“SRZ”LTD won the matter in an action of the regional office of the State Property Fund of Ukraine for payment of 43 million hryvnia of purportedly short-received rent
Company
On June13, at the Donetsk Commercial Court of Appeal (now in Kharkov) the regular court hearing was held and the claim of the State Property Fund to "SRZ" ltd was dismissed due to insufficiency of claims. According to this lawsuit the regional office of the State Property Fund of Ukraine wanted to receive from the lessee over 43 million hryvnia of so called "losses", which the budget allegedly suffered because of short-received rent payment. "SRZ"Ltd didn’t acknowledge the debt and managed to prove that it regularly pays the rent for the use of integral property complex of State Enterprise “Azov Shiprepair Yard”.
Background information:
It bears reminding that in 2003 the State Property Fund of Ukraine and "SRZ"ltd concluded rental contract for the term of 10 years with an annual rent rate 4% of the value of fixed assets and intangible assets of integral property complex of State Enterprise “Azov Shiprepair Yard”.
After a ten-year lease and investment in the development of the enterprise, in 2013 “SRZ”Ltd put forward an initiative of lease renewal for another three years - until 17 June 2016, and the Fund proposed to increase the rental rate five times: from 4% to 20%.
"SRZ" Ltd agreed, provided however, that the assessment to be undertaken as at 2013, when the rental agreement was extended, but not of February 2015, as the regional office of the State Property Fund of Ukraine intended to assess.
In 2014, the anti-terrorist operation commenced in South-East of Ukraine and the State Property Fund of Ukraine didn’t managed to arrange for independent evaluation of the yard property. Failing to perform part of the contract, the Fund, anyway, demanded via the courts the additional payment of 20% of the rent rate of the sum of the initial assessment of the shipyard property, as at November 30, 2004.
In total, during 2013, several lawsuits to the amount of purportedly short-received rent payment have been instigated against the"SRZ"Ltd. But the lessee agreed with neither one of them, insisting on the observance of procedure under the rent agreement with the State Property Fund of Ukraine.
Unfortunately, the first and second instance courts didn’t support the lessee, but the court of the third instance ruled in favor of "SRZ"Ltd.
Recently there has been a positive dynamics in the production sphere. As previously reported, after the ten-year break, "SRZ"Ltd obtained a real perspective to resume shipbuilding.
And due to the positive decision of the Donetsk Commercial Court of Appeal there is a hope for a fair settlement of disputes between the State Property Fund and the "SRZ"Ltd, which lay the foundation of a constructive dialogue with the state.