Rustam Minnikhanov: ‘Tax disputes and collection processes occupy a special place’

Number of bankrupt citizens has increased by a third

The number of bankruptcy cases of citizens is steadily growing in Tatarstan. Last year, 12,649 applications for declaring individuals insolvent were received, or 92.8% of the total number of bankruptcy applications received. The judges reviewed 8,659 cases.

“The increase in applications received was 30% compared to 2023. It should be noted that over 8,000 citizens, in respect of whom the property sale procedure was completed, or 98.9%, were released from further execution, which indicates that the socially significant goal of consumer bankruptcy set by the legislator has been achieved," said Vitaly Gilmutdinov, the chairman of the Arbitration Court of the Republic of Tatarstan.

In turn, the number of bankruptcy applications filed by legal entities decreased by 27% compared to 2023 and amounted to 934 applications. In general, the Tatarstan arbitration last year accepted 40,834 applications, or by 8.62% more than a year earlier, and even more than two years ago (+13.7%). The judges considered 34,112 cases, of which about a third were in simplified proceedings and one tenth were summary.

The average workload for judges decreased slightly and amounted to 160 cases per month. But it still remains high among judges of administrative and bankrupt structures — 185 cases per month. Vitaly Gilmutdinov expressed hope that changes in legislation will help optimise the process.

There are half as many tax disputes

Half of the reviewed cases are civil disputes, about a third are bankruptcy cases, followed by disputes from administrative legal relations and cases of administrative offenses. Compared to last year, the number of cases in the following categories increased the most:

• transportation contracts — by 27%,

• work contracts — by 23.2%,

• protection of property rights — by 23%,

• challenging non-normative legal acts — by 20.5%,

• insurance contracts — by 19%,

• bringing to administrative responsibility — by 17.8%,

• land disputes — by 12.6%,

• purchase and sale agreements — by 7%.

At the same time, the number of cases in a number of categories decreased significantly: with the application of tax legislation (-55.4%), challenging administrative decisions on bringing to administrative responsibility (-26.8%), disputes over the protection of intellectual property rights (-26.2%), under contracts for the provision of paid services (-13.5%), according to Social Fund of Russia (-7%).

They also provided statistics on the appealed judicial acts of the Administrative Court of the Republic of Tatarstan. A total of 8,672 decisions were appealed, of which 1,217 were overturned.

Recovering over 44 billion rubles

According to the results of the review of cases, state duties in the amount of over 319 million rubles were transferred to the budget, 55 million rubles are to be recovered. In the reporting year, the Arbitration Court of the republic issued 21,564 writ of execution, including for the recovery of a total amount of over 44 billion rubles.

“In turn, the bailiff service and banks returned a total of 398 enforcement documents in the amount of 50.5 million rubles in connection with the execution. I would like to note that in this case, statistics do not take into account the percentage of voluntary execution of judicial acts, as well as those writ of execution that are transformed into creditors' claims in insolvency cases," said Vitaly Gilmutdinov.

However, according to him, the problem of the enforceability of judicial acts is still relevant. Last year, the court received 129 complaints against the actions of judges and court staff, 98 complaints were considered on the merits, of which 21 complaints were found to be justified.

Viktor Romanov, the chairman of the Eleventh Arbitration Court of Appeal, who spoke next, said that 6,794 cases were considered on complaints against judicial acts last year, in which 943 judicial acts were cancelled or amended (13.9%).

“In 2023, this indicator was slightly better — 13.6%. At the same time, unfortunately, the largest number of cancellations on procedural grounds took place precisely under judicial acts of the Arbitration Court of the Republic of Tatarstan, namely 22.7%, he said. “This indicates, firstly, the high workload for judges of the Court of Justice of the Republic of Tatarstan, and secondly, the quality of their work in these conditions.”

The next speaker, Igor Smolensky, the deputy chairman of the Arbitration Court of the Volga District, also spoke about the workload of judges. This instance received 113,641 complaints last year, which is by 12.5% less than a year earlier. “In general, the workload of the courts has decreased by about 10 cases per judge compared to 2023," Smolensky noted.

“We generally reached 15.3 billion in arrears, now it is 11 billion”

The rais of Tatarstan cited the socio-economic indicators of the republic, which continued its sustainable development. “In general, we have already learned how to work under the current restrictions and sanctions," he said. According to him, state support measures have made it possible to ensure the smooth operation of small and medium-sized businesses and maintain economic growth. Turning to the work of the Arbitration Court of the Republic of Tatarstan, Rustam Minnikhanov drew attention to bankruptcy cases.

“We are witnessing an annual increase in the number of insolvency disputes considered, especially in relation to citizens. In these processes, we are dealing with the vulnerable economic interests of both organisations and individuals. The need for a balance between strict compliance with the law and a reasonable approach to each specific situation comes to the fore," he said.

The rais recalled the out-of-court conflict resolution as a tool that allows to resolve a dispute effectively and promptly to reduce tension between the parties, to minimise both material and time costs. He noted the importance of working on the development of alternative dispute resolution methods that contribute to the restoration and support of constructive relations between the participants in the process. “Well, the fees that have increased also bring to life those people who want to waste the time of our judicial community," he noted.

“Tax disputes and tax collection processes occupy a special place in the work. Fair resolution of these cases contributes not only to replenishing budgets, but also to strengthening the legal culture in society. In the republic, there has been a tendency to reduce tax arrears for the second year. We generally reached the figure of 15.3 billion rubles in arrears. Now, of course, there are about 11 billion in arrears," said Rustam Minnikhanov.

The number of tax disputes under consideration has decreased by more than 2 times. The number of disputed decisions of tax authorities has also decreased. The rais instructed to continue working in this direction.

“I will focus separately on the participants of the special military operation, who may also be involved in arbitration proceedings. I ask you to carefully consider this category of cases and apply all measures provided for by law in relation to persons with this status," he said.

According to him, providing support to the participants of the SVO and their families is a priority in the work. This is of particular importance within the framework of the Year of Defender of the Fatherland announced in the country and the republic.