The State Tax Service and the Business Ombudsman Council jointly implemented the first tax mediation case in the history of Ukraine. This was reported on her Facebook page by the Acting Head of the State Tax Service Lesya Karnaukh.
“The tax mediation mechanism has already proven its effectiveness. Thanks to the constructive work of the tax service, the Business Ombudsman Council and the payer himself, a tax dispute has been resolved, which could have dragged on for years in the courts,” said Lesya Karnaukh.
She noted that tax mediation was one of the fundamental tasks that the State Tax Service systematically worked on. Because when the tax service and business heard each other and cooperated, it saved time and resources. And most importantly, it is an opportunity to resolve everything without courts and at the same time without losses for the budget.
According to Lesya Karnaukh, at the end of October last year, the State Tax Service, together with the Business Ombudsman Council, moved on to specific developments. A pilot project was introduced in the Central Interregional Department of the State Tax Service to work with large taxpayers. A number of specific cases are being processed.
Thus, in January, an unscheduled inspection of the company regarding the negative value of VAT declared for budget reimbursement was completed. Before that, the company had already undergone four inspections on the same issue. It repeatedly appealed the decision of the State Tax Service.
The situation was complicated due to the specifics of the company’s business model – one of the largest suppliers of seeds and plant protection products, with a complex pricing and discount system.
The key issue was the issue of providing discounts after the delivery of goods. Discounts were provided in various ways, in particular through the mutual offsetting of funds between the parties. These operations are confirmed by a significant number of documents and calculations. The results of the inspection showed that all discounts were correctly issued and comply with the legislation of Ukraine.
The company decided to change the direction of using the funds. Instead of directly refunding VAT from the budget, the company redirected these amounts to pay taxes in the future.
“This case is an example of a constructive dialogue with the tax authority. And we are grateful to the Business Ombudsman Council for its tremendous work in resolving complex issues. Open dialogue and partnership work for the benefit of both business and the state,” emphasized the Acting Head of the State Tax Service. (State Tax Service)