1. **Subject of the Dispute:** Challenging tax notifications-decisions regarding the additional accrual of excise tax on the retail sale of excisable goods (petroleum products) through a network of filling stations for 2015.
2. **Arguments of the Court:**
* The court took into account the decision of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine No. 3-r(II)/2025, which declared unconstitutional the provisions of the Tax Code of Ukraine, as amended by Law No. 71-VIII, regarding the introduction of excise tax on fuel from January 1, 2015, due to a violation of the principle of stability of tax legislation.
* The controlling authority failed to provide proper evidence (source documents, ECR receipts) that would confirm the volumes of fuel sales and the accuracy of the arithmetic calculation of the additionally accrued amounts.
* The court established that fuel dispensing operations under commission and storage agreements do not constitute a sale of goods within the meaning of the Tax Code of Ukraine, as they do not provide for the transfer of ownership rights.
* The conclusion of the forensic economic examination confirmed the impossibility of documenting the findings of the audit report regarding the understatement of tax liabilities.
* The court applied the principle of the presumption of the lawfulness of the taxpayer’s decisions (Clause 56.21 of Article 56 of the Tax Code of Ukraine) due to the ambiguity in the interpretation of legal norms.
* It was established that the order to conduct the audit had previously been declared unlawful and cancelled by the court, which automatically nullifies the legal consequences of such an audit.
* The court also took into account the facts established in other court decisions that have entered into legal force regarding similar business operations of the plaintiff.
3. **Court Decision:** The Supreme Court dismissed the tax authority’s cassation appeal and upheld the decisions of the lower courts to cancel the tax notifications-decisions.
