Resumption of the time limits for filing complaints against decisions of the tax authority received by taxpayers on or after August 1, 2023, and the option to file such complaints through the Electronic Portal
The Law of Ukraine No. 3219-IX dated June 30, 2023 «On Amendments to the Tax Code of Ukraine and Other Laws of Ukraine Regarding Taxation Peculiarities During Martial Law» (hereinafter - Law No. 3219), which came into force on August 1, 2023, introduced amendments to a number of legislative acts, including the Tax Code of Ukraine (hereinafter - TCU), regarding the restoration...
Specifically, Law No. 3219 repealed the provision (clause 102.9 of Article 102 of the TCU) under which the running of time limits defined by the TCU was suspended for the duration of martial law.
It was also established that certain sub-clauses of the transitional provisions of the TCU, which set out the specifics for suspending the running of time limits, remained in effect until August 1, 2023 (sub-clause 69.9 of clause 69 of Sub-section 10 of Section XX “Transitional Provisions”).
Therefore, for taxpayers and tax authorities, effective August 1, 2023, the running of the time limits defined by the TCU has been restored. This applies, in particular, to the time limit for filing a complaint against a decision of the controlling authority!
A complaint to the higher-level controlling authority in written or electronic form via electronic communication shall be submitted within 10 business days, following the day on which the taxpayer receives the tax assessment notice or any other decision of the controlling authority being appealed (paragraph one of clause 56.3 of Article 56 of the TCU).
Complaints against decisions of the territorial bodies of the central executive authority responsible for state tax policy shall be submitted to that central executive authority (paragraph four of clause 56.3 of Article 56 of the TCU).
Where, in accordance with the TCU, a tax authority independently determines a taxpayer’s monetary obligation for reasons unrelated to a violation of tax law, such taxpayer has the right to administrative appeal of the tax authority’s decisions within 30 calendar days, following the day of receipt of the tax assessment notice from the controlling authority (clause 56.12 of Article 56 of the TCU).
At the same time, within six months from the date of expiry of the time limit set by paragraph one of clause 56.3 of Article 56 of the TCU (10 business days), the taxpayer has the right to file a complaint together with a motion to reinstate the missed time limit for filing a complaint through administrative proceedings (paragraph 3 of clause 56.3 of Article 56 of the TCU). The time limits for filing a complaint against a tax assessment notice or any other decision of the controlling authority may be extended in accordance with the rules and on the grounds set out in clause 102.6 of Article 102 of the TCU (clause 56.14 of Article 56 of the TCU).
It should also be noted that, pursuant to clause 56.13 of Article 56 of the TCU, if the last day of the time limits specified in this article falls on a weekend or public holiday, the last day of such time limit shall be considered the first business day following the weekend or public holiday.
Regarding the possibility of filing a complaint against a decision of the controlling authority in electronic form, the following should be noted.
Pursuant to Article 421 of the TCU, the Taxpayer Electronic Cabinet enables taxpayers to exercise their rights and fulfill their obligations as defined by the TCU and other laws, including by providing the ability to administratively appeal decisions of controlling authorities, including the submission of objections to an audit report or certificate, filing a complaint against a tax assessment notice or any other decision, action or inaction of a controlling authority or its official, including decisions on customs value adjustment, goods classification for customs purposes, country of origin determination, decisions on grounds for tax privileges, etc.
In the “Correspondence with the STS” section of the private area of the Electronic Cabinet, the taxpayer can send letters, requests and other correspondence to the relevant tax authority (STS), including the ability to file complaints. The procedure for preparing such a letter includes the following steps:
- select the region where the STS authority is located;
- select the specific STS authority to which the letter (request, etc.) is addressed;
- select the document type;
- specify the subject of the inquiry;
- enter a brief description of the letter;
- upload a scanned document, which must be in PDF format and must not exceed the 5 MB size limit.
Sent letters can be viewed in the “Outgoing Documents” section. Video tutorial from the STS No. 4 can be viewed at the link.
Within one business day of sending the letter to the STS authority, the sender of the electronic letter receives a notification indicating the incoming registration number and the date of registration of the request at the STS authority to which the request was sent. The user can check information on the receipt and registration of letters at the STS authority by navigating to the “Incoming” tab in the “Incoming/Outgoing Documents” menu in the private area of the Electronic Cabinet.
The specialists at M’Consult specialize in filing complaints against tax authority decisions and are always ready to provide you with professional assistance in this complex matter.