State Tax Service and Business Ombudsman Council jointly implemented the first tax mediation case in the history of Ukraine

State Tax Service and Business Ombudsman Council jointly implemented the first tax mediation case in the history of Ukraine. This was informed by acting Head of the State Tax Service Lesya Karnaukh on the Facebook page.

“Tax mediation mechanism has already proven its effectiveness. Thanks to the constructive work of the Tax Service, Business Ombudsman Council and the payer oneself, the tax dispute that could have dragged on for years in the courts has been resolved” – Lesya Karnaukh stated.

She noted that the tax mediation is one of the fundamental tasks that the State Tax Service systematically works on. When the Tax Service and business hear each other and cooperate, it saves time and resources. And the most importantly, it is possible to resolve everything without the courts and without losses for the budget.

According to Lesya Karnaukh, at the end of October last year, the State Tax Service, together with the Business Ombudsman Council, moved on to specific developments. Draft project was introduced in the Central Interregional Directorate of the State Tax Service for work with large taxpayers. A number of specific cases are being processed.

Unscheduled audit of the company regarding the negative VAT value declared for budget reimbursement was completed in January 2026. Prior to this, the company had already undergone four audits on the same question. It repeatedly appealed the decisions of the State Tax Service.

The situation was complicated due to specifics of the company’s business model – one of the largest suppliers of seeds and plant protection products, with a complex pricing and discount system.

The key question was provision of discounts after the product delivery. Discounts were provided in various ways, in particular through the mutual offsetting of funds between the parties. These operations are confirmed by a significant number of documents and settlements. Audit results showed that all discounts were registered correctly and comply with Ukrainian legislation.

It is also important that the company decided to change direction of using the funds. Instead of directly refunding the VAT from the budget, the company redirected these amounts to pay taxes in the future.

“This case is example of a constructive dialogue with the tax authority. And we are grateful to the Business Ombudsman Council for its tremendous work in resolving complex questions. Open dialogue and partnership work for the benefit of both business and the state” – emphasized acting Head of the State Tax Service.