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Blocking cards and phones: new ideas of the TCC to combat tax evaders

ANALYSIS FROM

Oleksandr Bondarchuk, an employee of the Zvyagel district MCC and JV, suggested introducing new mechanisms that would force evaders to contact the MCC on their own – by blocking their payroll cards, mobile phones, or other services. This, according to the military, will greatly facilitate the work of the MCC, as their main task is not to catch people by force, but to organize the mobilization process. A lawyer interviewed by Komersant ukrainskyiwas very surprised by this proposal, as the TCC currently has enough leverage over those liable for military service.

Oleksandr Bondarchuk, an employee of the TCC, said that some men perceive the TCC as the main culprit for the war, problems with the borders and evasion.

“People don’t understand that it is the job of the CCC staff to notify them, to draw up documents, etc. They make us responsible for the war, leaky borders, medical reports, etc., and they take their anger out on us because we are at hand,” Bondarchuk said.

Therefore, the military suggests blocking bank cards, disconnecting mobile communications, etc. to make the evaders go to the TCC.

As commented by [Kommersant]roman Ligachev, a lawyer and member of the Helsinki Human Rights Group, commented on this statement, saying that military enlistment offices should remember that there is a military charter, and study all the latest resolutions of the Cabinet of Ministers, the Defense Ministry, and laws passed by the Verkhovna Rada, according to which the MCC has an incredible amount of power and leverage over conscripts during mobilization: they have the right to issue summonses, bring to administrative responsibility for failure to appear under a summons, which means a fine of 17,000 UAH, and so on.

“They just don’t want to admit that very often they issue them illegally, and the courts cancel them. They can’t customize the work themselves, they send summonses as they please. Recently, the court found out that the fine was issued illegally because Ukrposhta found out that they had not sent the summons to a certain address. They issued a fine order against the person and put him on the wanted list. They have a lot of powers. If fines do not help, they can deprive you of the right to drive a vehicle. And there is already such a precedent. They have the powers, but there are clearly problems in the organization of the process,” the lawyer believes.

If fines don’t help, then the TCCs can apply for criminal prosecution, and then it’s up to the police to investigate and the court to pass a verdict. But it’s easier to catch them on the street without a trial.

“Courts today hand down real sentences of up to three years in prison for failure to appear under subpoena. You just need to fulfill your functional duties, and not engage in catching people on the streets, beating them up, and so on. These are not the functions of the TCC. And if they are also allowed to use weapons as they wish, it’s even scary to imagine what will happen,” says Roman Ligachev.

But, unfortunately, it all comes down to the fact that they do not inform persons liable for military service on the streets that they must come to the TCC, to the military registration and enlistment office, and they are forcibly put into cars and taken away. Yes, conscripts avoid them, but this does not mean that they should be deprived of any services for this, the lawyer emphasizes. It’s just that TCC employees must do what they are supposed to do according to their job descriptions, and there is nothing about forcible detention of persons liable for military service, keeping them in the TCC, taking them under escort to the military registration and enlistment office, and even more so about the use of force against citizens.

Author – Alla Dunina