TCCs require businesses to submit transport reports even if none exist: risk of a 60,000 hryvnia fine

The issue of submitting transport reports to territorial recruitment and social support centers (TCRs) has long remained a formality for most enterprises, often not even mentioned for years. This especially applied to companies that actually had no vehicles, special equipment, or did not carry out active economic activities.

However, under martial law conditions, the practice has sharply changed. TCRs began to more actively check compliance with the military transport duty and impose fines for failure to submit information about vehicles. The main paradox of the new practice is that today even companies without any transport receive fines.

What duty is imposed on businesses

The military transport duty is primarily regulated by:

— The Law of Ukraine "On Mobilization Preparation and Mobilization";
— The Regulation on Military Transport Duty, approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Resolution No. 1921 dated December 28, 2000.

These acts establish the obligation of enterprises, institutions, and organizations to submit information to TCRs about the availability and technical condition of vehicles.

According to paragraph 15 of the Regulation on Military Transport Duty, approved by the Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 1921 dated 28.12.2000, enterprise managers must submit a statement on vehicles to TCRs twice a year — by June 20 and December 20.

The new approach is that the duty to submit information exists regardless of whether the enterprise has transport. In other words, even the absence of vehicles must be separately confirmed by submitting a zero report.

For violating this duty, TCRs apply a fine provided by Article 210-1 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses (CUAO) — violation of legislation on defense, mobilization preparation, and mobilization.

After amendments introduced by Law No. 3696-IX, fines for violations of mobilization legislation have significantly increased. This law revised Article 210-1 of the CUAO and strengthened liability for violations of military accounting and mobilization duties.

Currently, under the special period conditions, part 3 of Article 210-1 of the CUAO provides for a fine for officials from 34,000 to 59,500 UAH.

That is, while previously failure to submit transport reports was often perceived as a formality, now even failure to submit a "zero" report can cost a company almost 60,000 UAH.

Why conflict arose between business and TCRs

The problem is that a significant number of enterprises for a long time did not even suspect the need to submit "zero" reports.

This especially concerns:

— newly established companies;

— small businesses;

— enterprises without vehicle fleets;

— companies that practically do not conduct activities.

Businesses operated on the practical logic that if there is no transport, then the military transport duty effectively does not arise.

However, TCRs began to take a formal approach that the duty lies not only in providing information about transport but also in the very submission of the report itself. That is why even the complete absence of equipment does not exempt from the need to send the relevant information to TCRs.

The court confirms: reporting is required even without transport

The "Judicial and Legal Newspaper" analyzed one of the most illustrative recent decisions in case No. 158/728/26, considered by the Eighth Administrative Court of Appeal. The court confirmed the legality of a 34,000 UAH fine for failure to submit information to TCRs about vehicles, equipment, and employees. At the same time, the enterprise practically did not conduct activities, had no transport or personnel.

The court concluded that paragraph 15 of the Regulation on Military Transport Duty establishes an unconditional obligation to submit information to TCRs twice a year — regardless of the actual availability of vehicles or economic activity.

Effectively, the court directly supported the concept of "zero" reporting. That is, even if a company does not have a single vehicle, it must still officially notify the TCRs about this.

Can fines be canceled due to procedural violations

Judicial practice, including case No. 552/6828/25, shows that courts continue to scrutinize compliance by TCRs with procedural guarantees when holding persons liable under Article 210-1 of the CUAO. Grounds for canceling fines include improper notification of the person about the case consideration, lack of proper evidence of the offense, errors in qualification, and violations of deadlines for bringing to responsibility.

Despite a stricter approach to fulfilling mobilization duties, TCRs are obliged to comply with the requirements of the CUAO and guarantee the person's right to defense, namely:

— proper preparation of protocols;

— correct qualification of the offense;

— clear definition of the violated norm;

— compliance with deadlines for bringing to responsibility;

— proper notification of the person about the case consideration.

Therefore, procedural violations can still be grounds for canceling fines.

What businesses should do now

Given the new judicial practice, enterprises should reconsider their approach to fulfilling the military transport duty. Even if the company has no vehicles, equipment, or employees, it is safer to submit a zero statement to TCRs with dashes or indication of the absence of transport.

Lawyers and company managers should also:

— check whether the Vehicle Statement was submitted in previous periods;

— keep evidence of report submission (TCR marks, postal receipts, enclosure descriptions);

— monitor submission deadlines — by June 20 and December 20;

— if fined, verify TCR compliance with deadlines for bringing to responsibility and procedural requirements of the CUAO;

— assess whether there are grounds to appeal the fine considering the nature of the offense and the right to defense.

Thus, under martial law conditions, the logic "no vehicles - no duty" no longer works for businesses. Formal ignoring of transport reporting under martial law increasingly turns into a real risk of receiving fines of tens of thousands of hryvnias.

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