PECULIARITIES OF EXEMPTION FROM FINANCIAL LIABILITY FOR VIOLATION OF TAX LEGISLATION DURING CORONAVIRUS LOCKDOWN

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of the moratorium on the application of fines for violation of tax legislation committed during coronavirus lockdown. It is established that non-use of fines indicates the non-application of the financial liability itself. It is proved that exemption from the application of penalties for violation of tax legislation committed during coronavirus lockdown is a special basis for exemption from financial liability. It is emphasized that the provisions of paragraph 52-1 of Section 10 of Section XX of the Tax Code of Ukraine do not allow to draw a clear conclusion on the dismissal of taxpayers from the use of late-payment interest for violation of other Ukrainian legislation, which is controlled by the tax authorities (except Tax Code of Ukraine). The author considered contradictory jurisprudence on this issue on the example of currency legislation and proved that the exemption from the late-payment interest does not contradict the Law of Ukraine “On Currency and Currency Transactions”, but is a special rule that has been consolidated in the Tax Code of Ukraine, based on the universality of the concept of “late-payment interest”, used in tax legislation. The analysis of the concept of a continuous tax offense and the peculiarities of determining the moment of its commission has made it possible to conclude that the moratorium on the application of fines for violation of tax legislation actually extends for taxpayers the time limits to fulfill their tax obligation at any time before the end of coronavirus lockdown. It is established that the legal regime of coronavirus lockdown partially coincides in time with the legal regime of martial law, and therefore the issues related to the ratio of moratorium (stopping) of fines for the period of coronavirus lockdown and martial law must be considered in their systemic interconnection. In this case, the moratorium on the use of penalties for violations committed during coronavirus lockdown does not work in the case of inspections that are allowed at the time of martial law. The possible risks of practical use of force majeure as a circumstance for exemption from financial liability are indicated. Criteria for differentiation of mechanisms of exemption from financial liability for tax offenses committed during coronavirus lockdown and martial law are proposed.