Accounts receivable recognized as hopeless after the expiration of the established limitation period, in accordance with Article 196 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, are subject to write-off. The legislation regulates the general limitation period of three years, which can be interrupted in the event of partial payment or offset of the resulting debt.
Instructions
Step 1
Read clause 77-78 of the Regulation on accounting and reporting, approved by Order No. 34n of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation of July 29, 1998. This provision establishes the procedure and grounds for writing off debts with an expired limitation period.
Step 2
Take an inventory of the accounts receivable of the business. Ideally, inventory should be done on a quarterly basis. Read paragraph 2.1 of the Guidelines for the inventory of financial obligations and property of the organization.
Step 3
Draw up an order indicating the number and date of this inspection. Draw up the "Act of inventory of settlements with suppliers, buyers and other creditors and debtors", for which use the form INV-17, approved by Resolution No. 88 of the State Statistics Committee of the Russian Federation of August 18, 1998.
Step 4
Make a written justification and an order on behalf of the head of the enterprise about the need to write off the debt identified during the inventory with an expired limitation period. Assign responsibility for the implementation of this order to the chief accountant of the organization.
Step 5
Include the amount of receivables with an expired limitation period to other expenses of the company in the amount that is reflected in the accounting of the enterprise, based on clause 11 of PBU 10/99 "Expenses of the organization". The debt is written off by opening a debit on account 91 "Other expenses and income", forming a subaccount 91-2 "Other expenses" and creating a loan on account 62 "Settlements with customers and buyers".
Step 6
Remember that writing off debt at a loss is not a basis for debt cancellation. For the balance sheet, this debt must be recorded within five years from the date of write-off. This will make it possible to determine the possibility of debt repayment in the event of changes in the property status of the debtor.
