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Conducting an attorney's interview with a witness

Through questioning, an attorney identifies persons who have information about the circumstances constituting part of the subject of proof in tax offence cases. During the interview, the attorney receives verbal explanations from the witness and enters them into the interview record. In the future, the testimony of such persons might help the defence of a business in a tax dispute, as it contains verified information about the financial and economic activities of the company being audited and is written evidence in the event of a dispute at the pre-trial or trial stage.

In preparation for tax audits and support for on-site and desk tax audits, BGP Litigation attorneys put together defence files by conducting attorney’s interviews of witnesses. Witnesses may be both managers of companies and employees. Before conducting an attorney's interview, the attorney explains in detail to the witness their rights and obligations, then consistently questions them on all important circumstances that might serve as a basis for tax claims arising. So, an attorney's interview precludes an accusatory tax authority interpretation of any circumstances, allowing legally significant information that might, in the future, serve as proof of the company’s commercial prudence and good faith, to be collected and reflected.

Services

Why BGP Litigation?
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BGP Litigation attorneys have experience, including in tax authorities and BIG-4 companies, allowing them to perform, to a high standard, analytical procedures aimed at identifying tax risks that can be mitigated by conducting attorney's interviews. At various times, BGP Litigation attorneys have used witness testimony obtained during attorney’s interviews to confirm the integrity of a company and its counterparties, which has made it possible to reduce the likelihood of tax claims or significantly reduce them at the pre-trial stage.

It is worth turning to BGP Litigation attorneys if the company predicts an imminent tax audit or is already being audited. In this case, the attorneys will help collect defence files in advance by conducting attorney’s interviews, thereby precluding a significant amount of potential tax claims and additional taxes.

Practice

Team

Alexander Golikov
Partner, partner committee member, attorney — Tax Advise and Disputes
Pavel Kondukov
Partner, attorney — Tax Advise and Disputes
Denis Savin
Partner, attorney — Tax Advise and Disputes
Valentina Semenova
Counsel, attorney — Tax Advise and Disputes