The system of automatic tax debt collection, which the State Tax Service launched a little over two months ago, demonstrates high results and significantly increases the efficiency of work. During this period, more than 1.2 million payment instructions have been automatically generated and sent to more than 20 thousand taxpayers. This has already allowed collecting almost UAH 179 million in debt. This was stated by the Acting Head of the State Tax Service Lesya Karnaukh.
“For comparison, earlier, when such a system did not work, we managed to collect about UAH 90 million in two months. That is, now we have almost doubled the indicators. And in wartime, when every penny is on the account for the state and taxes are the conditions of our survival, such dynamics are positive,” Lesya Karnaukh emphasized.
The automated collection system is applied only to legal entities. The issue of debts of individuals and sole proprietors is regulated by other legislation and falls under the competence of the State Executive Service.
According to the Acting Head of the State Tax Service, automation has eliminated a number of abuses that arose earlier. Long document processing times gave unscrupulous debtors the opportunity to transfer funds from the account, close it or open a new one – even before the debt was actually written off.
Thanks to the interaction of the State Tax Service with the State Treasury, the National Bank and banking institutions, such situations are now impossible.
Lesya Karnaukh also noted that such a procedure was not a surprise for the taxpayer. Automatic collection is applied exclusively to an already formed tax debt that has gone through all the procedures of both formation and appeal. A tax claim is issued only when the payer has exhausted all the possibilities provided for by law to contest such a debt, but the debt remains valid. That is why the write-off of funds is no longer subject to appeal – this is the final stage of the procedure.
According to Lesya Karnaukh, the State Tax Service will continue to improve the system. The key task is to maximize the automation of database filling processes, optimize the formation of payment instructions, as well as coordinate processes with banking institutions to take into account their operating hours. This will increase convenience for payers, and at the same time ensure stable tax revenues for the state.
“In times of war, taxes are a condition for our survival. And when the aggressor’s relentless attacks destroy many businesses, the tax service is trying to use all the tools provided to the maximum extent possible in order to fulfill the tasks facing the state in terms of tax collection,” the head of the State Tax Service emphasized.