The sign protrudes into modern world business card of any company dealing retail trade or operating in the service sector. It informs the consumer in advance about the services that the company provides to potential clients. Let's take a closer look at the difference between a sign and an advertisement and whether a sign is an advertising structure under the law.
You can download Federal Law No. 38 “On Advertising” in the latest edition with all changes and amendments at. The Law “On Advertising” regulates all types of advertising - in television broadcasts, radio programs, in print media, in transport, as well as outdoor. Exactly to the latter type and include advertising signs. More details about outdoor advertising are described in Article 19 of the Federal Law No. 38. According to this provision, this includes various billboards, stands, electronic displays and advertising on the facade of the building. In the latter case, when it comes to installing an advertisement on a building or land plots, it is worth remembering that the installation of an advertising structure should be coordinated with the property owner.
The legislation distinguishes between the concepts of outdoor advertising and signs, therefore different legal acts apply to them. Let's look at the difference between these two concepts in more detail below.
From the point of view of the law, advertising is information that is aimed at attracting greater consumer interest in a product or service for its better promotion in the market. The object of advertising can be a product, a service, as well as the announcement of various events - concerts, film premieres, sporting competitions. Dissemination of information about any product/service is carried out through the installation of billboards, stands, displays, etc. on buildings and vehicles. By law, the installation and use of the above advertising structures requires special permission. For violating this rule, a fine may be imposed on an unscrupulous citizen.
Important to know!Provisionslaw“On Advertising” does not apply to information disseminated to consumers that is required to be disclosed under the Law on Advertising, as well as signs and signs of a non-advertising nature.
This is the main difference between information design and advertising. She does not advertise, but informs. The Law “ZPP” in Article 9 states that the product manufacturer is obliged to inform consumer citizens about the name of the organization, its address and work schedule. Information about the activity being carried out is also required if it is subject to licensing or accreditation. This information is posted on the information board and is not advertising, and therefore does not require permission to install it. It doesn't matter how it's done. It is worth paying more attention to its location. If the sign is on outside infrastructure, and the entrance to the organization is from another, then this can be legally recognized as advertising.
The procedure for installing signs in stores
On March 13, 2006, the Law “On Advertising” came into force. It regulates, as mentioned above, the rules and requirements for different types advertising, their methods of distribution, and also establishes a ban or reduces the dissemination of information about any product. The current latest edition dates back to April 1, 2017, and there is also an edition, the provisions will come into force on September 1 of the same year.
The procedure for installing a sign above a store requires its registration if it contains the following information:
- Name;
- address;
- work schedule;
- type of activity.
A sign at the entrance to a store, fair or other temporary retail location is not subject to registration. The law requires compliance with certain conditions for registration:
- If an information board is placed on a house, then it is placed above the store and does not exceed the boundaries of the premises. It should not go beyond the floor line. Otherwise, the consent of other floor owners is required;
- If a sign is placed on the roof, then the consent of all owners of the building is required. Registration is carried out using written consent with a duplicate of the certificate of ownership;
- if it is placed on part of an extension or building, then the written consent of its owner should be obtained.
It is prohibited to post information on cultural heritage sites. By law, a permit is issued for 5 years.
Permissible dimensions of a sign on the facade of a building according to the law
The sign on the facade of the building, in accordance with the Law “On Advertising” of the Russian Federation, is located above the entrance or shop windows. If there are several on the wall, then they must be on the same axis. If the company is located in the basement, the sign should be located 60 cm from the ground, and its thickness should not be more than 10 cm.
The maximum height of the information board according to the law is 50 cm, the width is 70% of the facade, but not more than 15 m. And the height of the letters is 10 cm. The size of the inscription is not less than 15 cm.
The law stipulates that the language of inscriptions on signs is Russian. It is possible to use graphic images. The inscription made on foreign language, is allowed if:
- the trademark is registered in a foreign language;
- the right to use this trademark has been obtained;
- the name in a foreign language must be 2 times smaller than the inscription with information about the type of activity;
- abbreviations and abbreviations must not be used;
- the inscription in a foreign language should not be made in Russian transliteration.
By law, the sign must be illuminated at night.
Fines for signs
Compliance with the Law “On Advertising” is monitored by the FAS and local governments. If violations are detected, they have the right to send an order to the owner of the sign to dismantle it. This procedure is carried out within a month. You can appeal the decision of higher authorities through the court within 3 months.
According to the law, placing a sign that contains advertising information without the consent of the relevant authorities or violating the rules for its use leads to imposition of a fine under Art. 14.37 Code of Administrative Offenses:
- for individuals - 1,000 - 1,500 rubles;
- for individual entrepreneurs and organization managers - 3,000 - 5,000 rubles;
- for legal entities - 500,000 - 1,000,000 rubles.
The above fines are significant and can harm the financial budget of the organization. For clarification on identifying hidden advertising in a sign, you should contact your local administration.
A person or company can draw the public’s attention to themselves, their product or service by placing an advertisement or advertisement. In what cases is the first tool used, and in what cases is the second?
What is advertising?
Term "advertising"- exceptionally capacious. But most often it means placement in a newspaper or on an Internet site that has enough large number readers, some message or picture of a selling nature.
The goals of advertising vary. Thus, you can publish relevant messages or pictures to improve the recognition of a company or a specific individual - in society as a whole or in a separate group of consumers. Advertising is also often used to increase sales of a particular product - for example, a new variety washing powder. At the same time, depending on the first or second scenario, different channels for distributing selling messages are selected.
Advertising, as a rule, is placed on a specialized platform - as we noted above, it can be a newspaper or an Internet site. But it is also possible to use pillars, walls of houses, and means of transport for these purposes. Recently, contextual advertising on the Internet has become increasingly popular. It is a network platform and is not tied to any specific media resource.
Advertising is, in most cases, a professional activity carried out both on the part of the advertiser (who, turning to experienced specialists, develops a personal plan for promoting a brand or individual products) and on behalf of the owner of the platform used to place selling messages (which ensures a sufficient audience size for advertising distribution).
What are advertisements used for?
Announcement- this is a relatively short message about the sale of a product (or, conversely, about the intention to buy it), about a search or a job offer, which is submitted to a newspaper or website by a person (which is more common) or a company (which is less common). There can be many purposes for publishing relevant messages.
It is no longer entirely correct to consider advertisements for a search or job offer, as well as for the purchase of a product, advertising - except in a figurative sense. They are usually placed with the purpose of attracting people's attention to relevant offers.
Advertisements, like advertising, come in different formats. It is quite possible to place them not only in newspapers and on websites, but also by posting them on the same objects that are used in advertising - poles, walls of houses, in the subway. Thus, advertisements do not necessarily have to be located on a specialized platform.
Writing and posting advertisements is usually not a professional activity. However, the owners of newspapers and websites on which relevant messages are published may well be engaged in promoting and maintaining the ratings of their sites on an ongoing basis.
Comparison
The main difference between an advertisement and an advertisement is for placement purposes. Advertising is a sales tool. If an advertisement is published for a similar purpose, then it becomes a type of advertising. But, as a rule, it is still a tool for attracting attention to other offers - for work or for purchasing goods.
Another difference between the terms in question is format. Advertising typically uses graphic elements. Advertisements are typically text only.
Advertising is, in most cases, a professional activity that involves seeking the services of professionals in the field of creating multimedia content, product promotion, and marketing. Writing advertisements is usually an improvisation. Although, I must say, many people know how to come up with them in such a way that any marketer would envy.
Table
| Advertising | Announcement |
| What do they have in common? | |
| A “selling” ad is a simplified type of advertising | |
| Can be placed on specialized sites, in newspapers, on the walls of houses and other objects | |
| What is the difference between them? | |
| Placed, as a rule, with the aim of increasing the advertiser’s recognition or increasing the intensity of sales of its products | Placed, as a rule, with the purpose of attracting attention to non-selling offers from a person or company |
| Created and placed within professional activities marketers, promotion, content specialists | Placed, as a rule, outside professional activities, during improvisation |
| Presented with graphics, video (online), texts | Represented mainly by texts |
"Practical Accounting", 2010, N 7
Many organizations tell us about themselves directly from the facades of buildings: " Plastic windows", "Economy hairdresser", "For expectant mothers"... How will this inscription be recognized - a sign or an advertisement?
It is important for an organization to clearly understand where the line is between a sign and outdoor advertising. This determines how to correctly take into account the costs incurred for their production.
What is a sign?
A sign is information about a company, including name, location address, type of activity and other information. The main task of the sign is to inform an unlimited circle of people that this organization is located in this particular place and not in any other place.
For every organization, a sign is its calling card and an integral part of its image. In addition, Art. 9 of the Law of the Russian Federation of February 7, 1992 N 2300-1 “On the Protection of Consumer Rights” states that information about the organization’s profile, its brand name and registered trademark (sign) must be communicated by the seller (performer, manufacturer) to the consumer ( buyer). This means that the presence of a sign is mandatory for an organization, and its absence may entail administrative liability: in accordance with paragraph 1 of Art. 14.8 of the Code of Administrative Offences, violation of the consumer’s right to receive necessary and reliable information about the product (work, service) being sold, about the manufacturer, about the seller, about the performer and about the mode of their work entails the imposition of an administrative fine on officials in the amount of 500 to 1000 rubles, for legal entities- from 5,000 to 10,000 rubles.
However, very often inspection authorities equate signs with advertising, and local authorities in some cases require sign owners to prepare the documents necessary for placing outdoor advertising, for example, a passport for an advertising space.
Based on this, all signs can be divided into two groups: informational and advertising. Information signs contain only mandatory information, which acts as a means of individualizing the organization (name, location address, type of activity). If a sign contains other information in addition to the mandatory information, it may be considered advertising.
What information should be indicated on the sign so that it is informational and not advertising in nature?
The placement of advertising and advertising structures (signs) is regulated Federal law dated March 13, 2006 No. 38-FZ “On Advertising” (hereinafter referred to as Law No. 38-FZ). This Law does not apply to signs and indicators that do not contain information of an advertising nature (clause 5, clause 2, article 2 of Law No. 38-FZ).
Thus, in order for local governments not to recognize your organization’s sign as advertising, it must contain only information that reveals the organization’s profile and its name. In this case, the name of the organization must be indicated in accordance with the provisions of Art. 54 Civil Code. Namely, according to paragraph 1 of this article, all legal entities must have such an individualizing feature as a company name, which must indicate the organizational and legal form.
The corporate name of an organization consists of two parts:
- indication of the organizational and legal form;
- in fact, the very name of the legal entity (clause 2 of Article 1473 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).
The name of a legal entity cannot consist only of words indicating the type of activity (for example, LLC "Plastic Windows"). The name of the legal entity must be reflected in the constituent documents (clause 3 of Article 54 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).
In addition to the company name, the mandatory information placed on the sign includes the location (address) and operating hours of the organization selling goods or performing work (providing services) to consumers (Clause 1 of Article 9 of Law of the Russian Federation N 2300-1).
According to paragraph 2 of Art. 54 of the Civil Code, the location of a legal entity is determined by the place of its state registration, which is carried out at the location of its permanent executive body, and in the absence of one, another body or person authorized to act on behalf of the legal entity without a power of attorney. The location of a legal entity must be indicated in its constituent documents.
In addition, duly registered trademarks, service marks and various decorative elements.
A sign designed in this way will not be recognized as advertising, although it can be placed on any outdoor advertising media (billboards, ground-based and wall panels, panel brackets, awnings, etc.).
Advertising designs
Often, organizations on their signs, in addition to the company name, indicate the area of activity of the organization (for example, the inscription “Plastic windows”, “The best wines of the world”, etc.). Inscriptions of this kind will be recognized not only as components of a sign, but also as advertising of goods produced or sold by the organization. Such a sign may be classified as outdoor advertising by government agencies, local governments and arbitration courts.
In accordance with paragraph 1 of Art. 3 of Law N 38-FZ advertising is information disseminated in any way, in any form and using any means, addressed to an indefinite number of persons and aimed at attracting attention to the object of advertising, creating or maintaining interest in it and promoting it on the market. The object of advertising is a product, means of individualization of a legal entity and (or) a product, a manufacturer or seller of a product, results of intellectual activity or an event to which advertising is aimed at attracting attention (Clause 2 of Article 3 of Law No. 38-FZ).
For example, the name of a store placed on special structures on the facade of buildings cannot be a brand name, since it does not contain information about a legal entity, but, on the contrary, carries information that meets the criteria of advertising, that is, with the goal of attracting the attention of an indefinite circle of people to goods sold in a given place or services provided (Resolution of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the West Siberian District dated June 5, 2007 N F04-2891/2007 (34079-A46-17) in case N A46-9647/2006).
The arbitrators of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the North-Western District in the Resolution of April 23, 2007 in case No. A56-20150/2006 came to the conclusion that the operation of the “Bread” sign above the entrance to the store, placed by JSC “Khleb”, engaged in the sale of food products (bakery products , baked goods and confectionery products), is also considered outdoor advertising and is not a store sign.
Thus, when installing and applying various inscriptions on the facades and windows of the office, the organization must clearly understand that the inspection authorities may consider the entry on the sign to be outdoor advertising.
How to hang an advertising sign
At the same time, hanging an advertising sign on the facade of a building is not so easy, and sometimes it is even impossible. To do this, the organization must, in accordance with Part 9 of Art. 19 of Law N 38-FZ obtain permission from local governments to install an advertising structure, and also pay a state fee for its issuance in the amount of 1,500 rubles. (Article 333.33 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).
To install an advertising structure, you must obtain permission from the local government municipal district or the urban district on the territory of which the specified structure is supposed to be installed. If such permission is not available, then such a sign is subject to dismantling on the basis of an order from an authority (Clause 10, Article 19 of Law No. 38-FZ).
The applicant organization has the right to independently obtain approval from the authorized bodies for the installation of an advertising structure and submit it to the local government body (Clause 13, Article 19 of Law No. 38-FZ).
- non-compliance of the design of the advertising structure and its territorial placement with the requirements of technical regulations;
- non-compliance of the installation of the advertising structure in the stated location with the diagram territorial planning or master plan;
- violation of the external architectural appearance of the existing development of a settlement or urban district (clause 15 of article 19 of Law No. 38-FZ).
In case of violation of advertising legislation (for example, regarding obtaining permission to install a sign), the organization will be held administratively liable under Art. 14.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences. A fine may be imposed on citizens from 2,000 to 2,500 rubles, on officials - from 4,000 to 20,000 rubles, on legal entities - from 40,000 to 500,000 rubles.
How to take into account an information sign
A taxpayer can take into account an information sign as part of fixed assets in accounting if it meets the criteria established by clause 4 of PBU 6/01 (approved by Order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated March 30, 2001 N 26n “On approval of the Accounting Regulations “Accounting” fixed assets "PBU 6/01").
Namely:
- the cost of the sign must exceed 20,000 rubles;
- the sign must be intended for use in production activities;
- it must be used for a long time (over 12 months);
- must bring economic benefits (income) in the future;
- must not be intended for subsequent resale.
If the sign meets all these criteria for a fixed asset, then it is accepted for accounting at its original cost, which includes the amount of costs for acquisition, production, delivery and installation (clauses 7, 8 of PBU 6/01).
To reflect the costs of making a sign in accounting, the accountant must make the following entry:
Debit 08 “Investment in non-current assets”, sub-account “Purchase of fixed assets”, Credit 60 “Settlements with suppliers and contractors”.
When including a sign in fixed assets, the accountant must make the following entry:
Debit 01 "Fixed assets" Credit 08.
If the sign does not meet at least one of the criteria for a fixed asset, then in accounting it will be reflected as part of the inventory.
For purposes tax accounting a fixed asset is understood as a part of property used as a means of labor for the production and sale of goods (performing work, providing services) or for managing an organization, with an initial cost of more than 20,000 rubles. (Clause 1 of Article 257 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). A sign costing less than RUB 20,000. will be written off as material expenses in full at the time of its transfer into operation (clause 3, clause 1, article 254 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).
Regarding the deadline beneficial use fixed asset, then the taxpayer has the right to determine it independently in both accounting and tax accounting. When determining the useful life, you must proceed from the expected life of the sign, its expected physical wear and tear, and do not forget to take into account the Classification of fixed assets approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of January 1, 2002 N 1 (clause 20 PBU 6/01; clause 1 of Art. 258 Tax Code of the Russian Federation).
How to take into account an advertising sign
As for tax accounting, there is no clear answer.
In accordance with paragraphs. 28 clause 1 art. 264 of the Tax Code, expenses for advertising manufactured (purchased) and (or) sold goods (works, services), taxpayer activities, trademarks and service marks, including participation in exhibitions and fairs, are considered other expenses associated with production and sales. Expenses for illuminated and other outdoor advertising, including the production of advertising stands and billboards, by virtue of clause 4 of Art. 264 of the Code relate to the organization’s advertising expenses in full (without the limitation of 1 percent of sales revenue).
Despite the above direct provision of the Tax Code, financiers recommend doing the following. In their opinion, if an advertising sign is recognized as depreciable property, then advertising costs should be written off by accruing depreciation charges. If the sign is recognized as non-depreciable, then advertising costs should be taken into account as part of other costs associated with production and sales, in accordance with clause 4 of Art. 264 of the Tax Code (Letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated November 13, 2007 N 03-03-06/2/213).
The judges do not support this point of view. Costs for a sign can be classified as advertising and taken into account at a time, regardless of the status of the sign (depreciable property or not) (Resolutions of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Volga District of July 1, 2008 in case No. A57-10917/07, FAS of the Northwestern District of March 12 2008 in case No. A21-3735/2006).
As for the VAT deduction, practice shows: inspectors consider it possible to accept “input” VAT for deduction only after the cost of fixed assets has been transferred from account 08 to account 01.
However, according to the arbitrators, the right to deduction is not related to the moment the object is registered in accounting for any specific account. That is, registration on account 08 cannot be a basis for refusal to apply a VAT deduction (Resolution of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the West Siberian District dated December 8, 2008 N F04-6727/2008(15331-A67-42), Determination of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation dated March 3, 2009 N VAS-1795/09).
E. Zudenkova
Expert Editor
It happens that after fulfilling the provisions of one law - installing a sign with the information the consumer needs - officials catch the company in “violation” of another. They claim that the new sign is nothing more than “illegally installed outdoor advertising.”
Guilty without guilt
Agree that if the trademark is a pyramid, it is stupid to claim that everyone who comes from Egypt wears its advertisement on their bags and T-shirts. And it’s even more ridiculous, say, to demand that a company pay for it. Equally strange would be attempts to call information about the consumer properties of a product, its range and rules advertising. safe use(that is, those data that, by law, must be displayed in a prominent place for the benefit of consumers). Inspectors may also mistake a sign with information about the company’s operating hours for advertising.
Some particularly suspicious citizens still believe that any information that in one way or another points to a specific enterprise and the products it produces is a desire of businessmen to advertise themselves. However, this point This view is not always shared by judges, and not all officials.
Once, a statement was submitted to the Office of the Federal Antimonopoly Service for St. Petersburg that one company was violating advertising legislation. This was expressed in the fact that its Internet sites and leaflets contained false advertising information about the possibility of making a profit by investing in shares of large foreign companies. The citizen who raised the alarm explained his indignation not only due to the information discovered, but also by the fact that some time ago he tried to “invest” in this way. However, contrary to promises, the company directed investors’ money not for the strategic purposes of creating funds, but for acquiring securities Russian companies, including those affiliated with this enterprise itself. Therefore, one day, a deceived investor decided that the company was using illegal advertising to attract investors, and asked to check the activities of this company, inform him about the results of the audit, and also, if necessary, oblige the organization to eliminate the detected violations.
Check for accuracy
Over the course of two months, antimonopoly service specialists analyzed the controversial pages of Internet sites. But they did not find any violations of advertising laws. The vigilant citizen was explained that the information that worried him, posted on the official websites of companies, does not fall under the scope of the Advertising Law - it is just general information, and the site itself is an independent information resource and information about the funds of the enterprise posted on the specified resource is also of an informational nature.
However, the citizen decided that the officials simply ignored his statement, and filed a complaint with the court about the inaction of the Department. In it, he asked to recognize the answer about the absence of violations as illegal and to force officials from the Department to more conscientiously consider the “signal” received from him. After all, the materials posted on the site contain false advertising information that misleads consumers.
For a limited circle of people
The judges did not support these demands (decision of the Kuibyshevsky District Court of St. Petersburg dated October 25, 2010), but this did not stop the persistent citizen and he filed a cassation appeal. But a fiasco awaited him in cassation too. The servants of Themis explained that one of the fundamental features of advertising information is its address to an indefinite circle of people, that is, the public nature of such information (Article 3 of the Law of March 13, 2006 No. 38-FZ “On Advertising”, hereinafter referred to as the Law on Advertising ). In this case, in order for any consumer to receive information posted on the pages specified by the applicant of the sites, he must know the email address of the site (which was not known to everyone, i.e. is not public) and using a set of information known to him in advance signs to get to the site pages. In addition, the controversial information resource was created with the aim of providing complete, prompt and free information to private investors operating in the stock market. And the Advertising Law provides for the arbitrary receipt of advertising information by the consumer. Again, their public nature.
Further, the judges pointed to the official clarifications of the Federal Antimonopoly Service itself, according to which advertising does not include information about manufactured or sold goods posted on the seller’s official website if the specified information is intended to inform site visitors about the range of goods. And the information in question, as already mentioned, was intended specifically for a narrow circle of specialists and investors working in the stock market. Consequently, the information that outraged the applicant is not advertising, and there is nothing to reproach the employees of the Department, who carefully studied the question received by them and gave a detailed written answer to it (even if it did not satisfy the applicant), for what (cassation ruling of the city court of St. Petersburg dated 22 March 2011 No. 33-3952).