РROBLEMS OF DISTINGUISHING THE GROUNDS FOR APPLYING ADMINISTRATIVE SEIZURE OF PROPERTY AND THE SEIZURE OF FUNDS ON A TAXPAYER’S BANK ACCOUNTS

Abstract

The article examines the issue of distinguishing the legal grounds for the application of administrative seizure of taxpayers’ property and seizure of funds in bank accounts, which has remained unresolved in the national legal system for a long time. It is determined that the conflict between the provisions of Art. 94 and Clause 20.1.33 of Clause 20.1 of Art. 20 of the Tax Code of Ukraine has existed since its entry into force, which has led to the formation of divergent judicial practice, which, in turn, complicates the uniform application of tax legislation and violates the principle of legal certainty – a fundamental component of the rule of law.The evolution of the approaches of judicial bodies is analyzed, starting from the Information Letter of the Supreme Administrative Court of Ukraine dated April 29, 2013 № 642/12/13-13, in which the first attempt was made to interpret the correlation of the specified norms, to the formation of the final legal position of the Supreme Court in the resolution of October 18, 2022 in case №. 380/9147/21. It was found that in the course of the development of judicial practice, there were two approaches to the qualification of the seizure of funds: as a component of the administrative seizure of property (general norm) and as a separate, special institution. The final distinction was made precisely in the aforementioned resolution of the Supreme Court, which established that Art. 94 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of Ukraine determines the general grounds for the application of the administrative seizure of property, while clauses 20.1.33 of clause 20.1 of Art. 20 of the Code of Ukraine regulates special grounds for imposing an arrest on taxpayer funds in banks.It is substantiated that the only proper way to eliminate the legal conflict is to make amendments to the Code of Ukraine aimed at a clear normative definition of the grounds and procedure for applying the arrest of taxpayer funds. It is proposed to separate the arrest of funds into an independent norm by supplementing Art. 94 of the Code of Ukraine with a separate clause or creating a new article that would regulate this institution as an independent legal means of tax control.