The Economic Security Bureau did not provide answers to UNN's questions regarding the grounds for changing the approach to taxing aircraft leasing as royalties. Instead of explaining its legal position, the ESB referred to the secrecy of the pre-trial investigation. At the same time, the Bureau confirmed that it is investigating four criminal proceedings concerning the leasing of aircraft from non-residents of Ukraine.
As UNN previously reported, the ESB is investigating cases involving at least five air carriers, including Ukraine International Airlines, "Constanta Airline," "Urga," N3Operations, and "Skyline Express," over the alleged failure to pay an additional 15% tax to the Ukrainian budget on income earned by non-residents under aircraft leasing agreements. Investigators equate leasing payments with royalties and treat airplanes and helicopters not as means of transport but as "equipment."
Law enforcement officers received the analytical conclusions after the previous team at the State Tax Service published an article in 2024 proposing that leasing operations involving transport from non-residents of Ukraine be taxed as royalties. The documents, which according to representatives of the aviation market are similar to one another and appear to have been written "using the same template," formed the basis for criminal cases against air carriers.
Lawyers interviewed by UNN indicate that investigators ignore the existing international conventions on the avoidance of double taxation ratified by the Verkhovna Rada. According to them, automatically assessing an additional 15% tax in Ukraine without taking into account the provisions of a specific convention is at the very least disputable.
It is worth noting that, according to data from the State Tax Service, the airlines underwent tax audits, and a violation in the taxation of leasing was established based on the results of only one of them. The remaining tax audits did not reveal any such violations.
The ESB claims it is investigating four criminal cases concerning aircraft leasing
UNN sent a request to the Economic Security Bureau regarding criminal proceedings related to the taxation of aircraft leasing operations involving non-residents of Ukraine, opened against Ukrainian airlines.
The editorial team was interested in how many criminal proceedings in total investigated by the Bureau are related to aircraft leasing, how many airlines appear in them, and on what grounds these criminal cases were opened.
In addition, UNN asked whether investigators at the Economic Security Bureau knew that the airlines subject to the pre-trial investigation had successfully passed tax audits and that the supervisory authorities had raised no questions regarding the taxation of aircraft leasing.
Separately, the editorial team was interested in the regulatory documents on the basis of which the ESB decided that Ukrainian carriers must pay royalties for aircraft leasing.
However, the editorial team never received answers to the questions raised in the request. The ESB referred to Article 222 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, according to which information from a pre-trial investigation may be disclosed only with the written permission of an investigator or prosecutor.
"At present, granting permission to disclose information from the pre-trial investigation in criminal proceedings No. 72025001220000026 dated 22 May 2025, No. 72025001220000001 dated 8 January 2025, No. 72024000220000003 dated 6 February 2024, and No. 72025001220000034 dated 16 June 2025 does not appear possible," the ESB's response to UNN's request states.
Thus, the Bureau refused to disclose any information about the criminal cases, although the editorial team had not asked for information about the persons involved or even the names of the airlines against which the criminal cases had been opened.
According to the Unified State Register of Court Decisions, airline "N3OPERATIONS" and "Constanta Airline" appear in criminal proceeding No. 72025001220000034.
Criminal case No. 72025001220000001, mentioned by the ESB, was opened against "Skyline Express," while proceeding No. 72024000220000003 concerns "Ukraine International Airlines" (UIA).
In addition, the ESB is investigating criminal case No. 72025001220000026 concerning the airline Wind Rose. At the same time, law enforcement agencies for some reason are not reporting on criminal proceeding No. 42025110000000326 concerning the airline URGA, although, according to the editorial office, it is also being investigated.
The ESB explained that publishing the information requested by the journalists could lead to the premature disclosure of the subject matter and areas of the investigation, information about the individuals and companies whose activities are being examined, the prosecution's materials, and planned procedural actions.
"The disclosure of such information could negatively affect the completeness, objectivity, and effectiveness of the pretrial investigation," the Bureau believes.
The ESB did not explain why aircraft leasing constitutes royalties
At the same time, the ESB was still unable to explain which specific provision of legislation the Bureau relies on when it treats lease payments for the use of aircraft as royalties, or what underpins the law enforcement agency's corresponding legal position.
This is noteworthy given that tax legislation concerning leasing has not changed for decades, while law enforcement agencies are not empowered to independently change the interpretation of legislation.
A reference to the secrecy of the investigation may explain the refusal to disclose specific evidence, procedural actions, or information about the individuals involved in the proceedings. However, it does not answer the broader question of the legal interpretation of transactions applied by the ESB, which directly affects Ukraine's aviation industry.
The ESB was also unable to provide examples of the successful classification of lease payments for aircraft as "royalties" since 1991, which obviously indicates that there are none.
Why the problem with aircraft leasing arose
The issue is fundamental for Ukraine's aviation industry, since the overwhelming majority of aircraft operated by Ukrainian carriers are not owned by them but are operated under lease agreements. According to data from the state register, previously analyzed UNN, 86% of aircraft operated by Ukrainian air carriers are leased.
Earlier, in response to a request from UNN the Ministry of Finance stated that the taxation of aircraft leasing transactions is carried out in accordance with the Tax Code and Ukraine's international treaties. The Ministry of Finance separately recalled paragraph 3.2 of Article 3 of the Tax Code: if an international treaty ratified as binding by the Verkhovna Rada establishes rules other than those provided for by the Code, the rules of the international treaty shall apply.
International conventions on the avoidance of double taxation do not provide for the possibility of taxing aircraft leasing as royalties.
The ministry also stated that it was ready to participate in developing clarifications on the taxation of such transactions.
The discussion surrounding the taxation of aircraft leasing has long gone beyond purely tax matters. While the Ministry of Finance is developing a unified approach and the aviation industry is calling on the state to eliminate legal uncertainty, the ESB continues to investigate criminal proceedings but does not publicly explain the legal grounds on which it treats aircraft leasing as royalties and demands that businesses pay an additional 15%.