Internet Outages: How Businesses Can Avoid Fines

According to RBC, legal experts and tax consultants note that widespread disruptions to internet and mobile connectivity, which residents of Moscow and other major cities have been complaining about, have given birth to a new type of business risk for companies. At the same time, no special exemptions or regulatory relief are introduced during such periods: businesses have to comply with the law in full. The Federal Tax Service reiterated that ‘the obligation to pay taxes is not contingent on the functionality of cash register equipment or the availability of an internet connection’.

FBK Legal Director Nikolay Isaev comments:

Modern online cash registers are equipped with fiscal storage units that allow them to generate and print receipts even without an internet connection for up to 30 days. Once the connection is restored, the cash register automatically transfers all accumulated data to the fiscal data operator, which then forwards it to the tax authority.

The Federal Tax Service of Russia has repeatedly warned that citing a lack of internet access does not justify failing to use cash register equipment.