We have already looked at various options for making money before the New Year, and in this article we will talk about how to make money selling Christmas trees. Launching such a business has its own specifics that need to be taken into account before you start trading.
Where to sell?
To choose the right place for a Christmas tree trading business, you first need to study the competitors. Particularly profitable places for sales will be markets in residential areas of the city or simply pass-through places.
If you plan to rent a place in the market, then you will only need to pay the rent. But with street trading, you will need to obtain a trading permit from the city administration.
What about competition? There is no need to be afraid of it, there are many customers for this product and each of the entrepreneurs will find its buyer. Sometimes entire shopping malls are built from Christmas tree sellers, but all of them successfully sell their goods and make a good profit.
Assortment and suppliers
There are two types of Christmas trees: artificial and real “live” trees. There is demand for both types of goods. To purchase artificial Christmas trees, you will need to go to the wholesale market. For a presentable appearance, they will need to be leveled or even steamed, since they are usually packed very tightly.
To trade “live” Christmas trees, you will need to purchase them from special nurseries, and demand from the supplier all the necessary documents for them. Otherwise, you face a fine and confiscation of the goods. Be attentive to this issue.
The third type of festive New Year's trees are pine trees, which are also often purchased because they have a beautiful shape and longer needles.
An additional assortment may include New Year's decorations, garlands and various New Year's paraphernalia.
To deliver goods to the trading location, you will need freight transport.
How much money do you need to start?
Selling Christmas trees for the New Year as a business does not require huge capital investments, and is quite affordable for a novice entrepreneur.
We indicate the approximate costs of starting this business.
- Rent of a retail space – $100 – $150
- Taxes - $150
- Salesperson salary - $200
- Initial purchase of goods – $2500 – $3500
- Transportation costs - $50
How much can you earn from this?
The Christmas tree business is a profitable niche because you don’t need to spend money on advertising, premises and other expenses. To calculate how much you can earn by selling Christmas trees for the New Year, we indicate the average markup on the product, which is 50% - 70%.
If you sell individual branches of fir trees or pine trees, then the markup on the cost of this product reaches 100%.
Based on these numbers, you can estimate how much sales you need to generate in order to become profitable.
Conclusions. Business selling Christmas trees is an excellent seasonal income for beginning entrepreneurs.
Is there anything to add to this material? We will listen carefully to you in the comments.
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What is needed to obtain the right to trade
By mid-December, the consumer market department of the district or city administration is already determining street locations for New Year's Christmas tree markets. If you intend to trade on the central streets of the city (a more crowded, and therefore more profitable place), it is better to submit an application in advance, then the authorities will take your request into account when determining trading locations. The application indicates a request to allow the sale of New Year trees at a specific address.
Typically, a trade permit (coupon) is issued in a short time, even on the day the application is submitted. The issuance of these documents is carried out in accordance with the procedure approved by local governments. Along with the permit, do not forget to take the standard agreement form with the forestry enterprise. In the administration you can also find a list of nurseries (forestry enterprises) that grow and harvest Christmas trees.
Forest documents
At the forestry enterprise, you pay the cost of the trees and take a receipt to present to the forestry department, which is usually a division of the forestry enterprise. The cost of a Christmas tree includes the costs of: searching for marketable trees, the work of a lumberjack, delivering the trees to the forestry office, taxes and expenses for maintaining the forest area where felling took place.
Along with the trees, you need to pick up the receipt from the forestry department that you used to pay for the trees.
Please note: the forester must make a note on the back of the receipt about how many and what kind of trees they gave you.
You can save money on lumberjack work by cutting down trees yourself. A logging permit is available to everyone. However, forest management is possible only with a logging license. This is stated in Art. 42 of the Forest Code of the Russian Federation.
Usually the forestry department has a felling ticket, and on its basis it issues an order for a small release of standing timber or a forest ticket.
The ticket specifies the location of the forest fund site, the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the supplied forest resources (fir trees, fir trees, pines, spruce branches), their cost, and the timing of the work.
Responsibility for illegal logging
You can’t just come into the forest and cut down the trees you like. For deforestation without permission, administrative and criminal liability is imposed (Article 110 of the Forest Code of the Russian Federation). The temptation to cut down unnecessary trees (for example, write out 50 trees on an invoice, but cut down 70) should be avoided in advance. You simply cannot take out the excess.
The fact is that to transport spruce, pine, spruce branches, a warrant is required, as well as a receipt for payment for the spruce with a round seal from the forestry department.
All documents must indicate the date of issue, number and size of trees. And if the quantity specified in the order does not coincide with the real one, you will violate forest legislation.
Responsibility for illegal logging is provided for in Art. 8.25 Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation (administrative) and Art. 260 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
Illegal logging is any method of separating a tree from its roots without a permit (logging ticket) or in violation of its conditions.
The specific amount of the fine depends on the damage caused to the forest fund. Illegally felled trees are confiscated.
Organization of a retail space
The requirements for organizing trade in the Christmas tree business are very strict. Each retail location must be equipped with an information sign indicating the trading organization.
At the end of the sale, sanitary cleaning is carried out. A Christmas tree seller must have a price list, a measuring stick, packaging material, a guest book and a fire extinguisher. Representatives of Rosprirodnadzor, Gospozhnadzor, Rosleskhoz, police (including environmental police), and forestry workers regularly carry out raids on sales points.
Therefore, sellers must have invoices (warrants) from the forestry department and permission to trade.
Receiving money from the public
Outbound trade is retail trade for cash outside the location of a stationary store.
Should street vendors always make payments to customers through cash register systems? Let us turn to paragraph 3 of Art. 2 of Law No. 54-FZ. It allows not to use a cash register when trading at markets, fairs and other areas designated for trade, as well as during small retail trade from trays.
This does not apply to shops, pavilions, vans and other retail places that provide display and safety of goods. The latter are required to use cash registers. Apparently, a fenced-in Christmas tree bazaar should still be classified as a trading place that ensures the display and safety of goods. Therefore, CCT will have to be used.
clause 2 art. 14.5 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation Non-use of cash register equipment in cases established by federal laws, use of cash register equipment that does not meet established requirements or is used in violation of the procedure and conditions for its registration and use established by the legislation of the Russian Federation, as well as refusal to issue it at the request of the buyer ( client) in the case provided for by federal law, a document (sales receipt, receipt or other document confirming the receipt of funds for the relevant goods (work, service), -
entails a warning or the imposition of an administrative fine on citizens in the amount of one thousand five hundred to two thousand rubles; for officials - from three thousand to four thousand rubles; for legal entities - from thirty thousand to forty thousand rubles.
New Year's holidays are considered perhaps the most profitable period for entrepreneurs working in a variety of fields. It is quite logical that many of them have at least once thought about selling Christmas trees on the street, because this, albeit seasonal income, promises to be more than solid. In addition, such trade does not require obtaining numerous permits and licenses, as, for example, in the case of alcohol or pyrotechnics. In just a few days, an entrepreneur can receive up to 3 thousand dollars, which is undoubtedly a very good additional income.
Required Equipment
To sell such a product you will not need to purchase special equipment. However, such a business always attracts the attention of regulatory authorities, in particular, the State Forestry Agency and the State Fire Safety Inspectorate. To pass the inspection without problems, be sure to purchase and store the following tools at your point:
- Saw;
- Roulette;
- Axe;
- Fire extinguisher;
- Packing material (usually rope).
It is not necessary to fence a retail outlet, but it is still better to clarify this issue with the local administration. Some strongly recommend that entrepreneurs drive posts and wrap them with rope around the perimeter of the sales area, thereby creating visible boundaries.
Where to organize the sale of Christmas trees?
Of course, perhaps the main guarantee of your success will be the correct choice of location for your point. An unsuccessful choice, on the contrary, is guaranteed to lead to the loss of money, because the unsold goods will no longer be able to be sold. The most profitable places are traditionally considered to be in markets and near large shopping centers. There is a high probability that they are already occupied by entrepreneurs who have been engaged in this business for more than a year, but you should remember that, first of all, you need a passage place, and it can be located in large residential areas. They are not very involved in this trade, although they are more than promising.
Where to buy spruce?
If you plan to sell fir trees, pines and fir in bulk on the street, you will definitely need to find a reliable partner from whom you can purchase goods at a reasonable price. You should start concluding contracts immediately after receiving permits, while the search for potential sellers should begin even before completing the documentation.
Most often, entrepreneurs choose one of three options:
- Forestry. It is from forest districts that Christmas trees are most often purchased. Today they can be found in almost any region, but even if yours turns out to be an exception, you can order a batch of goods in a neighboring region. Transportation, as a rule, does not cause any special problems. If you don’t know where to find such enterprises, when filling out the documents, pay attention to the list of nurseries with plants that are purchased specifically from forestry enterprises. Remember, the further you are from the city, the better the quality of the product and the lower the price. However, it is worth considering that the size of the minimum lot sold in forest areas is 100 trees. By signing the contract, the entrepreneur pays half of the amount, and the second half must be paid directly at the time of shipment. The date of the order also matters - the sooner you complete the transaction, the better for you, because competition in this business is quite fierce.
- Farms. If such farms are located near the city, it is there that you can purchase small quantities of goods (you should not count on large deliveries from such enterprises).
- Wholesalers. Intermediaries allow the entrepreneur to get rid of all the worries associated with finding suppliers and transporting trees, but when buying a large batch of goods in bulk, your markup will be very small. This will deprive you of most of the possible profit, that is, if you have such an opportunity, you should purchase spruce from other partners. In addition, suppliers may offer you imported wood, but its cost will be 10 times higher than the market price, and it is unlikely that you will immediately and without serious investment be able to become one of the outlets that target wealthy buyers.
Profitability and profitability of the Christmas tree business
An active businessman can earn up to 3 thousand dollars in 8 days of the holiday rush. However, this will not be so easy to do.
According to the latest statistics, during this period forestry enterprises earn from 10 to 20 thousand dollars from Christmas trees. The total market volume is estimated at between 0.5 and 0.7 million dollars. Consequently, such trade cannot be called a big business, but rather a source of additional, relatively large and quick income. As a rule, nurseries sell trees at prices ranging from 50 cents to one and a half dollars per linear meter. The retail price is 30-40% higher than the wholesale price. Thus, your revenue will directly depend on the original price and batch size of the goods. Typically, they earn up to $500 a day at the Christmas tree market, and the profitability of the business as a whole ranges from 15 to 25%.
This amount can be significantly increased by opening a whole network of similar points. However, experienced entrepreneurs who have a sufficiently large amount to invest can bring such an idea to life.
Required documents
The sale of Christmas trees on the streets is regulated by government organizations, which means that your point must meet all existing requirements, and you, in turn, must have on hand all the documents confirming the legality of the activity. In addition, you must be registered as an Individual Entrepreneur (registration of a legal entity is also allowed, however, as a rule, it is simply not needed for small businesses).
First of all, you need to decide on the location of your point. If it is located on the municipal market, you need to contact its administration and request permission to trade (many experienced entrepreneurs note that this option not only makes it easier and faster to complete documents, but also usually brings more profit to the owner). By renting space, you can start trading.
If you want to sell Christmas trees in a residential area, the entrepreneur will need to contact the district administration (it’s better to call and only then go) and fill out the appropriate application. You also need to find out in what form the plan of the place where your point will be located should be presented.
So, permission to trade has been received. What other documents will an entrepreneur need for his activity to be completely legal?
When purchasing a consignment of goods, you will need to receive an agreement and an acceptance certificate from the forestry department (all documents must contain information about the exact number of trees purchased). All these documents, if necessary, will need to be presented to representatives of supervisory authorities.
Thus, in the event of an inspection, you must submit the following documents for review:
- Permission to trade from the administration or market;
- Consignment note;
- Tax invoice.
In addition, your location should have a sign indicating its profile (check this issue with the administration). Prices (not necessarily exact) should also be written on them. Any sheet with information, for example, individual entrepreneur number and telephone number, must be signed by you.
If you hire a seller, be sure to draw up a transfer and acceptance certificate - this will help avoid theft.
The Christmas tree is a familiar attribute of the New Year, especially if there are children in the family. You can make good money if you start growing Christmas trees and selling them on the eve of the holiday. The business is seasonal, but quite profitable.
New Year is coming soon. For many people, this is an opportunity to have a wonderful rest, spend N amount of money on gifts and enjoy such pleasant chores. But there are people who perceive this holiday as a reason to make good money. Our article will be written for this segment of the population.
In the last article “”, we looked at ways to make money for the New Year, and the sale of Christmas trees took pride of place there. Today we will tell you about this business in more detail. What is in greatest demand during the New Year holidays? Which in our country is the main sign of the New Year. These, of course, are evergreen beauties that will decorate almost every home during the holidays!
Before the holidays, such a large number of people run around the Christmas tree markets and choose the one and only one that will delight the whole family throughout the long New Year holidays. The demand for Christmas trees is simply staggering. But at first glance, this is an easy way to make money. As with any business, it has its pitfalls.
In this article, we have compiled a step-by-step algorithm for you to achieve maximum profit. First, you need to choose a quality product. To do this, you need to find and negotiate with a nursery, negotiate the cost and terms of the contract.
It’s not difficult to find a nursery, the Internet will make your work easier, here you will find a lot of offers for selling Christmas trees. As a rule, the nursery requires an advance payment of half the cost of the goods and only after receiving it, closer to mid-December, will it begin cutting down the number of spruce trees you need.
After all, spruce is a perishable product that is subject to transportation and storage, after which it may lose its presentation. Therefore, whenever possible, they try to reduce the sales and delivery times so as not to end up with illiquid goods. On average, nurseries sell meter-long spruce trees for 100-130 rubles, 2-meter trees for 250-300 rubles, while pine trees are much cheaper. They all go on sale at 30-40% more expensive. It takes from 10 to 15 years for a tree to grow into a full-fledged one for sale. At the same time, out of 5-6 thousand seedlings planted, according to statistics, only 800-850 of them grow healthy.
But it’s not these beauties that are put up for sale, but their unfortunate “friends.” So this must also be taken into account when choosing a nursery and all the details of the deal must be discussed. Therefore, sometimes these types of businessmen are also jokingly called forest orderlies, which they rid of not very high-quality specimens.
At this stage, it is better to immediately start choosing a retail outlet and collecting all the necessary documents. It is necessary to obtain permission to trade from consumer market departments or from the city administration. It takes time to collect the necessary papers, so we would recommend that you start preparing them at the initial stage of business formation, especially since collecting papers and obtaining a trade permit are fundamental issues.
Thus, to trade, you must have the following documents in your hands:
- Trade permit;
- Agreement with forestry;
- Consignment note;
- Tax invoice;
- Invoice (for non-cash payments);
- A stamp affixed to a cut of wood;
When transporting Christmas trees to the place of sale, you need to have everything necessary for transportation with you, otherwise you risk being detained by the police for poaching and losing all the goods. You must have a waybill with you, which must indicate the numbers of your car and the number of Christmas trees on board.
Such a “one-off” business will not be a stunning success if you only have one outlet; if possible, it would be better to organize several outlets for greater success. But this, of course, depends on the initial capital that you agree to invest in the business. For the sale of Christmas trees there are a number of requirements from various authorities, and such a point must be equipped with a fire extinguisher and surrounded by a fence.
Must have lighting for trading at night. Sellers must use a meter tape to measure the length of the tree. Your retail location must have a sign. During the trading process, retail outlets are checked by these authorities for the presence of all necessary documents and attributes for work. Therefore, in order to avoid risk and fines, it is better to follow all the rules. Having protected yourself from all sides, collected all the necessary documents, selected a retail outlet, and fully prepared it for work, you can focus only on selling and making a profit!
Then everything is in your hands. How brightly you decorate the place, how beautifully you present your “beauties”, the end result will depend! At your outlet you can expand the range of decorations for the New Year. These can be not only Christmas trees, but also pine trees, which are no less in demand. And also a large number of twigs and cones, which in forestry will be given to you in large quantities just like that.
The range can also be expanded with accessories for New Year's beauties. For example, stands for them, which you can make yourself, are also in demand. The so-called cross is a wooden stand for a Christmas tree, which is easy to make yourself.
One such cross can be made from timber 1.5 linear meters long. You will also need 4 screws for fastening and a drill with attachments for drilling a hole for the tree trunk, which is made individually for each beauty sold.
When selling such a product, there is a lot of waste and leftovers. Where should we put them? There are several options for who may need them. You can sell it to summer residents for compost, or sell it for wreaths made from pine needles. But if you can’t sell them, you can recycle them for free.
I would like to believe that our article and the information offered in it will shed light on the intricacies of this business.
They will help novice businessmen not to make mistakes in order to get the maximum benefit from this business and receive rewards for hard work - to convey to everyone a real holiday, thanks to the real New Year's symbol - the evergreen fragrant beauty!
To start such a business, it is necessary to prepare documents - obtaining permission to sell Christmas trees (organizing a Christmas tree market).
Christmas tree trading business
The departments of the consumer market and services of the city administration are responsible for issuing permits. OKEVD code 52.48.32: retail trade in flowers and other plants, seeds and fertilizers. After receiving the permit, you will be given a permit to trade Christmas trees.
You submit an application to the consumer market and services department of the city administration with a request to issue a permit and allocate space for a Christmas tree market. Usually the number of such bazaars and their location are set in advance, but you can also offer your own place.
Choosing a good location is one of the main points that guarantees a high level of sales and stable profits. Most likely, convenient places have already been occupied by those who have been working in the market for such services for several years, so you are unlikely to get them. On the other hand, “convenient” usually means points through which a large mass of potential buyers pass: the city center, places near large shopping centers and large markets.
In this case, residential areas are often not used, although they are quite promising in terms of purchases: Christmas trees are very inconvenient to carry and therefore many would purchase them close to home. It is best if, by the time you submit your application, you have already chosen the place where you want to conduct the sale; in this case, indicate the address where the outlet will be organized.
Concluding a contract for the supply of Christmas trees
Once you have the permitting documents in your hands, you can begin concluding contracts with suppliers. There are several options for purchasing goods:
- forestry;
- farms;
- wholesalers within the city.
The most common option is purchasing Christmas trees from forest areas. Now in almost any region there are no difficulties in finding forestry enterprises engaged in seasonal sales, but even if there are no such organizations in your area, you can order trees from the neighbors of the region, their delivery will not cause any particular difficulties. Even when you receive a sales permit, you can familiarize yourself with the list of nurseries that sell plants.
The minimum sales volume in forest areas is 100 trees. At the time of signing the contract, 50% of its total amount is paid, the balance is transferred during shipment of the goods. The sooner you place an order, the better, since competition in this business is not so small.
The second option is farms. There are not many of them and, most often, they can offer very small quantities.
And the third way to get Christmas trees for sale is work with intermediaries who independently enter into agreements with forest districts and take care of delivery issues. You can make a wholesale purchase from them, but the prices will be close to retail, and this will deprive you of most of the profit. Many wholesalers offer imported Christmas trees for resale; in fact, these are firs, mainly from Denmark, Norway and other European countries. The price for such a tree can be ten or more times higher than the price of spruce or pine grown in Russia, and you are unlikely to be able to compete with companies specializing in this type of trade.
Preparing a Christmas tree trading site
Tree cutting won't begin until December, leaving plenty of time to prepare your trading location.
Quite high requirements are imposed on the street trade of Christmas trees, which are discussed by special orders of the trade department of the city administration. Typically, this should be a fenced area with a mandatory sign, a guest book and a fire extinguisher. It should be taken into account that such retail outlets are constantly inspected by the State Forestry Agency, the State Fire Inspectorate and other organizations, so the seller must have all the necessary documents on hand.
It is necessary to first resolve issues related to the storage of goods. Even when choosing a trading location, you should pay attention to the available ready-made sites with permanent fencing or near a similar area, for example, a guarded parking lot, in a market area closed during non-working hours, etc. If this is not possible, then you need to agree in advance on the overnight rental of storage space.
It is quite possible to trade without organizing a Christmas tree market - directly from your car. This allows you to avoid the cost of renting space and its decoration. At the same time, it will now be necessary to resolve the issue of storage and calculate the costs of renting vehicles. If you have a truck at your disposal, then this option will be the best solution to the problem, and besides, the Christmas trees will be in the back at all times.
Another trading option that can bring more profit is outbound trading from cars. The machine sells first in one place, then, after demand decreases, it moves to another yard. But it should be taken into account that you will receive a permit for street trading in a specific place, so such sale of Christmas trees will be considered a violation, for which a fine may be imposed, the amount of which is established by the local authorities.
Purchasing Christmas trees
Documents you must obtain from the seller:
- tax invoice;
- waybill.
- The invoices will be checked by employees of the State Forestry Committee, so these documents, as well as the trade permit, must be carried with you both during transportation and at the trading place.
Forestry departments sell hundreds of Christmas trees wholesale. The cost of a linear meter can start from 1 dollar to 100-130 rubles per meter. The price depends on several factors: the type of plant, its height, fluffiness and place of purchase. Depending on the geographical location, prices can vary quite significantly, but this does not affect the expected profit, since the selling price is based on the purchase price, regardless of the city in which it is carried out.
The price includes not only the product itself, but also services for cutting it and delivering it to the forestry enterprise. You can do this work yourself, but it’s hardly worth saving on it.
You can also get spruce branches from the forestry department; individual branches sell even faster than whole trees, and you can get it at a nominal price or even for free.
Organization of trade in Christmas trees and fir trees
The Christmas tree markets begin in mid-December. By this time, you will need to decide who will engage in direct trading. If you have several points, it is better to hire sellers on terms of payment as a percentage of the goods sold, usually this payment is 10% of the cost of the trees sold.
Regardless of how trading will be carried out (from a car or on a trading platform), it is advisable to decorate this place to attract buyers, connect music and garlands. It would be nice if the seller is dressed in a Santa Claus costume. It would be good if, in addition to the trees themselves, you could offer crosses, and the trees would be packed in strong bags or at least tied with ribbons.
The price will have to be determined based on the purchase price and the prices of competitors. In the first week of trading, 50-70 percent of the prices paid to the leshoz can be added. If trade goes briskly, then it is quite possible to purchase a new batch and keep the price at the same level. Although a 100% markup is quite possible. The total price will be determined not so much by your desire as by the general prices in the city.
In the last days before the holiday, the price may rise by approximately 10 percent. But by the evening of December 31, the cost of unsold goods should decrease. So, after 19-00 you need to start lowering the price by about 10% per hour, at this time the seller should not be worried about profit, but the desire not to be left with Christmas trees in his hands after the end of the year.
Peter Stolypin, 2012-11-04
Questions and answers on the topic
Schematically, the business of selling Christmas trees consists of the following stages: determining locations for placing Christmas tree markets, equipping trading places in accordance with the requirements of administrations, purchasing products.
About Christmas markets
Trade in Christmas trees in 2015 will begin three to four weeks before the New Year (note by Moneymakers Factory: as in 2014, the same will happen in 2016). The demand for spruce and pine trees lasts only a few days, but even in this short period of time you can make good money by reselling live trees. Naturally, this seasonal type of business does not go unnoticed by city administrations, so you will need to work hard to occupy a profitable place. Entrepreneurs prepare documents for trade in Christmas trees in advance, look for forestries and prepare to purchase trees. Here, as with flowers on March 8, it is important not to miss the moment. Further material will be presented using the example of the city of Sochi, but similar requirements are presented in all regions (although it is worth noting that there may be regional differences).
Documents
How to open a Christmas tree market is a question that needs to be approached in the summer. In order for an entrepreneur to apply for a Christmas tree bazaar, he must have an open type of activity from the all-Russian OKVED classifier under number 52.63 - Other retail trade outside stores.
Important: Previously, there was a special code for trading spruce trees, but it has not been used for several years.
The city administration approves in advance the list of places for organizing the Christmas tree bazaar. These are often small areas with busy pedestrian or vehicular traffic. They rarely cover residential areas, although for some it would be convenient to buy pine right next to the house. Information about already approved places can be found on the city administration website in the “Resolutions and Documents” section.
If two or more entrepreneurs apply for one place, then the place is rented out through an auction. Usually the cost is estimated based on the area. For a small Christmas tree market, 20 square meters is enough. m, for a busy place you will need an area of about 60 sq. m. m.
For example, in September of this year, the Moscow Department of Competition Policy announced 51 auctions for the placement of Christmas tree markets in various administrative districts of Moscow. The initial cost of renting one plot of 12 square meters. m. is 48 thousand rubles. For a plot of 60 sq. m. the starting price is 300 thousand rubles. Organizations receive the right to use the site for 5 years, but only for 11 days a year: from December 20 to 31.
After receiving permission, you must switch to UTII, if permitted by the local administration. In this case, the tax will be determined based on the area of the Christmas tree market and the number of days it is open. In January of next year, you will need to remember to submit an application for removal from this regime, and report to the tax office by the 20th.
If you can’t use UTII, you will have to use a simplified taxation system and equip your Christmas tree market with a cash register.
Some municipal administrations offer an alternative way to solve the problem. When requesting a trade permit, an entrepreneur pays a certain fee; in return, the administration issues a permit to use a certain plot of land for trade. This includes tent trading in squares on New Year's Eve, Christmas tree markets, etc. The municipality no longer imposes any requirements on the entrepreneur. Before submitting an application, it is worth checking what options your administration can offer.
After receiving permission, it is necessary to begin organizing the Christmas tree market.
What must be at the Christmas tree market
An entrepreneur selling Christmas trees must have: a sign, a book of complaints and suggestions, a measuring ruler, a fire extinguisher and invoices for the presented spruce and pine trees. Some city administrations offer options for decorating all Christmas tree markets in the same style. This increases customer confidence in official retail outlets.
Main document: invoices for goods!
Let us give an example of a resolution on the requirements for Christmas tree markets in the city of Sochi.
There is another way to organize a Christmas tree market. In this case, trading will be carried out from a car. Usually this is a truck with several spruce and pine trees displayed next to it. In this case, there are no requirements for fencing and the presence of a sign, but there remains the need to register the parking place and trade with the city administration. If a truck drives along the city streets offering to buy spruce without leaving the house, this is almost always an illegal business.
Fines for illegal trade in Christmas trees
The situation here is twofold. On the one hand, entrepreneurs are required to submit an official application with a request to allocate a site for organizing a Christmas tree market, register with the tax office and give away a percentage of their profits. On the other hand, the administrative fine for illegal business ranges from 500 to 2000 rubles. All this contributes to the emergence of illegal Christmas tree markets, where enterprising citizens prefer to negotiate on the spot with inspectors and continue to work quietly.
Large fines are provided for illegal cutting of spruce and pine trees. This is already the Criminal Code, and the amount is up to 500 thousand rubles. The violator may also face correctional labor for up to two years. But, as often happens, violators simply do not fall into the hands of justice.
To combat illegal logging, forest departments use a special mixture of environmentally friendly paint. They coat the paws of pine trees with it, giving them an unsaleable appearance. The paint fades a few weeks after the New Year, but the trees are safe during the period of mass cutting.
Interesting fact: the New Year tree was not always available to residents of Russia. After the October Revolution, a whole propaganda effort was carried out against the New Year's forest beauty. Along with the abolition of Christmas, the Christmas tree also began to be called a “priestly custom,” and on New Year’s Eve special detachments walked the streets, looking into the windows. We were looking for those who have a Christmas tree in their house. Therefore, for several years it was secretly customary to cover the windows with blankets so that a stranger could not see what was happening in the house. Stalin put an end to the banishment of the Christmas tree when in December 1935 it was announced that the Christmas tree had been wrongly denounced as a bourgeois undertaking. Immediately after this, over the course of several days, fir trees were brought in en masse and celebrations were held. For several more years, special collections of articles devoted to the proper decoration of the New Year tree were published.
Purchasing Christmas trees
The main question that faces an entrepreneur is: where to buy Christmas trees for sale. You need to look for the nearest forestry department and conclude an agreement with it. An officially registered entrepreneur will need a TIN, OGRNIP, passport and stamp. For an LLC, the list of documents also includes a power of attorney for the recipient and a copy of the charter. Along with the purchased trees, the forestry department will provide a delivery note, invoices, sales receipt and quarantine certificate. Without these documents, trade in Christmas trees will be illegal. Some forestries provide packaging services for spruce and pine trees, as well as delivery to a transport company. A tree packed in a protective net takes up less space in the car and allows you to load more trees into one car.
The minimum order usually starts from 100 pieces, and delivery times are negotiated individually.
The cost of Christmas trees varies depending on which country the trees are purchased from.
In Russia, prices for pine trees are at the level of 100-150 rubles per piece. Spruces are a little more expensive.
Trees grown abroad are much more expensive. Taking into account the euro exchange rate in 2015, their purchase may turn out to be unprofitable for further resale, but they could become a good gift. For example, for an ordinary spruce a little more than a meter high, grown in Denmark, you will have to pay from 35 euros. Canadian spruce, only 20-40 cm high, costs from 5 to 30 euros per piece, and mountain pine from Germany, 15 cm high, costs 8 euros. All trees are supplied in a special decorative container and can grow quite happily in it. for a long time. The minimum order value is usually several hundred euros.
Additionally
Some entrepreneurs, in parallel with the sale of Christmas trees, organize the sale of stands for them, Christmas tree decorations, glowing garlands and other related products. All this increases the average sales receipt several times.
In addition, the price of Christmas trees fluctuates according to a certain rule. The closer the New Year gets, the price gradually increases. But on December 31, everything changes. The closer the evening gets, the prices drop. What is important for an entrepreneur is not the fact of earning money, but the sale of all products without loss to himself.
About the work of Christmas tree markets, the necessary documents and the possible consequences of illegal trade - watch the video
What to do with unsold Christmas trees?
There is no clear system here yet. Some entrepreneurs give free Christmas trees to churches and temples.
Business for the New Year - making money on the holiday
There they are used to celebrate Christmas. In big cities, sometimes zoos take away unsold Christmas trees, where they are used as animal feed. In Europe, after New Year's celebrations, trees are used to make fertilizer. The method of creating cosmetics based on spruce needles is considered innovative.
Despite this, thousands of unsold trees remain on the streets on December 31, and a few days after the holiday, hundreds of thousands of forest beauties are sent to the nearest solid waste landfill.
In conclusion
Let's summarize:
- To trade Christmas trees, you must be a registered entrepreneur or have a valid legal entity.
- The type of activity must be retail trade
- In October-November it is necessary to reserve a place in the special places allocated for trade
- Equip your retail space according to requirements
- Purchase products (it is necessary to prepare documents for Christmas trees and pine trees).
Selling New Year trees as a business is a good way to earn good money in a short period of time.
Victor Stepanov, 2015-10-21
"Chief Accountant". Appendix "Accounting in Trade", 2005, N 4
NEW YEAR'S TREE MARKET
Many trade organizations and entrepreneurs open Christmas tree markets every year. Moreover, you need to prepare all the documentation for the spruce trade in advance, since it lasts only a couple of weeks and only once a year. An error or delay with documents can lead to serious losses.
What is needed to obtain the right to trade
By mid-December, the consumer market department of the district or city administration is already determining street locations for New Year's Christmas tree markets. If you intend to trade on the central streets of the city (a more crowded, and therefore more profitable place), it is better to submit an application in advance, then the authorities will take your request into account when determining trading locations. The application indicates a request to allow the sale of New Year trees at a specific address.
Typically, a trade permit (coupon) is issued in a short time, even on the day the application is submitted.
Sale of Christmas trees and permission to trade Christmas trees
The issuance of these documents is carried out in accordance with the procedure approved by local governments. Along with the permit, do not forget to take the standard agreement form with the forestry enterprise. In the administration you can also find a list of nurseries (forestry enterprises) that grow and harvest Christmas trees.
Forest documents
At the forestry enterprise, you pay the cost of the trees and take a receipt to present to the forestry department, which is usually a division of the forestry enterprise. The cost of a Christmas tree includes the costs of: searching for marketable trees, the work of a lumberjack, delivering the trees to the forestry office, taxes and expenses for maintaining the forest area where felling took place.
Along with the trees, you need to pick up the receipt from the forestry department that you used to pay for the trees.
Please note: the forester must make a note on the back of the receipt about how many and what kind of trees they gave you.
You can save money on lumberjack work by cutting down trees yourself. A logging permit is available to everyone. However, forest management is possible only with a logging license. This is stated in Art. 42 of the Forest Code of the Russian Federation.
Usually the forestry department has a felling ticket, and on its basis it issues an order for a small release of standing timber or a forest ticket.
The ticket specifies the location of the forest fund site, the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the supplied forest resources (fir trees, fir trees, pines, spruce branches), their cost, and the timing of the work.
Responsibility for illegal logging
You can’t just come into the forest and cut down the trees you like. For deforestation without permission, administrative and criminal liability is imposed (Article 110 of the Forest Code of the Russian Federation). The temptation to cut down unnecessary trees (for example, write out 50 trees on an invoice, but cut down 70) should be avoided in advance. You simply cannot take out the excess.
The fact is that to transport spruce, pine, spruce branches, a warrant is required, as well as a receipt for payment for the spruce with a round seal from the forestry department.
All documents must indicate the date of issue, number and size of trees. And if the quantity specified in the order does not coincide with the real one, you will violate forest legislation.
Responsibility for illegal logging is provided for in Art. 8.25 Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation (administrative) and Art. 260 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
Illegal logging is any method of separating a tree from its roots without a permit (logging ticket) or in violation of its conditions.
The specific amount of the fine depends on the damage caused to the forest fund. Illegally felled trees are confiscated.
Organization of a retail space
The requirements for organizing trade in the Christmas tree business are very strict. Each retail location must be equipped with an information sign indicating the trading organization.
At the end of the sale, sanitary cleaning is carried out. A Christmas tree seller must have a price list, a measuring stick, packaging material, a guest book and a fire extinguisher. Representatives of Rosprirodnadzor, Gospozhnadzor, Rosleskhoz, police (including environmental police), and forestry workers regularly carry out raids on sales points.
Therefore, sellers must have invoices (warrants) from the forestry department and permission to trade.
Receiving money from the public
Outbound trade is retail trade for cash outside the location of a stationary store.
Should street vendors always make payments to customers through cash register systems? Let us turn to paragraph 3 of Art. 2 of Law No. 54-FZ. It allows not to use a cash register when trading at markets, fairs and other areas designated for trade, as well as during small retail trade from trays.
This does not apply to shops, pavilions, vans and other retail places that provide display and safety of goods. The latter are required to use cash registers. Apparently, a fenced-in Christmas tree bazaar should still be classified as a trading place that ensures the display and safety of goods. Therefore, KKM will have to be used. Tax officials confirmed this to us.
For conducting settlements with the population without using cash register, art. 14.5 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation provides for a fine in the amount of 300 to 400 minimum wages.
Note. Attention - UTII!
Christmas trees are sold from cars or in a temporary fenced bazaar. The first option is less expensive. Both methods fall under the definition of outbound trade. This means that in some regions such trade is subject to a single tax on imputed income. That is, even if the organization itself does not pay UTII (say, due to the large area of the trading floor), then Christmas tree markets and trade from cars will be transferred to “imputation”. Moreover, the basic profitability for them will be calculated from each retail location.
O.S.Yunisova
Vice President
LLC "Firm "Dimetra"
Signed for seal
06.10.2005
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