Tax Authority Requests: How to Respond, Meet Deadlines, and Check a Penalty

When you receive a written request from a tax authority, record the date it was served, check its legal basis and the list of documents, and calculate the final response date. For a standard request, the general deadline is 15 business days starting the day after receipt; for a counterparty reconciliation, it is 10 business days. The Code may set special deadlines, so the 15-day rule does not apply to every letter.

These rules apply to entrepreneurs and businesses meeting tax obligations in Ukraine and are based on the Tax Code of Ukraine (TCU). If the request is properly prepared, prepare explanations and documents for each item. If the request does not meet formal requirements, the documents have already been submitted, or they have been lost, explain the relevant circumstances and keep evidence: simply disagreeing with a request does not extend the response deadline.

Identify what the tax authority has sent

A request under Article 73 of the TCU asks for information and supporting documents. A decision to conduct an unscheduled documentary audit is issued as a separate order under Clause 78.4 of the TCU. Receiving a request therefore does not, by itself, mean that such an audit has begun. A counterparty reconciliation is also not an audit: the tax authority compares data on business relationships and transactions and examines only the matters specified in the request.

As a practical step, create a separate case folder right away. Save the request and attachments, along with the envelope or electronic document and delivery receipt. Record the authority’s name, the request number and date, the cited TCU provision, and the transactions and periods it concerns. If an audit order arrived at the same time, review it separately: the response period for an information request does not replace the procedural deadlines for an audit. The rules are set out in Article 73 and Clause 78.4 of the TCU.

Check the legal basis, signature, and contents of the request

Under Clause 73.3 of the TCU, a request must be signed by the head of the controlling authority, their deputy, or an authorized person. It must state the grounds for sending it, including the information that supports those grounds; list the information requested and the documents proposed for submission; and bear the controlling authority’s seal. For an electronic document, also check compliance with the requirements for electronic form and signature.

Compare the stated grounds with Subclause 73.3.1 of the TCU. For a typical shop, these may include identified facts suggesting a possible violation, inaccurate tax return data, a complaint concerning a tax or excise invoice, or a counterparty reconciliation. The wording “for the performance of the tax authority’s functions” does not, by itself, explain a specific legal ground.

• If the tax authority cites facts suggesting a possible violation, it must state those facts in the request.
• If the request concerns inaccurate tax return data, check whether it is clear which data raised questions and which documents the authority expects.
• If the request concerns a counterparty reconciliation, identify the transactions and questions that require documentary confirmation. Also check reports from previous counterparty reconciliations: Clause 73.5 of the TCU prohibits repeating a reconciliation on the same question. If the question is repeated, state this in your response and provide the earlier report’s details.
• If the authority cites “other cases,” check the specific TCU provision that permits the request.

Illustrative example. The tax authority identifies a discrepancy between sales reported in a tax return and information it received for a particular month. To prepare your response, compare those figures, check customer refunds, payment receipt dates, and documents that explain the difference. Do not conclude that the return contains an error simply because a request was issued.

Requests based on grounds 6–8 of Subclause 73.3.1 are subject to special rules for international tax information exchange. In particular, under Subclause 73.3.6, the tax authority does not disclose the contents of a foreign request if the competent foreign authority asked that the taxpayer not be notified of the inquiry. In that case, the Ukrainian authority cites ground 8 of Subclause 73.3.1. Therefore, the absence of the foreign request’s text does not, by itself, prove a formal defect. The grounds and required details are set out in Clause 73.3 of the TCU.

Determine the legal date of service

The date on the request and the date it was served may differ. Under Article 42 of the TCU, documents are served in person on the taxpayer or their representative, sent by registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt, or delivered through the electronic cabinet in accordance with the procedure set out in the Code.

For a typical taxpayer, correspondence through the electronic cabinet under Clause 42.4 requires filing a statement requesting documents by this method. The mere appearance of a document in the cabinet does not replace checking that the proper procedure was followed. The document must meet the requirements for electronic documents and be available in the cabinet; an email notification only advises that it was sent.

The electronic service date is the date shown on the delivery receipt. If delivery takes place after 6:00 p.m., the service date is the next business day. If it takes place on a weekend or public holiday, the service date is the first business day afterward. The date the entrepreneur actually opens the document does not determine when the deadline starts.

If the controlling authority does not receive a delivery receipt within two business days of sending the document, it must send a paper copy by registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt, or serve it in person, on the third business day. Asking for a paper copy of an electronic document that has already been received does not shift its service date.

Failure to collect an envelope also does not always mean the document was not served: Clause 42.5 covers, among other things, cases where officials are absent from the address or refuse to accept the document. Under Clause 42.3, a taxpayer who reports a change of tax address following the procedure and within the time limits set out in Article 66 of the TCU is released from the obligation to comply with documents sent to the former address and returned because the recipient could not be found. This release applies from the date of state registration of the change of tax address until the taxpayer’s registration records are updated. Check the rules in Article 42 of the TCU.

Count business days and set a mailing date

Once you have established the service date, determine the deadline for the type of request:

• General request under Subclause 73.3.3: provide the information and supporting documents within 15 business days starting the day after receipt, unless the TCU sets another deadline.
• Counterparty reconciliation: provide the information within 10 business days starting the day after receipt; supporting documents are provided at the controlling authority’s request.
• Special request: check the specific TCU provision cited by the authority before applying the general deadline.

Practical recommendation: put the service date, first day of the count, final response date, and your planned mailing date with a buffer in your calendar. Count business days under the applicable calendar, not the shop’s operating schedule. Asking the tax authority to clarify a request does not, by itself, extend the deadline.

Martial law in Ukraine does not create a general right to postpone a response. The general suspension of deadlines under Subclause 69.9 has ended. A specific exception requires a separate provision currently in force and compliance with its conditions. Legal basis: Subclause 73.3.3 and Subclause 69.9 of Clause 69, Subsection 10, Section XX of the TCU.

What to do if the request has formal defects

Subclause 73.3.4 of the TCU releases the taxpayer from the obligation to respond if the request was prepared in violation of the requirements in the first through fifth paragraphs of Clause 73.3. These requirements concern a lawful subject for the request, a proper signature, grounds supported by information, lists of requested information and documents, and the authority’s seal. Not every typo automatically gives rise to this release.

As a practical matter, it is advisable to send a reasoned letter within the calculated deadline, although the provision itself releases the taxpayer from the obligation to respond. In the letter, identify the specific defect, quote the relevant requirement, and explain exactly how it was violated. The statement “the request is illegal” without an explanation will not help support your position in a dispute.

For example, if the authority cited facts suggesting a possible violation but stated no such facts, describe that omission and cite Clause 73.3 and ground 1 of Subclause 73.3.1. If the concern relates only to the volume of documents requested, assess it separately: this does not always amount to a violation that releases you from providing the entire response. Keep the request and your letter together with proof of sending. Legal basis: Subclause 73.3.4 of the TCU.

What to do with information already submitted

If the information and its supporting documents have already been provided in response to earlier requests from the same controlling authority, Subclause 73.3.4 allows you to state the date and number of the earlier letter. The exemption from resubmitting information applies only to the portion already provided.

Practical recommendation: match every item in the new request against your earlier response. In your new letter, identify the exact information and attachments previously provided, give the letter’s date and number, and, if possible, attach proof of delivery. Prepare the remaining information again.

Illustrative example. A shop has already provided the same authority with a contract and delivery notes for one month. A new request covers those documents and payment for the following month. You can refer to the previous letter for the contract and delivery notes, but you must provide the information on the new payment separately. Submitting documents to another authority or submitting only a tax return does not automatically qualify for this exemption.

Prepare a response that can be checked against its attachments

The law requires you to provide the requested information and supporting documents. Use this sequence to prepare the response package:

1. Identify the addressee and reference details. Provide the taxpayer’s details, the request number and date, the date of receipt, and the subject of the response.
2. Follow the request’s numbering. Under each item, provide an explanation and refer to the relevant attachment. If the transaction did not take place or a document is unavailable, say so directly.
3. Reconcile amounts and periods. Check that your explanations match the source documents, accounting records, and tax returns. Explain discrepancies by referring to specific transactions and dates.
4. Select documents relevant to the subject of the request. These may include contracts, delivery notes, payment records, or documents relating to returns if they support the specific circumstances covered by the request.
5. Prepare a list of attachments. State each document’s name, date, number, and page count; give electronic files clear names.
6. Check signatures and readability. The response must be signed by the taxpayer or a duly authorized person. Make sure copies are complete and all listed files open correctly.

Illustrative explanation structure: “Regarding item 2 of the request, we advise that the customer’s return of goods was recorded on the relevant date. Copies of the documents relating to the return and the settlement with the customer are provided in Attachments 3–4.” The explanation must be supported by the shop’s actual documents.

As a practical safeguard, keep the originals in your own archive and prepare copies for the response. If the authority specifically requests originals, check the legal basis and procedure. Do not include the full customer database, personnel archive, or other personal data unrelated to the request. At the same time, do not remove details needed to confirm a transaction.

Send the package officially and keep proof

The response is provided under the procedure in Article 42 of the TCU. For electronic submission, use an official channel with a valid electronic signature and check the receipts you receive. Do not rely on an ordinary email to an inspector as your sole proof of proper submission.

For in-person submission, it is advisable to get an acceptance stamp on your copy showing the date and incoming reference number. For postal delivery, choose a method that confirms the contents and receipt, and send the package in good time. Do not apply to a response to an information request the special rule that determines the filing date of a mailed complaint.

Keep the final response, all attachments, postal records, or electronic receipts. Make sure your proof relates to the complete package you prepared. This will help establish the contents and date of your response if the tax authority claims it was missing or incomplete.

How to respond if documents have been lost

General procedure under Clause 44.5 of the TCU

If documents referred to in Clauses 44.1 and 44.3 are lost, damaged, or destroyed early, the taxpayer must notify the controlling authority where they are registered in writing within five days of the event, following the procedure for filing tax reports. Attach documents prepared in accordance with the law that confirm what happened. If relevant customs circumstances apply, also notify the controlling authority that completed customs clearance, granted authorization, or permitted special simplifications.

The documents must be restored within 90 calendar days starting the day after the controlling authority receives the notice. In practice, identify the missing documents right away and contact suppliers, the bank, and other parties that may hold copies.

If notice is properly and timely filed and the loss makes an audit impossible, Clause 44.5 provides for postponing the audit until the documents are restored and submitted within the established limits, up to a maximum of 120 days. Audits under Article 200 of the TCU are excluded. This rule applies to audits and does not automatically extend the deadline for responding to any request.

If the documents are not restored, or are lost, damaged, or destroyed early again after the restoration procedure has been used, the Code treats them as absent at the time the relevant report was prepared or the relevant legal requirements were met. Therefore, in your response to the request, provide the details of the loss notice, identify the documents concerned, and submit the information that remains available. The full procedure is set out in Clause 44.5 of the TCU.

Special rules for specified territories

Subclause 69.28 of Clause 69, Subsection 10, Section XX of the TCU establishes a separate procedure for taxpayers and tax agents that operated in areas of active hostilities or temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and cannot produce primary documents. Using this procedure requires checking that the territory is on the list established under the procedure set by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, as well as checking the specific circumstances of the loss or inability to evacuate the documents.

Grounds may include the loss, destruction, or damage of documents, or their presence in the relevant territories when removing them is impossible, poses a risk to life or health, or involves administrative obstacles imposed by public authorities. A loss unrelated to hostilities in the specified territories does not qualify for this procedure.

You must submit a free-form notice stating the circumstances, tax periods, and a general list of primary documents, with their identifying details where possible. For a business, the provision expressly requires signatures from the head and chief accountant. If you are an individual entrepreneur or the business has no chief accountant, establish how the notice should be signed in your circumstances before filing it. If, after filing a notice that documents could not be evacuated, you learn that they have been lost, you must file a notice of loss describing the circumstances.

If the conditions of the provision are met, reported figures for the specified periods may not be challenged solely because primary documents are missing. The notice also provides a basis for preserving expenses, the negative value of the corporate income tax base, input VAT credit, and a negative VAT balance, as specified in the provision. After a notice that documents could not be evacuated, a moratorium applies to documentary audits of the relevant periods; after a notice of loss, the provision bars audits of those periods, including after martial law ends.

The controlling authority bears the burden of proving that the grounds for the special procedure do not apply. If it refuses, it must issue a reasoned decision stating the grounds and evidence no later than one month after receiving the notice. The decision may be appealed; until a final decision in the case, the restrictions provided by the provision on challenging reported figures and auditing the specified periods apply. If a taxpayer uses this procedure without grounds, Subclause 69.28 deems the taxpayer to be evading taxes and provides for liability under the TCU and other laws of Ukraine. Before filing a notice, verify and document the circumstances that entitle you to use this procedure.

For the periods identified in the notice, the special procedure also prohibits increasing declared tax liabilities, the negative value of the corporate income tax base, or the amount of a claimed VAT refund. Before using it, check the full text of Subclause 69.28 of Clause 69, Subsection 10, Section XX of the TCU. A notice under this procedure is not a universal basis for leaving any request unanswered.

What penalty applies for failing to provide information

Clause 121.2 of the TCU distinguishes between two groups of requests. The calculation uses the minimum wage set by law on 1 January of the relevant tax, or reporting, year.

Grounds 6–8 concern specified cases involving reportable accounts and international tax information exchange. The penalty of five minimum wages does not apply to every request sent to a shop simply because it came from a tax authority. Paying the penalty under Clause 121.2 does not release the taxpayer from the obligation to provide the information.

Illustrative calculation. Let M represent the applicable minimum wage. For one established instance of a violation involving a standard request, the calculation is 1 × M = M; for a request on grounds 6–8, it is 5 × M = 5M. This illustrates the formula and does not determine the actual penalty amount.

Separately, Clause 121.1 provides for a penalty of UAH 1,020 for failing to retain documents for the required periods and/or failing to provide originals or copies during tax control in cases set out in the Code. The exception in the wording of the provision concerns documents obtained from the Unified Register of Tax Invoices. For the same actions by a taxpayer who has already been penalized for the same violation within the preceding year, the penalty is UAH 2,040.

Clauses 121.1 and 121.2 describe different violations. Do not automatically add them together for every incomplete response: check the specific conduct, its legal classification, and the grounds for each sanction.

Do not count on a guaranteed absence of a penalty if you respond late. Clause 121.2 does not expressly provide a separate penalty described specifically as a “late submission” penalty, but this does not cancel the deadline or rule out a dispute over failure to provide information when it was due. If you miss the deadline, it is advisable to submit the complete package as soon as possible, explain the circumstances, and keep supporting evidence. The penalties and their conditions are set out in Article 121 of the TCU.

When a missing response may lead to an audit

Under Subclause 78.1.1 of the TCU, grounds for an unscheduled documentary audit may include tax information received about a violation and the taxpayer’s failure to provide explanations with documentary support within 15 business days after receiving a mandatory written request. The request itself must state the relevant violations.

Under Subclause 78.1.4, the authority must have identified inaccurate tax return data and the taxpayer must have failed to provide explanations with supporting documents within the same period. The request must identify the inaccuracy and the relevant tax return. Therefore, any unanswered letter does not automatically create these specific grounds.

If the request was sent because of a complaint concerning a tax or excise invoice, Subclause 78.1.9 provides for the possibility of an unscheduled documentary audit if explanations and supporting documents are not provided within 15 business days starting the day after receipt. The tax authority must state the information from the complaint in its request.

Failure to provide information for a counterparty reconciliation within 10 business days is a separate ground under Subclause 78.1.19. Such an audit is limited to the questions in the request. Clause 78.2 prohibits audits under Subclauses 78.1.1 and 78.1.4 if their issues were already covered by previous audits. However, restrictions on the grounds for conducting audits do not apply to audits initiated at the taxpayer’s own request.

If an order arrives, compare its stated grounds with the request, deadlines, your response, and records of previous audits. Under the general rule in Clause 78.4, a copy of the order must be properly served before the audit begins; the exception in that clause concerns Subclause 78.1.22. Assess the response requirements and the lawfulness of ordering an audit separately under Article 78 of the TCU.

How to appeal a penalty decision

If the tax authority issues a tax notice-decision (TND) imposing a penalty, first record the date you received it. Under the general rule in Clause 56.3 of the TCU, a complaint to the higher-level controlling authority must be filed within 10 business days following the day you receive the decision. Complaints against decisions of territorial tax authorities are submitted to the State Tax Service of Ukraine.

1. Identify the decision being appealed and request that it be canceled in full or in the relevant part.
2. Set out specific arguments: a formal defect in the request, improper service, an incorrect calculation of the deadline, proof that the information was submitted, or incorrect application of Clause 121.2.
3. Attach the request, response, list of attachments, receipts or postal evidence, and other documents supporting your position.
4. At the same time, notify the authority that issued the decision that you are appealing it, as required by Clause 56.5.
5. Keep proof that you filed the complaint and sent the notice.

Under Clause 56.16, the complaint filing date is the date it is actually received by the relevant authority; for postal delivery, it is the date the post office accepts the shipment, as confirmed by the postal records required by the provision.

After filing, also record when the tax authority receives your complaint: under Clause 56.8, the authority must adopt a reasoned decision and send it within 20 calendar days following the day of receipt. Under Clause 56.9, the head of the authority, their deputy, or an authorized person may extend the review, but the total period cannot exceed 60 calendar days. The authority must notify the taxpayer of an extension before the initial period expires.

If the decision on the complaint is not sent within the prescribed period, or the decision to extend the review is not sent before the 20-day period expires, the complaint is deemed fully granted starting the day after the relevant period ends. When calculating deadlines under Article 56, take Clause 56.13 of the TCU into account: if the final day falls on a weekend or public holiday, the deadline ends on the first business day afterward.

Keep evidence of when the authority received the complaint and sent its decisions so you can establish the review period and check whether the complaint is deemed granted.

A complaint filed within the period in the first paragraph of Clause 56.3 suspends enforcement of the monetary obligation determined in the appealed decision until the administrative appeal is completed. The relevant amount is treated as a liability that has not yet become final. This consequence applies to the appealed obligation under the conditions in Clause 56.15; a letter objecting to a request does not have the same effect.

If you miss the deadline, Clause 56.3 allows you to file a complaint within six months after it expires, with a request to reinstate the deadline and evidence of valid reasons. Reinstatement depends on those reasons being accepted as valid and is not automatic. The decision may also be appealed in court. If the penalty has already gone through administrative appeal, Clause 56.19 of the TCU provides a one-month period to file in court, starting the day after that procedure ends. Determine the end date under Clause 56.17: this includes the date you receive the State Tax Service of Ukraine’s decision on the complaint. If no administrative appeal took place, check the court filing deadline separately. Under Clause 56.18, a decision already challenged in court cannot be appealed administratively. The rules for administrative appeals are set out in Article 56 of the TCU.

Provisions for checking a request and preparing a response

Tax Code of Ukraine No. 2755-VI: Article 42 — correspondence and service; Clause 44.5 — loss and restoration of documents; Article 56 — appeals against decisions; Clause 73.3 — grounds for requests, formal requirements, and response deadlines; Clause 73.5 — counterparty reconciliations; Article 78 — unscheduled documentary audits; Clauses 121.1–121.2 — liability; Subclauses 69.9 and 69.28 of Clause 69, Subsection 10, Section XX — deadlines and special rules concerning primary documents.