A client of our bureau recently requested a change of legal address, submitting an application to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities on 7 February 2024. The tax authority implemented the changes on 14 February 2024 at 07:43. The registration was completed successfully, and the company commenced operations at the new address.
However, at a later date, the Social Fund Department of the Russian Federation issued a fine of 12,200 rubles to the company for its failure to submit the requested documents to the Fund. The request was dated 9 February 2024 and was dispatched to the company’s former legal address on a date that formally falls within the period when the registration of the change of address had not yet taken place.
As part of the advocate’s audit, it was established that the Social Fund’s request actually arrived at the post office on the day the change was already registered – on 14 February 2024 at 10:12. In other words, the request was formally sent about two hours after the registration of the changes to the company’s legal address. The Arbitration Court of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region, in its decision of 17 December 2024 in case A56-94212/2024 upheld our position, agreed with our arguments that the fine for non-execution of a request sent to an inactive legal address was unlawful and cancelled the fine. The Social Fund of the Russian Federation did not appeal the court’s decision, and it is now legally enforceable.
