According to one of the logistics platforms, out of 120,167 carriers, only 19,249 have a qualified electronic signature — about 16%. The low coverage is explained not by the technical difficulty of obtaining a CAP, but by the unwillingness to disclose the status of drivers: the ETRN automatically transmits information about the driver to the Federal Tax Service, and if there are no insurance deductions for it, it becomes visible immediately.
The fine for a paper invoice during a traffic check is 500 rubles. Even five violations per month cost 2,500 rubles, an amount that carriers consider insignificant. However, the moratorium until March 1, 2027 protects only from this traffic fine. Tax and labor risks are already in effect.
The cargo owner who receives a paper invoice is deprived of the opportunity to confirm expenses for income tax or tax assessment. The tax burden on his business is growing, and he is switching to carriers operating with ETRN — without explanation. The loss of one such client means a loss of millions of turnover per year.
If the tax service determines that the driver works for only one carrier, according to his schedule and under his control, the relationship will be reclassified into an employment relationship. Consequences: additional personal income tax of 13% for all years, insurance premiums of 30% for all years, penalties and fines from 20 to 40% of the amount. For three years of work of one driver, additional charges can range from 500 thousand to one million rubles. For five people — several million.
From March 1, 2027, requirements No. 520-FZ will come into force: the car must be included in the register of carriers, and the driver must be officially registered. Transportation with a car outside the registry will become the basis for excluding the counterparty's expenses and blocking the carrier's current account. Blocking the account stops the payment of salaries, fuel payments, and lease payments.
If an unregistered driver gets into the ETRN and the prosecutor's office conducts an inspection, the carrier will appear in the register of illegal employers. This entails a ban on subsidies, government procurement and preferential loans, as well as unscheduled inspections for any reason.
Rebuilding takes time: registration of drivers, connection to the ETRN system, inclusion of cars in the registry. There is just over a year left until March 1, 2027, and it is this period that determines whether the carrier will retain its customer base by the time the fines begin to be applied in full.
Related materials:
- Inaccurate addresses in the ETRN threaten to deduct VAT and profit expenses — what will an error in the invoice result in during a tax audit
- Electronic invoices in logistics: fines will begin only from March 2027, when the period of warnings alone ends.
- GosLog and hidden subexpedition — why the cargo owner will be responsible for shadow intermediaries — who pays if the cargo went to the carrier outside the registry
