Fiscal ombudsman addressed problems of more than 300 companies

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Kyiv, November 28, 2015. The Commissioner for Enterprise at the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine has been working for almost 100 days now. Over 300 companies requested his assistance, which proves the relevance of this institute, said Taras Kachka, Commissioner for Enterprise at the State Fiscal Service at a briefing at Ukraine Crisis Media Center.

According to Kachka, businesses of all forms (both state and private enterprises) faced problems with the State Fiscal Service. There are numerous requests on typical technical problems, including use of VAT electronic administration, functioning of the unified register of VAT invoices and the issue of so-called “condition 9” which has already been solved. Moreover, there is a systematic problem of renewals of electronic key agreements.

“All these issues refer to the functioning of information technological systems used by the State Fiscal Service,” explained Kachka. “We expect the issue of automated administration functioning to be solved within the framework of the Budget for 2016 and the fiscal reform.”

Draft law No.3357 registered at the Verkhovna Rada, among others, contains ideas on improving electronic administration of taxes.

Another issue entrepreneurs have filed to the fiscal ombudsman is administrative appeals against the results of tax inspections. Kachka confirmed that there are a considerable number of illogical and wrong decisions reflected in inspection reports. These mostly refer to such mistakes as reversed application of legal provisions to the facts that happened prior to taking legal effect, as well as incorrect interpretation of norms of civil law and accounting.

“My presence and the presence of the business ombudsman council help in conducting more objective hearings. I believe we need to institutionalize this practice. The Ministry of Finance of Ukraine within the framework of fiscal reform plans to involve intermediaries in the appellative procedure to minimize the risk of bias,” added Kachka.

VAT remuneration is the third systematic problem in the process of tax administration. According to Kachka, there are cases when minor formal violations give the State Fiscal Service the possibility to dismiss requests for tax remuneration. It is expected the problem will be eliminated on January 1, 2016, when the VAT electronic administration system will be fully introduced.

At the same time, the number of requests regarding incorrect work of the customs service was considerably smaller, all pertaining to customs value and introduction of the Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers No.724.

The Commissioner for Enterprise at the State Fiscal Service has the following priorities: solving systematic technical problems; participation in reforming and staff renewal of the State Fiscal Service; supporting effective dialogue with civil society, in particular, the American Chamber of Commerce and industry associations.