Appeal of tax notification-decision in Ukraine in 2023

Any tax audit is aimed at revealing the facts of non-payment of mandatory tax payments to the budget.

If violations are not detected, then the successful tax audit is confirmed by a certificate, in case of detection of violations, tax inspectors issue the act which will serve as the basis for further delivery of the tax notification-decision (hereinafter - TND) to a taxpayer.

Today we will talk about whether such a notice can be considered illegal and what to do if you have faced such a situation.

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In what case can you receive a tax notification-decision?

The TND are most often issued in the following cases:

A taxpayer does not submit a tax return in due time, but during the tax audit it turned out that the taxpayer conducted activities that led to the objects of taxation;
The results of the tax audits showed that the amount of the taxpayer’s tax liabilities was understated or overstated;
An audit of withholding taxes at the source of payment, including the tax agent, found a violation of the rules of accrual, withholding and payment of taxes and fees to the respective budgets;
Understatement or overestimation of tax liabilities occurred as a result of customs control (audit of customs declarations);
And others.

The most advantageous option, in case of receipt of the tax notification-decision, will be to contact a lawyer within the shortest possible time. At this stage, the lawyer will tell you exactly whether the tax office is wrong and what chances you have in this situation.

This will help you not to waste your time and money.

What is the procedure for appealing of the TND?

The taxpayer’s appeal against the TND is a complex process aimed at revocation the TND effect. The Tax Code of Ukraine provides for the following mechanisms to cancel the TND:

An administrative appeal procedure, that is, pre-trial order;
Resolution of the dispute in an administrative court.

The administrative appeal process involves the submission of a claim to the highest level supervisory authority, whose decision is final in the administrative appeal procedure.

The deadline for filing a claim is 10 business days upon the receipt of the TND. If you miss the deadline, the complaint will not be considered.

In this case, the guilty taxpayer must pay the accrued liabilities within 10 calendar days, except for the cases when the taxpayer began the appeal procedure within this period.

To tell the truth, based on our practice, the administrative procedure of cancellation of the TND is most often formal, but the enterprise has time to work out a strategy to protect its interests in court.

We advise you to use the administrative procedure as a first step in the process of TND cancellation.

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The appealing of the TND in court takes place in the district administration court at the location of the taxpayer or tax authority.

You can also file a complaint in court later than 10 days after receiving the notice. In fact, you have a limitation period of 1,095 days provided for in Article 102 of the Tax Code.

One of the most important task in this procedure to correctly prepare the statement of claim. You will need to prove the illegality of the adopted TND and give references to supporting documents and the relevant provisions of law. The essence of the claim should be as follows: to recognize the illegality of the adopted TND and cancel the TND.

It is necessary to prescribe in detail all taken measures of pre-trial settlement, attach copies of claims and the results of their consideration to the statement of claim.

The result of the consideration of the claim by the court may be: