Tax Audit Practices in 2026: Key Cases, Tax Authority Approaches, and Court Practice

04/ 06/ 2026

On June 4, 2026, the Southern Ukrainian Office of the EBA held an online meeting of its Finance and Tax Committee dedicated to current tax audit practices, new approaches of the State Tax Service, and the latest trends in tax litigation during the first half of 2026. The meeting was moderated by Vitalii Smerdov, Chair of the Financial and Tax Committee of the EBA Southern Ukrainian Office, Managing Partner at First Pro Tax, Director of the Chamber of Tax Consultants, Non-Staff Advisor to the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy, and Deputy Director of the Kharkiv IT Cluster for GR Affairs. Among the speakers was Viktoriia Vlasenko, Attorney and Partner of the Tax Practice at First Pro Tax, who shared practical insights on tax audit preparation and appeal procedures, as well as recommendations for minimizing risks in international taxation and currency operations. During the meeting, experts and business representatives discussed a range of topical issues, including: withholding tax implications when paying interest to non-residents and the approaches applied by the tax authorities; court practice related to the qualification of payments for the use of equipment as royalties and recent rulings in favor of taxpayers; VAT treatment of manufacturing operations resulting in scrap generation and the tax authorities’ approach to charging compensatory VAT; structuring transactions involving payment agents and determining the moment when VAT liabilities arise; the current position of the tax authorities regarding the application of pass-through dividends; other important tax clarifications, audit cases, and recent tax court practice in 2026. The attendees had the opportunity to discuss the most common tax risks, receive practical recommendations on mitigating them, and raise questions arising in their day-to-day business activities. EBA Odesa sincerely thanks the speakers for their insightful and practice-oriented presentation, and the business community representatives for their active engagement, professional discussion, and continued interest in fostering a transparent and predictable tax environment in Ukraine.

The meeting was moderated by Vitalii Smerdov, Chair of the Financial and Tax Committee of the EBA Southern Ukrainian Office, Managing Partner at First Pro Tax, Director of the Chamber of Tax Consultants, Non-Staff Advisor to the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy, and Deputy Director of the Kharkiv IT Cluster for GR Affairs.

Among the speakers was Viktoriia Vlasenko, Attorney and Partner of the Tax Practice at First Pro Tax, who shared practical insights on tax audit preparation and appeal procedures, as well as recommendations for minimizing risks in international taxation and currency operations.

During the meeting, experts and business representatives discussed a range of topical issues, including:

withholding tax implications when paying interest to non-residents and the approaches applied by the tax authorities;
court practice related to the qualification of payments for the use of equipment as royalties and recent rulings in favor of taxpayers;
VAT treatment of manufacturing operations resulting in scrap generation and the tax authorities’ approach to charging compensatory VAT;
structuring transactions involving payment agents and determining the moment when VAT liabilities arise;
the current position of the tax authorities regarding the application of pass-through dividends;
other important tax clarifications, audit cases, and recent tax court practice in 2026.

The attendees had the opportunity to discuss the most common tax risks, receive practical recommendations on mitigating them, and raise questions arising in their day-to-day business activities.

EBA Odesa sincerely thanks the speakers for their insightful and practice-oriented presentation, and the business community representatives for their active engagement, professional discussion, and continued interest in fostering a transparent and predictable tax environment in Ukraine.