Documents to collect
- EGRIP extract showing the closure date;
- all personal and business creditors, addresses and amounts;
- tax returns, assessments and reconciliation records;
- personal and business bank statements;
- contracts, invoices, cash-register and acquiring records;
- asset and transaction documents;
- income, family, enforcement and litigation records.
Four-step preparation
Check registers and claims
Confirm the closure date, court cases, enforcement files and tax arrears.
Classify every debt
Separate loans, taxes, suppliers, employees, personal obligations and claims that may survive discharge.
Reconstruct evidence
Explain cash flows, stock, equipment, reasons for closing and major transactions.
Select the procedure
Court bankruptcy follows Federal Law No. 127-FZ. Eligibility for the MFC out-of-court route must be tested separately under Article 223.2.
Consequences after the case
Discharge depends on the final court act and statutory exceptions. General personal-bankruptcy consequences include disclosure when applying for new credit for five years and restrictions on corporate management. Re-registration as a sole proprietor must be checked against the actual judgment and Article 216 of Law No. 127-FZ; closure of the old registration alone does not answer that question.
FAQ
Can former business tax debts be discharged?
They are included in the case, but the result depends on the legal nature of each claim, debtor conduct and statutory exceptions.
Must the person reopen sole-proprietor status before filing?
No. Re-registration is not required to file as an individual.
What if business records were lost?
Reconstruct them through banks, the tax authority, cash-register operators, counterparties and electronic filings, and document the reason for loss.
Can working equipment be retained?
Article 446 of the Civil Procedure Code protects certain professional property within statutory limits, but the debtor must prove that the rule applies.
Official sources
- Supreme Court Plenum Resolution No. 45
- Federal Law No. 127-FZ
- Federal Tax Service EGRUL/EGRIP register
- Unified Federal Bankruptcy Register
Related guides: self-filed personal bankruptcy, sole proprietor status after bankruptcy and tax debts in personal bankruptcy.
Need a single map of personal and former business debts?
Initial consultationClosing a Sole Proprietor Registration Does Not End Business Debts
| Review | Determine | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Closure date | Before or after debt arose | Business register |
| Debt basis | Business or personal obligation | Agreement |
| Tax balance | Periods, penalties and unified account | Tax reconciliation |
| Employees | Wages and compensation | Employment records |
| Property | When and how used | Title and accounts |
Keep records after closure
Primary documents establish debts and transactions.
Check whether intention notice is required
This depends on status and filing circumstances.
Separate consequences
Voluntary closure and court termination are different events.
A Former Sole Proprietor Is Not a Separate Past Legal Person
All obligations continue to belong to the same citizen. The case reviews business transactions, accounts, cash, receivables and property even after the register entry ended. Tax arrears may follow general discharge rules, while current accruals, personal claims and bad faith need separate treatment. Do not apply the Article 216 five-year ban to every citizen case without checking status at judgment and the operative order. Use one chronology for every conclusion: proprietor status, debt creation, transaction, petition acceptance, bankruptcy judgment and completion. Business-register, insolvency-register, tax, bank and court records must relate to the specific event. A search result saying “bankrupt” does not show whether the court applied Article 216 consequences, so read the full operative order. Before filing, retain primary records, accounting exports and counterparty correspondence. Reconstructing data is harder after account restrictions or loss of access. Do not promise off-priority payment or backdate documents that did not exist; those steps weaken the evidence and may affect discharge.