Removal of a Taxpayer from the Risky Taxpayers List

Inclusion of a VAT payer in the risky taxpayers list is one of the most serious tax problems for businesses working with VAT invoices and adjustment calculations. Once this status is assigned, the company may face repeated suspension of VAT invoice registration, delays in payments from counterparties and reputational risks in day-to-day commercial activity.

In practice, decisions on risky taxpayer status are often based on general wording or insufficiently specific reasoning. A business may receive a decision of the regional tax commission without clearly understanding which transactions, counterparties or documents caused the risk assessment. In such cases, it is not enough to upload a standard set of documents. The company needs a clear legal position and evidence that directly refutes the applied risk criterion.

VINCO’S helps VAT payers get removed from the risky taxpayers list: we analyse the tax authority’s decision, prepare explanations, build an evidence file, support administrative appeals and represent clients in court where necessary.

Risky taxpayer status means that the tax authority commission has found the VAT payer to meet the taxpayer risk criteria. As a result, registration of VAT invoices and adjustment calculations may be systematically suspended, even when individual transactions are real and supported by primary documents.

For a company, this is not just a technical issue in the electronic tax cabinet. Risky status affects the company’s reputation with counterparties, payment discipline, contract performance, participation in tenders, work with large clients and tax planning.

• the company has received a decision stating that it meets the VAT payer risk criteria;
• VAT invoices or adjustment calculations are repeatedly blocked after the company is included in the risky taxpayers list;
• previous explanations and documents have not led to a positive result;
• the tax authority’s decision contains general wording without specific risky transactions;
• counterparties refuse to work with the company because of its risky status;
• an administrative appeal to the State Tax Service or a court claim must be prepared quickly;
• the tax authority repeatedly includes the taxpayer in the risky list after previous removal;
• the company needs to unblock VAT invoices and remove the risky status at the same time.

The procedure usually starts with a legal review of the regional commission’s decision and the specific risk criterion applied to the taxpayer. After that, information and copies of documents are prepared to prove that the taxpayer does not meet the risk criteria.

Documents should not be submitted randomly. The position must explain the company’s business model, the origin of goods or services, available resources, personnel, premises, equipment, logistics, actual contract performance and the connection between primary documents and specific transactions.

1. Review of the decision on risky taxpayer status and the grounds for its adoption.
2. Identification of weak points in the tax authority’s position and missing company documents.
3. Preparation of explanations, schedules, attachments and evidence of real business activity.
4. Submission through the electronic tax cabinet or preparation of an administrative appeal.
5. Monitoring of the commission’s review and receipt of the decision.
6. If the refusal remains in place, preparation of a court claim and representation before the administrative court.

The required documents depend on the taxpayer’s activity, the grounds for risky status and the content of the tax authority’s decision. In each case, the evidence package should be logical and connected, not merely large.

• contracts with suppliers and buyers;
• delivery notes, service acceptance acts, waybills and transfer documents;
• payment orders, bank statements and payment confirmations;
• documents proving origin of goods, certificates, specifications, invoices and applications;
• lease agreements for office, warehouse, production or trade premises;
• documents on personnel, staffing, employment or civil law agreements;
• documents on equipment, vehicles, warehouse stock and logistics;
• accounting records, tax and financial reports;
• explanations of the business model, movement of goods and actual provision of services or performance of works.

A decision of the regional commission on risky taxpayer status may be appealed administratively to the State Tax Service of Ukraine. The appeal is filed electronically, and the taxpayer may attach information and copies of documents proving that it does not meet the risk criteria.

Administrative appeal can be a faster way to have the decision reviewed without going to court. However, the appeal must be prepared carefully: if it contains general explanations, fails to address the specific criterion or lacks key documents, it may be dismissed.

If the administrative route does not produce a result or the situation requires judicial protection, the taxpayer may apply to the administrative court. The claim may seek cancellation of the risky status decision and an obligation for the tax authority to remove the taxpayer from the risky taxpayers list.

Court proceedings require a well-prepared evidence base. It is important to prove not only the reality of the company’s activity but also procedural violations by the tax authority: lack of specific grounds, template reasoning, failure to assess submitted documents, disproportionate interference with business activity or repeated decisions without new circumstances.

Submitting explanations without legal analysis may weaken the taxpayer’s position. The tax authority assesses not the quantity of documents but whether they refute the specific risk concerns. If documents are submitted without structure, without explaining business operations or without addressing the applied criterion, the taxpayer may remain in the risky list.

• incomplete or chaotic document package;
• no explanation of the business model and movement of goods or services;
• failure to address the specific risk criterion;
• missing the administrative appeal deadline;
• repeated inclusion in the risky list because the root causes were not resolved;
• deterioration of relations with counterparties due to delays;
• loss of time before court proceedings.

• decision of the regional commission on risky taxpayer status;
• receipts, notices and documents from the electronic tax cabinet;
• previous explanations, data tables, appeals or decisions on their review;
• contracts with key suppliers and buyers;
• primary documents relating to transactions that may have triggered the tax authority’s attention;
• bank statements and payment documents;
• documents on personnel, office, warehouse, equipment, vehicles or production resources;
• tax and financial reports;
• information on counterparties, supply chain and actual performance of transactions.

VINCO’S lawyers analyse the tax authority’s decision and determine which risk criterion must be refuted. We do not rely on template explanations. We prepare an individual legal position, structure the documents, explain the logic of business operations and build evidence for the tax authority or the court.

The VINCO’S team can support the entire process: from initial consultation and document audit to filing the appeal, communication with tax authorities, preparation of a court claim and representation before the administrative court.