SFS refunds UAH 18mn in VAT to dairy-maker

Subject of complaint: State Fiscal Service of Ukraine
Complaint in brief: The Complainant, a diary-product maker and exporter located in Kharkiv Oblast, claimed that the Kharkiv Oblast had failed to refund VAT since March 2015, more than 18 months. Previous attempts by the Complainant to resolve this issue through the SFS hierarchy were unsuccessful.
Action taken: The BOC determined that this claim was substantiated and took the case on. During its investigation, the Complainant confirmed that a partial VAT refund had been issued, but a further UAH 18,122,246, the balance that had already broken all deadlines, remained outstanding.
The BOC first wrote letters to the SFS Ukraine, without results. The BOC then decided to raise this issue at an SFS expert meeting in July 2016. This case was selected for discussion with the Prime Minister and this took place on July 12. The Prime Minister Groysman immediately ordered SFS officials to pay back the VAT refund to the Complainant within a week.
Result achieved: The director of the Kharkiv Municipal Office for Large Taxpayers then informed The Council that the money would shortly be refunded to the Complainant. On July 15, the Complainant confirmed the receipt of the VAT in full and the case was closed.