JKX Wins Ukraine Tax Dispute

UK registered independent JKX has won two more tax cases against Kyiv, it said March 27, freeing it from the obligation to pay the Ukrainian government hryvnia 125.4 ($4.49)mn in penalties.

In November 2019 the Poltava administrative court found in favour of JKX' local subsidiary Poltava Petroleum Company (PPC) in relation to two cases. It said that the relevant tax notification decisions previously issued against PPC were illegal and cancelled them.

In January 2020 the Kharkiv court upheld the November 2019 rulings and Ukraine's tax authorities missed the deadline for filing supreme court appeals. The judgements of the Poltava Circuit Administrative Court are therefore now binding and final, JKX said. It added that these are the third and fourth claims that it has won.

JKX is focusing on Ukraine, having agreed to sell its Hungarian production business earlier this year. It is ramping up gas production in eastern Ukraine and said it was debt-free in February.