The State Tax Service of Ukraine has developed a comprehensive set of administrative measures aimed at simplifying interactions with enterprises that have suffered damage as a result of Russian shelling. This was reported on September 3, 2026, by RBC-Ukraine, citing an official statement from the State Tax Service. Acting head of the service Lesia Karnaukh explained that following the attacks, enterprises face the destruction of equipment, warehouse stocks, goods and material assets, and primary documentation, as well as a complete halt to production processes. According to her, some of the supporting mechanisms require legislative regulation, however, a number of decisions are already ready for application within the existing powers of tax administration and control.
Separate Identification of Affected Enterprises
The first and key direction of the reform is the creation, in the State Tax Service's information systems, of a separate register of enterprises that have documented the fact of damage resulting from shelling. A special mark will be introduced for such taxpayers: "economic entity affected by the armed aggression of the Russian Federation." When compiling the list, the tax service will rely on data from the State Emergency Service, military administrations, local authorities, law enforcement agencies, and state registers. As emphasized by the State Tax Service, this will avoid repeated requests for documents already contained in state information systems and relieve businesses of additional bureaucratic burden at a time when they are already coping with the consequences of destruction.
Reassessment of Tax Risks in Light of the Consequences of Attacks
The second direction concerns the methodology for assessing tax risks. The State Tax Service stated that a decline in an enterprise's turnover, profitability, or tax burden should not in itself automatically lead to a request for documents from the inspection or the appointment of an audit. The algorithm will be revised: before classifying changes as a potential risk, the inspector must establish their causes and verify whether they are related to damage sustained after shelling. Only after confirming or refuting this connection will a decision be made on the presence of actual tax risks. At the same time, the service clearly stated that the status of an affected enterprise does not mean a complete exemption from tax control. If an audit is nevertheless necessary, its subject and scope must be focused as much as possible on the specific identified risk, rather than turning into a full-scale review.
Abandoning Paper Bureaucracy and Dealing with Lost Documentation
The third direction is the radical reduction of paper document flow. The main channel of interaction with affected taxpayers will be the electronic cabinet. The State Tax Service emphasized that it does not plan to repeatedly request documents already available in the service's information systems or accessible through interagency exchange. A separate block of measures concerns enterprises that have lost primary accounting records as a result of the attacks. For them, the tax service intends to make maximum use of the information preserved in electronic databases, so as not to put businesses in a dead end due to the physical loss of paper media.
Tax Debt and Personal Support for Critically Affected Enterprises
The service has also defined its approach to dealing with the tax debt of affected businesses. If an enterprise incurs a debt, the State Tax Service is obliged to notify the taxpayer of it without delay. At the same time, the presence of a debt does not entail an automatic loss of the affected enterprise status, and the legal procedures for settling tax debts remain in force. For enterprises with critical destruction, a mechanism of personal support is planned to be introduced: a responsible officer within the tax service will be designated to assist the taxpayer in interacting with the service. The Offices of Tax Consultants are also planned to be maximally involved in the work. "We are doing everything so that those affected by Russian attacks receive not formal, but targeted assistance in administration," Lesia Karnaukh summarized.
Context: President's Statements on Expanding Business Support
The State Tax Service's initiatives fit into a broader political context. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy previously announced the preparation of decisions to strengthen support for Ukrainian businesses operating under Russian strikes and critically important to the country's economy. In particular, he spoke of expanding state support programs and scaling up the affordable lending program. The head of state also noted that business needs are planned to be recorded on a weekly basis, and meetings with its representatives will be held on a regular basis. Thus, the State Tax Service's tax measures become one of the elements of a comprehensive strategy for adapting the economy to the conditions of ongoing hostilities.
