Bag, phone and wallet under the watchful eye of the tax service

During tax audits, the fiscal service authorities have the right to inspect the personal belongings of employees. This raises questions: Can inspectors inspect personal belongings that are not related to business? Lawyer Bohdan Yankiv answers this question.

The general norm clearly states that inspectors cannot inspect the personal belongings of employees during tax audits. However, there are exceptions in which the place of storage of things plays a key role.

According to the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 833 of June 15, 2006, in areas where settlements are made — such as cash registers, cash boxes, and safes — it is prohibited to store cash that does not belong to the enterprise, as well as personal belongings of employees. Separate rooms or lockers must be allocated for these purposes.

Thus, if an employee leaves his bag or phone near the cash register, these items lose the status of personal property. They are considered to be related to business, and tax officials have the right to inspect them. This list also includes outerwear, accessories, and mobile phones, if they are in the cash register area.

However, personal property remains protected if it is located in:

a separate office space;
a locker for clothes;
a staff room that is physically separated from the sales floor.
The lawyer advises entrepreneurs to properly organize the space in the premises and inform employees about the risks associated with storing personal belongings in work areas. In the event of an inspection, the employee himself, and not the management, is responsible for the improper placement of things.