What are membership fees paid for according to the law?
Art. 14 of Law 217-FZ of July 29, 2017 N 217-FZ “On gardening and horticulture by citizens for their own needs” divides gardeners’ contributions into:
- Target
- Membership
The main difference between membership fees and target fees is the purpose of payment.
What is included in targeted contributions to SNT
Targeted contributions in a gardening partnership are collected to cover one-time and irregular expenses. For example, if in SNT you need to install a common fence, build a road, install gas, repair a well, or prepare a survey of public lands.
Why do we pay membership fees to SNT?
Membership fees are exclusively paid for:
- maintenance of common property (including improvement of common lands)
- supplying SNT with electricity, gas, water
- payment for security and fire safety services
- removal of MSW (municipal solid waste)
- conducting audits
- salary payments under employment contracts to employees
- taxes and fees SNT
- implementation of decisions of general meetings.
No other needs other than those listed above can be covered by membership fees.
What happens if SNT continues to accept cash contributions?
Despite the ban on accepting cash established by Law No. 217-FZ, many SNT continue to accept contributions in cash.
Such actions violate the law, but no sanctions are provided for SNT for this. The tax office also does not intend to consider such cases: SNT cash transactions for accepting contributions do not belong to those operations that are regulated by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. This means that the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation cannot impose fines for violation of cash discipline on SNT (letter of the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation dated June 6, 2018 No. ED-4-20 / [email protected] ).
In fact, there is a legal conflict on this issue: Law No. 217-FZ prohibits accepting cash, but at the same time, clause 1 of Art. 861 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation allows for settlements with the participation of citizens, not related to their business activities, in cash without limiting the amount or by bank transfer.
The competition of legal norms requires refinement of the regulatory framework on this issue or the creation of a judicial precedent.
While the priority of one document over another on this issue is not determined, SNTs can theoretically continue to accept cash contributions without consequences for themselves.
However, if possible, SNT boards should still accept non-cash contributions so as not to violate the current requirements of Law No. 217-FZ.
What could be the consequences of non-payment of membership fees in a gardening association? The lawyer’s answer to this question is in the ConsultantPlus system. Get free trial access to the system and proceed to detailed expert consultation.
How to pay membership fees to SNT in 2021
Each gardening organization independently determines how to pay membership fees. According to the law, the payment procedure must be regulated and prescribed in the SNT charter, and all SNT calculations as a legal entity. persons must go through cashless payments. At the same time, the law states that membership fees cannot be collected more than once a month.
In fact, gardening usually has its own regulations. Membership fees in the form of utility bills, which are paid according to tariffs (garbage removal, electricity, sewerage, etc.) are collected monthly. The remaining amount (for example, for unforeseen repairs of common property, taxes, mowing grass in a common area, wages for watchmen) is collected in one payment - once a year.
With targeted contributions it’s simple - they raised the issue at a meeting, voted and made a decision on the procedure and timing of payment. Payment of contributions according to the new rules only through the bank. Read about the features of such payment in 2021 here.
What were the collected funds spent on?
The law ordered that targeted contributions to the CIS be spent for specific purposes:
- increase in common property;
- improving infrastructure;
- improvement of the territory.
In the past, my partnership did not have electrical connections for garden houses. At the general meeting we decided to build a power transmission line. When the facility began to operate, everyone who took part in financing the construction became the owners of the property, and SNT, as a management company, acquired the right to manage the electrical facilities.
But no one has the right to force all gardeners to donate money for electrification or gasification of their plots, or to fine them. And if everyone uses the light, but pays according to the meter for electricity, then gasification is expensive, not everyone has the money for this procedure. For such a case, the general meeting can make a target contribution while simultaneously creating a temporary non-profit partnership in a specific area. With similar actions, it is possible to gasify that part of the gardeners who took part in this.
There is a significant difference between property owned by a partnership (board office) and an IOP created by targeted contributions (LEP).
Source city.lv
What practice shows when performing:
- Construction, property acquisition. People connected electricity to their garden houses through individual fees. The management of energy resources is common property, and the construction of power lines was carried out with targeted contributions.
- Modernization, renovation of the facility according to modern technical standards. At the general meeting, due to the poor condition of the wooden supports, the members of the partnership decided to replace them with reinforced concrete structures, remove the old exposed wiring, and lay an insulated cable. As a result, the society received a new product, and the project in the form of new property with a different level of parameters is covered by targeted contributions.
- Reconstructions. In the community where my dacha is located, the property borders on a stream, across which there is a small bridge. It was constantly destroyed by the onset of spring floods. We decided to replace the weak structure with a more advanced and stable bridge so that not only people could cross it, but also cars could drive through it.
The road belongs to public land, and the reconstruction of the bridge expansion was paid for through targeted payments.
Source allprogram.ru
About the possibility of challenging contributions to SNT, watch this video:
Membership fees
Every year the board increases membership fees, and many people ask, on what basis?
Membership fees are paid according to the tariff schedule established locally. This applies to utility bills. Otherwise, the amount of contributions depends on the additional costs of maintaining the common property.
The basis for membership fees is the income and expense estimate of SNT, which any member of the partnership has the right to familiarize themselves with. In addition, payments must have an economic justification (concluded contracts with hired employees, confirmation of payment for activities related to the maintenance of the PDO.)
Thus, each member of the partnership has the right to participate in the discussion and proposal to reduce membership fees by reducing unreasonable expenses.
The annual increase in membership fees directly depends on the increase in utility tariffs, the increase in wages for mercenaries and on the annual increase in prices.
What is considered a mandatory payment?
Starting from January 1, 2021, it was decided to introduce strictly mandatory contributions for everyone who is a member of this kind of community. They are conventionally divided into two classifications.
Membership
This payment is the only one that is officially provided for by the current legislation of the Russian Federation. As explained above, these funds are spent on internal needs. Other contributions and expenses, which are prescribed in regulations, can also be formed here.
Membership fees in a gardening partnership Source stroysnabgaz.ru
Target
This type of payment is also mandatory at the legislative level, but is recognized as a one-time payment. Usually it is spent on the acquisition of common property in the SNT, broken down by all members of it. Such an entity can be used by everyone who has invested. This is especially important if the payment was quite large.
As for the amount indicated to fulfill the target contribution, it may be several times greater than the annual payment for membership dues. Accordingly, due to such large investments, disputes may arise between people in the partnership.
To date, there is no fixed amount of money for making a target payment. This suggests that each specific SNT has every right to set an individual payment amount.
Targeted membership fees for gardening associations Source yarosonline.ru
On a note! The current law stipulates that each partnership is required to maintain income and expense reports, which take into account every penny spent and contributed. Checks and other papers confirming these expenses must be attached to this document. In some cases, these may even be contracts with a wet seal.
From 2021, it is prohibited to transfer funds to the founder of SNT or its main member. Now all finances are transferred to a non-cash bank account.
Deadlines for payment of membership fees
Each SNT establishes not only payment rules, but also optimal deadlines. Thus, general meetings, as a rule, are scheduled for the May weekend, which coincides with the opening of the summer season. At the meeting, a decision is made on the amount of membership fees. The board reports for those payments that were spent last year (including those collected for unforeseen expenses) and establishes a new payment. Payment deadlines are specified in the Charter. If utility bills are usually collected once a month or once a quarter, then payments for “additional payments” for other needs are often set for one-time payment, for September-October, at the close of the summer season.
Briefly about the main thing
When I came to my chairman of the partnership, he revealed an interesting fact to me. That all SNTs, without exception, rely on targeted funding, since there is no other way. This is a paradox and a legislative incident. At a general meeting, it is impossible to tie the size of membership or target fees to one hundred square meters of land. Here the estimate of expenses and income is approved, and from here they begin to determine the amount of contributions.
This means that the accountant will always answer why members pay 300 rubles, and not more or less. The financier or responsible person will provide calculations upon request. At the end of the year, board members must report on what purposes the collected money was spent on. If there is no clear layout, then the inspector will first suspect and then prove it is theft. For this unseemly reason, there are no reports on the board; their own people are on the audit commission. The money is collected and divided at their own discretion, instead of being spent on the needs of SNT.
Question
Write in the comments what you think - how difficult is it now to track where the money for contributions to SNT goes?
Distribution of membership fees to owners according to the law according to the area of the plot or house
There are many disagreements in SNT regarding the distribution of membership fees. The law in this regard specifies that contributions are paid in proportion to the number of acres, the square footage of the property or the size of the share in the common shared property.
Most often, SNT members pay contributions in proportion to the size of the land plot, and real estate is not taken into account. The larger the plot, the higher the payment and it doesn’t matter how many people use the dacha, how often they come and how much garbage they throw out. The rules for the distribution of membership fees are prescribed in the Charter of the partnership.
How to leave SNT without paying
There are several options for how to exit SNT legally:
- loss of rights to land, this may be due to the death of a participant;
- forced exclusion if a majority of the partnership members voted for it;
- voluntary exit with the submission of a corresponding application to the SNT board.
As for the latter case, termination of membership begins from the moment the application is submitted and accepted by the chairman. In order to withdraw from the partnership, confirmation by signature or seal is not required.
Legal exit from a gardening and non-profit partnership Source vsn.ru
Previously paid cannot be returned
Changes in legislation are valid only for the future. They do not apply to previously paid funds. Therefore, based on the new law, it is impossible to return money collected as entry fees before January 1, 2021. This is directly stated in paragraph 31 of Article 54 of Federal Law No. 217-FZ.
The same rules were to apply to arrears of payment. But to date, collection of debts for 2021 and earlier years has already lost relevance due to the expiration of the 3-year limitation period.
