The recent words of the Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman, about the problems that arise due to the inconsistency of business with the legislation of Ukraine and the fact of further inspections, intended for enterprises of our country, have been stirred up by a fairly large number of business owners in all of its spheres.
In this article, we will describe the rules that must be followed when conducting an checkup, how to protect one’s rights and identify violations or exceeding the authority of the inspector.
Recommendations
First of all, if you have not received a letter informing you of a scheduled inspection, you have the right not to allow the supervisor to hold an inspection, referring to the current legislation. If the inspection is unplanned, according to the Law “On the main principles of state supervision (control) in the sphere of economic activity” of April 5, 2007, it does not require prior notification.
If representatives of supervisory authorities called you, then you have the right not to answer them on a call. During a telephone conversation, it is better to learn as much as possible about the intentions of the supervisory authority, without saying too much, and end the conversation with the words “I will contact you later.”
It happens that some employees receive a message from the regulatory authorities about the need for their presence in such an authority. The best solution would be to agree on this issue with the head of the enterprise and visit the relevant body accompanied by a lawyer. But what if the above-mentioned body requires certain documents to be submitted for the request? It’s very simple, before submitting documents, they need to be coordinated with the head of the enterprise and the lawyer, and also to check the existence of grounds for their reclamation.
“First contact” with the inspector
If you are NOT the head of the enterprise, immediately inform him of the inspection. The inspector has no right to initiate an inspection without a supervisor.
Before the start of the control checkup, it is necessary to ascertain whether the person has the authority to conduct it. Ask for a service ID. The ID should contain information about the name, first name and patronymic of the inspector, position at work and place of work, series and number, date of issue and validity period of the ID. It is also worthwhile to record the information designated in the credential. Rewrite or take a photo of it. Check whether this person was sent for verification by contacting with such question appropriate authority. Check the validity of the grounds indicated in the documents. Enter information about the inspection in the Register of Inspections (if you have such) and ask the inspector to sign it.
The next thing you can demand before presentation is the referral and copy of the order. The order must specify the date of issue, the full name of the body, the subject that is going to be inspected, the purpose and type of the inspection, the grounds of the inspection, the start date of the inspection, the time frame of the inspection, the period of activity that will be inspected.
To allow or not allow, that is the question
Allow the verification is not necessary if there are at least one of the reasons listed below:
- If an officer came for the purpose of conducting an inspection and did not provide you with a service ID, referral or order
- The absence of notification if the inspection is scheduled
- The presence of violations during issuing or in already issued documents
- Reasons for inspection are absent
- Inspector refuses to sign in the checkup log
The non-admission of inspectors to the inspection should be justified and you, as a subject of economic activity, should clearly indicate in the certificate the reasons for refusal of admission to the inspection.
The procedure of the inspection
First of all, it is necessary to create a workplace for the inspector. The ideal option is to allocate him to a separate room and appoint a responsible person to work with the inspector. It can be an accountant, a lawyer or another responsible and reliable employee who would not give out unnecessary information and would record all the actions of the inspector.
The next step is to inform employees about the inspection and limit their communication with the inspector. Remember, during the checkup all employees who work under a civil law contract and individual entrepreneur can provide information that will be perceived by inspectors literally as a green light to bring you to responsibility. This is, in particular, the use of phrases “I work in the company”, “our office”, “salary” and others, which may indicate the existence of hidden labor relations.
To provide documents to the inspector is necessary only according to the description and under the signature. Under no circumstances should it be allowed to withdraw originals, because this is permitted only in cases determined by the criminal procedural law or by the request of the court. If the inspector asks for documents that are not related to the subject of inspection, simply do not provide them with such documents, and inform the relevant control body in written form on such whim of the inspector. Written notification is also required when it is impossible to provide certain documents on good reasons. Conduct a video-recording of the inspection process, but inform inspector about it.
Checkout results
If certain violations were found on your part, do not hurry to refuse to the inspector in signing the act. Sign the act with a note “I do not agree with the conclusions of the inspections, objections to the act will be provided within the period established by law”. Such a formulation will allow a more effective appeal of the results and avoid contradictions in the event of a change in the defense strategy.
Do not sign standard type statements as: “All documents used during the inspection are reliable, fully provided, and additional (other) documents, related to the activities of the enterprise, for the period of inspection, are not available”. This statement will make it very difficult to provide new evidence and references to them.
Do not forget that you have the right to obtain a copy of the document compiled on the basis of the inspection results without fail.
Remember – “a lost battle does not mean a lost war” and you have the right to appeal against the decision to impose penalties on you from the side of the supervisory authority, an order to rectify the violations, violations that were detected during the inspection, juridically. In addition to the judicial way of the appeal, there is an administrative appeal procedure, but it is less effective due to the consistency of actions and positions of the entire vertical.
If the inspecting body intends to “visit” your company and you do not know what to do, it is better to call on the qualified specialists for a full and complete consultation on such questions.
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