How to Appeal a Tax Notice-Decision: Steps and Deadlines for Entrepreneurs

If the State Tax Service (DPS) has assessed tax or a penalty for your shop that you disagree with, check the tax notice-decision (ППР) and record the date you received it. As a general rule, you have 10 business days after the day of receipt to file an administrative appeal. An appeal filed within this period suspends enforcement of the disputed monetary obligation until the administrative appeal is completed.

An entrepreneur may appeal to a higher-level DPS authority or go straight to the administrative court. If you first appeal to the DPS, once that procedure ends, the deadline for court proceedings against a ППР assessing a monetary obligation is one month. So, while preparing the appeal, gather the documents you may need for a court claim.

Check the document and the date of service

Keep the ППР, its calculation, the audit report, and the response to your objections, if you submitted any. Note the number and date of the ППР, the authority that issued it, the tax, the period, the principal amount, and the penalty. Compare each assessment with your tax returns, source documents, and payments.

The deadline runs from the date of service, not the date the ППР was issued. For a paper document, keep the envelope, delivery receipt, or proof of personal receipt. For an electronic document, keep the document and delivery receipt from the electronic taxpayer account. If electronic delivery took place after 18:00, the service date is the next business day; if it took place on a weekend or public holiday, the service date is the first business day afterward.

A letter that was not collected may also be deemed served under Section 42.5 of the Tax Code. Do not delay action because you did not collect the correspondence. If shelling, evacuation, or other circumstances prevented you from receiving it, keep evidence of those circumstances and of the date you actually learned about the ППР.

Distinguish an appeal against a ППР from objections to an audit report

An audit report contains the auditors’ findings. As a general rule, objections, additional documents, and explanations must be submitted to the authority that conducted the audit within 10 business days after the day you receive the report. If the DPS conducted an unscheduled documentary audit under subparagraph 78.1.5 in connection with consideration of objections or an appeal against a ППР, submit your objections to the authority that conducted the audit within five business days after the day you receive the report. The DPS does not consider these objections separately: it adds them to the audit or appeal file and takes the stated facts into account.

An appeal against a ППР concerns a decision that has already been issued to assess an amount. Objections to an audit report, a call to the hotline, or a complaint about an inspector’s conduct do not replace that appeal and do not preserve the deadline for appealing the ППР. Appeals against decisions and complaints about the tax authority’s actions must be filed separately.

Determine the deadline for an administrative appeal

The second deadline applies, for example, to property tax assessed for an individual. It does not apply to every ППР merely because the taxpayer disputes that a violation occurred. If the last day of the deadline falls on a weekend or public holiday, the deadline ends on the first business day afterward.

Martial law does not by itself suspend these deadlines: the general suspension under subparagraph 69.9 remained in effect until 1 August 2023.

What to do if you missed the deadline

If you missed the general 10-day deadline, you may file an appeal with a request for reinstatement within six months from the date the deadline expired. Explain what prevented you from filing on time and when that obstacle arose and ended; attach supporting documents if available.

The higher-level DPS will reinstate the deadline only if it considers the reasons valid. Filing a request does not itself reinstate the deadline and does not allow you to automatically treat the disputed amount as unagreed.

Under Sections 56.14 and 102.6–102.7, a taxpayer may submit a written request asking the DPS to extend the deadline for filing an appeal. For an individual, the law provides for these grounds if they existed during that period:

• The taxpayer was outside Ukraine.
• The taxpayer was serving on a seagoing vessel abroad as a crew member.
• The taxpayer was imprisoned under a court sentence.
• The taxpayer could not move freely because of imprisonment or captivity in another country, or because of other documented force majeure circumstances.
• A court declared the taxpayer missing, or the taxpayer was wanted in cases provided for by law.

A legal entity may use these rules if the stated circumstances affected its officers and, during the appeal period, it had no other officers authorized to assess, collect, and pay taxes, maintain accounting records, and prepare and file tax returns. The head of the DPS, a deputy, or an authorized person extends the deadline on the taxpayer’s written request under Sections 102.6–102.7.

Prepare an appeal with a specific request

File an appeal against a ППР issued by a territorial DPS authority with the State Tax Service of Ukraine. Under the Procedure approved by Ministry of Finance Order No. 916, the appeal must state:

1. The taxpayer’s surname, first name, and patronymic, or the legal entity’s name, and tax address.
2. The name of the supervisory authority.
3. The details of the ППР being appealed.
4. The grounds for the appeal and the circumstances that the DPS established incorrectly or did not establish.
5. The reasons for disagreeing, with references to legal provisions.
6. The requests and motions.
7. Information about notifying the authority that issued the ППР that an appeal has been filed.
8. Information about court proceedings against this decision.
9. The address to which the decision on the appeal should be sent.
10. A list of attached documents.

Also include your tax number, contact details, and the date you received the ППР. Sign the appeal yourself. If a representative signs it, attach the original or a duly certified copy of the document confirming their authority. Copies of evidence must also be duly certified.

Do not stop at saying “I disagree.” For each error, state the amount, the document, and your explanation. Under Section 44.6, documents supporting tax return figures are considered absent at the time the return was prepared if the taxpayer did not provide them either before the audit ended or within the periods under Section 86.7. The exception is seizure or other removal of documents by law enforcement authorities. If you provided documents after the audit but before the ППР was issued, under the procedure in Section 86.7, the DPS must take them into account before making its decision. Adding documents only to the appeal does not automatically remove the risk under Section 44.6. State when you provided them to the DPS and attach proof.

Illustrative example of a partial appeal

The ППР lists UAH 18,000 in tax and a UAH 4,500 penalty, for a total of UAH 22,500. These are illustrative amounts, not a statutory penalty rate. The entrepreneur has documents proving that UAH 6,000 in tax was already reported in a tax return and paid for the same period, but the DPS included it in the assessment again.

In the appeal, the entrepreneur asks for the ППР to be cancelled as to the repeated UAH 6,000 assessment and the penalty attributable to that amount. The appeal includes the tax return, its acceptance receipt, proof of payment, and a comparative calculation. The remaining principal assessment in this example is UAH 18,000 − UAH 6,000 = UAH 12,000. The penalty amount to be cancelled must be justified separately, based on the DPS calculation and the legal basis for the penalty.

File the appeal and keep proof

Choose one method: file in person or through a representative, send it by post with an itemized enclosure list and delivery confirmation, or submit it electronically in accordance with electronic document rules and sign it with a qualified electronic signature (КЕП). Electronic filing is available to taxpayers who file returns electronically and/or have completed electronic identification in the electronic taxpayer account.

For in-person filing, keep a copy bearing proof of receipt. For postal filing, keep the enclosure list, the document showing the date the item was accepted, and the delivery confirmation. The filing date for a postal appeal is the date the post office accepted it, if that can be proved; otherwise, it is the date the DPS received it. For electronic filing, the relevant date is when the authority actually receives the appeal: keep the confirmation receipts.

At the same time, notify the authority that issued the ППР in writing or electronically that you are appealing it. State the ППР details, filing date, and appeal recipient. Keep proof that you sent the notice.

Track the review and the disputed amount

The DPS must issue a reasoned decision and send it within 20 calendar days after the day it receives the appeal. The head of the DPS, a deputy, or an authorized person may extend the overall review period to 60 calendar days. The DPS must send you notice of the extension before the 20-day period ends.

When calculating the final day for review, take Section 56.13 of the Tax Code into account: if it falls on a weekend or public holiday, the period ends on the first business day afterward. Only after that period ends should you check whether the appeal is deemed granted because the DPS did not send a decision.

If, before the 20-day period ends, the DPS has sent neither a reasoned decision on the appeal nor a decision extending the review, the appeal is deemed fully granted from the following day. If the DPS extended the review on time but did not send a reasoned decision before the extended period ended, the appeal is also deemed fully granted from the following day. Check the date the response was sent: you may receive it later. Keep proof and contact the DPS so it records the consequences in its accounts.

The DPS bears the burden of proving that the assessment is lawful in the administrative appeal. At the same time, your documents can help establish the specific error. You may inspect the file, submit explanations, and request to participate in the review, including by video conference. If you request to participate in the appeal, the DPS must notify you of the review at least five calendar days in advance.

If you filed the appeal within the general deadline of 10 business days, the disputed amount remains unagreed under Section 56.15. From the day you file the appeal until the administrative appeal is completed, you are not required to pay that amount, and the DPS will not issue tax demands for it. Pay current taxes and other obligations by their respective deadlines.

If the DPS assessed tax for reasons unrelated to a breach of tax law, separately check the payment deadline. Under Section 57.2, you must pay within the period specified by the Tax Code for the relevant tax. If the Code does not specify such a period, pay within 30 calendar days after the day you receive the ППР. The 30-day appeal period under Section 56.12 does not, by itself, defer payment.

For assessments under subparagraphs 54.3.1–54.3.6, Section 57.3 sets the general rule: within 10 business days after the day you receive the ППР, pay the amount or begin appealing it. The special payment terms under subparagraph 69.37 are set out below.

When to go to court and pay

The administrative appeal ends, among other cases, on the day you receive the decision of the State Tax Service of Ukraine or a decision fully granting the appeal. The decision of the State Tax Service of Ukraine is final within the administrative process. An application to pay the disputed obligations in instalments or defer payment also ends this procedure.

If the DPS upholds the assessment, the day the administrative appeal ends is the day the amount becomes agreed under Section 56.17. Under Section 57.3, pay that amount, along with interest and penalties, if any, within 10 business days after the day it becomes agreed. If you plan to challenge it in court, file your claim before the payment deadline expires so the disputed amount becomes unagreed under Section 56.18. Simply intending to go to court does not defer payment, and the one-month claim period does not mean you have a month without a payment obligation.

If you do not pay an agreed amount by the applicable deadline, it becomes tax debt. If an agreed tax payment is late, the DPS may impose a penalty under Article 124 unless there are legal grounds to release you from liability.

Separately check the period for which the DPS assessed interest. If an audit found an understatement of a tax liability, under subparagraph 129.1.2 the DPS calculates interest on the understated amount from the first business day after the payment deadline for the relevant reporting period. Under subparagraph 129.3.4-1, this period ends on the due date for the obligation determined as a result of the audit and may include administrative and court proceedings. However, under Section 130.1, the DPS does not charge interest for the additional period by which it extended the review of an administrative appeal, regardless of the review outcome. If you missed the payment deadline for an obligation assessed in a ППР, separately check the interest under subparagraph 129.1.1: it begins to accrue on the first business day after the payment deadline. In both cases, the DPS must take into account any statutory grounds for not charging interest.

An appeal filed within the general 10-business-day period suspends enforcement of the disputed obligation until the administrative appeal is completed. If you go to court on time, the disputed amount remains unagreed until the court decision enters into force. At the same time, interest on an understatement may cover the appeal period under the rules described above.

If the court upholds the assessment, pay the agreed amount, interest, and penalties, if any, within 10 business days after the day the court decision enters into force. If the assessment is cancelled in whole or in part, the DPS must also cancel interest and penalties on the cancelled amount under Section 57.4.

After an administrative appeal against a ППР concerning a monetary obligation, file a court claim within one month after the day the procedure ends. Without an administrative appeal, the Supreme Court applies a six-month period from the day the taxpayer learned or should have learned of the infringement of their rights. Do not treat 1,095 days as a universal deadline for filing a claim. The six-month period also does not mean you can wait six months to pay the assessment: payment deadlines must be considered separately.

In the claim, state the court, the parties’ and representative’s details, contact information and details of electronic accounts, the request to cancel the ППР in whole or in part, and the circumstances and evidence showing that your rights were infringed. Attach the ППР, proof of service, calculations, administrative appeal materials, a list of attachments, and information about the originals of the evidence. State any prior measures to secure evidence or the claim, if applicable, and confirm that you have not filed an identical claim.

Under Articles 160–161 of the Code of Administrative Procedure of Ukraine, attach proof of court fee payment or evidence of grounds for exemption, representative documents, and copies for the parties; for electronic filing, attach proof of service in accordance with procedural rules. Determine the fee for the specific claim. If the deadline was missed, attach a request for reinstatement and evidence of the reasons: without proper reinstatement, the court may return the claim or leave it without consideration.

Submit the signed claim and attachments to the court registry, send them by post, or file through the electronic account in the “Electronic Court” (“Електронний суд”) subsystem. Keep proof of filing and notify the DPS authority that issued the ППР. Once you have filed a court claim concerning this decision, you can no longer challenge it through the administrative process.

A separate choice: payment under subparagraph 69.37

Subparagraph 69.37 provides special terms for documentary audits resumed or started from 1 August 2023 and completed before martial law ends or is cancelled. If, while this provision is in effect, the taxpayer pays the assessed tax liability in full within 30 calendar days after the day the ППР is received, penalties on that amount are deemed cancelled and no interest is charged.

Until full payment, but no longer than that 30-day period, the obligation remains unagreed. Tax paid under this procedure cannot be appealed. Before paying, check whether the audit meets all the conditions of the provision. These 30 days serve a different purpose from the appeal period under Section 56.12.

The procedure described applies to ППРs concerning monetary obligations. Separate procedures and deadlines may apply to refusal to register a tax invoice, cancellation of registration, and other decisions. An obligation that the taxpayer self-assessed in a tax return cannot be appealed under Article 56.

Official sources

• Tax Code of Ukraine No. 2755-VI: Articles 42, 44, 56, 124, 129–130; Sections 57.2–57.4, 86.7, 102.6–102.7; subparagraphs 69.9 and 69.37 of Subsection 10 of Section XX.
• Ministry of Finance Order No. 916 of 21 October 2015, Procedure for the preparation and filing of taxpayer appeals and their consideration by supervisory authorities: Sections III–VII.
• Code of Administrative Procedure of Ukraine No. 2747-IV: Articles 122–123, 160–161.
• Supreme Court ruling of 26 November 2020 in case No. 500/2486/19: one-month period after administrative appeal.
• Supreme Court ruling of 27 January 2022 in case No. 160/11673/20: six-month period without administrative appeal.
• Supreme Court guidance on its ruling of 28 May 2026 in case No. 520/22570/25: determining when a taxpayer learned or could objectively have learned about a ППР during martial law.