The Eighth Appellate Administrative Court has upheld a 2.4 million UAH fine imposed by tax authorities on the YABLUKA electronics store in Ivano-Frankivsk. The court dismissed the appeal filed by Sole Proprietor (FOP) Tetyana Mykhailivna Beda, who managed the retail outlet, leaving the lower court’s ruling unchanged. The entrepreneur was found liable for selling undocumented goods and utilizing undeclared labor.
The severe compliance violations were uncovered during an on-site tax inspection of the YABLUKA store located in Ivano-Frankivsk’s «Veles» shopping mall. Inspectors documented that the outlet was selling Apple devices valued at over 2.4 million UAH without any primary documentation. The owner failed to provide invoices, purchasing records, or any paperwork verifying the legal origin or inventory entry of the hardware.
Furthermore, the tax audit revealed illegal employment practices. Salespeople operating on the floor had no official employment contracts. While the owner claimed she operated the business entirely on her own, fiscal receipts were issued through software-based registers (PRRO) by individuals who were not registered as employees.
From the court records: The plaintiff failed to explain how unauthorized third parties gained access to her personal electronic signatures and fiscal system to process commercial transactions.
During the proceedings, the appellant attempted to mount a defense based on procedural technicalities in an effort to overturn the State Tax Service fines. She argued that the audit had been improperly authorized, denied any official ties to the salespeople, and maintained that internal product transfer documents were correctly filed.
However, the panel of judges at the Eighth Appellate Administrative Court deemed these arguments groundless. The court emphasized that maintaining proper inventory accounting is a fundamental obligation of a sole proprietor. The absence of provenance documents directly at the point of sale constitutes independent and sufficient grounds for financial penalties under Article 20 of Law of Ukraine №265/95-VR.