The Supreme Court upheld the position of Vasil Kisil & Partners' lawyers in a tax dispute over import operations

Vasil Kisil & Partners successfully represented Kischenzi LLC in an almost UAH 6 million tax dispute in late 2023.  
 
The administrative court of appeal agreed with the position taken by the lawyers of Vasil Kisil & Partners and noted that the Law of Ukraine on Currency and Currency Transactions was not applicable to transactions relating to the transfer of funds otherwise than under a foreign economic agreement and that tax authorities had no right to charge a penalty if the time limits to make settlement under these transactions are violated.

In turn, the Supreme Court affirmed such a position on 1 February 2024 and upheld the resolution of the administrative court of appeal, having stated that: 
“... in the case at hand, the court of appeal was correct to conclude that it was not about importation when the claimant [Kischenzi LLC] remitted EUR 186,240.00 to the account of an unknown person. This transaction has nothing to do with trading at all because it was not made under the relevant agreement, nor did it give rise to any actual economic consequences, so that foreign exchange influence and control measures shall not be applied in accordance with Law No. 2473-VIII.”

Commenting on the recent resolution of the Supreme Court, Yehor Svidlo, Senior Associate and Attorney-at-Law at Vasil Kisil & Partners, said that “The Administrative Court of Cassation has finished shaping new case law for similar disputes. The key purpose of all administrative courts is and has always been to protect the rights and interests of honest and diligent taxpayers. A taxpayer should not suffer any adverse consequences from unprofessional “conclusions” of tax authorities. The basis of the rule of law is transparent and fair judicial proceedings. We, as lawyers, defend the right to justice in courts every day, and the position of the Supreme Court proves that our efforts are not in vain.” 

Yehor Svidlo, Senior Associate and Alina Ratushna, Associate have been involved in the process.