PJSC "Zaporizhstal" is disconnected from electricity due to the state's debt to the plant for VAT refunds

PJSC "Zaporizhstal" received a notification from the state monopoly OJSC "Zaporozhyeoblenergo" about stopping the supply of electricity to the plant under the existing contracts, due to a violation of the schedule of mandatory payments that arose from the plant due to the state's debt to PJSC "Zaporizhstal" on reimbursement of value added tax in the amount of more than 822 million hryvnia. The debt of PJSC Zaporizhstal to OJSC Zaporozhyeoblenergo is about UAH 140 million.

In this context, Rostislav Shurma, General Director of PJSC Zaporizhstal, said:

“Recently, the plant's collective has been under constant pressure from government bodies and state monopolists. The only reason for our debt for electricity is the debt of state authorities to refund VAT to the plant, which is six times the amount of Zaporizhstal's debt for electricity, but officials do not care. They do not care about the grave consequences of this decision - the stoppage of the enterprise and the loss of jobs for thousands of people employed in production, the resulting social upheaval and, above all, the threat of man-made accidents due to a sudden stop of production at the time of a power outage.

For my part, I personally guarantee that the plant will pay the electricity debt on the same day as soon as the state refunds the VAT, and the problem cannot be solved in another way. We demand the state to return our earned funds - a debt on VAT refund ”.

PJSC "Zaporizhstal" is the largest taxpayer in Ukraine and the Zaporozhye region. At the end of 2014, PJSC Zaporizhstal transferred more than UAH 1.4 billion to the budgets of all levels, and for 10 months of 2015 - UAH 2.1 billion