The Tax Service has shut down important open data without a transparent process

The Tax Service has closed access to several important open registers, including information on the cancellation of VAT payer registration, tax debt, and the registers of single tax payers and VAT payers. To justify this decision, it referred to a so-called “three-part test” — a mechanism intended to determine whether restricting access to public information is reasonable.

However, in response to Opendatabot’s request regarding the testing procedure, the Tax Service stated that no working groups were formed, no meetings were recorded, and the analysis was conducted solely by internal departments — without involving external experts. The process was informal, and no analytical evidence was provided to prove that keeping the data open causes harm.

All of this contradicts the core principles of openness. The three-part test is supposed to be transparent, include expert analysis, and involve representatives from business and the security sector.

“Closing access to tax debt information is one of the most critical decisions. Businesses use this data every day — to check contractors, avoid fraud, and assess risks in procurement or partnerships. Tax debt is a key indicator of a company’s financial discipline. Without this tool, honest entrepreneurs are placed at a disadvantage, while dishonest ones gain new opportunities to hide problems. This undermines trust, creates space for fraud, and harms the country’s economic security. Losing access to such data directly affects the quality of decisions made by entrepreneurs, investors, and citizens. Working only through the Tax Service’s personal account kills any possibility of automation. At the same time, decisions made without clear criteria or accountability pose a serious risk of corruption and manipulation,”

— comments Oleksii Ivankin, founder of Opendatabot.

Open data is not just a trendy term or technical convenience. It is a real tool for accountability, competition, trust, and development. Closing such data without proper justification is a step backward in the country’s digital transformation.