The Lviv District Administrative Court has overturned a fine of over 600,000 hryvnias imposed on LLC “SPESHLTECH”, which operates under the “Yabko” brand. The court concluded that the tax authority failed to properly prove the fact of the violation, and the fine itself was imposed on the basis of questionable calculations.
The conflict arose after an inspection of the chain's store in Kryvyi Rih by tax officials from the Dnipropetrovsk region. According to the results of the inspection, the company allegedly sold 390 units of goods worth over 400 thousand hryvnias without using a cash register and without issuing checks.
On this basis, the tax service in Lviv region issued a notice-decision on a fine in the amount of over 601 thousand hryvnias. However, the mechanism for establishing the violation itself was based not on direct evidence, but on the so-called "mathematical method.".
Inspectors compared the remaining goods from the previous period with new deliveries and official sales through the PRO. They interpreted the difference between the expected and actual quantity of goods as sales "beyond the cash register.".
The company appealed these findings in court. Representatives of "SPESHLTECH" explained that part of the goods was not sold, but moved to a warehouse, which is confirmed by relevant documents. Because of this, the goods were physically absent from the store during the inspection, but were not sold.
The court agreed with this argument. During the consideration of the case, it was established that the tax authority did not provide any direct evidence of the implementation of settlement transactions without the use of a cash register - in particular, checks, customer statements, or other confirmations of the fact of sale.
In addition, the court separately emphasized an important legal nuance. The absence of goods at the point of sale may indicate a violation of accounting, but this is not automatic evidence of its sale. Accordingly, such actions fall under other legal norms and cannot be the basis for a fine for sale without a PRO.
As a result, the court found that the tax office had not properly proven the company's guilt and fully satisfied the company's claim. The fine of UAH 601,554.70 was canceled.
This decision may have a broader impact on tax audit practice. The court effectively questioned the use of indirect calculation methods as the sole evidence of a violation. To impose sanctions, tax authorities must confirm the fact of sales without a cash register, and not just record discrepancies in accounting.
