Ukraine, EU to fight against tax fraud

Ukraine and the European Union are to deepen cooperation and share experience in the fight against tax fraud and tax avoidance, the press service of the Ukrainian Income and Tax Ministry reported on Friday, Interfax informs.

EU Commissioner for Taxation and Customs Union, Audit and Anti-Fraud Algirdas Semeta said this at a meeting with a Ukrainian delegation headed by Income and Tax Minister Oleksandr Klymenko in Brussels on Thursday.

Semeta, in particular, urged Ukraine to actively participate in a high-level seminar as part of the European Neighborhood Policy and the Eastern Partnership initiative, which will be held on October 24-25, 2013 in Vilnius (Lithuania). The seminar participants will discuss the subject of transit procedures, the exchange of preliminary information, and the fight against the smuggling of excisable goods.

“The EU commissioner also praised the introduction in Ukraine of the possibility of automatic VAT refunds and a new system of taxation of excisable goods, drawing attention to the need for the high-quality implementation of the Action Plan to implement the Strategic Framework for Customs Cooperation,” the ministry said.

Klymenko stressed the importance of deepening cooperation between Ukraine and the EU in combating tax fraud. He assured European officials that Ukraine pays significant attention to the priorities of the reforms envisaged by the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement.

“We support the full implementation of the Action Plan of the Framework Strategy for Customs Cooperation, which foresees the fight against fraud, dialog in the field of preventing illegal trade, including trade in excisable goods, and the exchange of experience and information. Ukraine wants to fully realize the potential of enhanced cooperation with the EU,” Klymenko said.