German businessman and founder of Cutmetall Ukraine Reinhard Maeder is to take Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych to court concerning VAT non-reimbursement, Germany's Deutsche Welle radio has reported.
According to the radio station, early this year Ukraine paid Hr 2 million in VAT debts to the firm with the help of the German Embassy. The German businessman has claims against Ukraine for material losses to his company. Maeder also did not rule out his filing an appeal for compensation for moral damages.
"Since 2009, the company, at which 100 Ukrainian employees worked, has not even been able to pay salaries. At that time, the company had orders for three months in advance, but due to the fact that there were no funds to purchase raw materials, because all the money was taken for VAT and not returned, all of our clients withdrew their orders. My co-founder from Germany demanded the return of all investments to Germany. I was forced to lay off people and sell some equipment to pay debts," said the businessman.
The defendants in the case are the State Tax Administration of Ukraine and President Yanukovych, as the guarantor of the Ukrainian Constitution.
A lawyer for Cutmetall Ukraine, Stepan Filin, said that the untimely fulfillment of liabilities on VAT reimbursement is a violation of the constitution, as a state body – the tax administration – acted illegally.
He said he was convinced that only president’s participation in the case would mean that it would be heard without bias, as Ukraine has great problems with its court system.
