Kyiv tax inspectors continue to shamelessly extort bribes. The promised changes and relief are nowhere to be seen, not even under a microscope.
Rampant corruption and the focus on personal enrichment among officials at all levels became one of the reasons for the Revolution of Dignity. In December and February, small and medium-sized businesses contributed greatly to the Maidan's victory: they personally stood guard, delivered food and tents, and donated money. Everyone believed that after the victory and the overthrow of Yanukovych's corrupt regime, the arbitrary exercise of tax authorities and rampant bribery in the state apparatus would be overcome.
Experience has shown that nothing of the sort is true. After lying low for a couple of months, officials have gradually begun to revive old schemes at a rapid pace. Moscow's tax authorities, the Pechersk and Shevchenkivska State Tax Inspectorates, are particularly notable for this. There are numerous examples of this.
One common form of covert bribery is the refusal to issue a VAT payer certificate. The formal grounds cited by tax authorities are "a discrepancy between information in the Unified Data Bank (EDB) and the Unified State Register (USR)." Allegedly, the company is not located at the registered address indicated in the USR. "At the same time, the tax authorities themselves are entangled in their own lies," says Ivan Prochenkov, a lawyer at the Styling law firm. "Information in the USR is entered automatically from the USR, so it simply cannot differ unless someone interferes with the system."
Tax authorities in the Shevchenkivskyi and Pecherskyi districts blatantly disregard the law, which clearly stipulates that the only accurate and complete information is contained in the Unified State Register. Only records in the Unified State Register, not in internal databases, can serve as grounds for any restrictions on a company's operations. Any attempts by tax authorities to replace the Unified State Register with some internal databases and other information "at the disposal of the State Tax Inspectorate" are nothing more than arbitrary and legally nihilistic.
Thus, Kyiv tax offices, primarily Pechersk and Shevchenkivska, have a practice of drawing up so-called "taxpayer absentee" reports. Tax officials draw up these reports en masse, often without leaving their offices. Based on these "documents," VAT payer certificates are denied or revoked, with the corresponding termination of the agreement for electronic reporting.
Such measures effectively paralyze the company's operations. Complaints about illegal actions by tax authorities are processed within 30 days, forcing the company to remain idle.
It's unclear how a company without any "compromising" entries in the Unified State Register (USR) is supposed to prove to tax authorities that it is located where it is. The requirement to provide inspectors with documents confirming its "location" (pardon the tautology) is not specified anywhere and, of course, cannot be regulated. The Law of Ukraine "On State Registration of Enterprises and Individual Entrepreneurs" clearly states: if the registrar has not entered a record in the USR indicating the absence of a company's location, then, legally, the company is located there.
The leadership of the Shevchenkivska and Pechersk tax authorities, headed by Viktoria Maltseva and Oksana Ekaseva, respectively, cynically harass businessmen, forcing them to choose between paying bribes or engaging in months-long correspondence. The rationale behind this scheme is clear: if the businessman agrees to pay, all the officials' claims will magically disappear.
"We receive dozens of complaints about the actions of these State Tax Inspectorates," notes Ivan Prochenkov. "These complaints will soon be processed and forwarded personally to the head of the State Fiscal Service, Igor Bilous, as well as to the relevant Verkhovna Rada committees and the prosecutor's office."
Comments
Dmitry Nikiforov, director of Troika Capital AMC
The personnel policies of Messrs. Bilous and Khomenko leave much to be desired. Nothing in the operating principles or attitudes toward taxpayers has changed since the change in leadership at the Ministry of Revenue. And how could they have changed if the heads of the Kyiv inspectorates haven't changed? The head of the Kyiv Department of Revenue and Duties, Bondarenko, the head of the Shevchenko State Tax Inspectorate, Maltseva, and the deputy head of the Pechersky District State Tax Inspectorate, Angalyuk—all individuals with impressive track records, having worked in fiscal-terrorist agencies for over ten years. All of them served successfully under Azarov, Kravchenko, and Klymenko. Moreover, they held leadership positions and simply couldn't help but participate in the development and implementation of corruption schemes. Their entire careers have unquestioningly followed the orders of their superiors and "fulfilled the plan" for official and unofficial payments. They simply don't know and cannot work any other way. To assume that these “valuable personnel” will start working for the state and living on their salaries is the height of naivety.
The same situation has developed as under Klimenko: entrepreneurs are forced to either pay to have their trumped-up claims dismissed by tax authorities or engage in "correspondence boxing." Businessmen are forced to spend weeks and considerable effort defending their legal rights. Corrupt officials' favorite pastime is nitpicking over the "location of the taxpayer" and "mass registration addresses." Incidentally, from the tax authorities' perspective, the Parus business center, 101 Tower, and other office centers are considered mass registration addresses. But the tax authorities are ready to defend their position vehemently, unwilling to lose a source of corrupt profits.
This entire "old guard" must be urgently isolated not only from public service but also from society. Bribe-takers must be punished in an exemplary manner, so that others think twice before participating in corrupt schemes and flagrantly breaking the law.
Yaroslav Kontush, Chairman of the Board of the Business Defense League
Thanks to the "new-old" management, the Pechersk and Shevchenkivska State Tax Inspectorates are the most troubled in Kyiv. Many new businesses registered in these districts have never received VAT payer certificates. Tax authorities refuse to process the documents, citing certain entries in their Unified Database, thereby flagrantly violating the law. Please note that these are new, newly registered businesses and cannot have any entries in the database, nor can they be subject to any claims—they haven't yet begun operations, and their status cannot be anything other than "0."
In the near future, we intend to begin an indefinite picket of the main buildings of the Shevchenkivska and Pechersk State Tax Inspectorates, demanding an end to lawlessness. We will also insist on the dismissal of the heads of these inspectorates, who directly facilitate the corrupt practices of their subordinates.
At the same time, we will also appeal to law enforcement agencies to investigate the illegal activities of tax officials, the creation of obstacles to business activity, and abuse of office.
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