Business ombudsman Algirdas Šemeta, who spoke to reporters during a round table on May 4, said his advocacy group is getting results for businesses, 98 percent of whom in the last half-year are “satisfied with our actions, and this result is really difficult to improve.”
Ukraine’s Business Ombudsman Council, headed by Lithuanian-born Šemeta, has been in business for three years, investigating cases of the state infringing on the rights of private entities.
The council’s website says that it’s received some 3,877 complaints, 1,019 of which were rejected and 309 of which are still open.
This quarter’s report says that the council has saved businesses Hr 11.5 billion, or $435 million, arbitrating issues like unreasonable fines and taxes. The total for the first quarter in 2018 is Hr 195 million.
Among the complainants was an information technology company, contracted by the State Statistics Service to provide equipment conduct a census in 2012. The contract was some Hr 30 million, which the State Statistics Service never paid.
The debt was outstanding for nearly six years, finally resolved in March.
Tax and customs issues continue to lead the categories of complaints, with 69 percent of all cases filed, followed by complaints about law enforcement with 11 percent.
Tax complaints are dominated by issues with electronic value-added tax administration, said Semeta, as well as issues with registering contracts to electronically report taxes, and the blocking of tax invoices.
These problems are perennial, he said to reporters.
“There will always be complaints about tax inspections, as it is not always clear who is right and who is wrong – the company or fiscal service.”
Complaints against law enforcement, however, are evolving, ever since Ukraine adopted a law called the “stop mask shows,” which requires officers of the Security Service of Ukraine, known as the SBU, to be on video camera when they visit homes or businesses.
The Business Ombudsman’s Council has received only one complaint against the SBU for violations that happened after the law was passed, said Šemeta.
“We can assume that the law works,” he said.
That said, in general, complaints against law enforcement bodies are increasing. This quarter had 50 percent more complaints lodged against a prosecutor’s office than the previous one.
“Law enforcement authorities are the main problem in our work,” said Šemeta.
The council mostly serves Ukrainian customers: 89 percent of complaints come from Ukrainian businesses. Looking forward, Šemeta pointed to a puzzling drop in complaints from businesses with foreign capital – 21 percent less than the previous quarter.
“It’s too early to call it a trend, but the fact itself deserves attention,” he said.
