1. The subject of the dispute is the recovery of tax debt and the suspension of expenditure transactions of “Gazpostachinvest” Limited Liability Company based on the claim of the Main Department of the State Tax Service in Vinnytsia Oblast.
2. The court of cassation overturned the decisions of the courts of previous instances, which closed the proceedings in the case, believing that the dispute is subject to consideration within the framework of commercial proceedings in the bankruptcy case. The Supreme Court emphasized that the determining factor is the nature of the legal relations, namely the performance by the controlling body of владних управлінських функцій [imperious managerial functions] in the field of tax control, which indicates the public law nature of the dispute. The court indicated that the special norms of the Commercial Procedure Code of Ukraine clearly define that disputes regarding the recovery of tax debt do not fall under the jurisdiction of commercial courts, even if bankruptcy proceedings have been opened. The court also took into account the practice of the ECHR, which emphasizes the public nature of tax disputes. The Court noted that its conclusion is consistent with the position of the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court, which departed from the previous position regarding the preferential application of the norms of the Code of Ukraine on Bankruptcy Procedures in such disputes.
3. The Supreme Court overturned the decisions of the courts of previous instances and sent the case for continued consideration to the court of first instance.
