Business

The tax service is not an enemy for business: the State Tax Service leadership reports and listens to entrepreneurs

Representatives of 28 business associations joined a meeting with the heads of the State Tax Service. This was reported by the State Tax Service, Komersant ukrainskyi informs.

This is the second such meeting between the new leadership of the tax service and business representatives. The first one, held in early February, was attended by representatives of 23 business communities, chambers of commerce and associations.

“We talked about the main thing: how to support every taxpayer and business and do everything together to ensure that the tax service is not automatically perceived as an enemy,” said Ruslan Kravchenko, head of the State Tax Service, after the meeting.

He used the new opportunity to meet with business representatives to talk about what has already been done and what is planned.

What the head of the tax service reported on

Ruslan Kravchenko, Head of the State Tax Service of Ukraine, reported:

– Due to changes in the State Tax Service’s approaches, almost 10 thousand business entities have been excluded from the list of risky ones since the beginning of the year.

– In February, the number of data tables taken into account increased by 64%, and the number of suspended tax bills decreased to 0.39%.

– There is positive feedback on the State Tax Service’s initiative to amend the mechanism for suspending the registration of tax invoices.

– The reference book of taxpayer risk codes was updated.

– An algorithm has been developed for the actions of the territorial bodies of the State Tax Service in analyzing the compliance of the conditions of controlled agricultural export transactions with the arm’s length principle.

– The testing of the E-Audit software is underway and the STS specialists have already received access to the demo version. All taxpayers have been given the opportunity to test the system through their electronic cabinet.

According to the STS press service, the participants of the meeting also focused on the issues of overperformance of budget revenues, combating illegal trade in excisable goods, introduction of E-excise, and strengthening international cooperation on data exchange.

“The State Tax Service has become more open and much more efficient. And this is our great achievement,” said Ruslan Kravchenko, Head of the State Tax Service, summarizing the meeting.

What about business representatives?

The Union of Ukrainian Entrepreneurs, for example, appreciated the consistent policy of the State Tax Service in terms of openness, reducing pressure on entrepreneurs, reducing the number of blockades, enforcing court decisions and responding promptly to business complaints.

But they also drew attention to the issues that need to be addressed. In particular, it is about opening public data administered by the tax service, as well as eliminating duplication of paper requests when using an electronic cabinet.

According to the Union, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the State Tax Service of Ukraine has restricted (closed) access to almost all public data, which it manages, including financial statements; information on business entities with tax debts; the register of value added tax and single tax payers; all types of licenses for which the State Tax Service of Ukraine is the licensing authority.

On the one hand, the tax service requires businesses to be careful, to check their counterparties, and to punish them for their relations with risky ones, while, on the other hand, it closes data that, according to the Code and government decisions, should be available, as the relevant government resolution provides for the possibility of closing data only in certain territories.

Instead, the lack of access and the ability to fully verify the reliability of counterparties harms business and the state itself, and the Union of Ukrainian Entrepreneurs emphasizes the need to resolve this issue in the near future.

Representatives of entrepreneurs also drew attention to the problem of duplication of requests: even if a company has chosen an electronic account for communication, the State Tax Service simultaneously sends documents by mail.

“The State Tax Service explained that the electronic cabinet is auxiliary, and sending documents by mail is a requirement of the Tax Code, but promised to consider options to eliminate wasteful spending on postage,” the Union of Ukrainian Entrepreneurs noted.

They also said that the subject of the discussion was the draft amendments to the procedure for blocking tax invoices announced by the State Tax Service, which is being worked on jointly with the Ministry of Finance. According to the Union of Ukrainian Entrepreneurs, the head of the State Tax Service invited businesses to send letters in support of these initiatives.

What does the State Tax Service propose to reduce the blocking of tax invoices?

The State Tax Service assures that it is interested in reducing the number of blocked tax invoices and simplifying the registration procedure, and it offers the following proposals:

– Increase the limits for unconditional registration of invoices – the maximum volume of supply should increase to UAH 1 million, and per counterparty – to UAH 100 thousand, change the conditions regarding the number of payers for which a manager can hold a similar position (currently 3, planned 5). Transactions with small amounts (up to UAH 10 thousand) will be registered without delay, the current limit is UAH 5 thousand. The limit for the total volume of such transactions will be increased to UAH 3 million this month (currently UAH 500 thousand).

– Simplify tax invoice audits for entrepreneurs operating in areas with a potential threat of hostilities, but where there is no active fighting at the moment. It is also planned to process export invoices more quickly if their codes match the codes in the taxpayer’s data table and the taxpayer is not considered a risky one.

– Reduced bureaucracy after taxpayers are removed from the list of risky taxpayers – invoices will be subject to automatic registration if the company has a positive tax history and other specified conditions are met.

– Improve the mechanism of automatic incorporation of payer data tables – reduce the need to submit documents for incorporation of the table.

– To change certain indicators of positive tax history – more companies will be able to use such indicators. In particular, to increase the transaction volume limits from UAH 1 million to UAH 3 million, per counterparty from 100 to 500 thousand, to change the condition regarding the number of taxpayers for which a manager can hold a similar position (currently 3, planned 5).

– To change the criterion for the riskiness of transactions regarding the calculation of adjustments to tax liabilities when returning goods from a VAT non-payer, namely, not to consider the submission of such an adjustment calculation within 90 days (currently 30) as a risk. This should reduce the likelihood of blocking the calculation of adjustments when returning goods from a non-payer.

By the way, MP Nina Yuzhanina, who constantly monitors the problems in the work of the State Tax Service, has already evaluated the proposed changes. According to her, if adopted, these changes can definitely have a positive impact on the Risk Assessment Criteria Monitoring System.