Before a businessman starts work, the first thing he does is obtain an individual entrepreneur license, upon receipt of which he is assigned special codes used for statistics and tax accounting. The condition for systematization is OKPO, due to which entrepreneurs are regulated by branches of activity.
What is OKPO for individual entrepreneurs? OKPO is the All-Russian Classifier of Enterprises and Organizations, existing since 1993. Regardless of the type of work, any individual entrepreneur receives his own code. Thanks to it, it is possible to maintain general records of all enterprises located on the territory of the Russian Federation.
This code is the main feature in all Rosstat information systems. And also, with its help, it has become easier to transfer data between various institutions and to inspection authorities. It’s clear that transmitting a secret combination of numbers is much more convenient and faster than writing everything down on paper.
There should always be an appropriate order in the accounting of active enterprises. Only with the help of OKPO is it possible to find all the data about any entrepreneur. If you make a request to the Federal Tax Service or Rosstat, it will be clear whether you should begin cooperation with this counterparty. When the IP classifier specified in its documentation is not found or does not coincide with the type of activity, then it is worth thinking about the profitability of the merchant and his company.
This number allows you to determine the branch in which the registered merchant is registered. Many individual entrepreneurs believe that OKPO is just statistical components. But in fact, without these numbers, subjects do not have the right to work legally.
An individual entrepreneur cannot change the code number, since it is issued once and is valid throughout the businessman’s entire work. Changing OKPO is possible only if the individual entrepreneur decides to change the type of activity.
To do this, the merchant will need to come in person to the statistical authorities with a written request indicating a request for re-identification. In this case, the merchant receives a new OKPO code. If only the organizational and legal form has changed, then the statistical number remains unchanged.
The OKPO code for individual entrepreneurs is indicated on all registration documents. The encoding is quite popular in the field of statistics.
The code is needed for:
- implementation of general data for government information structures;
- exchange of information between departments;
- for registration of entrepreneurs (individuals or legal entities) on the territory of Russia;
- processing statistical information automatically;
- classification of information for the main forecasts in the economic sector.
Some entrepreneurs confuse the classifier number with tax identifiers. But in fact, OKPO does not provide information about taxation. It is only a statistical registration code.
If the encoding does not coincide with the nature of the businessman’s activities, this will lead to penalties.
Is OKPO always needed for individual entrepreneurs?
According to the PCT certificate, a businessman is not required to know the OKPO personal code. After all, it is possible that it will only be useful if the subject’s activities appear in the statistical extract. In this case, knowledge of these numbers will be useful. In most cases, it is for this reason that the question arises: “Does the individual entrepreneur have an OKPO code?” Of course, it exists, but basically its knowledge is not applied anywhere.
If an individual entrepreneur is going to open a current account, he will need to provide statistical codes. In many banks, employees can independently view the OKPO of any entrepreneur. But usually they entrust these actions to businessmen. And also, employees of a financial institution are asked to provide confirmation of public service in writing.
If the type of activity of a businessman does not require opening a current account, then the question of where to get OKPO may not arise.
Only Rosstat is authorized to require individual entrepreneurs to provide OKPO. From other organizations, this request will be unlawful.
Deciphering the OKPO code, it turns out that it consists of three components:
- First block. The full name of the institution or the initials of the merchant is written here.
- The second block is the OKPO code itself, consisting of 8 digits for organizations and 10 for individual entrepreneurs. The first 4 digits determine the type of activity of the businessman. Only thanks to this, it is possible to understand what a particular company is. And the remaining numbers are the personal number of the subject or legal entity.
- Third block. Classifier codes are listed here. They are independent, therefore they have the right to be used separately from OKPO.
When an individual entrepreneur fills out all kinds of reports, only OKPO is indicated in them. The remaining statistical codes are not indicated, since they are documents within Rosstat and are registered only in the merchant’s details.
There are situations when an enterprise needs to clarify the statistical code or install it if data has been lost. Some entrepreneurs do not know how to find out their OKPO for individual entrepreneurs and from which documents to take it.
In fact, in some cases, the necessary information can be found without leaving your personal account.
To do this, you need to use the classifier of enterprises and organizations and request data about the desired entrepreneur or institution.
There are several options for finding out your OKPO from an individual entrepreneur:
- In the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation (Rosstat). It is necessary to write a letter with personal information (registration number, TIN, passport details) and apply with it to the local residence of this institution. This service is paid. The answer to such a request will be known after 5 days.
- In the Federal Tax Service (FTS). Having written an application, the subject will be given an extract from the Unified State Register of Individual Entrepreneurs (USRIP), which can be used to find the required number.
- According to documents available in the office. In registration documentation (signature details, certificates, stamps) or in balance sheets.
You can also find out OKPO using the Internet; there are even several options:
- Go to the website of the Federal Tax Service or Rosstat and make a request online (for this you will need to have a TIN).
- On the website "USRLE.com". To find the numbers you are interested in, you first need to deposit a certain amount through a branch of a Russian bank.
- Using the resource “www.skrin.ru”. After the businessman's last name is entered, access to a reference card will appear where you can check the code.
- If you are ready to pay for the service, you can go to the website “www.okpo.ru” and find the necessary information.
As soon as the individual entrepreneur has been registered, Rosstat assigns a personal classifier code for enterprises and organizations. This operation is carried out automatically and completely free of charge, so many do not know whether an individual entrepreneur has OKPO or not until they receive an official letter with these numbers.
If the letter received during individual entrepreneur identification is not lost, then the OKPO code can also be found in it.
How to find out OKPO of another individual entrepreneur
In order to find out the statistical number of another businessman, you just need to look at any documents related to payments. For example, make a request for an invoice for a service or product or request the details of an individual entrepreneur. OKPO is in the general data.
If this option is not suitable, then you can use the services of the public service.
For this request, the merchant's data is required:
- initials of the entrepreneur;
- address of the Federal Tax Service where the individual entrepreneur was registered;
- type of economic activity.
The more information is provided, the faster the request will be processed.
If an individual entrepreneur has ceased his entrepreneurial activities, then the same classifier number after 5 years can be assigned to another businessman. Therefore, it will not be possible to find identical codes at the same time.
In order to conduct legal activities, an individual entrepreneur necessarily needs OKPO. If you lose your number or update it, you can always restore it. The main thing here is to know which service to contact and what needs to be provided for this.