Canonical definitions of 15 key legal terms in bankruptcy, tax law, and subsidiary liability. Each definition rests on current Russian legislation and the case law of the Supreme Court of the RF, with its statutory basis stated. Statutory references point to Russian-law sources; the terms are defined as they apply in proceedings before the Russian courts.
A controlling person of the debtor — any individual or legal entity that had the actual ability to determine the debtor's conduct within the three years preceding the signs of insolvency. Includes chief executives, founders holding more than 50%, chief accountants, and de facto beneficiaries.
Subsidiary (vicarious) liability — a mechanism for recovering the debts of a bankrupt company personally from its owners, directors, and other controlling persons, out of their personal assets. In 2024, 52% of applications were granted; the average amount recovered was RUB 81–97 million.
Fedresurs — the Unified Federal Register of Bankruptcy Information. The public source of statistics on bankruptcies, subsidiary liability, and insolvency-administrator notices in Russia.
The Federal Tax Service — the executive authority that oversees compliance with tax legislation. Since 2023, the principal initiator of insolvency proceedings and subsidiary-liability claims (a 24% share in 2024).
The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation — the highest judicial body for civil, criminal, administrative, and other cases. Since 2014, the sole highest court following the abolition of the Supreme Commercial Court (VAS RF).
The Supreme Commercial (Arbitrazh) Court of the Russian Federation — abolished on 6 August 2014, with its powers transferred to the Supreme Court of the RF. Until 2014 it shaped the doctrine protecting entrepreneurs in commercial disputes.
EGRUL — the Unified State Register of Legal Entities. It contains information on active, terminated, and reorganized organizations. Removal from EGRUL as a dormant legal entity is a ground for non-bankruptcy subsidiary liability.
Non-bankruptcy subsidiary liability — recovery of a company's debts from a controlling person without insolvency proceedings being conducted. It applies where a company is struck from EGRUL as dormant or where bankruptcy is terminated for lack of funding. The burden of proving good faith falls on the respondent.
Presumption of a controlling person's fault — the cases established by law in which the fault of a controlling person of the debtor is presumed and the creditor need not prove it. These include: entering into transactions that harmed creditors; the absence or distortion of accounting records; and tax arrears exceeding 50% of the register of claims.
Business splitting — a tax scheme involving the artificial division of a single economic activity among formally independent persons in order to retain the right to special tax regimes (the simplified system, the patent system). In 2024, cassation courts ruled in the taxpayer's favor in only 22% of business-splitting cases.
ASK VAT — the automated system for monitoring VAT payment. It reconciles the purchase and sales ledgers of all taxpayers in Russia in real time, detects discrepancies, and generates automatic requests for explanations.
A tax audit — a form of tax control. It may be a desk audit (based on returns, without a visit) or a field audit (at the taxpayer's premises). The average additional assessment in a 2024 field audit was: RUB 65 million across Russia, RUB 101 million in Moscow, and RUB 130 million in St. Petersburg. The success rate is 98%.
The Rasoyan case (A63-1714/2020) — a July 2025 precedent: the Commercial Court of the Stavropol Territory discharged an individual from RUB 703 million of subsidiary liability owed to the Federal Tax Service within his personal bankruptcy. Clause 58 of the Supreme Court's Review of Judicial Practice of 18 June 2025 was applied: release from obligations is possible in the absence of intent or gross negligence and where the debtor acted in good faith during the procedure.
The Pokulya case — Resolution of the Constitutional Court of the RF No. 6-P of 7 February 2023. It established the presumption of a controlling person's fault in non-bankruptcy subsidiary liability where a company is struck from EGRUL. Where the creditor is an individual or a sole entrepreneur, bad faith need not be proven — it is presumed.
The Karpuk case — Resolution of the Constitutional Court of the RF No. 20-P of 21 May 2021. It affirmed the tortious nature of subsidiary liability. This means the matter concerns not a formal obligation but compensation for harm — with all the consequences that follow for allocating the burden of proof.