home · Investments · What is a consumer cooperative and what types are there? A consumer cooperative as a full-fledged subject of economic relations A consumer cooperative is.

What is a consumer cooperative and what types are there? A consumer cooperative as a full-fledged subject of economic relations A consumer cooperative is.

The first cooperatives were charitable companies founded by wealthy industrialists and landowners in England. The purpose of these organizations was to solve social issues so that the meager life of workers would become easier and more comfortable. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, a very progressive solution and solid motivation for ordinary workers. Later, these economic entities began to expand; traditionally, citizens of one locality, located mainly in rural areas, made contributions and created a certain one.

The cooperative association accepted tools, cash and other shares to obtain certain material assets. What is such an association like these days and what are its main priorities? Is such a consumer cooperative a commercial or non-profit organization, what is its organizational and legal form? Let's find out all this today.

What is a consumer cooperative

Considering the fact that such non-profit organizations were quite widespread even during the construction of socialism in our country, their features are of great interest to citizens. Today, in the context of building a developing market, various forms of cooperative organizations operate in the legal field.

One of the most common consumer-type cooperative organizations is a voluntary association of individuals or legal entities. The basis is the membership format.

The purpose of creating a consumer cooperative is to satisfy one's own immediate needs for material assets, works, services and goods.

Initially, the property fund is formed on the basis of share contributions.

This video will tell you what a consumer cooperative is, using an example:

Regulatory regulation of activities

The provisions of the organization, the scope of activity and the closure of such formations are precisely regulated by law.

  • Civil Code of the Russian Federation Art. No. 116.
  • ZRF No. 3085/1 “On consumer cooperation...” dated June 19, 1992, as amended on June 11, 1997.
  • Federal Law No. 193 of 08.12.95 “On Agricultural Cooperation...” as amended on 07.03.97.

Strictly regulated areas of activity have been established for consumer cooperation.

  • Having the status of a non-profit organization, consumer cooperatives can nevertheless rent out premises and equipment (Article No. 116, paragraph 5).
  • Retail trade is of particular importance for residents of remote settlements who need food and household items. The procurement format involves the procurement of valuable raw materials carried out by the population - large volumes of wild fruits and berries, edible mushrooms, medicinal herbs.
  • And another important type of business is the production of food and non-food products based on our own products and other raw materials of natural origin.

Forms and varieties

The legislation also provides for the forms and types of consumer cooperatives. The main forms of cooperation are production cooperation, which solves purely commercial problems, and consumer cooperation, aimed at solving the problems of its participants. Today there are a huge number of similar associations with various foundations:

  1. Family-type cooperatives, where members are close relatives, property rights are shared.
  2. Credit and consumer cooperatives-unions, in which the principle of financial mutual assistance operates between members making certain contributions at specified intervals.
  3. Agricultural consumer cooperatives, conducting trade and purchasing activities among the population of rural regions.
  4. Dacha association(dacha consumer cooperative), where, based on contributions from participants, the common territory, roads and communications are arranged inside.
  5. Housing form(consumer housing cooperative) has become the most common type in our time; thanks to contributions from members, new housing is built or repairs and maintenance of existing housing stock is carried out.
  6. Garage consumer cooperative has features similar to housing.
  7. Sales associations aim to sell certain products produced by other similar companies.

Characteristics and signs

A consumer cooperative is one of the most popular types of non-profit organizations. They are characterized by the fact that their goal is not to make a profit. PCs are endowed with the opportunity to conduct entrepreneurial activities within the framework in which they are educated; entrepreneurship must clearly correspond to the initially set tasks and defined goals.

The main features have been adopted in the legal field. First of all, it is voluntariness and membership. In addition, consumer cooperatives are distinguished by the following points:

  • The task is to satisfy the material needs of the members of the cooperative.
  • Money and material contributions from participants are combined.
  • They differ in their mixed composition; the subjects can be both legal entities and individuals.
  • Activities are based on the personal labor contribution of members.
  • The rules of the charter determine the level of responsibility.
  • The income received is distributed among the members of the association.
  • The decision to withdraw is made on a free basis, and the share contribution is returned.
  • Possible losses of the organization are covered by additional contributions from shareholders.
  • The cooperative is a registered legal entity.

We will talk further about the conditions for creating consumer cooperatives in accordance with the Civil Code and other legislation of the Russian Federation.

This video will tell you how to choose a reliable consumer cooperative:

Creation conditions

The basis for the registration of a new public economic entity is the Minutes of the meeting of its members, compiled lists of participants and the Decision, which stipulates the formation of the authorized capital. Since the property issue is the basis for membership in the cooperative, statements with an exact listing of the property contributed by each participant to the common fund are attached to the Decision. The founders can be legal entities - enterprises, firms and organizations and individuals - people who have citizenship of the Russian Federation and have reached the legally established age of majority in accordance with paragraph 2 of Art. 26 Civil Code of Russia.

  1. To register with local authorities, citizens should attach certified copies of personal documents - passport and TIN code, as well as confirmation of ownership of the property being contributed. These may be privatization acts, deeds of gift or will, checks, purchase receipts, invoices and other documents confirming the legality of ownership of real estate or this or that property. When depositing a sum of money, you must provide a tax return to establish the legality of the funds received.
  2. For a legal entity, you must provide copies of all constituent documents, documents on the ownership of the property provided as a share, Inventory reports and records of material assets, the company’s balance sheet for the past two years, tax reporting on profits for the past calendar year. If necessary, you may need a bank certificate about the movement of funds in accounts.

A consumer cooperative cannot be created in the person of a sole founder or at the expense of shares of one member. There must be at least three persons; other quantitative composition is determined by federal legislation on an individual basis.

About the authorized capital of a consumer cooperative

Charter and capital

The Civil Code of Russia in Article 116 considers all legal nuances of the activities of consumer cooperation without exception. In particular, its main constituent documents are the standard format Charter, approved by the meeting of participants and duly registered with municipal authorities. The charter of a consumer cooperative must necessarily contain the following positions.

  • Full and abbreviated name of the cooperative.
  • Legal and actual address of location.
  • Determination of the amount and procedure for making a share contribution, the nature of responsibility for possible delay.
  • The conditions regulated by law for the procedure for liquidating the unprofitability of an enterprise, compensation for losses. They are covered no later than three months after the publication of the annual reports, in terms of balance sheet data.

The object of regulation in the civil legal field is the liquidation process and other aspects stipulated by law that are not within the scope of judicial review.

The mandatory procedures for creating a PC include the formation of a share or authorized fund. This is the minimum guarantee to satisfy possible creditor claims. The minimum amounts of the fund and its size are provided for by federal legislation. Its peculiarity is that at the time of registration of the cooperative, shares must be contributed in full as established by the Charter. Otherwise, registration will not take place.

State regulations also consider the creation of other funds, which are formed by membership fees. We will talk about the rights and obligations, responsibilities and number of participants in a consumer cooperative below.

List of participants

If joining a cooperative is made on the basis of the shareholder’s own application and confirmation of his ability to make a contribution, then termination of membership is also due in the following cases:

  1. Voluntary withdrawal of a shareholder from the partnership.
  2. Expulsion of a shareholder from the company.
  3. Liquidation of a legal entity that is a member of a partnership.
  4. Death of a member of the association - a citizen of the Russian Federation.
  5. Liquidation of a mutual society.

By decision of the meeting, executive bodies are created whose powers include resolving all issues that do not fall within the exclusive competence of the general meeting. Typically, such a body is the Board; election, composition and competence are determined by the Charter.

This video will tell you about the risks of a consumer cooperative:

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 is not found as often as commercial organizations, but 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 of June 19, 1992. The federal law contains information on the creation of cooperatives, their structure, features of participation, property issues, as well as issues on 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 for the further development of 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 agricultural enterprises, as well as individual farmers engaged in running their own farms.
  • Service cooperatives. They can conduct quite extensive and varied activities - insurance, transport services, resorts, medical care, repair work, consultations in various fields.
  • Credit consumer cooperative. Created to resolve financial issues of 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 lower prices, to evenly distribute the costs of household maintenance and repair services, to jointly accumulate capital and build housing. The advantages of cooperatives are obvious: due to the large number of participants, it is possible to make wholesale purchases at prices much lower than market prices; there is the possibility of accumulating funds and rationally distributing 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, there are a minimum of hired workers.
  • 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 we look at all the listed positive aspects from a different angle, we will 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 this was allowed during 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 old. A legal organization can act as a sponsor. Of course, she won’t 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 the 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, funds are deposited 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 the tax office to register a 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, penalties 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, the 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 offers them, if necessary, 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 often turns out to be a 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 consumer cooperative is recognized as a voluntary association of citizens and legal entities on the basis of membership in order to satisfy the material and other needs of the participants, carried out through the pooling of property share contributions by its members.

The charter of a consumer cooperative must contain:

conditions on the amount of share contributions of members of the cooperative;

on the composition and procedure for making share contributions by members of the cooperative and on their responsibility for violating the obligation to make share contributions;

on the composition and competence of the management bodies of the cooperative and the procedure for their decision-making, including on issues on which decisions are made unanimously or by a qualified majority of votes;

on the procedure for covering losses incurred by members of the cooperative.

The name of a consumer cooperative must contain an indication of the main purpose of its activities, as well as either the word “cooperative” or the words “consumer union” or “consumer society”.

Members of a consumer cooperative jointly and severally bear subsidiary liability for its obligations within the limits of the unpaid portion of the additional contribution of each member of the cooperative.

Income received by a consumer cooperative from business activities carried out by the cooperative in accordance with the law and charter is distributed among its members.

A consumer cooperative, unlike a production cooperative, is a non-profit organization that unites not only citizens but also legal entities on the basis of membership. It does not imply the obligatory personal participation of its members in common affairs. Therefore, there are no restrictions on the circle of participants, similar to restrictions on membership in a production cooperative. For example, the possibility of simultaneous participation of the same citizen in several consumer cooperatives, including homogeneous ones, is not excluded. Legal entities - participants in such cooperatives can be not only commercial, but also non-profit organizations (taking into account restrictions on the disposal of property available to legal entities - not owners, that is, unitary enterprises and institutions).

Consumer cooperatives include various types of cooperatives: housing and housing-construction, garage, dacha, gardening partnerships, etc. Therefore, the Civil Code provides that the specifics of the legal status of certain types of consumer cooperatives should be determined by special laws about them. In the absence of such laws, the regulations previously in force in this area, as well as the charters of specific cooperatives, remain in force, but only to the extent that does not contradict the rules of the Civil Code.

The only constituent document of a consumer cooperative is its charter. According to paragraph 2 of Art. 116 of the Civil Code, its mandatory conditions include conditions on the amount of share contributions of its members, the timing and procedure for their payment, the composition and competence of the management bodies of the cooperative and the procedure for their decision-making, including a list of issues on which decisions can only be made unanimously or by a majority vote , as well as a condition on the procedure for covering losses incurred by members of the cooperative. Within the meaning of these rules, the supreme body of the cooperative is the general meeting, which has exclusive competence and forms the executive bodies, which are responsible for resolving all issues that are not within the exclusive competence of the general meeting. In relation to the management structure of a consumer cooperative, the general principles of organizing cooperatives are used, which are enshrined in law for production cooperatives.

The property of the cooperative belongs to it by right of ownership. It is the cooperative as a legal entity that is the sole and only owner of its property, which does not constitute an object of either “collective”, or shared, or any other property of its members (participants). Only in consumer cooperatives with the participation of citizens (housing, dacha, garage, etc.) the full payment of a share contribution for an apartment, dacha, garage, or other premises provided to these persons by the cooperative entails the emergence of ownership rights to these objects and, accordingly, the loss ownership rights to them by the cooperative itself. As a general rule, its participants (members) acquire rights of claim on the property of a consumer cooperative, proportional to their shares (contributions), as well as some other rights arising from membership in it.

The basis for the property independence of a cooperative is its share (authorized) fund. The size of the fund must be provided for by a special law for each type of cooperative. The cooperative must have a fully paid-up mutual fund.

The cooperative's mutual fund is formed from the share contributions of its participants (members). It also guarantees the satisfaction of the property interests of the cooperative's creditors. Therefore, the obligation to make share contributions is the most important responsibility of a member of a consumer cooperative. The charter of the cooperative must contain, along with others, an indispensable condition regarding the liability of a member of the cooperative for violation of this obligation. In addition, members of the cooperative are obliged to cover losses incurred by making additional contributions within three months from the date of approval of the annual balance sheet of the cooperative. After all, the cooperative itself, as a non-profit organization, does not receive any income from its activities. If this obligation is not fulfilled, that is, non-payment or partial payment of such additional contributions, the member of the cooperative bears property liability for his obligations with his personal property within the limits of the unpaid part of the corresponding contribution. Moreover, this liability occurs in the absence of other property in the cooperative, but is joint and several in relation to all such faulty participants.

The law and charter of a consumer cooperative may provide for the implementation of certain types of business activities. The income received from such activities is distributed among the members of the cooperative or goes to other needs determined by the general meeting. This kind of activity in general does not change the main statutory objectives and scope of the target legal capacity of a consumer cooperative, and therefore does not lead to its transformation into a production cooperative or an economic society. The participation of a consumer cooperative in business relations remains limited to the scope of its statutory tasks and it does not receive the general legal capacity characteristic of a commercial organization.

Introduction

The relevance of the research topic is beyond doubt and is due to the fact that in the conditions of Russian reality, the activities of consumer cooperation organizations are of particular importance.

The activities of consumer cooperation organizations have a social orientation. The social orientation of the activity is expressed in meeting the economic, social and cultural needs of the united individuals - members of the cooperative.

Consumer cooperation organizations mainly operate in rural areas, where social support for the population is especially necessary. This is expressed in the maintenance of planned unprofitable stores, the delivery of socially significant goods to remote settlements, the provision of free services, etc.

Consumer cooperation organizations can engage in any socially significant activities, since they are not regulated in the definition of a cooperative. Thus, at present, consumer cooperation organizations are successfully developing wholesale and retail trade, procurement, public catering, and the service sector.

The primary task of consumer cooperation organizations is to solve the problem of employment of the population, which can be solved through the existing opportunities for expanding trade, procurement and production activities, restoring the service sector in the countryside, etc.

The role of consumer cooperation in the formation of income (family budget) of the population who are members of the cooperative (shareholders) is great. Thus, by selling products at affordable prices, consumer cooperation organizations, on the one hand, satisfy the needs of people, on the other, expanding the volume of activities leads to an increase in well-being and an increase in the wages of workers (shareholders).

The purpose of the course work is to study the theoretical foundations of consumer cooperation.

Problems solved during the work

    define consumer cooperation, the system of consumer societies, consumer unions;

    study cooperation legislation;

    identify the features of the branches of activity of consumer cooperation;

    determine the social mission of consumer cooperation.

To write the work, special literature on cooperation, organization theory, and economics was used: textbooks, teaching aids, reference information.

Structure of the work: introduction, main part - four chapters, conclusion, list of references. The work consists of 35 pages of printed text.

1.Consumer cooperation - a system of consumer societies and consumer unions

Consumer cooperation in Russia is a holistic entity, i.e. a system consisting of parts connected to each other and together forming a unity. Such parts of consumer cooperation as a system are consumer societies and unions of consumer societies.

The foundation of this system is made up of consumer societies (cooperatives), since it is in them, first of all, that the economic and social activities of the cooperative system are carried out. According to the definition given in Article 1 of the Law on Consumer Cooperation (Consumer Societies and Their Unions in the Russian Federation dated July 11, 1997: “a consumer society is a voluntary association of citizens and (or) legal entities, created, as a rule, on a territorial basis, on the basis of membership by combining its members with property shares for trading, procurement, production and other activities in order to satisfy the material and other needs of its members.”

Consumer societies are legal entities and in their activities are guided by the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the Law of the Russian Federation “On consumer cooperation (consumer societies, their unions) in the Russian Federation”, other laws and other regulatory legal acts of the Russian Federation, as well as their charters.

As noted by K.I. Vakhitov: “The charter is a systematized set of rules regulating the main issues of the activities of a consumer society, a mandatory sign of its legal independence.” The charter of a consumer society (union) serves primarily as a kind of agreement between the participants of the society (union) among themselves. Further, through the state registration of the company (union), an agreement is reached between the participants of the consumer society (union) and the state. Finally, within the consumer cooperation system, statutes coordinate the relations between consumer societies and their unions. And one more thing: the charters, of course, regulate relations between shareholders and consumer societies. It should be noted that in the Law on Consumer Cooperation of 1992 there was no provision at all on the charter of a consumer society. In the Law of the Russian Federation of 1997, the provisions on the charter of a consumer society are assigned to Article 9: “Charter of a consumer society.” This article contains the basic requirements of the state for the company's charter, norms that must be reflected in the charter. Paragraph 1 of Article 9 indicates that the charter of a consumer company must define: the name of the consumer company; its location; the subject and goals of the consumer society; the procedure for shareholders to join the consumer society; the procedure for the withdrawal of shareholders from the consumer society, including the procedure for issuing share contributions and cooperative payments; the size, composition and procedure for making entrance and share contributions, liability for violation of obligations to make share contributions; the composition and competence of the management bodies and control bodies of the consumer society, the procedure for their decision-making, including on issues on which decisions are made unanimously or by a qualified majority of votes; the procedure for shareholders to cover losses incurred by the consumer company; procedure for reorganization and liquidation of a consumer company; information about its branches and representative offices; other information. Paragraph 2 of Article 9 determines that the charter of a consumer society may provide for various social benefits for joining a consumer society, for paying shares and membership fees, and defines the category of persons who can enjoy these benefits: “The charter of a consumer society may provide that for citizens who do not have independent income, as well as for citizens receiving only state benefits, a pension or a scholarship, the general meeting of a consumer society may establish a smaller share contribution than for other shareholders.”

After the adoption of the law in 1997, the Central Union of the Russian Federation developed new model statutes for a consumer society. As noted by A.R. Bernwald and A.V. Tsikhotsky: “An exemplary charter is called “exemplary” because it, acting as a model charter, recommends the best solution to certain issues in the life of a consumer society, thereby promoting the development of democracy and the creative initiative of shareholders in managing the affairs of the cooperative.” The sample charter of a consumer society contains the following sections: general provisions; the goals and subject of the company’s activities; shareholders in the company; powers of society; fundamentals of economic activity of society; structure of management and control bodies of the company; powers of the cooperative section of the company; general meeting of the company's authorized representatives; consumer society council; board of the company; control bodies; accounting and reporting; company documents; labor Relations; reorganization and liquidation of the company.

Model charters determine the status of homogeneous consumer cooperation organizations and are used as models for the development of individual charters for specific consumer societies. Individual statutes are those that have already been discussed and adopted by participants in consumer societies (unions) by voting in the prescribed manner.

Consumer societies constitute the main structural link of the consumer cooperation system. Depending on the population served and the characteristics of the area of ​​their activity, they are divided into several types. Depending on the area of ​​activity, the following types of cooperatives operate: rural consumer societies (general stores); village consumer societies (pospo); district consumer societies (raipo); urban consumer societies (gorpo); consumer societies operating in other populated areas.

The practice of building consumer cooperation has also given rise to the classification of consumer societies depending on the social composition of its members: into fisheries - consumer societies of fishing industry workers and members of fishing artels; on rabkoops - consumer societies of workers of industrial enterprises and members of their families; on state farms - consumer societies uniting workers of state farms and members of their families; to educational societies uniting students from rural schools, cooperative vocational schools, and technical schools.

A.R. Bernwald and A.V. Tsikhotsky point out: “that today in consumer cooperation there are mainly two forms of the primary link of the system: raipo and general store.” Moreover, historically it has developed that the most widespread type of consumer society in Russia is raipo. This is largely explained not so much by the objective laws of development of productive forces, but primarily by the processes of concentration and specialization of production. The main reason lies in the measures of the Soviet government, which pursued a policy of transforming district consumer unions (ray consumer unions) into district consumer societies (raipo) with the simultaneous liquidation of rural consumer societies, i.e. On the territory of one administrative district there was one consumer society - raipo. In the last years of the existence of the USSR: “the share of the district unit (district consumer union and district consumer cooperative) of consumer cooperation accounted for 70.4% of fixed assets, 70.5% of the authorized and almost 100% of the mutual fund. In this link, 97.9% of all retail trade turnover was realized and 61.9% of the profit of the entire cooperation was generated.”

The consolidation of consumer societies to the level of raipo, with all its positive aspects, ultimately led to the fact that the possibilities of consumer cooperation as a corporate organization were sharply narrowed, and the preconditions were created for its further nationalization, replacing the power of shareholders with the power of the cooperative apparatus. In this regard, V.A. Matusevich writes that “the consolidation of consumer societies essentially deprived shareholders of the opportunity to participate in the discussion of issues relating to their everyday life, to control the actions of functionaries... The real power in the enlarged cooperatives is exercised by the employees of the apparatus, who may not be members of the consumer cooperative.” The transition to market relations put on the agenda an increase in the role of the shareholder in consumer cooperation in order to restore cooperatives as a self-governing, highly cultural, economically free economic system. And this, in turn, requires the disaggregation of the raipo. This is especially true for the eastern regions of the country, where settlements are located tens or even hundreds of kilometers from each other. Thus, the main organizational form of the lower level of consumer cooperation continues to be raipo.

Raipo, as a type of production association, in order to fulfill its statutory tasks, creates various enterprises (trade, industrial, procurement, etc.), endowing them with the rights of a legal entity. The property is assigned to them with the right of full economic management. As already noted, raipo is an economic system with a separate management apparatus. In its economic activities, the regional association performs two types of functions: organizational and regulatory and operational and economic. The organizational and regulatory functions carried out by the district council are of paramount importance for it, while at the same time the operational and economic functions are losing their former importance in the implementation of statutory tasks. In modern district administrations, operational and economic activities are primarily carried out by sectoral cooperative enterprises. And although the degree of economic independence of these enterprises is determined by the board of the cooperative, in practice many of them are endowed with the rights of a legal entity.

At the same time, it should be noted that enterprises that are not endowed with the rights of a legal entity can simultaneously operate in the raipo system. They operate on the basis of internal economic accounting and report directly to the board of consumer society.

2. Legislation and cooperation

The legal foundations of consumer societies and their unions are legal provisions that ensure the activities of consumer societies and consumer unions as equal legal entities of a market economy in a single system - the system of consumer cooperation.

The legal basis for consumer cooperation was formed simultaneously with the development of the legal basis for the activities of various commercial and non-profit organizations, including cooperative ones. Currently, the basis for legal regulation of all organizations in the country, including consumer cooperation organizations, are:

Constitution of the Russian Federation;

Civil Code of the Russian Federation; - other laws and other normative legal acts of a generally binding nature adopted in accordance with them: trade, tax, labor law, competition and bankruptcy law.

Legal regulation of cooperative organizations is carried out on the basis of cooperative laws of the Russian Federation: - “On Agricultural Cooperation” (1995); - “On production cooperatives” (1996); - “On consumer cooperation (consumer societies, their unions) in the Russian Federation” (1997); - “On credit consumer cooperatives of citizens” (2001).

Legal regulation of all organizations, including consumer cooperation, is also carried out on the basis of laws and other legal acts of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation.

The charters of cooperatives and their associations (unions, associations) are important for legal regulation. The Constitution of the Russian Federation, the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, other federal laws, including cooperative laws, laws of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation and cooperative charters ensure the development of cooperatives and their unions (legal entities) as equal subjects of a market economy.

It is important that laws guarantee cooperatives and their unions, taking into account their social significance, as well as citizens and legal entities creating cooperatives and their unions (associations), state support.

Thus, the legal foundations of consumer cooperation were formed simultaneously with the formation of the legal foundations for the activities of various organizational and legal forms of organizations, including cooperatives of various types.

The meaning and content of the Law of the Russian Federation “On consumer cooperation (consumer societies, their unions) in the Russian Federation”

Legal relations arising in the field of creation and activities of consumer societies and their unions are regulated by a system of laws and other regulations discussed in the previous lesson.

Of particular importance for consumer cooperation is the Law “On Consumer Cooperation (Consumer Societies, Their Unions) in the Russian Federation.”

The significance of the law is that it most fully defines the legal, economic and social foundations for the creation and activities of consumer societies and their unions that make up the consumer cooperation of the Russian Federation.

The Law of the Russian Federation “On consumer cooperation (consumer societies, their unions) in the Russian Federation” consists of a preamble and nine chapters.

The preamble defines the goals and objectives of consumer cooperation. Chapter 1 - “General Provisions”. Chapter 2 - “Education of a consumer society.” Chapter 3 - “Membership in a consumer society.” Chapter 4 - “Governing bodies of the consumer society.” Chapter 5 - “Property of the consumer society.”

Chapter 6 - “Fundamentals of the activities of a consumer society.” Chapter 7 - “Reorganization and liquidation of the consumer society.” Chapter 8 - “Union of Consumer Societies.” Chapter 9 - “Transitional provisions”.

According to the law, consumer societies and consumer unions are legal entities and they are granted broad rights: the right to engage in commercial activities (trade, production, etc.) aimed at meeting the needs of their members; the right to create business companies, medical and educational institutions, branches and representative offices, as well as other rights.

Consumer societies create unions. Unions are given the right to exercise control and administrative functions in relation to consumer societies.

The law stipulates that relations between the state and consumer cooperation organizations are built on the principle of independence, which determines the independence and freedom of activity of the organizations of the system. Consumer societies and their unions independently develop programs for their economic and social development; independently decide on the expenditure of funds, maximum wages, amounts of payments to shareholders and other issues.

The charter of a consumer society is an organizational and legal document that, in accordance with the laws, defines the legal, organizational, social and economic foundations for the creation and activities of a consumer society.

In consumer cooperation, two forms of consumer society charter are used:

1) approximate charter of the consumer society;

2) specific charter of each consumer company.

Moreover, the sample statutes differ: for consumer societies with cooperative plots and for consumer societies without cooperative plots.

In accordance with the sample statutes, specific statutes for each consumer society are developed.

In consumer cooperation there are currently about 3 thousand consumer societies, each of which operates on the basis of its own specific charter.

Based on a specific charter, each consumer society is registered by government authorities and acquires the status of a legal entity. The charter is a sign of the legal independence of any organization, including a consumer society.

The content of the charter of a consumer society must include the following provisions: name of the consumer society; its location; goals, objectives and principles of the company's activities; the procedure for shareholders to join and leave the consumer society; rights and obligations of shareholders; provisions defining management, property and labor relations; other necessary provisions.

Each consumer society, taking into account the specific conditions in which it operates, develops its own charter.

Cooperative charters provide consumer societies and their unions, and therefore the entire system of consumer cooperation, with a broader legal field.

The government contributes to improving the legal status of consumer societies and consumer unions as legal entities and promotes their socio-economic development.

In the first years of economic reforms, the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation “Issues of Consumer Cooperation of the Russian Federation” dated January 24, 1994 had a significant impact on strengthening the legal and economic position of consumer cooperation. This resolution recognized the need to build relationships between consumer cooperation organizations as legal entities and the executive bodies of the constituent entities Russian Federation and local governments on the basis of agreements.

Agreements began to be concluded between:

    The Government of the Russian Federation and the Central Union of the Russian Federation;

Regional (territorial, republican) executive body of state power and regional (territorial, republican) union of consumer societies;

The district administration (administration of the national district) and the district (district) consumer cooperation union.

An agreement is a bilateral agreement under which each party undertakes certain obligations. Agreements are concluded for one year.

Consumer cooperation organizations undertake obligations to ensure the annual volume of retail trade turnover (sales of goods to the public), production volume, purchases, and services in accordance with economic calculations. The government, executive bodies of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, regional self-government bodies undertake obligations to provide financial assistance: providing loans, reducing taxes, reducing payments for heat and electricity and other assistance for the development of consumer cooperation.

In accordance with the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation “On measures to stabilize the provision of goods and services to the rural population” dated May 31, 1996, a Government Resolution of the same content was adopted.

These documents contributed to the strengthening of the social base of consumer cooperation and the restoration of the rights of shareholders of consumer societies. It was envisaged that shareholders excluded in the first years of reforms would be reinstated in consumer societies.

Shareholders of consumer societies are mainly residents of rural areas. The shareholders themselves are interested in improving the provision of goods and services to their families and other residents of rural areas. Therefore, the more shareholders in consumer societies, the better the system of consumer cooperation will be able to solve the issues of providing the rural population with goods and services.

By the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation “On increasing the role of consumer cooperation in providing the population with food” dated January 7, 1999, the consumer cooperation system was involved in solving the country’s food problem.

The resolution provides for measures of state support for consumer cooperation organizations. Executive authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation and local governments are recommended to provide consumer societies and their unions with support in activities to increase purchases of agricultural products and raw materials, processing of these products, sales to the population and supplies for government needs.

On December 3, 2002, the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation approved the Federal Target Program “Social Development of Rural Affairs until 2010,” which provides for state support in investing and lending to business entities providing trade and consumer services to the rural population.

Thus, the government promotes the strengthening of the legal foundations of consumer cooperation and the development of its socio-economic activities in the interests of shareholders and society


Consumer cooperative

Completed by: Bespalova Anastasia

3rd year student of 6T group

Discipline: Legal support of professional activities

Kaliningrad, 2010


Cooperative- a membership-based association of people and organizations created to achieve common economic and social goals related to meeting the material or other needs of members who have contributed a share (share) to the fund created for this purpose, recognizing participation in the risks and results of the organization and participating in its functioning as shareholders, managing it democratically.

Cooperative- an economic enterprise based on joint activities and mutual assistance of members of the cooperative. The cooperative has a direct connection with the economic interests of its members. The activities of the cooperative are based on cooperative principles. The basic principle: one shareholder of a cooperative - one vote, which is fundamentally different from the “power” of capital in the management of business companies.

By type, cooperatives can be production(with mandatory labor participation of members) and consumer, where mandatory participation of members in the economic activities of the cooperative is required.

1. CONSUMER COOPERATIVE

Consumer cooperative a voluntary association of citizens and legal entities on the basis of membership is recognized in order to satisfy the material and other needs of the participants, carried out by combining its members with property shares.

The charter of a consumer cooperative must contain, in addition to the information specified in paragraph 2 of Article 52 of this Code, conditions on the amount of share contributions of members of the cooperative; on the composition and procedure for making share contributions by members of the cooperative and on their responsibility for violating the obligation to make share contributions; on the composition and competence of the management bodies of the cooperative and the procedure for their decision-making, including on issues on which decisions are made unanimously or by a qualified majority of votes; on the procedure for covering losses incurred by members of the cooperative (Clause 2 of Article 116 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation)

The name of the consumer cooperative must contain an indication of the main purpose of its activities, as well as either the word “cooperative” or the words “consumer union” or “consumer society.” (Clause 3 of Article 116 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation)

Members of a consumer cooperative are required to cover the resulting losses through additional contributions within three months after the approval of the annual balance sheet. If this obligation is not fulfilled, the cooperative may be liquidated in court at the request of creditors. Members of a consumer cooperative jointly and severally bear subsidiary liability for its obligations within the limits of the unpaid portion of the additional contribution of each member of the cooperative. (Clause 4 of Article 116 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation)

Income received by a consumer cooperative from business activities carried out by the cooperative in accordance with the law and charter is distributed among its members. (Clause 5 of Article 116 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation)

2. TYPES OF CONSUMER COOPERATIVES

· Construction cooperative created for the ownership and operation of buildings or other real estate.

· Housing and construction cooperative is an association of citizens whose goal is the construction of a specific apartment building and its subsequent maintenance (at the end of construction, it performs the function of a homeowners’ association).

· Garage and construction cooperative unites garage owners located in a separate area.

· Country construction cooperative unites owners of summer cottages and houses in the horticultural community.

· Housing savings cooperative unites citizens for joint construction or purchase of housing.

· Consumer society one of the organizational and legal forms of consumer cooperation with a mixed composition (individuals and legal entities). In the USSR, trade and procurement rural consumer cooperation became widespread.

· Agricultural cooperative- created by agricultural producers and (or) citizens running personal subsidiary plots, subject to their mandatory participation in the economic activities of the consumer cooperative. Depending on the type of their activities, they are divided into processing, marketing (trading), servicing, supply, horticulture, market gardening, livestock breeding and others.

· Service cooperatives carry out mechanized, agrochemical, reclamation, transport, repair, construction work, as well as insurance services (insurance cooperatives), scientific and production, legal and financial consulting, electrification, telephone installation, sanatorium and medical services, issuing loans and saving money (credit cooperatives) and other works and services (Federal Law 193-FZ On Agricultural Cooperation).

· Credit consumer cooperative created to meet the needs of members for mutual financial assistance. The cooperative carries out the following financial transactions for its members: provides loans, attracts savings with interest.

3. MAIN TASKS OF CONSUMER COOPERATION IN THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

· creation and development of trade organizations to provide members of consumer societies with goods;

· purchase from citizens and legal entities of agricultural products and raw materials, products and products of personal subsidiary plots and crafts, wild fruits, berries and mushrooms, medicinal and technical raw materials with their subsequent processing and sale;

· production of food and non-food products with their subsequent sale through retail organizations;

· provision of production and consumer services to members of consumer societies;

· propaganda of cooperative ideas based on international principles of cooperation, bringing them to every shareholder of all consumer societies, including through the media.

4. CONSUMER COOPERATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

Cooperative farming is developing in various areas: in the city and in the countryside, in agriculture, in industry, in trade, in the service sector. As the material well-being of the population grows, the range of its needs and interests expands and changes rapidly. The state is currently unable to fully take over the functions of satisfying them. Some of these functions were taken over by cooperative organizations, which more flexibly adapted to changes in market conditions and brought local resources into circulation.

In many areas, relatively small enterprises operate, designed for a limited circle of consumers: residents of a village, town, microdistrict. In such cases, cooperation frees the state from a number of minor economic concerns and functions.

Labor at cooperative enterprises is not only socially similar to labor at state enterprises, but currently has a number of advantages:

  • opportunity to work part-time;
  • have additional income without obtaining a special permit for part-time work;
  • being a co-owner of an enterprise, an employee cannot be administratively dismissed due to staff reduction;
  • income directly depends on economic results.

The issue of the number of employees of the cooperative is decided by its general meeting. Due to its democratic nature, cooperation serves for its members as a school of self-government based on self-financing, self-financing and self-sufficiency, which are the only form of existence.

Consumer cooperative- one of the most important forms of the cooperative movement, through which a connection and correspondence is established between production and consumption. Compared to other types of cooperation (commercial, agricultural), it has a number of features. Firstly, in contrast to production types, which unite owners or users of means of production for the purpose of producing products (services) and generating income, a consumer cooperative unites consumers in order to satisfy their material and cultural needs. Secondly, it does not require its members to have mandatory personal labor participation in their activities. Thirdly, consumer cooperatives include any consumer in their membership, provided that they recognize the charter.

The economic potential of a consumer cooperative forms the basis for the development of its social potential: the number of industries, organizations, enterprises, types of economic activities; its volumes; the size of cooperative property, fixed assets resources, working capital; the amount of income and profits received.

Consumer cooperation has a diversified structure: trade and food, procurement of agricultural products and wild raw materials, industry, subsidiary farming, housing and communal services. In addition, it has healthcare organizations (clinics, rest homes, etc.), educational organizations, and science.

The total number of cooperative stores, catering establishments, processing enterprises, trading centers, housing and communal services enterprises, medical institutions, etc. is more than half a million, not counting small businesses.