Prevention, not punishment: for the first time, the tax authorities warned entrepreneurs about possible violations
2 May 2025 15:57
More than 1000 business entities have received informational messages via the Electronic Cabinet to prevent possible violations of the settlement procedure. This was announced by the Head of the State Tax Service of Ukraine Ruslan Kravchenko, according to
According to him, for the first time in history, the State Tax Service has chosen to prevent violations rather than punish them.
What entrepreneurs were warned about
Tax experts analyzed the fiscal checks of retailers for March 2025. The tax authorities’ attention was drawn to the fact that the calculations of these business entities did not reflect any cash transactions. This may indicate that they may not have made cash payments through cash registers.
“Therefore, in the letters we suggest that businesses independently review their previous business transactions and in the future not to allow payments without the use of registrars when selling goods,” explained the Head of the State Tax Service.
How the State Tax Service prevents violations
The tax authorities emphasize that if entrepreneurs correct their mistakes, they will avoid grounds for conducting actual audits, which, according to the Tax Code, the STS has the right to initiate if there are signs of violations.
Ruslan Kravchenko emphasized that the State Tax Service introduces such additional measures of communication with taxpayers to encourage voluntary tax payment and compliance with tax discipline. This is envisaged by the National Revenue Strategy to increase the level of trust in the tax service and voluntary compliance.
Back in early January, immediately after his appointment, Head of the State Tax Service Ruslan Kravchenko emphasized the importance of an open dialog with entrepreneurs.
At the time, he expressed his belief that every tax officer should not only explain, for example, the reasons for blocking tax invoices, but also help businesses avoid mistakes.
Ruslan Kravchenko identified stopping the unjustified classification of business entities as risky and blocking of tax invoices as a priority for the entire service. At the same time, he promised to improve the system.
And in a recent interview with Ekonomichna Pravda, the head of the State Tax Service acknowledged the existence of a crisis of confidence on the part of business in his agency and emphasized that the strategic goal of the STS reform is to restore this trust.
Ruslan Kravchenko said that for this purpose, for example, he ordered the creation of consulting centers and is “trying to force” employees to call and explain to businesses why they were classified as risky.
The head of the State Tax Service also confirmed his desire to reduce the number of blocked tax bills to 0.2% (in 2024 it was 0.76%). To this end, the tax authority proposes to increase the number of criteria for unconditional registration of invoices.
It is proposed, in particular, to simplify the procedure for registering tax invoices, increase the efficiency of automated monitoring, and minimize administrative pressure.
