The gas stations network turned to the Business Ombudsman, because the tax office charged it with a fine of UAH 1.2 mn as a result of the audit, as it allegedly sold fuel at one of Kyiv gas stations without using a cash register. Tax officials arrived at this conclusion due to the lack of fuel in the tanks when comparing its balance with the documents submitted for the audit.
The gas stations chain handed documents over to the tax authority confirming that at the time of the inspection, it was performing maintenance works on cleaning the tanks at the gas station. So, in connection with this, the fuel was temporarily moved from reservoirs to maintenance company’s tanks.
Disagreeing with the tax authority, the company challenged their decision on charging fines to the State Tax Service of Ukraine (STS of Ukraine). At the same time, the company appealed to the Business Ombudsman Council with a request to participate in its case consideration by the STS of Ukraine. In a letter to the STS of Ukraine, as well as during a joint review of the complaint with the participation of the tax authority and the complainant, the Council drew attention to the fact that the gas stations chain had sent a notice to the tax authority about cleaning the tanks in advance. Such maintenance works must be periodically carried out by gas stations in accordance with the law, because they contribute to petroleum products safe storage and extend the equipment service life. Despite receiving such a notice, the tax authority decided to check the fact of fuel presence in gas station tanks on that very day.
As for the cash register use, the company had such a device installed at the gas station, but the fact of fuel sale was not proven by the tax authority. The primary documents confirmed that the company was only cleaning reservoirs, so there was no reasonable justification for the fine. Thus, the company did not violate the law on cash registers.
Therefore, the STS of Ukraine agreed with the fact that the company was cleaning the tanks and dropped he regional tax office’s fine worth UAH 1.2 mn.
