A trading company may become a consignor. Parties to the agreement: consignor and commission agent. Accounting for commission agreements

Under the commission agreement, one party (commission agent) undertakes, on behalf of the other party (principal), to complete one or more transactions on its own behalf for a fee (Article 990 of the Civil Code). From the above definition of the commission agreement, it can be seen that the commission agent assumes the obligation to fulfill the commissioner's instructions related to the conclusion of the transaction. A commission agreement is one of the varieties of a service agreement, mainly in trade, or rather, services of legal significance, because the subject of a commission agreement is services expressed in the conclusion of transactions. The range of transactions concluded by the commission agent is not limited by the Russian civil law, most often, these are sales and purchase transactions, but the subject of this agreement may be the commission of other transactions, permitted by law, contracts, cargo insurance, etc. etc.

Commission activity, both in internal circulation and in foreign economic relations, in many cases turns out to be very useful and economically profitable, since it enables civil law subjects to make transactions and achieve economic results using the services of a commission agent. The commission agreement has a relatively wide scope, both in the internal trade turnover, and in the internal trade turnover, and in the foreign trade. The commission form is used in relation to foreign trade, when, for example, a commission agent performs commission orders of various legal entities for the purchase of imported goods for them abroad or the supply of export goods to domestic organizations abroad.

Since the commission agreement, like the commission agreement, provides for commercial representation relations, these two agreements have quite a lot in common. In the first, both the attorney and the commission agent assume the obligation to complete one or several transactions, as a result of which, in both, there are two circles of relations - internal and external. Secondly, these transactions are made by them not for themselves, but for other persons and at their expense. Thirdly, like an attorney, the commission agent can deviate from the instructions of the committent if it is necessary in the interests of the committent (clause 2 of Articles 973 and 995 of the Civil Code). Fourthly, both the commission agreement and the commission agreement represent the possibility of unilateral withdrawal from the agreement. Fifthly, like an attorney, the commission agent is obliged to provide a report upon completion of the commission assignment (Articles 974 and 999 of the Civil Code).

At the same time, commission and commission agreements are independent agreements. The main difference between them is associated with the legal status of the attorney and commission agent in relations with third parties. So, an attorney, carrying out the assignment given to him. Performs a transaction for the principal on his behalf. A third party making a transaction with an attorney must know that the party in the arising legal relationship will not be the attorney, but the trustee, and therefore it is in the interests of the third party to check the volume of data to the attorney of the authority.

The commission agent also carries out an order related to the conclusion of the transaction, but he acts in front of a third party independently, on his own behalf. Therefore, the commission agent does not need to present to a third party any document confirming the nature and volume of the corresponding order.

Thus, he becomes a participant in those legal relations, for example, a sale and purchase agreement, which arise with a third party. For a third party, it is the commission agent who is his counterparty, who bears all the rights and obligations under the concluded agreement.

The committent does not directly participate in the legal connection that arose due to the fulfillment of the commission given to him by the commission with a third party.

Even in the event that the consignor is named in the contract concluded by the commission agent or if he entered into direct relations with a third party for the execution of this contract, for example, by shipping the goods directly to the recipient. These circumstances do not affect the legal content of relations with a third party; all rights and obligations under the contract concluded with him are acquired by the commission agent. He is also liable to a third party for non-performance of the concluded contract.

Another difference between the commission agreement and the commission agreement is in the scope of their application in commercial turnover, namely, the commission agreement is usually used when a commercial representative (commission agent) is entrusted not only with the implementation of preparatory measures for the conclusion of transactions (advertising, work with clients, receiving orders from them, etc.), but also concluding contracts for the supply of goods belonging to the principal. The committent, notified of the commission agent's refusal to execute the order, is obliged to dispose of the property held by the commission agent within 15 days from the date of receipt of the refusal, otherwise the commission agent receives the right to deposit this property at the expense of the committent or sell it to cover his claims against the committent property at the most favorable price for the latter.

Rights and obligations of the parties. The main duty of a commercial agent with the status of a commission agent is, as mentioned above, to conclude transactions in the interests of the principal. The order can be of a one-time nature, i.e. concern only one transaction, and apply for a certain period of time, during which the commission agent must take appropriate actions to conclude transactions, which, as a rule, relate to the sale of goods produced by the principal.

The commission agent, as a commercial agent, may be granted the exclusive right to sell certain goods in the contractual territory. An illustration of the content of the obligations usually imposed on the commission agent, in such cases, can be the following clause, which is usually used in contracts, the subject of which is the sale of machinery and equipment.

The commission agent is obliged to carry out the instructions given to him by the committent exactly in accordance with the instructions of the committent. At the same time, the commission agent is obliged to fulfill the commission undertaken on himself on the terms that are most beneficial for the principal (Article 992 of the Civil Code). Since the commission agent acts in the interests of the committent, the profit received from the conclusion of the transaction on terms more favorable than those indicated by the committent is divided equally by the parties, unless otherwise provided by the commission agreement (paragraph 2 of article 992 of the Civil Code). Benefit results in the economic effect that the principal can receive as a result of the commission agent's actions. The powers of the commission agent are fixed in the agreement with the principal and, in general, they relate to the establishment of technical and economic conditions for the sale of products, as well as the related implementation of other commercial activities. These conditions may include, for example, the level of prices for the sale of goods, requirements for providing information required by customers, the implementation of specific promotional activities, etc.

In this regard, it should be borne in mind that in a number of countries, for example, within the framework of the "Common Market", there are certain restrictions regarding the content of the condition of transactions with agents. These provisions provide for the invalidity of such terms of contracts that are aimed at restricting competition. They may, in particular, relate to the establishment of fixed prices, restriction of the agent's freedom of action in agreeing the terms of transactions with third parties, instructions for agents to act only in a certain way, other conditions, the content of which can be characterized as a manifestation of restrictions on trading practices.

In the event that the commission agent goes beyond the powers granted to him, the client may refuse to acknowledge the consequences of such a transaction. In such a situation, the commission agent will be liable for the concluded transaction independently, i.e. with their property assets. In this case, the commission agent must also be liable to the principal who gave him the order. The legislation of the Russian Federation (clause 1 of Art. 995 of the Civil Code) provides that the commission agent may deviate from the instructions of the principal in the same cases as the attorney under the contract of order.

Since the subject of the commission is most often the commission agent's purchase and sale transactions with third parties, the principal's economic interest is mainly focused on the price at which the goods are sold or bought by the commission agent for her.

Usually the price of the goods bought or sold by the commission agent is set in the commission agreement by agreement of the parties.

If the price was determined by a certain framework, the sale of the property by the commission agent at any price within the specified limits will be considered the proper execution of the commission order. Does the commission agent have the right to deviate from the price set by the consignor? By virtue of paragraph 2 of Art. 995 GK deviations from the established price are possible in several cases:

• 1) the commission agent could not sell the goods at the specified price;
• 2) the sale at a lower price prevented even greater losses for the principal;
• 3) the commission agent could not first request the principal or did not receive a timely response to the request.

Without proving the occurrence of at least one of these conditions, the commission agent undertakes to reimburse the principal for the difference in prices. If the commission agent purchases goods at prices higher than those indicated by the committent, he is obliged to immediately notify the committent of such an excess of prices, and the committent, if he does not wish to accept such a purchase, must notify the commission agent about this without delay upon receipt of a notification from him. Otherwise, the purchase is deemed to have been accepted by the consignor.

The agent who purchased the goods at a price higher than the stipulated one can take the difference in prices to his account. In this case, the consignor does not bear any losses from the excess of prices and therefore has no right to refuse the transaction concluded for him (clause 3 of article 995 of the Civil Code).

Since the commission agent is a party to the transaction concluded by him with a third party, he is obliged to fulfill all the obligations imposed on him by this transaction and to exercise all the rights arising from this transaction. In addition, the commission agent under the contract may be specially entrusted with the implementation of measures aimed at protecting the rights belonging to the principal, for example, rights to patents, trademarks, industrial designs. In addition, in the contracts of the commission, many duties of the commission agent are associated with ensuring the safety of the goods purchased for the principal or sold at his direction. So, paragraph 1 of Art. 998 of the Civil Code establishes that the commission agent who accepted the goods from the principal or purchased the goods for him is obliged to preserve this property from damage and loss. The commission agent is responsible for the loss and damage of property in the form of damages, but only if there is fault. To free himself from liability, the commission agent must prove that the loss or damage to property was not his fault. Since, according to Article 996 of the Civil Code, the ownership of the property received by the commission agent from the committent belongs to the committent, the risk of accidental death or damage to this property received by the commission agent from the committent belongs to the committent, the risk of accidental death or damage to this property is borne by the committent, and not commission agent.

When accepting the goods, the commission agent is obliged to carefully examine the goods and determine its quality, quantity and other conditions. If during an external examination damage or shortages are found, the commission agent must take all measures to protect the interests of the committent, collect the necessary evidence (for example, draw up an appropriate inspection report, take other actions dictated by such circumstances) and immediately notify the committent about everything (part 2 Art. 998 of the Civil Code).

Taking into account such interpretations in the literature related to the content of the commission agreement, it is recognized in arbitration practice that, in the absence of a special agreement with the principal, the commission agent cannot be obliged to file claims against a third party violating the agreement on his own initiative. Thus, the conduct of litigation or arbitration proceedings related to non-performance or improper performance of a transaction concluded with a third party cannot be considered to be included in the scope of the commissioner's contractual obligations in the absence of a special agreement between the parties.

The commission agent may be assigned the obligation to insure property (clause 3 of article 998 of the Civil Code). If the commission agent does not do this, and the property perishes or deteriorates from accidental circumstances, he is obliged to compensate the principal for losses.

Since the commission agent acts on his own behalf in relations with a third party, he is obliged to take all measures to ensure that the counterparty with whom he entered into a transaction properly fulfills his duties. The commission agent is not liable to the committent for non-performance by a third party of a transaction made at the expense of the committent, unless the commission agent did not show the necessary discretion in choosing this person, or took on a guarantee for the performance of this transaction by a third party (clause 1 of Article 993 of the Civil Code) ... Such a guarantee is called "del credere" and acquires practical significance in foreign economic commission transactions. So, in the case of a del credere commission, the contract usually not only establishes the general duty of the commission agent, but also defines in sufficient detail the conditions for the implementation of the principal's right in case of violation of the contract by a third party. The specified expansion of the commission agent's liability is compensated for by the increased rate of remuneration paid to the commission agent, as compared to the usual commission, or by the establishment of a special remuneration for the guarantee.

Among the important duties assigned to the commission agent is the obligation to inform the committent about the fulfillment of his instructions. The commission agent is obliged to notify the committent of all concluded transactions and, upon execution of the order, submit a full report.

After completing the commission order, the commission agent in accordance with Art. 382-386, 388, 389 GK is obliged to transfer to the principal everything received under the executed order (for example, the goods, if the order consisted in the purchase of goods, or money, if the order concerned the sale of the goods), as well as, at the request of the principal, to transfer to him all rights in relation to the third persons who arise from a transaction made by a commission agent with a third party. In addition, the commission agent is obliged to provide a report on the fulfillment of the commission order.

According to Art. 997 of the Civil Code, the commission agent has the right to withhold the amounts due to him under the commission agreement from all the amounts received by him at the expense of the principal (for example, from the amounts received from the sale of the goods handed over by the committent). This is nothing more than the recognition of the commission agent's right to set off, for the commission agent is authorized to receive a certain monetary compensation from the committent, and the counter claim is even aimed at receiving monetary amounts. The right of offset applies to all amounts due to the commission agent under the agreement. These include, in particular, commission fees and del credere fees, as well as compensation for all expenses of the commission agent for the execution of the commission order. The advance payment is also subject to deduction from the funds transferred to the principal, if it was issued to the principal.

The obligations of the principal performed in accordance with Art. 1000 GK boils down to the following:

• A) after the commission of the transaction provided for by the contract, the committent is obliged to accept from the commission agent everything executed on it - money, goods, etc. so on;
• B) the consignor must inspect the property received from the commission agent, i.e. check its quantity and quality and inform the commission agent about any deficiencies found without delay. Claims about defects that could be discovered during the usual examination of the thing are declared immediately upon their discovery, but also within the time frame sufficient for the subsequent presentation of a claim against a third party by the commission agent himself;
• C) upon the execution of the order, the principal is obliged to pay the commission to the commission agent.

The size of the commission, as well as the remuneration for del credere, is usually determined by agreement of the parties. Determination of the remuneration can be carried out different ways: in a fixed amount, as a percentage of the amount of the transaction that the commission agent makes. In foreign trade, the remuneration can be determined in the form of the difference or part of the difference between the price appointed by the consignor and the more favorable price at which the commission agent actually made the transaction.

In practice, there are cases when the commission agent, fulfilling the instructions of the consignor for the sale of goods, acquires them for himself or hands over his goods to the consignor as a seller. In this case, the commission agent enters into a deal, as it were, with himself. The legislation and jurisprudence of foreign states allow such transactions, but subject to a special condition on such a situation in the agreement.

If such a condition is absent in the contract, then the question of the commission agent's performance as an "independent party" is decided in different countries differently.

So, English law negatively refers to this kind of agent's actions. If the agent is instructed to sell the property of the principal, then he does not have the right to buy it himself, since otherwise his interests will conflict with the interests of the principal - to get the most favorable price. The same position is taken by the French jurisprudence. The law of Germany, Italy, Japan allows the commission agent to act as an independent party to the agreement under certain conditions in the agreement. So, according to paragraph 400 of the GTU, the commission agent can himself become a counterparty of the consignor, if the subject of the contract is the sale, purchase of goods, the market price or securities that have the exchange price. At the same time, the commission agent does not lose the right to "ordinary" commission and reimbursement of expenses usually associated with the commission agreement. Taking this into account, it is advisable to include in the commission agreements a condition that in cases where the conclusion of such transactions is allowed, the commission agent is deprived of the right to remuneration.

In accordance with paragraph 1 of Art. 996 Civil Code property received by the commission agent from the principal, or acquired by the commission agent at the expense of the principal, is the property of the latter. It follows from this provision that the principal is the owner of the said property until the moment when the right of ownership to it arises from a third party in accordance with the transaction made by him with the commission agent. Depending on the type of transportation, the ownership will pass to the consignor at the moment when he passes to the commission agent - the buyer under the contract. If the commission agent is the seller, then, accordingly, at the moment the commission agent loses the property rights, the principal also loses it.

The basis for the termination of the commission agreement is its execution. By virtue of Part 1 of Art. 1002 of the Civil Code, the committent has the right to cancel the order at any time, in whole or in part, prior to the commissioner's transaction with a third party. In this case, he is obliged to pay the commission agent remuneration for the transactions made by him before the cancellation of the order, as well as reimburse him for expenses incurred before the cancellation of the order. As for the commission agent, he does not have the right to refuse to execute the order, except for the case when the contract is concluded without specifying the period of its validity. The commission agent is obliged to notify the client of his refusal in writing, no later than thirty days in advance, unless a longer period of notification is provided for by the contract.

Commission agents. Let's get acquainted with the basic concepts related to commission trading. The term itself "commission" means an agreement whereby one party (commission agent) undertakes on behalf of the other party (consignor) for reward (commission) to conclude a deal on its own behalf, but in the interests and at the expense of the principal.

Commission agent - a reseller who sells and buys goods on his own behalf, but at the expense and on behalf of the guarantor (principal) for an agreed fee (commission). The commission agent acts strictly within the powers granted to him, otherwise the guarantor may terminate the trade commission agreement and recover losses from the commission agent. The commission agent is obliged to transfer to the surety everything received under the concluded transaction. However, he is not liable to the guarantor for non-execution of the transaction by a third party, unless this is specifically stipulated by an additional agreement, according to which the commission agent assumes responsibility for the solvency and solvency of the third party. In this case, the commission agent has the right to additional remuneration.

Principal - a party to a trade commission agreement, from which an order for the commission of transactions by a commission agent originates. In the field of foreign trade, the committent may instruct the commission agent to complete a one-time transaction or a number of transactions during a certain period for import, export, chartering, hiring, banking operations, etc., the commissioner's instructions are carried out by the commission agent on his own behalf, but at the expense of the committent. The committent reimburses the commission agent for all expenses related to the execution of the order given to him, pays the specified commission.

The signing by buyers or sellers (committees) of contracts with commission agents is widely used in international trade. Such an agreement is called commission agreement, as a rule, it is one-off.

An important part of such contracts is a statement of the powers of commissioners on the technical and commercial conditions of upcoming transactions. Usually they stipulate:

The minimum selling prices for the export of goods and the maximum for their import;

The minimum delivery time for the agreed consignments of goods;

Limiting technical and quality characteristics of the product;

Limits of liability of committees to commission agents and commission agents to committees;

The size and procedure for payment of commissions, remuneration.

In such agreements, the obligation of the commission agents is fixed in each case to agree with the principal conditions of the contracts (quantity of goods, delivery times, prices, loan conditions, etc.).

Before third parties, i.e. partners from the opposite side, the commissioners act as sellers.

The commission agents are responsible for the safety of the goods of the committees in their possession. The principals retain ownership of these goods until the transfer of these goods to the buyers. In this regard, contracts often contain obligations of commission agents to insure goods in favor of the committees. Commission agents are financially liable for losses caused by exceeding the powers of the committees. However, as already noted, commission agents are not responsible for the fulfillment of payment obligations by third parties, unless such responsibility is provided for in commission agreements.

As with other forms of mediation, commission agreements usually include additional obligations of commission agents to provide commissioners with additional services for market research, advertising, maintenance, etc., as well as to protect their commercial interests.

When commission agents independently act as sellers or buyers of goods for the purpose of their subsequent resale, an export commission operation consists of two successive purchase and sale transactions: between the committent and the commission agent and between the commission agent and a third party.

The contracts stipulate the methods for determining the size, as well as the procedure for paying the commission by the committers. The remuneration should not only cover the costs incurred by the commission agents, but also bring them a profit. In the practice of Japanese and US firms, as well as European firms operating on a commission basis, the remuneration amounts to 1.5–5% of the transaction amount. Similar amounts are provided for those cases (and they prevail) when a purely commission operation is performed between the principal and the commission agent:

1) the commission agent, when selling or purchasing goods, acts within the limits of the commission agreement;

2) the commission agent does not for a single moment become the owner of the goods during the operation - the goods go directly from the seller to the buyer;

3) the commission agent is not liable to the committent for the fulfillment of obligations by a third party (seller or buyer).

Under del credere contracts, the amount of remuneration is increased for the acceptance of additional guarantees by commission agents.

The mechanism for this is as follows. If, for example, the third party is the buyer, that is, the final consumer of the goods, and the consignor is the seller, then the commission agents can take responsibility for the buyers, more precisely, for their solvency. In this case, a commission agreement is concluded between the committent and the commission agent on the terms del credere. According to these conditions, the commission agent himself compensates all the expenses of the principal if the buyer turns out to be insolvent. Sometimes, knowing about the committers' intentions, the commission agent himself concludes an agreement with the buyer, and then concludes an agreement with the committent, acting in it as an intermediate buyer. In such an operation, the commission agent usually transfers money for the goods sold to the consignor after receiving payments from the buyer. The remuneration for such an operation is higher than usual, since the transaction is already guaranteed, and the commission agent often receives remuneration in the form of the difference between the price of selling the goods to the end consumer and the price of purchasing it from the consignor.

Russian foreign trade organizations acting as committees should also include in the agreements the responsibility of commission agents, especially regarding the timeliness and completeness of payments. Commission agents back up their responsibility with financial guarantees. If the committees themselves are manufacturers of goods, then they finance both their production and transportation to the points determined by the basic terms of the contracts.

If the committees resell the goods of the producers, they themselves finance the foreign trade operations, that is, they pay the suppliers the cost of the goods and the costs of their transportation to the points of delivery. In both cases, commission operations are financed by the committees until the payment for goods is completed.

When financing the transactions of the committees in the sale of goods on the terms of commodity credits, the commission agents advance funds for market research, advertising, staffing their own firms, for maintenance and organization of sales networks. Subsequently, all their costs are reimbursed by the committees.

In the process of developing the conditions for mutual settlements between committees and commission agents, their administrative, financial and even personal relations are taken into account. If a company acts as a commission agent, in whose capital the principal has invested a share of funds sufficient to control the activities of this company, then financial and other relations are maintained largely on a trust basis. And for Russian enterprises and organizations participating, let's say, in the creation of some kind of mixed companies, it will be beneficial to have such a share of capital that would allow them to control the work of these companies, and therefore risk themselves to a much lesser extent.

When through such controlled mixed companies goods are sold on a commission basis and at the same time cash payments are provided for in the contracts, then it is possible to provide for settlements on open accounts, collection and bank transfers under company guarantees, if such companies are provided with commodity loans, then it can be admitted as a guarantee of payments accepted by society drafts. *

* In other words, we are talking about an acceptance loan provided by banks in the form of acceptance of bills of exchange (drafts), issued, as a rule, by exporters to banks - this is one of the forms of bank lending to foreign trade.

When settlements with financially independent foreign agents, payments on an open account, transfers and collection should be ensured guarantees reputable correspondent banks.

Open account- one of the forms of payment between the seller and the buyer for the shipped goods. The goods or trade documents are transferred to the buyer on the terms of subsequent payment at the specified time, and the cost of the goods is entered by the seller in the debit of the buyer's account. Payments can be made either for individual consignments of goods one to three months after dispatch, or within certain periods. Upon maturity, the buyer pays the due amount and thus pays off his debt. With a short period (up to a month) between the dispatch of goods and payment, such sales on an open account are counted as transactions for cash, with a longer period, an open account is a form of credit. Making settlements in the form of an open account is associated for the seller with the risk of non-payment or late payment for the goods, since the buyer does not issue any promissory note to the seller upon receipt of the documents. For a buyer, an open account is an advantageous form of settlement and obtaining a loan, since there is no risk of payment for the undelivered goods, and interest on a loan is usually not charged. In international trade, an open account is used for settlements between permanent counterparties, for commission sale of goods - in the form of consignment, or for multiple deliveries of a similar product, especially in small lots.

Transfer operations on the execution of orders from legal and individuals money transfers are carried out by both credit institutions and communications companies.

Collection - the receipt by the bank of payments in favor of the institution or the person who handed it over the documents against which the payment is to be made, for example, documents for the goods sent by the seller to the buyer. Collection is widely used in international settlements. Distinguish between net collection, which includes collection of bills of exchange and promissory notes, checks and other payment documents, and documentary collection, i.e. collection of commercial documents (invoices of shipping and insurance documents, various certificates, etc.). Banks charge a commission for the execution of collection operations. The collection procedure is established by uniform rules issued by the International Chamber of Commerce, which are adhered to by most commercial banks in the world.

Guarantee- this is a guarantee, ensuring the fulfillment of obligations. In trade, the seller usually provides a quality guarantee, and the buyer a guarantee of payment of the contractual value of the goods. By agreement of the parties, the guarantor (surety) of performance contractual obligations a third party can become, for example, a well-known company, a banking institution.

Correspondent bank - it is a bank that carries out, on the basis of a correspondent agreement, an order of another bank for payments and settlements. Correspondent banks agree on which accounts will be used for mutual settlements, exchange samples of signatures of officials, rates of commission. Correspondent agreements are concluded between banks both within the country and abroad. On the basis of correspondent agreements, settlements are made for foreign trade, including letters of credit, bills of exchange, foreign money transfers.

Depending on the type of transactions performed and the nature of the relationship with the principal, export and import commission firms are distinguished.

Export Commission Firms can act as a representative of the seller or the buyer. The seller's representative fulfills the instructions of the domestic manufacturer-exporter for the sale of his goods in the foreign market and receives a commission from him. At the same time, the company usually assumes responsibility for the timely delivery of goods to the buyer, transportation, financing and documenting the transaction, the fulfillment of all formalities in the buyer's country and, in some cases, provides warranty maintenance. She can organize, on behalf of the principal, the storage of goods in her country or abroad.

The buyer's representative fulfills the order of the foreign buyer for the purchase of goods on the market of his country. At the same time, the commission company places orders of foreign importers with the manufacturers of their own country. Such an intermediary is paid a commission by the buyer. The purchase of goods in these cases, as a rule, is made against firm orders of the buyer, but sometimes the commission agent makes an offer to a regular customer on his own initiative.

Import commission firms act as representatives of the buyers of their country. They place orders with foreign manufacturers on their own behalf, but at the expense of domestic committees. Large commission firms have representatives abroad who maintain direct contact with suppliers and inform the head offices of all changes in the market.

See also:

Many organizations use in their activities different kinds intermediary agreements. The most popular of these is the commission agreement.

In accordance with clause 1 of Art. 990 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation a commission agreement is a civil contract under which one party (commission agent) undertakes, on behalf of the other party (principal), to complete one or several transactions on its own behalf, but at the expense of the principal, for a fee. So, the characteristic features of a commission agreement:

- the commission agent fulfills the instructions of the principal, speaking on his own behalf;

- the commission agent performs legal actions at the expense of the principal;

- under a transaction made by a commission agent in the performance of a commission agreement with third parties, the rights and obligations are acquired by the commission agent;

- the committent is obliged to pay the commission agent a fee for the services rendered.

The main difference between commission and sale contracts is the condition on the transfer of ownership to the counterparty ( clause 1 of Art. 454 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). The commission agreement assumes that the commission agent only provides the seller with services to conclude an agreement with the buyers. The parties to the commission agreement need to define as clearly as possible the transactions that the commission agent must complete on behalf of the principal and agree on their terms.

When concluding a commission agreement, it must be remembered that intermediary agreements, in comparison with sales and purchase agreements, have special features in taxation, therefore the transaction must meet all the characteristics of a commission agreement. For example, in practice, there are cases when the commission agreement provides for the following condition: if the commission agent does not sell the goods by a certain date, he is obliged to pay its cost, that is, to redeem. Here is what the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation considers on this matter (see. Review of the practice of resolving disputes under a commission agreement, Further - Overview): assuming the obligation to pay for the goods no later than a certain date, the defendant agreed to bear the risk of the impossibility of further sale of the goods, which corresponds to the contractual relationship of purchase and sale(p. 1 of the Review). Thus, if the organizations have entered into a commission agreement, then the commission agent is not obliged to pay the principal with his own funds. Only after receiving money from the final buyer, he will be able to make settlements with the consignor.

Upon the execution of the order, the commission agent is obliged to submit a report to the principal and transfer to him everything that he received under the commission agreement ( Art. 999 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). The legislation does not establish special rules regarding the form and content of the commission agent's report, therefore the parties independently agree on what information should be contained in the report and the principal needs to reflect business transactions in accounting and tax accounting. If the relationship under the commission agreement is long-term, then reports should be submitted regularly, for example, at the end of each reporting period. Otherwise, difficulties may arise with the calculation of taxes, since the report is a document that confirms the provision of services by the commission agent. The Civil Code of the Russian Federation does not prohibit the submission of interim reports.

If the commission agent refuses to provide the principal with data on transactions concluded in pursuance of a commission order for the sale of goods, the commission agent has the right to demand compensation for the full market value of all goods transferred to the commission agent without paying a commission ( p. 14 of the Review). The committent is obliged to pay the commission agent remuneration ( clause 1 of Art. 991 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation), as well as reimburse him for the expenses incurred in the process of executing the order, since the commission agent makes all transactions at the expense of the principal ( Art. 1001 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

Items received by the commission agent from the principal or acquired by the commission agent at the expense of the principal are the property of the latter (Art. 996 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). Thus, the commission agent is actually deprived of the right to dispose of these things at his own discretion without a special indication of this by the committent. The commission agent has the right to withhold the things that are in his possession, which are subject to transfer to the committent or to a person specified by the committent, in order to secure his claims under the commission agreement.

note: according to Art. 997 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation the commission agent may withhold the amounts due to him under the commission agreement from all the amounts received by him at the expense of the principal. For example, under a commission agreement, the commission agent undertakes to conclude transactions for the sale and purchase of property belonging to the principal on his own behalf at the expense of the latter. According to the terms of the contract concluded by the commission agent with the buyer of the goods, payment must be made in three installments in equal installments with a break of three months. Having received the first payment, the commission agent withheld the remuneration due to him in full, and not in proportion to the amount of the contribution. An explanation of this situation is given in p. 4Review: if the buyer pays for the goods in partial payments, then in the absence of an agreement otherwise, the commission agent has the right to withhold the commission in full from the first amount received to him.

As a rule, commission agreements determine the procedure for transferring amounts received from buyers. If it is not specified, then it is not clear when the commission agent is obliged to transfer money to the principal. V article 999 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation it says that the commission agent is obliged to transfer to the principal everything received under the transaction simultaneously with the report. As follows from p. 9 of the Review, within the meaning of Art. 999 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, in the absence of an agreement of the parties otherwise, the commission agent is obliged to transfer to the principal the amounts received from the sale of the goods belonging to the latter, as they become available, and not as a result of the execution of the principal's instructions in full. That is, the commission agent must fulfill the obligation to transfer the proceeds to the principal the next day after he learned or should have learned about the receipt of the proceeds. If the commission agent violates this period, then interest can be collected from him for the use of other people's money ( Art. 395 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

In order to avoid misunderstandings between the commission agent and the committent, it is advisable to indicate in the commission agreement the condition under which the commission is paid. As stated in p. 3 of the Review, the right to demand payment of the commission does not depend on the execution of the transaction concluded between the commission agent and a third party, unless otherwise follows from the essence of the obligation or agreement of the parties.

Let us explain this with an example. The commission agent fulfilled the order given to him, concluding a transaction with the buyer, and in accordance with the commission order, he was the first to fulfill his obligations as the seller in relation to the buyer by transferring the sold goods. In violation of the terms of the concluded purchase and sale agreement, the buyer delayed payment for the goods. After the conclusion of the specified transaction, the commission agent sent the client a report with the attachment of supporting documents and demanded to pay him a commission. Having received a refusal, he went to court.

Explanations in p. 3 of the Review, testify to the inaccurate formulation of the norms of individual articles devoted to the commission agreement, which leads to their different interpretations... On the one hand, in accordance with Art. 999 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation the commission agent is obliged to submit a report to the principal and transfer to him everything received under the agreement of the commission for the execution of the order. Thus, it is assumed that the report can be submitted only simultaneously with the transfer of funds received from the sale of goods transferred to the commission. On the other hand, in p. 2Art. 991 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation the emergence of the right to receive a commission is not stipulated by additional conditions. Thus, in order for the principal to have the legal right not to pay remuneration until the commission agent has fully fulfilled the obligations under the contract, an appropriate condition must be stipulated in the commission contract. The right to include it in the contract is provided for clause 1 of Art. 991 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

Accounting by the principal

Commission agreement for the sale of goods

Due to the fact that when the goods are shipped to the commission agent, the ownership of them remains with the consignor, the consignor does not write off the goods from his balance sheet, but continues to reflect them as part of his own property on the debit of account 45 “Goods shipped”. Thus, the transfer of goods to the agent will be reflected by the transaction Debit 45 Credit 41 on the basis of an invoice or an act of acceptance and transfer of goods for a commission, confirming its transfer to an intermediary.

On the date of shipment of the goods to the buyer, which is determined according to the commission agent's report and the primary documents attached to it, the committent will reflect the proceeds from the sale by posting: Debit 90 Credit 45.

The remuneration paid to the commission agent, as well as all expenses incurred by him related to the sale of goods, are reflected in the account of the committent as expenses on the sale of goods according to the debit of account 44. The basis is the commission agent's report approved by the committent, and all primary documents confirming the amount and purpose of incurred by the commission agent expenditures

Example 1.

LLC "Alpha" (committent) and LLC "Beta" (commission agent) entered into a commission agreement, in accordance with which LLC "Beta" undertakes to sell the goods of LLC "Alpha" for a fee. The remuneration was 10% of the selling price excluding VAT. The selling price was 1,180,000 rubles. (including VAT - 180,000 rubles). The cost of goods is 600,000 rubles.

The goods were shipped to the agent on June 26. Suppose that the commission agent is involved in settlements and on the same day an advance payment in the amount of 472,000 rubles was received on his account. The sale of goods to the buyer took place on July 31st. On the same day, the commission agent submitted a report and issued an invoice for the commission. The buyer transferred the debt for the goods on August 5. (The funds received by the commission agent from the buyers are transferred to the principal upon the sale of the goods).

The following entries will be made in the accounting records of Alpha LLC (consignor):

<*>Sometimes, with this variant of calculations, the following error is encountered: the principal on account 90 reflects the amount actually credited to his account as revenue, and not the entire amount of the transaction (including commission). According to Art. 999 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation all funds received by the commission agent from buyers belong to the principal, therefore, the proceeds will be the entire amount that the buyer paid to the commission agent for the goods. It is this that the commission agent must indicate in his report.

Changes in the calculation of VAT, adopted from January 1, 2006, also affected the participants in the commission agreement. What is their essence? First, by general rule in accordance with the new edition Art. 167 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation the moment the tax base is determined is the earliest of the following dates:

1) the day of shipment (transfer) of goods (works, services), property rights;

2) the day of payment, partial payment for the upcoming supply of goods (performance of work, provision of services), transfer of property rights.

Due to the fact that the Tax Code does not clearly establish what is considered a shipment for the purpose of calculating VAT, the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation gave its explanations on this issue to Art. It says that the date of shipment (transfer) of goods is the date of the first time the primary document issued for their buyer is drawn up. If the goods are not shipped or transported, but there is a transfer of ownership of it, then such a transfer of ownership for the purpose of application ch. 21 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation equates to the shipment of the goods.

However, it remained unclear what to mean by shipment with a commission agreement - the transfer of goods from the principal to the commission agent or is it still the transfer of the goods to the buyer? The answer to this question was given by the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation in: when the goods are transferred to the commission agent, the consignor's date of shipment of goods is the date of the first in time of drawing up the primary document issued on their buyer ... Thus, until the goods are handed over to the buyer, the consignor does not have to pay VAT. But when the commission agent ships the goods to the buyer and submits a report, then the consignor should charge VAT (for our example 1, this will be July 31, posting: Debit 90-3 Credit 68- 180,000 rubles).

When paying, partial payment on account of the upcoming supply of goods (performance of work, provision of services), transfer of property rights carried out under a commission agreement, one should proceed from Art. 999 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation... Thus, according to the commission agreement, everything received by the commission agent under the commission agreement is the property of the principal. Consequently, payment, partial payment on account of the upcoming deliveries by the committent of goods (performance of work, provision of services), transfer of property rights, is recognized as payment, partial payment received from the buyer by the committent or his commission agent, both in cash and in any other form (see) ... This means that if the commission agent participates in the settlements and the prepayment arrives at his account, he must notify the commission agent so that he can timely charge VAT on payment for upcoming deliveries. Therefore, in order to avoid misunderstandings, it is necessary to prescribe in the contract a condition that the commission agent is obliged to notify the principal of all cases of receipt of payment, for example, within 5 days after the end of the month. (For our example 1, this would be the wiring: Debit 76-VAT Credit 68- 472,000 rubles).

In the sales book the consignor will register the invoices issued to the commission agent, which reflect the indicators of the invoices issued by the commission agent to the buyer ( Clause 24 of Resolution No. 914). Thus, the commission agent must reflect these indicators in his report. In the shopping book of the committent, invoices issued by the commission agent for the amount of their remuneration are registered ( Clause 7 of Resolution No. 914).

When determining the taxable base for income tax in accordance with clause 3 of Art. 271 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation taxpayers applying the accrual method, the date of receipt of income is the date of sale of goods, determined by virtue of clause 1 of Art. 39 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, regardless of the fact of payment. (According to Art. 39 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation the transfer of ownership of goods is recognized as implementation). Thus, for the committers, the date of receipt of income from the sale of goods under the commission agreement is the date of shipment by the commission agent of the goods to the buyer, indicated in the commission agent's notice of the sale or in the commission agent's report. Article 316 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation imposes on the commission agent the obligation to notify the consignor of the date of sale of the goods belonging to the consignor within three days from the end of the reporting period in which such a sale took place.

Amounts received by the consignor in advance are not included in the tax base for income tax until the goods are shipped to the buyer ( nn. 1 p. 1 of Art. 251 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

The consignor has the right to refer to the costs associated with the production and sale of products:

- Commission remuneration ( nn. 3 p. 1 art. 264 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation);

- other costs associated with the sale of goods, reimbursed by him to the commission agent (for example, storage costs). For this, the commission agent must submit documents confirming these expenses in connection with the execution of the commission agreement. The moment of recognition of expenses will be the reporting (tax) period to which these expenses relate, regardless of the time of their actual payment, that is, the period when the commission agent fulfilled his obligations to the committent, and the committent approved the commission agent's report.

(In our example, the principal's income for tax purposes will arise in July and amount to RUB 1,000,000. A commission in the amount of RUB 100,000 will be charged to expenses that reduce the taxable base for income tax, also in July).

Commission agreement for the purchase of goods

The parties to the commission agreement may conclude an agreement for the purchase of goods for the principal. In this case, the goods come to the consignor either from the suppliers of the goods, or from the commission agent, who receives them from the suppliers and transfers them to the consignor.

Goods purchased through a commission agent are accepted for accounting at the principal at the actual cost ( p. 5, 6 PBU 5/01), which is recognized as the amount of the organization's actual acquisition costs, excluding VAT and other recoverable taxes. Thus, the cost of purchased goods includes:

- the amount of remuneration paid to the commission agent through which material values ​​are acquired;

- other costs associated with their purchase (for example, costs associated with the delivery of goods, their storage), incurred by the commission agent at the expense of the principal in the presence of supporting documents.

If a fixed asset is purchased, then its cost will also be formed taking into account all acquisition costs, including remuneration paid to the intermediary organization through which the item of property, plant and equipment was acquired (p. 8 PBU 6/01).

Example 2.

LLC "Alpha" (committent) and LLC "Beta" (commission agent) entered into a commission agreement, according to which LLC "Beta" undertakes to purchase goods for LLC "Alpha" for a fee. The remuneration is determined by the agreement in the amount of 10% of the purchase price of the goods, which amounted to 1,180,000 rubles. (including VAT - 180,000 rubles).

The following entries will be made in the accounting records of Alpha LLC:

For the purpose of calculating income tax, the cost of purchased inventories (including under a commission agreement) is included in the composition of material costs and is determined based on the price of their acquisition, including the commission paid to the commission agent, transportation, storage and other costs, associated with the acquisition of inventories ( clause 2 of Art. 254 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

If property is acquired that is subject to inclusion in the composition of the depreciable property, then in accordance with clause 1 of Art. 257 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation all expenses incurred form the initial cost of the acquired property (including the amount of the commission and the commission agent's expenses reimbursed by the principal).

Accounting with a commission agent

When reflecting business transactions in accounting, the commission agent must take into account:

First, income from ordinary activities includes only the amount of the commission determined in accordance with the terms of the contract. Income from other legal entities and individuals under commission agreements in favor of the principal are not recognized as income of the organization ( p. 3 PBU 9/99), and are reflected in the accounts of the accounting of settlements.

Secondly, the composition of expenses from ordinary activities includes only own expenses that are not directly related to the execution of the commission agreement, for example, labor costs, general business expenses, etc. The disposal of assets under commission agreements in favor of the principal is not recognized as an expense of the organization ( p. 3 PBU 10/99), and are reflected in the accounts of the accounting of settlements. These costs are subject to reimbursement by the principal in accordance with the terms of the contract.

Thirdly, the property received from the committent or acquired by the commission agent for the committent is not the property of the commission agent, therefore it must be accounted for on off-balance sheet accounts (002 "Inventories accepted for safekeeping", 004 "Goods accepted for commission") in the assessment provided for in the contract ( clause 2 of Art. 8 of Law No. 129-FZ, p. 14 PBU 5/01).

Commission agreement for the sale of goods belonging to the principal

Let's use the conditions of example 1.

In accordance with clause 1 of Art. 156 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation VAT taxable turnover of taxpayers carrying out activities in the interests of another person on the basis of commission agreements includes the amount of income received by them in the form of remuneration (any other income) in the performance of these agreements.

It must be borne in mind that for intermediary services, even if they are related to the sale of goods (works, services) that are not subject to taxation in accordance with Art. 149 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, exemption from taxation does not apply ( clause 2 of Art. 156 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). The exception is services for the sale of goods (works, services) exempt from VAT in accordance with p. 1(lease of premises to foreigners), nn. onep. 2(sale of medical goods), nn.8 p. 2(funeral services) according to the list approved by the Government of the Russian Federation, and nn. 6 p. 3(sale of folk art products) Art. 149 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

Due to the fact that, according to the conditions of the example, the commission agent is involved in settlements and the prepayment from the buyer goes to his current account, the question arises, should the commission agent charge and pay VAT on the prepayment, because part of the amount falls on his remuneration? It is quite controversial, and in order to avoid disagreements with the tax authorities, we advise you to indicate in the agreement that the consignor pays for the services of the commission agent at the time of shipment of goods to buyers... It was this formulation that allowed the taxpayer to win the dispute in the arbitration court (see. Resolution of the FAS VCO dated February 25, 2004 No. A19-12348 / 03-43-F02-484 / 04-C1, which states that the tax base for VAT arises from the company only at the moment of receiving the commission, that is, after the shipment of goods. In this regard, it is illegal to charge the company with VAT on the amounts of advance payments received on its current account for the principal). V Resolution of the FAS ZSO dated 13.12.05 No. F04-9014 / 2005 (17784-A67-27) it is indicated that the company, being a commission agent, is obliged to pay VAT on the commission received, but not on advances received during the tax period.

I would like to say a few words about the peculiarities of the agent's accounting of received and issued invoices. Invoices received by the commission agent from the consignor for the goods transferred for sale are not registered in the purchase book ( Clause 11 of Resolution No. 914), but are recorded in the logbook of received invoices ( Clause 3 of Resolution No. 914). Organizations and individual entrepreneurs engaged in entrepreneurial activities in the interests of another person under commission agreements register in the sales book invoices issued to the consignor in the amount of their remuneration ( Clause 24 of Resolution No. 914).

Commission agreement for the purchase of goods for the principal

Let's use the conditions of example 2.

The following entries will be made in the accounting of Beta LLC (commission agent):

The costs associated with the implementation of economic activities (rent, wages, etc.), the principal reflects on account 44 "Expenses for sale". If the commission agent incurs additional costs associated with the sale of the consignor's goods, then these costs are reimbursed to him by the consignor in the manner prescribed by the commission agreement. In accounting, these amounts are reflected in the settlement accounts: Debit 76 Credit 51- expenses have been paid to be reimbursed at the expense of the principal.

Organizations-commissioners, when forming the composition of income and expenses accepted for tax purposes, must take into account the provisions Art. 251 and 270 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation... According to nn. 9 p. 1 of Art. 251 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation when determining the tax base for income tax, the income does not include the funds received by the commission agent in connection with the fulfillment of obligations under the commission agreement, as well as through reimbursement of costs incurred by the commission agent for the principal, if such costs are not subject to inclusion in the commission agent's expenses in accordance with with the terms of the concluded agreement. These incomes do not include commissions.

The composition of expenses accounted for for tax purposes ( nn. 9 tbsp. 270 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation) does not include expenses in the form of property (including monetary funds) transferred by the commission agent in connection with the fulfillment of obligations under the commission agreement, as well as in payment of costs incurred by the commission agent for the committent, if such costs are not subject to inclusion in the commission agent's expenses in accordance with terms of the concluded agreement.

Thus, the income of the commission agent for the purpose of calculating income tax includes the amount of remuneration due to him (excluding VAT). According to Art. 249 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation this income is recognized as income from sales. Its expenses, taken for the purpose of calculating income tax, include any justified and documented expenses ( clause 1 of Art. 252 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation) associated with the implementation of the economic activities of the organization, with the exception of the costs named in Art. 270 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

When using the accrual method, the date of recognition of income in the provision of intermediary services should be considered the date of the actual provision of the service (the date the commission agent fulfills his obligations under the contract), regardless of the date of its payment ( clause 3 of Art. 271 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). In this case, the procedure for recognizing expenses is governed by Art. 272 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

Information letter of the Presidium of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation dated November 17, 2004 No. 85 "Review of the practice of resolving disputes under a commission agreement."

Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of 02.12.00 No. 914 "On the approval of the Rules for keeping records of received and issued invoices, books of purchases and books of sales when calculating value added tax" (taking into account the changes introduced by the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of 11.05.06 No. 283 ).

Regulation on accounting "Accounting for inventories" PBU 5/01, approved. By order of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation dated 09.06.01. No. 44n.

Commission trading has always been a challenging business issue for entrepreneurs, economists and accountants. Therefore, many people prefer choose something simpler and more understandable, on the initial stage... But, having a certain attractiveness in making a profit, this direction always arouses increased interest among entrepreneurs.

Let's try to understand this issue today. So what is this circuit, how does it look and how does it work? It seems that everything is clear, there is a supplier and an intermediary in the business chain, but let's call everything by their proper names right away, and this terminology will be used further in our article: supplier or consignor, he gives his goods for sale to an intermediary or a commission agent. So far, it seems not difficult, but the nuance is that the ownership of the goods does not pass to the agent.

Commission agent, sells goods to end customers, acting on its own behalf, but at the expense of the principal. As soon as the goods are sold, the principal ceases to be its owner. The commission agent reports to the supplier, gives him the proceeds for the goods and receives his remuneration.

Let's dwell on the legal part of the issue. The commission, like any other type of activity, must be formalized by a contractual relationship between supplier and store, in which it is precisely determined who is the committer and who is the commission agent, as well as the action itself, that the second will sell on behalf of the first for a fee. Naturally, it will not be superfluous to prescribe the amount of remuneration, it may be as fixed from each product sold, and in percentage terms from sales.

The law regulating commission trade obliges, in accordance with Article 51 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the commission agent to report on sales to the consignor. There is no regulation on terms, therefore, they are prescribed in the agreement, as well as the term of the agreement itself, either a specific term or an unlimited term. It will not be superfluous to be indicated in the contract and territory of its execution, but this point is already decided by the consignor with the commission agent or not. The formal part is done, you can start working.

Based on the act of acceptance and transfer of goods and the waybill TORG-12, the consignor transfers the goods to the store to the agent. The act, again, is formed and transmitted, if this clause is in the agreement that the document is being formed, if not, then it will be enough TORG-12... The product arrives at the store, and the agent starts selling it. It is legally established that the sale should start the next day after receiving the goods by the agent. When a certain amount of goods is sold, or a certain reporting period fixed in the contract ends, the intermediary is obliged to draw up a commission agent's report.

The report should reflect how many units of the product were sold, at what price, and what amount of remuneration. As I wrote above, it is better to indicate the timing of the report in the contract, but this is not specified by law. It is convenient to indicate in the contract that the report will be provided either every week or every month. Also, in addition to the report, you need to draw up an act on the provision of services between the two parties to the contract. The commission agent on behalf of the committee provides services, therefore the amount in the act - this is the amount of the commission agent's remuneration during the reporting period.

Therefore, the intermediary must transfer the amount of money received, but already minus your commission. There is another situation when the day is transferred to the principal in full, and only then the amount of remuneration is transferred back to the commission agent. So the cooperation will continue further, until the end of the contract.

The consignor within 30 days after receiving the commission agent's report, may require changes if the report is not drawn up correctly. It is also possible to increase the term for eliminating errors with the help of an additional agreement, in the event that it is not possible to adjust the account within a specified period of time.

Since the system allows you to create a commission agreement, arrange the shipment and acceptance of goods, record sales of commission goods, and automatically generate commission agent reports... The generated reports also count the proceeds for the goods sold, commission agent's fee, VAT.

Commission trading is a fairly common type of business. It has a number of advantages, but there are also important nuances. We will talk about this in the article. We will also figure out what a committer, a principal is, what is the difference between them.

What is commission trading?

You can trade in different ways. You can produce goods and then sell them to the final consumer. You can act as an intermediary, that is, you buy goods from a supplier and then resell them to a retail buyer. Or you can sell what does not belong to you.

The essence of commission trading is that a certain company performs operations on its own behalf, but at the expense of a counterparty. It is important that the ownership of the goods does not pass to the seller. Such concepts as agent, consignor, commission agent, principal arise. The seller company calls itself the commission agent, and the company transferring the goods for sale - the consignor.

For his services, the commission agent receives in the form of a percentage or amount established by the contract. The costs associated with the execution of the order shall be compensated by the consignor. All these nuances are reflected in a special way in accounting, specific accounts and transactions are used, primary documents are also drawn up differently than in traditional trade.

Commission agreement and agency agreement

The essence of the agreement is that one party for a fee enters into transactions with third parties on its own behalf, but at the same time acts in the interests of the other party. For the work done, he receives an agreed remuneration.

Such an agreement belongs to the intermediary. That is, the commission agent (agent) enters into an agreement with the principal (principal) for the sale of goods. An agency agreement and an agency agreement are distinguished. What is the difference between them?

In the commission agreement, the commission agent acts on his own behalf. In a contract of agency, the attorney does not act on his own behalf, but on behalf of the principal.

The difference from the agency agreement is that the agent performs both legal and actual actions, and the commission agent only performs legal ones.

What does "commit", "principal" mean?

This is the name of the party initiating the contractual relationship within the framework of mediation agreements. The concept seems to be the same, but the names are different. Does this mean that the concepts are identical? The principal, the principal - who is this?

Committent - a person who comes forward with an order to perform any actions for a fee. A principal is the person who authorizes a second person to act as an agent. The concepts are close. The agent and the principal appear in the agency agreement. The principal and the commission agent - in the commission agreement. Consequently, the principal (principal) - who is the person who initiates the relationship, instructing him to perform certain tasks for reward.

Is it possible to say that the principal and the principal are one and the same? Despite the fact that the concepts are close in meaning, it cannot be said that they are identical. They appear in different contracts. This means that there is a difference between the concepts of "principal" and "committent".

The principal may instruct the agent to act both on his own behalf and on behalf of the principal. The committent may instruct the commission agent to act only on his own behalf. We can say that the principal and the principal are one and the same, only under certain conditions. In general, the second concept is somewhat broader.

What does "agent", "commission agent" mean?

Let's take a look at the second side of the contractual relationship. The agent can act both on his own behalf, then the agreement will be similar to the model of the commission agreement, and the concepts of the agent and the commission agent will become identical, and on behalf of the principal, then the concepts of the agent and the commission agent can no longer be identical. We can say that the concept of "agent" is broader than the concept of "commission agent" and includes it. Now it should be clearer what a principal (principal) is and what a commission agent (agent) is.

Pros of commission trading

The first tangible plus is that the commission item does not need to be paid. It is given for implementation and is kept under safe custody. The transfer of proceeds for the goods sold occurs only at the moment when this proceeds are actually received.

Thanks to this advantage, it is easier to start a new business, there is no need to large sums for the initial investment. After all, what is a principal (principal)? This is the person who provides their goods for trade.

Another advantage is the ease of processing a return. If it turns out that the product is defective, the period for its sale has expired, or for some reason it “didn’t go”, then simply return it, because it does not belong to you, but to the consignor. In classic trade, the return of goods creates many difficulties, from paperwork to taxation. Within the framework of the commission agreement, it is possible to conclude subcommission agreements.

Also, considerable advantages are that accounting and taxation with an intermediary is much easier than with someone who sells their own goods.

Payment Methods

Commission trading provides two options. The commission agent may or may not take part in settlements for the goods between the consignor and the buyer.

If a scheme is chosen without the participation of a commission agent in the calculations, then payment from the end buyer goes directly to the client's current account, bypassing an intermediary. The commission agent only receives his remuneration based on the results of his work.

The scheme with participation in settlements implies that buyers pay for the goods with a commission agent, and then the accumulated amounts are transferred to the client's account. In this case, the commission agent has the opportunity to independently withhold the amount of his remuneration, as well as compensate for the costs incurred during the execution of the order.

Accounting

Keeping records on the condition of commission trading is easier. All is reflected on the off-balance sheet account 004. All movements in the goods are also reflected on the off-balance sheet account.

The accounting records only the amount of the commission, they are included in the income of the commission agent. To reflect them, it is used in correspondence with account 90. If the company is a VAT payer, then it must also be highlighted. The structure of expenses includes those costs that the company incurred in the process of executing the order.

If the commission agent does not participate in the calculations, then his accounting is even simpler. If involved, then the received and transferred amounts must be displayed using

If the company trades not only commission, but also its own goods, these transactions should be kept separately.

The agent issues documents for the sale of goods to buyers on his own behalf. The commission agent has the right to use any taxation system, both classical and simplified.

Source documents

The goods are transferred according to the goods. Information about the sold product is transmitted in the form of a commission agent's report. For the remuneration, an act of rendering services must be drawn up and an invoice must be issued.

For the rest, the commission agent uses standard, unified forms of primary documents.

The commission agent can deduct the commission from the amount that was received by him for the goods sold. There is also another option. The client himself transfers the commission within the time frame established by the contract. Taxes are paid only on the amount of the commission.

Commission agent's report

The commission agent is obliged to regularly provide a report to the principal (principal) on the goods sold. The deadlines for submitting the report are not legally fixed, but they are prescribed in the contract. If the volumes of goods are large, then it is convenient to report on a monthly basis, in addition, the principal is interested in monthly reports in order to timely and correctly calculate VAT. If the consignor is not a VAT payer, then any reporting period can be set.

The report form can be developed independently or you can use a ready-made one, for example, from the Internet.

At first glance, mediation contracts may seem a little confusing. There are many actors: agent, principal, principal, commission agent, buyers. But if you look closely, it turns out that it is much easier and more convenient to work under a mediation agreement, it is easier to keep records, and there are much more advantages than disadvantages. This explains the popularity of this type of entrepreneurial activity. Now you have figured out what a committer, a principal is, and you will no longer confuse these concepts with each other.

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