Business Associations Call on the Government to Improve the Implementation of the E-Audit System
5 February 10:56
Leading business associations of Ukraine, including the European Business Association, the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine, the Independent Association of Banks of Ukraine, and the Forum of Leading International Financial Institutions, have called on the government to review the process of implementing SAF-T UA, an electronic format for submitting detailed information for tax audits. This was reported by the European Business Association, Komersant ukrainskyi informs.
In their joint letter, representatives of the business community emphasized the importance of transparent and phased implementation of this standard, which is part of the digital transformation of tax reporting in Ukraine, and also drew attention to the need to finalize certain technical aspects of the SAF-T UA format to ensure its effective use and reduce the burden on business.
The banking sector may face additional difficulties
According to representatives of business associations, tax reporting requirements for banks differ significantly from similar requirements in other industries. Banks operate with large amounts of financial data that are subject to special regulatory standards and are radically different from the data in the accounting systems of companies in other sectors of the economy. This greatly complicates the adaptation to the unified SAF-T UA format, which was developed with the idea of mainly producing goods and providing non-financial services, and requires significant resources to harmonize with the current banking regulation.
In addition, the lack of clear explanations on the level of detail of financial information may lead to legal uncertainty and risks of violation of banking secrecy. It is advisable to take these features into account and develop flexible reporting mechanisms for the banking sector.
What else do business associations offer?
First of all, the business community expects a constructive dialog with the relevant government agencies on the implementation of SAF-T UA. Business representatives also emphasize the need for
– providing detailed explanations on the requirements for data format and volume;
– defining clear deadlines and a mechanism for the gradual implementation and adaptation of the standard in order to avoid excessive burden and pressure on business, including making appropriate changes to legislation;
– conducting proper testing in cooperation with the business community, etc.

What is SAF-T UA and E-audit?
SAF-T (Standard Audit File for Tax) or SAF-T UA (Ukrainian version) is an electronic data exchange format designed to simplify and standardize reporting to the tax authority. Its main goal is to ensure the availability, accuracy and completeness of data for audit. SAF-T UA is being implemented gradually in Ukraine – at this stage, the requirement to create and submit a standard audit file applies only to large taxpayers.
That is, large taxpayers are already required to submit files in accordance with this standard at the request of the tax authorities during audits. Meanwhile, the Parliament is already considering legislative changes aimed at enshrining SAF-T UA as a format for regular mandatory reporting.
The implementation of IT solutions for SAF-T UA data processing and the launch of the E-audit system in general are envisaged by the National Revenue Strategy until 2030, which was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. It is this Strategy that provides for the improvement of the processes of organizing and conducting documentary and factual audits.
And one of the priorities in this area is the digital transformation of the main processes of control and inspection work and the application of the latest approaches to its implementation, where the key measure is the introduction of an electronic audit procedure (E-audit) in the activities of the State Tax Service.
According to the State Tax Service, in order to finalize and eliminate deficiencies in the formation and submission of the Standard Audit File (SAF-T UA) by taxpayers, the STS is currently working with the developer to modernize version V2.0, in particular, a detailed technical description of the elements of SAF-T UA V2.0_2 (1) has been drawn up. The updated version of the Standard Audit File (SAF-T UA) V2.0_2 (1) has been posted on the STS web portal and notifications have been sent to the electronic offices of large taxpayers.
In addition, the demo version of the electronic audit system “E-audit” is being analyzed and studied.
The State Tax Service also informed about the possibility of concluding a Memorandum with large taxpayers on participation in the experiment on the implementation of the procedure (“E-audit”) by sending relevant notifications to the electronic offices of large taxpayers.