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How no “good deed” (in particular, paying additional tax assessments resulting from a tax audit without appealing them) may go unpunished after all

28 July, 2026 Newsletters

We have previously discussed the criminal risks associated with exemption from fines and penalties in the event of payment of an additional tax liability within 30 days of receiving a tax notification-decision without filing an appeal – that is, under the special provision of paragraph 69.37 of Section 10 of the Transitional Provisions of the Tax Code of Ukraine.

Hence, law enforcement authorities do, in fact, maintain the position that where only the assessed tax liability is paid, there are no grounds for exemption from criminal liability under Part 4 of Article 212 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine for tax evasion.

A recent Supreme Court ruling serves as further confirmation of this approach. The decision clearly reflects the prosecutor’s attempt to prevent the application of the exemption from criminal liability by arguing that the penalties had not been paid.

In this particular case, the taxpayer was to some extent “fortunate,” as evidence of the imposed penalties was submitted only at the cassation stage. Due to procedural limitations, the Supreme Court refused to admit this evidence and emphasized that it could not assess materials that had not been examined by the lower courts.

But what would the outcome have been if the prosecution had acted in a timely manner?

This case once again highlights that taxpayers who voluntarily pay additional tax assessments resulting from a tax audit – where such amounts exceed the threshold for criminal liability – may still face the risk of criminal proceedings.

The full version of the article is available in Ukrainian by the link.

Kind regards,

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