Attorneys of the Law Firm “YUST” successfully represented ООО “TROYKA-MET” in a Dispute with the Tax Authority

The award by the Moscow City Court of Arbitration of 6 July, 2009, and the ruling by the 9th Arbitration Court of Appeal of 5 October, 2010 on case No. А40-32580/09-151-141, where an application by ООО “TROYKA-MET” (hereinafter – “the Taxpayer”) was satisfied to hold invalid the resolution by the tax authority to bring to liability for the commitment of tax violation, and the order to pay a tax, levy, penalty, fine, remained unchanged by the resolution made by the Federal Moscow District Court of Arbitration of 20 January, 2010, No. КА-А40/15144-09.

The courts proceeded on the basis that the tax authority had failed to submit the evidence of unjustified tax benefits gained by the taxpayer while applying VAT tax deductions and reducing corporate profits tax by duly documented expenses.

By deciding in favor of the taxpayer, for instance, the courts declined an argument by the tax authority that the documents had been signed on behalf of the taxpayer’s supplier by an unauthorized person. On top of that, the courts indicated that the reasoning by an individual referred to by the tax authority is not a permissible proof, inasmuch this had not been obtained within a tax audit and not by taxmen while holding an on-site tax audit. Besides, no evidence was submitted in the questioning report by the tax authority that a person thus questioned had been warned of criminal responsibility for false witnessing.

The courts did not accept a reference of the tax authority to the cash flow as received by the supplier from the taxpayer addressed to third persons, and the courts stated that no evidence had been obtained regarding affiliation of the said persons with the taxpayer, nor had it been proved as to the coordination of their joint efforts to gain the unjustified tax benefit, hence, this fact shall not affect the eligibility for stated claims.

The taxpayer’s interest in this case at all the judicial levels of review was represented by Maxim Rovinsky, an attorney of the Law Firm “YUST”.