STS reimburses court costs to Mykolayiv entreprise

Complainee:  The State Tax Service (STS), Main Department of the STS in Mykolayiv region (MD STS)
Complaint in brief: The Business Ombudsman Council received a complaint from Mykolayiv enterprise, a seller of agricultural equipment. The company complained that the tax authority did not enforce the court decision concerning registration of tax invoices. According to the decision, the MD STS registered the complainant’s tax invoices on the day of their submission. However, it did not agree to enforce the ruling on the costs write-off (court fees and legal fees for a lawyer).
After the court decision entered into force, the enterprise appealed to the enforcement body — the State Treasury Service. The Treasury Service refused to reimburse the court costs referring to the moratorium for indisputable write-off of court fees and reimbursement of legal fees for a lawyer established until January 1, 2021. At the same time, in the State Treasury Service’s position the debtor was not banned from voluntary enforcement of the court decision. Since the complainant did not succeed in recovering costs, the Council’s team commenced the complaint consideration. 
Actions taken: Having examined the case materials, the Council asked the STS to voluntarily enforce the court decision. In response, the tax service asked for the company’s bank account details. It was interesting that right at this moment, the Constitutional Court cancelled the moratorium for indisputable write-off of court costs. Therefore, there was no other justification of the tax authority’s inaction.
Result achieved: The STS enforced the court decision and transferred funds for court costs to the complainant’s bank account. The case was successfully closed.