Production cooperative: what it is, on what basis it operates, types. Opportunities for doing business through a production cooperative Production cooperative advantages and disadvantages table

People tend to unite based on interests, to solve common problems and satisfy any specific needs. In a team, all issues are resolved more easily. This is why there is such a thing as a consumer cooperative. This legal form can't be found as often as commercial organizations, however, it exists and is actively used in some areas of society. This article examines the interpretation of the concept of “consumer cooperative”, the forms and types of such communities, the content of the charter and other useful information on the topic.

Decoding the concept

The activities of consumer cooperatives are aimed at meeting the specific needs of citizens or legal entities that are members of them. Basically, the goals are material in nature. Any person who has reached the age of sixteen, as well as various legal entities, can join the cooperative. The minimum number of participants is five individuals or three legal entities.

A consumer cooperative is a phenomenon regulated by the state at the legislative level. The main provisions are reflected in the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. More detailed explanations and subtleties of regulation are reflected in the Federal Law "On consumer cooperation in the Russian Federation" No. 3085-1 dated June 19, 1992. Federal law contains information about the creation of cooperatives, their structure, features of participation, property issues, as well as questions about the reorganization, liquidation and merger of existing societies.

What do cooperatives do?

A consumer cooperative is a community of people founded to achieve certain economic goals. Decisions are made by voting. Each member of the cooperative has a vote, which he has the right to cast for a certain option further development events. That is, one fee payer - one vote. At the same time, the direction of the society’s activity can be any: there are construction, housing, garage, country, agricultural and other cooperatives. The people who belong to these organizations are united by one goal.

The state provides for the regulation of certain types of cooperatives by separate legislative acts. These include agricultural, credit and housing cooperatives. They are regulated, respectively, by the Housing Code and the Laws “On Agricultural Cooperation” and “On Credit Cooperation”.

Forms of consumer cooperatives

Depending on the problem for which a consumer community is created, cooperatives are divided into several forms. Below is a list with an explanation.

• Construction and consumer cooperative. Created for the purpose of owning and using real estate (various buildings).
• Housing and construction cooperative. Members of this community organized their own cooperative with the goal of constructing a residential building in which they would subsequently live.
• Garage cooperative. Includes owners of garages built on a separate territory.
• Dacha cooperative. A group of people who own plots of land used as a summer house or garden in a certain area.
• Housing savings cooperative. Citizens who jointly want to purchase or build housing join such societies.
• A consumer society or a consumer cooperative of citizens is cooperation between citizens and legal entities. This form became especially widespread in the USSR.
• Agricultural cooperative. It includes rural business enterprises, as well as individual farmers running their own farms.
• Service cooperatives. They can conduct quite extensive and varied activities - insurance, transport services, resorts, medical care, renovation work, consultations in various fields.
• Credit consumer cooperative. Built to solve financial issues participants. The cooperative attracts personal savings at an interest rate, issues loans, and provides mutual financial assistance.

The meaning of opening cooperatives

A non-profit consumer cooperative was previously a very common organizational and legal form. Cooperatives opened everywhere geographically and in all economic spheres. Their numbers gradually decreased after perestroika in 1991. The property of cooperatives was privatized by more enterprising people, and citizens forgot how to build relationships based on trust. However, the practice of cooperatives has proven its effectiveness. People create such communities for completely different purposes: to purchase goods at more low prices, evenly distribute the costs of farm maintenance and repair services, jointly accumulate capital and build housing. The advantages of cooperatives are obvious: due to large quantity participants can be carried out wholesale purchases at prices much lower than market prices, it is possible to accumulate funds and rationally distribute them in matters of maintaining plots and other property. At the same time, the board in cooperatives is carried out by voting, which allows all members of society to speak out, rather than transferring all power into one hand. Some types of activities without cooperatives are still unimaginable today - garages, gardens, dachas, rural communities.

Pros and cons of opening a cooperative

Any organizational and legal form carries certain advantages and disadvantages. The situation is the same with cooperatives. Organizing a consumer cooperative provides participants with the following benefits:

• Equality and resolving issues through voting. It doesn’t matter what contribution the participant made, the amount may differ significantly, but the “weight” of the vote will be the same for everyone. Important issues can only be resolved jointly; some decisions can only be made by unanimous vote.
• In cooperatives, all participants work. There may be no more than a quarter of the total number of people unemployed. At the same time employees- minimum.
• The frequency of income distribution is also established in the cooperative through voting. At the same time, you can divide your earnings even daily. But the amount of dividends issued should not exceed half of net income.
• The work takes place in a team of “our own”. Issues regarding the admission of a new member are also decided by vote. If someone is against expanding the number of participants, a newcomer cannot be accepted.
• The number of participants is not limited. There can be an infinite number of them. But there is a minimum threshold - 5 people.
• The organization of a consumer cooperative is also good in terms of taxation. If the number of participants is less than 100, and the income is less than 80 thousand rubles, the cooperative has the right to apply the simplified tax system.
• The minimum age limit for participants is 16 years.

Of course, there are also a lot of disadvantages. If you look at all of the above positive aspects from a different angle, we see the following picture:

• It is impossible to decide on your own in which direction to continue development, where to spend profits and whether to accept a new participant.
• You can leave the cooperative by taking your share and income due for the period. In this case, property that cannot be divided remains free of charge with the cooperative. You can sell your share either to other participants or to a third party, if it was allowed at the vote.
• Hiring employees in a co-op is quite difficult and is not always allowed.
• Cooperative members are liable for debts with all their property, and not just the share contributed to the organization.

The process of opening a cooperative

Organizing a consumer cooperative is not as difficult a task at the initial stage as it might seem. The process of creating a society begins with finding partners. There must be at least five of them. But these can be employed and unemployed, free and remote employees, pensioners and schoolchildren over 16 years of age. Can act as a sponsor legal organization. She, of course, will not work at the same level with everyone, but she can provide funds for the first time. As a reward, she is allocated a share, and therefore a part of future income.

Complete anarchy is impossible in any society, therefore the cooperative needs a person who will represent its interests. This person is called the chairman. He carries out all legally significant actions on behalf of the cooperative: registration, liquidation, reorganization, representation in courts and the tax inspectorate. If there are more than ten people, the creation of a board will be required. If the number of participants is fifty or more, there is a supervisory board.

Next, the charter of the consumer cooperative and the minutes of the meeting on creation are written. After this, the participants make a sum of share contributions in the amount of at least 10 percent of the contribution of each of them. A temporary account is opened, cash are paid in cash or non-cash with the mark “share contribution”. Not only money is accepted, the fee can be paid with property. The participants evaluate it and draw up a free form act. After this procedure, you must pay a state fee. Its size is 4,000 rubles. After paying the fee, you can submit documents to tax office for registration legal entity. In a few days you will need to receive a completed certificate.

What is written in the charter

The charter is the most important document of any organization. It describes all the nuances of the work. Cooperatives are no exception. There are legally required clauses that must be included in the charter. For a company of this nature, the following data must be present in the constituent documents:

• full name of the legal entity;
• actual and legal address;
• purpose of creation and main direction of activity;
• rules adopted by the participants on the procedure for joining and leaving the cooperative;
• information about contributions, their amounts, payment procedure, sanctions for late payments;
• structure and composition of the management apparatus;
• list of rights and obligations of participants;
• information on how profits and losses are distributed among members of the company;
• description of the reorganization and liquidation procedure.

If the charter is drawn up with errors, the tax office will not accept it. You will have to make adjustments, then pay the state fee again, and only then apply for registration again. This is not only a waste of time, but also money. Therefore, people who do not understand the nuances of paperwork prefer to hire a lawyer. You can also get by on your own. There are quite a lot of templates on the Internet. The founders of the company will only need to carefully replace the data of the fictitious organization with their own.

Consumer cooperative: capital

The main source of funds for any cooperative is contributions from its members. The primary funds of a consumer cooperative are formed exclusively at the expense of the participants. In the future, capital can be increased in various ways, depending on the direction of the organization’s activities. For example, a trade and production cooperative can raise funds by selling goods and services. At the same time garage cooperative exists solely on contributions from participants.

The size of a mutual fund is not fixed and is not limited in size by law, unlike a limited liability company. Its size is determined by the general meeting before registration with the tax office. In the future, the general meeting may also make decisions to change the fixed assets.

Credit consumer cooperative

A credit cooperative is created by citizens or legal entities on a voluntary basis. The minimum number of members is 15 individuals or 5 legal entities. The purpose of creation is to satisfy the financial interests and needs of its members. There are two varieties:

• credit cooperative of individuals (there cannot be legal entities in such a cooperative);
• 2nd level credit cooperative (this form combines several credit cooperatives).

The credit cooperative is a non-profit organization designed to meet the needs of shareholders. To achieve these goals, it pools the funds contributed by the participants, then, if necessary, offers them as a loan to its shareholders. In addition to this, other activities can be carried out that should lead to the goal for which the society was created. The activities of such cooperatives are regulated by the Bank of Russia and the Law “On Credit Cooperation”.

Participation in a credit cooperative is often much more profitable option than loans and credits from banks. The company sets the most optimal loan conditions for its shareholders. The interest rate at which a loan is issued is almost always lower than the bank average, and the term may be more optimal for a cooperative member. Participation in such a cooperative is most relevant for people whose activities are constantly connected with borrowed funds.

SPK

An agricultural consumer cooperative is the most common type of community in our time. Naturally, the bulk of all these organizations are located in villages and rural areas. This is where it makes sense to engage in this activity. An agricultural consumer cooperative can be of any type:

• livestock;
• horticultural;
• gardening;
• supply;
• serving;
• trade;
• processing;
• SPK of a different type.

It can be opened with a minimum number of participants of 5 people or 2 organizations. At the same time, there is a condition on carrying out work for members of the SEC. Namely, at least 50% of all work must be performed for the participants.

The process of opening a company begins with developing a plan, submitting applications for participation from shareholders and holding a general meeting. Documents for registration of a cooperative are submitted after completion of these stages.

For individual farmers and rural residents who run their own farms, participation in the APC is beneficial. Cultivating huge areas of land without expensive equipment is difficult and time-consuming, but when you open an agricultural enterprise, you can purchase this equipment with a benefit for each participant. The same goes for equipment for poultry and livestock breeders. Special buildings, equipment for the care and medical care of animals, the purchase of feed - all this becomes much more profitable when opening a legal entity. Thus, the quality of products and their quantity increases, and the costs of each individual participant become lower.

A production cooperative (artel) is a voluntary association of citizens on the basis of membership for joint production or economic activity, based on their personal labor and other participation and the association of its members (participants) of property share contributions.

Art. 107 Civil Code of the Russian Federation

The production cooperatives existing in our country, in their essence and organizational and legal basis, are actually close to limited liability companies. Indeed, the property of cooperatives is formed on a shared basis, through contributions from its members made in monetary and material forms. The sources of property formation are also the products of the cooperative and income received from its sale and other types of activities. The highest governing body of the cooperative is general meeting.

Executive bodies represented by a board headed by a chairman. Management functions the general meeting and board of directors in cooperatives and societies are very similar, the mechanism for creating and registering cooperatives and societies, and the content of the charters regulating their activities are also close.

Producer cooperatives are created for joint production, processing, marketing of industrial, agricultural and other products, trade, and provision of services.

The words “production cooperative” or “artel” must be included in brand name cooperative.

Constituent document production cooperative is the charter approved by the general meeting of its members. The number of members of the cooperative should not be less than five people. Property owned by a production cooperative is divided into shares of its members. The profit of the cooperative is distributed among its members in accordance with their labor participation, unless a different procedure is provided by law and the charter of the cooperative. The property remaining after the liquidation of the cooperative and satisfaction of the claims of its creditors is also distributed.

Supreme body management of the cooperative - the general meeting of its members. A member of the cooperative has one vote when making decisions at the general meeting. He has the right to leave the cooperative at his own discretion. In this case, he must be paid the value of the share or given property corresponding to his share, as well as other payments provided for by the charter of this organization.

A production cooperative can be voluntarily reorganized into business partnership or the company by unanimous decision of its members or liquidated. A production cooperative differs from both partnerships and societies:

· based on the voluntary association of individuals - citizens who are not individual entrepreneurs, but participating in the activities of the cooperative through their labor. Accordingly, each member of the cooperative has one vote in the management of its affairs, regardless of the size of his property contribution;

· the profit received in the cooperative is distributed, first of all, taking into account labor participation, and not the property contribution (share). That is why a production cooperative is characterized in the Civil Code of the Russian Federation as an artel.

The Civil Code of the Russian Federation has supplemented the classical design of the cooperative-artel with important provisions:

ü members of the cooperative bear additional responsibility for its debts, although not with all their property, but in the amount predetermined by the charter (this to some extent brings it closer to society with additional responsibility). Usually this amount is a multiple of the share contribution or equity participation of a member of the cooperative, but cannot be lower than the minimum provided by law;

ü membership in a cooperative is possible for both legal entities and individuals who do not directly participate in its activities, but make certain property contributions (and, accordingly, receive a certain income from them).

The Civil Code of the Russian Federation provides mandatory minimum members of the cooperative - at least five, because, unlike societies, a cooperative cannot function as a “company of one”. In a cooperative, it is possible to create indivisible funds (or fund), the property of which can be divided among its participants only in the event of liquidation of the cooperative after the claims of all its creditors are satisfied. This property cannot be foreclosed on by creditors for personal debts of members of the cooperative.

Important feature cooperative is also the fact that, taking into account labor participation, not only profits are usually divided here, but also the liquidation quota.

Advantages of a production cooperative:

· the profit of the cooperative is distributed among its members not in proportion to shares, but in accordance with their labor contribution. The property remaining after the liquidation of the cooperative and satisfaction of the claims of its creditors is distributed in the same manner. This order distribution financially interests each member of the cooperative to treat their work more conscientiously;

· legislation does not limit the number of members of a cooperative, which represents great opportunities individuals to join it;

· equal rights of all members in managing the cooperative, since each of them has only one vote.

Disadvantages of a production cooperative:

ü due to the fact that the number of members in a cooperative should not be less than five, the possibilities of its creation are significantly limited;

ü each member of the cooperative bears limited subsidiary liability for the debts of the cooperative.

Artel as a form of organization

Special shape organizational activities is a production cooperative. An alternative name for this type of organization is artel. The etymology of this name determines that each of the members of such a company must directly participate in labor activities, investing not only money, but also their own strength. This limits the circle of participating persons, cutting off from the possibility of involving in the activities of the organization those who have not reached the age of sixteen and are not able to invest labor resources.

Where can this form of activity be applied?

A production cooperative allows you to conduct almost any activity related to the production of goods and their subsequent marketing. The only limitation is the need to register manufactured goods in accordance with all laws Russian Federation, and also not to create or sell those types of products that are prohibited by law for any reason. Separately, agricultural cooperatives can be distinguished. They are the same type of company, organized under the same legal documents, but their activities are regulated by additional federal law.

Basic provisions for artels

A production cooperative cannot issue and, accordingly, sell shares. Such activities are inaccessible to him and are prohibited by law. Any member of such a firm is required to contribute ten percent of authorized capital immediately at the time of establishment of the organization, the remaining amount must be paid within a year from the date of foundation. All property owned by the production cooperative is divided into shares between the partners. There may also be indivisible property. The creation of this type of capital is regulated by all members of the labor cooperative and is included in the Charter.

Founding document of the artel

The production cooperative operates on the basis of the Charter, which is created and signed by all participants. This document contains all important points, which include the amount of share contributions, the procedure for making them, the percentage of labor participation of each shareholder, the procedure for distributing income and the amount of liability for debts. In addition, the Charter includes all information about the existing management bodies within the organization, as well as the consequences that will occur in the event of a violation of order.

The best field of activity for an artel

A production cooperative, the pros and cons of which balance each other, is excellent for the activities of companies related to the agricultural sector. Fishing farms, agricultural cooperatives, and simply business cooperatives organized on this principle will be the most profitable and easy to manage. This is due to the fact that in all the areas listed above, serious labor participation, and only a person who understands the principles of operation of such structures is capable of organizing effective activities within them.

Basic principles.

A production cooperative is a voluntary association of citizens (membership) to carry out joint economic activities. The production cooperative operates on the basis of the Charter, which fully regulates its activities. As a rule, all members of this organization participate to one degree or another in its activities (personal labor, financing, provision of transport or material resources). A general meeting of shareholders is held periodically, in which all its members take part. Each participant in such an association has one vote when making decisions.

In addition, all members of the organization regularly contribute which form a mutual cooperative fund. If, for any reason, the property of a cooperative organization is not enough to compensate for its debts, its members must compensate for the missing portion of money at the expense of own funds. In a word, all participants of this association bear the debts, which is necessarily stated in its charter.

2. Production cooperative: pros and cons.

Like all economic enterprises, a production cooperative has its own. Compare a production cooperative and a bank that provides a loan for the purchase of housing. The most important advantage of a cooperative association is the principle of “one for all and all for one.” Unscrupulous shareholders do not stay in it for long, and for the remaining members of the organization a minimum package of documents will be sufficient.

As a rule, you will also need the main document of a citizen of the Russian Federation: a passport. When receiving a home loan, the bank will ask for a much larger package of documents. But: for a bank, 15-20% of the total cost of the purchased housing is enough; for a cooperative association, the percentage will be much higher - at least half the cost.

In addition, each shareholder contributes a certain amount when joining a cooperative organization, which is 2-5% of the estimated cost of housing, which will not be returned if the shareholder leaves it for any reason. The accumulation period for this down payment is 2 years, that is, it is not a fact that, having paid it, you will immediately celebrate your housewarming in a new apartment.

An undoubted advantage is the fact that every member of the cooperative association is well aware of real situation things and participates in decision making. A cooperative may have a certain number of shareholders who are not directly involved in the activities of the cooperative enterprise. Management, of course, is only democratic.

When concluding an agreement with a bank to purchase housing under a mortgage, you register ownership of the housing with minor restrictions, but when you join a cooperative, the housing will remain in its ownership until you pay full price apartments. But when leaving the cooperative, its full member can demand his share or property corresponding to him, since all cooperative property must be divided by decision and must have state registration).

It is very difficult, if not impossible, to transfer a business if necessary, since it will be necessary to remove old members and introduce new members. And each transition will require mandatory state registration.

Production cooperative as one of the forms non-profit organizations, has several undoubted advantages and several significant disadvantages. Each person must decide for himself individually the question of membership in such an organization.