Kyiv Customs refunds over UAH 4 mn to Fozzy Food

Subject of complaint: Kyiv Customs of the SFS (Kyiv Customs) 
Complaint in brief: On January 24, 2018, Fozzy Food a leading Ukrainian retailer appealed to the Council regarding refund of excessively paid customs duties.
Disagreeing with the imported products’ customs value designated by the Complainant, the Kyiv customs adjusted it up. Accordingly, the Complainant paid more taxes to the budget. In order to prove the correctness of the declared customs value and return the overpayment, the retailer appealed relevant decisions of the Kyiv Customs in courts.
In 2013-2014, courts decided in favor of the Complainant and ordered customs authorities to refund over-paid amounts. However, with regard to most supplies, the Kyiv customs refused to return funds. The reasons for the refusal were quite formal. In particular, the customs authorities insisted that the courts did not revoke the correction decision, and “only recognized them as unlawful.” Meanwhile, the amount of return on other deliveries and litigation were gradually increasing.
Actions taken: Having examined case materials, the Council fully supported the Complainant’s position and appealed to the SFS and Kyiv Customs with a request to comply with the court’s ruling. In early February, the parties met and developed an action plan for the refund. 
 
Result achieved: With the assistance of the Council, the Complainant and Kyiv Customs developed a constructive dialogue. After the meeting the Customs promptly satisfied several claims of the Complainant regarding the refund of UAH 3.9 mn. A disputable issue worth several hundreds of thousands of hryvnias, which remained on the agenda, was finally considered at the Council and the SFS Expert Group meeting. The latter confirmed the possibility of the refund in this case. 
 
Thanks to the Council’s support, the excessively paid customs duties worth over UAH 4 mn was refunded to the Complainant. The case was closed successfully.