How to calculate the period of accounts receivable

If the statute of limitations on receivables has expired, then such debt can be considered completely uncollectible.

Accounts receivable are funds that a specific organization owes to its counterparties. Typically, these types of debts arise if a company sells goods or provides services on credit.

Receivables are usually viewed from three main perspectives: as cash that can be used to pay off debts, as products or services sold but not yet paid for, and as a share of the company’s working capital, which is financed with borrowed money or its own money.

Debt is divided into two categories: overdue and normal. The first type is different in that there are debts that were not repaid on time. But the second type is characterized by the fact that there are obligations for which the due date has not yet arrived, therefore, the counterparty still has the opportunity to repay such a debt. Moreover, overdue receivables are divided into two more types: doubtful and hopeless. Particular attention should be paid to the second type. Bad debt is a debt whose statute of limitations has expired. Another name for this type of accounts receivable is debts that cannot be collected. Such debts appear in the following cases:

When the debtor was liquidated.
When the debtor is bankrupt.
When the statute of limitations has expired.

How long does the debt last?

This period is the period during which the creditor can come to court to protect his rights (in other words, to ensure that the debt is forcibly collected from the counterparty). Moreover, this period is exactly three years. This period was determined by Article 196 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. The three-year period is the minimum statute of limitations. This period may be increased, but not by more than 10 years. This period applies to situations where the limitation period is suspended for a certain time.

It is noteworthy that the limitation period cannot be changed even by agreement of both parties. This is due to the fact that this period is established by regulations and laws.

An interesting point: at the federal level, both shorter and longer statutes of limitations for debt can be established. Under transport expedition agreements, claims can only be made through going to court (and only twelve months are allotted for this). More information about this can be found in Article No. 13 of the Federal Law.

Results

The general limitation period for receivables is 3 years. Moreover, this period is legally allowed to be interrupted, suspended, and even restored if it is missed with justification (though only for individuals).

At the end of the period (if there was no court decision), the company has the right to write off the debt as an expense.
Such an operation will be legal both in accounting and tax accounting. You can find more complete information on the topic in ConsultantPlus. Free trial access to the system for 2 days.

When does the deadline start?

It was discussed above what period of receivables was established by the legislative bodies. Next we will figure out how to correctly calculate this period.

Few people know that the limitation period begins to expire from the very moment when a person became aware or should have learned that his own rights were violated. This rule also applies to the expiration date of the debt. It begins to count from the day following the last day of fulfillment of obligations. The agreement specifies the deadlines for when money should be credited to the account. If this does not happen on the specified day, then the next day the period of claim begins to expire.

The time for fulfilling obligations is not always specified accurately. In some cases, this period is not defined at all or is even indicated by the moment before demand. In such situations, the period of claim is counted from the moment when the debtor was presented with an official claim for the return of money from the creditor. Another period of claim debt begins to count upon completion of the period allotted for payment of the debt specified by the creditor.

It should be noted that the limitation period can not only be interrupted, but also suspended. In the first case, it is simply reset to zero and the countdown starts from the very beginning. But in the second case, the period continues to expire after the cessation of certain circumstances.

Evidence required to collect debt.

If the written form of the agreement is observed, then any evidence provided for by the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation or the Arbitration Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, depending on the subject composition of the relationship, the type of activity being carried out. For example, the contract itself, the claim, the response to the claim, email correspondence, invoices, witness statements.

If the written form of the contract is not observed, and as a consequence the legislator has provided only a ban on referring to witness testimony, then also any evidence, but without the use of witness testimony. Such cases include the collection of debt by receipt, if from the contents of the latter it can be concluded that it certifies the transfer of a certain amount of money (clause 2 of Article 808 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

Resetting (interrupting) the limitation period

It is interrupted in the following cases:

If part of the existing debt has been repaid.
If the debtor has recognized the existence of a debt.
If the parties decide to negotiate a change in conditions (restructuring).

You can get acquainted with all the reasons for resetting the statute of limitations of receivables in Resolution of the Plenum of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation No. 43.

After a certain break, the period begins to count from the very beginning. The period that has already expired is not taken into account.

As for the fact of recognition of the existence of a debt, it, like any other, must be confirmed in writing.

For example, in order to prove the existence of a debt, the debtor will have to express consent regarding the amount of the debt and create an act of reconciliation of payments with seals, as well as signatures of both parties (debtor and creditor).

If the debtor recognized only part of the debt, this will not be considered recognition of the full amount of the debt. As practice shows, in such cases, judicial authorities often deny creditors’ claims.

If the court makes a decision that the debt was recognized by the organization in part, then it will not be possible to write off this amount after the expiration of the statute of limitations. Moreover, a debt can be recognized as bad only in two main cases:

If the debtor was liquidated, and the corresponding entry about him was erased from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities.
Enforcement proceedings were completed based on the decision made by the bailiff.

Procedural manipulations

The lack of regular and effective work with debtors leads to the fact that deadlines begin to work for them. At a minimum, you can continue to safely use the lender’s funds. In addition, no one has canceled inflationary processes, and a million three years ago is completely different from what it is now. It is “worth” much less, even with interest.

You can also delay repayment of the debt, while simultaneously “preparing” for a possible lawsuit (and even bankruptcy), taking the necessary steps to conceal property and assets, while:

demonstrating acceptance of the claim;
asking for a deferment or installment plan;
regularly signing acts of reconciliation of mutual settlements, etc.

And even if the case does go to court, the debtor has a lot of ways to pay much less than he is owed (especially if we are talking about collecting a debt from an individual - courts of general jurisdiction often and willingly reduce the penalty, incl. . even without the defendant’s request, on his own initiative).

COLLECTION OF OVERDUE DEBT

Suspension of the limitation period

It may also be suspended. This is possible in the following two cases:

If one of the parties is part of the armed forces transferred to a special position.
If the law regulating the legal relations between both parties ceases to apply.
If obligations cannot be fulfilled due to the introduction of a moratorium (suspension of fulfillment of obligations).
If there was an emergency: a major accident, a natural disaster (flood, hurricane), a strike at an enterprise.

Here it is recommended to pay attention to such an important point: the statute of limitations on receivables can be paused only when the situation occurred in the last six months. If the period itself is six months or less, then at any time during its course.

Another reason for putting the period of receivables on pause is the mutual desire of the person who issued the loan and the debtor to resolve the dispute amicably without involving third parties. You can find out about this in paragraph 16 of the resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation No. 43. From the regulatory legal act you can find out that the limitation period is paused for the time provided by the legislative bodies for resolving the conflict without trial. If this period has not been established, then six months is taken as the basis.

The countdown starts from the day the peaceful resolution of the dispute began.

If after the end of the break there are less than six months remaining from the limitation period, then it is extended for another six months. If the period itself is six months or less, then until this period.

How to restore the statute of limitations?

If the creditor had serious reasons why he missed the expiration date of the receivables, then he has the right to restore it through the court. Of course, the legislation does not have a specific list of grounds, but, as practice shows, the court can satisfy the requirements in the presence of the following circumstances:

The creditor was on a long business trip, which is why he missed the expiration date of the receivables.
The creditor was being treated for a serious illness.
The creditor was in a helpless state.

Moreover, a valid reason can be called one that occurred in the last 6 months of the statute of limitations.

If the period is six months or less, then absolutely at any time during its course. More information about this can be found in Article 205 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

It should be noted that only an individual should be involved in restoring the statute of limitations on accounts payable and receivable. Moreover, this opportunity was not provided for various companies, organizations and individual entrepreneurs. To find out more about this, you can read the resolution of the Plenum of the RF Armed Forces and the Plenum of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation dated February 28, 1995 No. 2/1.

Required CV

If the problem has not yet reached the judicial stage, then it is necessary to use the pre-trial settlement procedure as quickly as possible - this will allow the issue to be resolved much faster and more economically than through the court. Based on the results of studying the documents you submitted and your wishes, our lawyers will draw up a clear action strategy, conduct an analysis of the debtor’s financial condition and the necessary negotiations, and draw up a claim. Our experience shows that sometimes one round of negotiations is enough to convince the debtor to resolve the matter amicably.

If the dispute has already moved into the courtrooms, then it is all the more necessary to hurry: at the first instance it is still possible to minimize possible losses and ensure the repayment of the debt with interest

(interest, penalty), as well as compensate legal costs at the debtor’s expense, incl. paid state duty and expenses for qualified legal assistance.

Expired statute of limitations

Debt with an expired statute of limitations must be written off. Moreover, the procedure depends on whether the company has created a reserve or not.

Before you start writing off, an inventory must be taken. During this process, the exact amount of debt is determined.

The company needs to issue a management order to liquidate the debt based on a certificate provided by the accountant and the corresponding act confirming the fact of the inventory. Moreover, the certificate must indicate the exact amount of the receivable, tell in detail about the situation with the debt, and list the reasons why the debt became hopeless. Additionally, you should leave a link to the number and date of the inventory report.

We must remember that it is always possible to resolve a dispute peacefully without necessarily going to court.

To effectively work at the judicial stage of collection, our company, based on the experience of implementation in many credit institutions, offers for consideration the “BIT.Debt Management” program, which will provide you with the following opportunities:

Automatic generation of a package of documents individually and en masse for a group of agreements (Statement of Claim, Settlement Agreement, Agreement on Debt Forgiveness, Payment Order, Certificate of Debt Repayment, etc.);
Access to contact information of bailiffs: phone number, work hours, postal address, position, in which OSP works, manager, which is automatically updated;
Automatic tracking of the delivery of documents to the court and setting tasks for employees for further work;
The program will automatically assign a task to the responsible employee, for example, “Call the court”;
Automatic sending of documents to the court en masse for a group of contracts;
Automatic receipt of information on the status of enforcement proceedings en masse for a group of contracts;
Calculation of state duty.

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All types of tightening

A settlement agreement is often used to bargain for a discount both on the principal debt and on fines, to promise compensation, etc. - and then, when the court approves the settlement agreement, to safely forget about your promises.

Other “classical” methods of prolonging litigation are often and successfully used:

filing counterclaims (i.e. claims);
requests to combine cases into a single proceeding;
constant submission of petitions to request certain evidence;
failure to present evidence that they have and which the court invites them to present in order to substantiate their own claims and objections.

And even when the creditor manages to achieve a decision in his favor, it is too early to celebrate victory:

debt collection by a court decision due to an unprofessional approach and dishonesty of the bailiffs is either not carried out at all, or ends in the return of the writ of execution due to the impossibility of establishing the location of the debtor (property) or due to the absence thereof.

PRE-JUDICIAL SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES – PROCEDURE