A letter from the tax office regarding NovaPay

Recently, more and more individuals have been receiving requests from tax authorities regarding income received through delivery and cash on delivery services. This especially applies to users of the NovaPay service, which is integrated with Nova Poshta. A tax lawyer at "Prikhodko&Partners" notes: the mere fact of receiving such a letter does not mean a violation, but ignoring it is a strategic mistake.

Does Nova Poshta transfer data to the tax office?

Yes, within the framework of current legislation, information about financial transactions may be transferred to regulatory authorities. In particular, the financial institution NovaPay, which provides payments (including cash on delivery) through Nova Poshta, operates in accordance with the requirements of tax legislation and legislation in the field of financial monitoring.

The transfer of information is not arbitrary or permanent. It occurs in clearly defined cases, including:

• based on an official request from the tax authority;
• as part of documentary or factual inspections;
• as part of financial monitoring (AML) procedures, if transactions have signs of risk or atypicality;
• in the event of detection of systematic financial transactions that may indicate the conduct of business activities without proper registration.

It is worth emphasizing that the delivery service itself is not a “tax agent” in the classical sense for such transactions, but the payment infrastructure through which the funds pass is subject to state control. That is why information about regular receipts (number of payments, their amounts, frequency, recipient) may become the subject of analysis by tax authorities.

In practice, the tax authority does not have continuous or automatic access to all transactions of individuals. However, if there are grounds (analytical risks, complaints, cross-checking of counterparties, other sources of information), it can initiate the receipt of relevant data. Particular attention is drawn to:

1. regular receipts with the same purpose of payment;
2. a ​​large number of cash on delivery shipments;
3. a stable cash flow that resembles economic activity in its characteristics.

Thus, although there is no automatic "total control", system operations through services like NovaPay can be identified and analyzed by tax authorities if appropriate legal grounds arise.

I received a letter from the tax office: what to do?

The first is not to panic. The second is not to ignore. And the third is not to respond “based on emotions”. Any request from the State Tax Service of Ukraine is a procedural action that may have consequences in the form of an audit or additional charges. That is why the key task is to correctly form your legal position from the first response.

First of all, it is necessary to conduct a detailed analysis of the request itself. It is important to check:

• whether the legal basis for its referral is indicated;
• whether the information requested is specified;
• whether the period for which the questions arose is determined;
• whether the requirements for the form and content of the request are met.

In practice, a significant part of tax requests is formal and may not meet the requirements of the Tax Code. In such a case, the taxpayer has the right to either limit the scope of the response or provide a reasoned refusal to provide information. This is an important tool of protection that is often ignored.

The second stage is risk assessment. You need to clearly understand what exactly the tax authority is interested in:

• one-time transactions or systematic activity;
• source of funds;
• possible entrepreneurial activity without registration;
• correspondence of income to declared income.

This is what determines the response strategy. In some cases, a brief explanation is sufficient, in others, it is necessary to form a full-fledged legal position with documentary evidence.

The third stage is preparing the answer. It should be:

• legally sound;
• logical and consistent;
• without redundant information;
• such that does not create additional risks.

A typical mistake is to provide “everything you have.” Excess documents or incorrect explanations can be used by the tax authorities as evidence for additional assessments. It is important to remember: you are not obliged to prove more than the law directly requires.

Particular attention should be paid to the response deadlines. Ignoring a request or missing a deadline can be grounds for an audit. At the same time, a response without proper analysis often creates even bigger problems than its absence.

In practice, the most effective strategy is when the response is formed taking into account the possible further development of events: an inspection, a report, a tax notice-decision. That is, at this stage it is necessary to “work ahead”.

That is why most critical errors arise due to the independent actions of the payer - when explanations are provided without a legal position, without an analysis of the norms of the law and without understanding how these explanations can be used against him in the future.

What are the penalties for trading online without registration?

If the tax authorities prove that the activity has signs of entrepreneurial activity, the following consequences are possible:

• additional personal income tax (18%) and military duty (5%);
• fines for failure to file a declaration;
• fines for conducting business without registration;
• potential financial sanctions for accounting violations.

It is worth considering separately that the systematic nature of operations is a key factor for qualifying an activity as entrepreneurial.

Examples of letters from the tax office

The following formulations are most often found:

1. request for sources of funds;
2. requirement to provide explanations regarding regular income;
3. notification of possible business activity without registration;
4. request for use of postpaid services via Nova Poshta.

Such letters may appear formally “neutral,” but in fact they are the beginning of evidence gathering.

Legal support

As tax lawyers, we approach each request from the State Tax Service of Ukraine not as a formal correspondence, but as a potential start of a tax dispute. That is why our work is built not only around preparing a response, but around a full-fledged strategy for protecting the client.

We start with a deep analysis of the tax authority’s request: we check its legality, compliance with the requirements of the Tax Code, the presence of grounds for requesting information. At the same time, we assess the risks — both current and potential (the possibility of an audit, additional charges, fines). This allows us to understand whether it is advisable to provide a full response, whether it is worth limiting it, or taking a more defensive position.

The next stage is the formation of a legal position. We do not simply “respond to the request”, but build a logic that makes further claims from the tax authority impossible or significantly complicates it. Each wording in the response is important, since this document can later become key evidence in the event of an audit or a court dispute.

We pay special attention to minimizing tax risks. Even in difficult situations, our task is to find a solution that will allow:

• avoid additional charges or reduce their amount;
• prevent the imposition of penalties;
• bring the situation into a controlled legal field.

In the event of an audit, we provide full support: from document preparation and communication with inspectors to monitoring compliance with the audit procedure. This is critically important, as most tax violations occur at this stage.

If the tax authority has already made a decision, we appeal it - both administratively and in court. Our practice shows that a significant part of additional assessments can be canceled if the legal position is properly constructed.

Additionally, we advise on legalizing activities (if necessary), choosing the optimal taxation system and building a safe work model taking into account the specifics of income generation, in particular through services such as NovaPay.

The main task of our work is not just to prepare a response to the request, but to protect the client from financial losses, fines and tax risks in the future. It is the right actions at the initial stage that allow you to avoid much more serious consequences in the future.

If you have received a letter from the tax office and do not know what to do, we recommend that you consult with a tax lawyer to avoid problems in the future. Fill out the form on the website and our lawyer will contact you shortly or call the lawyer.