1. The subject of the dispute is the lawfulness of the tax assessment notice regarding the increase in the amount of monetary obligations for value-added tax, issued by the customs authority.
2. The court of cassation overturned the decisions of the courts of previous instances and satisfied the claims of the company, based on the fact that, according to the Customs Code of Ukraine, the determining factor for the application of customs duty benefits is the date of submission of the customs declaration, and not the date of the actual crossing of the goods across the customs border. The court noted that the import of goods into the customs territory of Ukraine includes not only the physical crossing of the border, but also the fulfillment of customs formalities. Since the customs declarations were submitted during the period of the preferential regime established by Law No. 2142-IX, the company was entitled to exemption from VAT. The court also referred to Article 3 of the Customs Code of Ukraine, which stipulates that in case of ambiguous interpretation of rights and obligations, the decision should be made in favor of the enterprise. The court noted that the courts of previous instances mistakenly linked the possibility of applying customs preferences to the date of completion of customs clearance, and not to the date of submission of the customs declaration, as required by the provisions of Articles 3, 74 of the Customs Code of Ukraine, and as stated in the cited ruling of the Administrative Court of Cassation of the Supreme Court.
3. The court overturned the decisions of the courts of previous instances and declared illegal and canceled the tax assessment notice of the customs authority.
