, an act of performed services is drawn up, signed by the contractor and the customer.

If an act is drawn up without a documented conclusion of an agreement, the tax authorities may regard such an action as a violation. However, this is permitted if the work or service is performed at the time the transaction is concluded.

It must be taken into account that the basis for attributing expenses to the costs of the cost of work or services are an act and a document reflecting the payment for the service at the time of the transaction, or an act and an agreement drawn up in ordinary written form in other cases. An act of performed services may become the basis for legal proceedings and determination of statute of limitations.

Read our new article about the procedure for filling out tax returns for individual entrepreneurs and LLCs using the simplified taxation system.

Explanations on the topic

About the author of this article

Alexandra ZadorozhnevaAccountant, project expert Practicing accountant. I have been working since the beginning of my studies at the university. I have experience in both commerce and budgeting. From 2006 to 2012 she worked as an accountant-cashier and personnel officer. From 2012 to the present - chief accountant in a budgetary institution. In addition to direct accounting, I am involved in purchasing and economic planning activities. I have been writing feature articles for specialized publications for 4 years.

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