LA Law Firm's team wins a tax dispute over VAT refund

The Client, an international pharmaceutical company, imports medicines into Ukraine for sale to patients through pharmacy chains. The tax authority denied the Client a VAT refund because the imported goods had been sold, and therefore, the right to a VAT refund is lost after the goods are sold.

LA Law Firm's lawyers have developed a strategy for appealing against illegal actions of the tax authorities and an incorrect approach to calculating the amount of VAT refund.

At the pre-trial stage of the defense, the team managed to prove that the sale of the goods did not affect the taxpayer's right to refund VAT. Furthermore, during the tax audit, the tax authority exceeded the time limits of the audit and investigated transactions of subsequent periods that were not subject to the audit but affected its results.

Thus, LA challenged the actions of the tax authority at the pre-trial stage, won a fundamental victory for the Client and ensured tax certainty and long-term supply of products to Ukraine.

‘In Ukraine, it is traditionally difficult to convince tax authorities to admit their mistakes. Therefore, we are pleased whenever we manage to do so without going to court,’ Savchuk said.

The project was led by partner Vitalii Savchuk together with senior associate Yaroslav Furiaka and associate Oleksandr Tsurkan.