Companies and individual entrepreneurs who are registered in Belarus and advertise their services and goods, in some cases, pay an advertising fee to the state budget. To understand the intricacies of paying this fee, you may need the help of a tax lawyer.
Who pays the advertising fee
Some advertisers should calculate and transfer the advertising fee to the budget of Belarus.
Companies and individual entrepreneurs that are registered in Belarus, including Belarusian advertising agencies, have time to figure out how to pay the advertising fee, as it is paid quarterly.
Advertisers include companies and individual entrepreneurs:
- Whose activities are advertised;
- Who give technical specifications to advertising agencies;
- Which provide ready-made advertising to advertising agencies for distribution in Belarus.
Advertising agencies are Belarusian companies or individual entrepreneurs who provide advertising services in Belarus, including on the Internet, providing advertising to an advertising distributor. Companies and entrepreneurs who apply to advertising agencies are the payers of the advertising fee.
An advertising agency pays an advertising fee when it transmits an advertisement to an advertising distributor and is itself an advertiser.
Who doesn’t pay the advertising fee
Foreign companies and individual entrepreneurs do not pay an advertising fee in Belarus. They place ads on the territory of Belarus not by themselves, but through Belarusian advertising agencies. These agencies pay the advertising fee themselves.
Representative offices of foreign companies in Belarus do not pay an advertising fee. They must conclude contracts for the placement and distribution of advertising with Belarusian advertising agencies.
Branches and representative offices of Belarusian companies, simple partnerships, artisans and the self-employed do not pay the advertising fee, as they do not belong to legal entities and individual entrepreneurs under Belarusian law.
Belarusian companies that employ disabled people and some government organizations.
Belarusian companies and individual entrepreneurs, who are obliged to post and distribute certain information due to the norms of legislation. For example, they place an information sign near the entrance to the facility, publish the rules of the advertising game in the media.
Belarusian companies and individual entrepreneurs who distribute advertising on their own:
- on their websites, in their premises, with the help of their employees;
- without signing a contract for the provision of advertising services.
How to determine if you need to pay an advertising fee
Payment of the fee does not depend on the fact of payment of money for advertising services. The fee must be paid upon the provision of advertising services, including for the distribution of advertising on the Internet.
Step 1. Determine whether the placement (distribution) of advertising has occurred.
Advertising includes information about goods, services, and jobs:
- Which is distributed in any form by any means;
- Aimed at attracting attention to the advertised object, forming or maintaining interest in it, and promoting it on the market.
Upon placement and distribution of advertising, the parties to the contract for the provision of advertising services draw up an act of services rendered.
Step 2. Determine in which state the advertisement was distributed.
The advertising fee is paid only when advertising is distributed on the territory of Belarus.
Step 3. Determine which services are provided to a company or individual entrepreneur — an advertising distributor who buys advertising placement and distribution services.
The fee is paid only upon the provision of advertising services. Advertising production services do not apply to services for which an advertising fee is paid. They also do not pay an advertising fee for the provision of other services. When an agreement with an advertising distributor provides for the provision of several services, the advertising fee is paid only for services for the placement (distribution) of advertising.
It is not necessary to pay an advertising fee for the placement and distribution of advertising
The provision of services for the placement and distribution of certain types of advertising does not require payment of an advertising fee:
- Social advertising. This is an advertisement of a non-commercial nature, which is aimed at protecting state and public interests when the advertisers are government agencies.
- Advertising of events in which government agencies are co-organizers.
- Ads that are placed on bulletin boards. Bulletin boards include places for placing small paper flyers near building entrances, at public transport stops, and on separate stands. Sites are not classified as bulletin boards.
- Advertising inside buildings and premises. For example, inside shopping malls.
- Advertising on the websites of government agencies and companies owned by the state.
- Advertising in mass media, the editorial offices of which are government agencies and companies owned by the state.
- Advertising in support of sports organizations.
- The advertisement that the advertising agency transmits to the distributors of the advertisement. In this case, there are a number of exceptions that can be dealt with with the help of our tax lawyers.
Identifying an advertisement, placement, distribution of which is not subject to an advertising fee, may be difficult for customers. To understand the specifics of exemption from payment of the advertising fee, you can consult with our lawyers in the field of taxation.
Calculation and rates of the advertising fee
The tax base of the advertising fee is the cost of advertising services without VAT (value added tax), which are actually provided to an advertiser or an advertising agency when it provides services to a foreign advertiser. The tax base does not decrease or increase, since deductions and increasing coefficients for the advertising fee are not provided.
The cost of advertising services is determined in the contract for the provision of advertising services.
After the actual provision of advertising services, the company, individually or jointly with the second party to the contract, draws up a primary accounting document. This document should include a monetary assessment of the services provided. The advertising fee is calculated from this amount without VAT.
The fact of payment or non-payment of advertising services, receipt of an advance payment, prepayments does not affect the payment of the advertising fee.
Advertising fee rates
The advertising fee rates are set at 10% and 20% of the cost of advertising placement (distribution) services without VAT. The bid depends on the place of placement (distribution) of the advertisement.
- For outdoor advertising — 10%.
- For the placement (distribution) of advertising on transport, including inside the salons of public transport — 10%.
- Placement (distribution) of advertising in other places — 20%.
The reporting period
The reporting period for the advertising collection is a calendar quarter.
During the quarter, the total cost of advertising services provided to a company or individual entrepreneur is determined, which are subject to an advertising fee at the rates of 10% and 20%.
Companies calculate the advertising fee based on their branches and representative offices.
The advertising fee is paid no later than the 22nd of the month following the reporting quarter. When this date falls on a non-business day, the payment deadline ends on the next business day following it.
How we can be useful in determining the need to pay an advertising fee and calculating it
Our lawyers and accountants are experienced specialists in the field of taxation. We can:
- Advise you on the issues of determining the need to pay an advertising fee;
- Analyze your contracts and primary accounting documents to determine the objects of taxation by advertising fee or their absence;
- Make a calculation of the advertising fee and file tax returns;
- Represent your interests in the tax authorities regarding the payment of the advertising fee.
Contact us
If you have any questions related to the advertising fee, we will be happy to help you! Our long-term experience in the field of taxation will help you in resolving any disputes.
Phone and e-mail communication options are available for your convenience:
- +375293664477 (WhatsApp/Telegram/Viber);
- info@ambylegal.by.
