An economic and legal analysis of a real case from the activities of an enterprise made it possible to formulate substantiated conclusions regarding the causes of violations of the procedure and deadlines for fulfilling the obligations of a value added tax (VAT) payer under electronic administration.

It was established that the key factors destabilizing the financial condition of the enterprise (service provider), which made it impossible to fulfill tax obligations in a timely manner, are:

firstly, a significant accounts receivable debt of the service recipient to the provider, which as of January 15, 2019 amounted to UAH 3,024,408.00 (including VAT — UAH 504,068.00), arising as a result of a breach of contractual terms regarding the timeliness of settlements;

secondly, the inadequacy of the contractual regulation of payment deadlines, in particular:

• the establishment of the condition “not earlier than the date of registration of tax invoices”;
• the definition of the payment term as “up to 30 banking days”, which is practically equivalent to approximately one and a half calendar months.

These circumstances are beyond the will or actions of the service provider and arose despite the proper fulfillment of its contractual obligations.

A direct causal relationship was identified between the aforementioned factors and the violation of the deadlines for registering tax invoices issued during the period from the 16th to the last day of December 2019. The registration was carried out with a delay of 9 calendar days — on January 24, 2019 — in breach of the requirements of clause 200-1.10 of Article 200-1 of the Tax Code of Ukraine.

The working capital deficit caused by the counterparty’s late settlements also affected:

• compliance with the deadlines for paying other taxes and fees;
• the timeliness of salary payments;
• the fulfillment of settlements for goods and services.

At the same time, the enterprise is characterized as a conscientious taxpayer, and the violations are of an objectively conditioned nature.

Within the framework of the study, a comprehensive economic and legal analytical framework was developed, which includes:

the economic component:

• horizontal and vertical analysis of financial statements;
• analysis of accounts receivable and accounts payable;
• calculation models for adjusting indicators in the Unified Register of Tax Invoices.

the legal component:

• provisions of the Tax Code of Ukraine;
• resolutions of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on electronic VAT administration;
• contractual documentation;
• primary accounting documents (acts, tax invoices, receipts);
• business correspondence regarding debt repayment;
• analytical reports on settlements.

Based on the application of the aforementioned tools, it was established that it was precisely the counterparty’s breach of settlement deadlines, confirmed by the chronology of receivable and payable transactions, that caused the emergence of accounts receivable, which in turn made it impossible to fulfill tax obligations in a timely manner.

Thus, the determining factors destabilizing the financial condition of the enterprise are accounts receivable and the inadequacy of the contractual regulation of payment deadlines, which have a direct impact on the fulfillment of tax obligations.

Practice confirms: not every violation of tax obligation deadlines is a consequence of the taxpayer’s bad faith. In a number of cases, such violations have a clearly established economic and legal nature and are subject to objective proof.

Based on the results of the economic and legal analysis, it was established that the key factors destabilizing the financial condition of the enterprise are:

• the counterparty’s breach of settlement deadlines, which led to significant accounts receivable;
• the inadequacy of the contractual terms, which effectively defer payment (in particular, the link to the registration of tax invoices and extended terms of up to 30 banking days).

It is precisely these circumstances, independent of the taxpayer’s will, that caused a working capital deficit and, as a consequence, a violation of the deadlines for registering tax invoices.

A direct causal relationship was expertly established between:

• the emergence of accounts receivable;
• the financial inability to ensure the timely fulfillment of tax obligations;
• the violation of deadlines established by tax legislation.

The application of a comprehensive economic and legal toolkit (analysis of financial statements, contractual terms, primary documents and tax legislation norms) makes it possible not only to establish the objective causes of violations

, but also to form an appropriate evidentiary basis for protecting the interests of the enterprise.

An expert opinion in such situations is a key instrument for proving the absence of the taxpayer’s fault and minimizing legal and financial risks.