Complainee: Main Department of State Fiscal Service in Odesa region (MD SFS)
Complaint in brief: One of the largest producers of mushrooms of the southern region of Ukraine approached the Council. Under pre-trial investigation, during the search, the tax police seized a significant number of the company’s documents, money, computers and other equipment. The investigating judge, who received an appeal of the company’s lawyer, agreed that the actions of the tax police were illegal and obliged the latter to return the seized property. However, his decision was implemented only partially. Although the enterprise managed to return the documents and money, the fate of the equipment (including servers) remained unknown. The enterprise sought help from the Business Ombudsman Council.
Actions taken: Having acknowledged that actions of the state body actions were illegal, the Council responded to the company’s complaint as quickly as possible.
On the second day after the complaint was received, the Council approached the MD SFS and asked to immediately implement the ruling of the investigating judge and return the property to the business entity. The Council sent a copy of the letter to a higher-level body – the SFS of Ukraine – to be considered in the framework of the Memorandum of Partnership and Cooperation.
Results achieved: Less than 2 weeks after the Business Ombudsman approached the state authority, the MD SFS fully returned the equipment to the Complainant. The tax police officials explained that the return of the equipment was delayed as it was in the process of expert examination in the respective special institution. The Complainant confirmed to the Council that the issue had been resolved and thanked for the support. The case was successfully closed.
