Безперервність бізнесу в умовах війни: захист активів, реагування та відновлення після інцидентів

Business-focused summary: continuous business during war (incident response + recovery playbook)

1) Core idea: replace “improvisation” with an anti-crisis architecture

• Continuity depends on:
  • Pre-built scenarios
  • A cross-functional crisis team
  • Rapid, coordinated response so operations can resume quickly after loss/damage of:
    • infrastructure
    • assets
    • goods
    • documents
    • data
• Legal/tax/customs actions must be explicitly coordinated in the first hours/days, because they shape:
  • future tax risk
  • documentation of losses
  • potential compensation

---

2) Incident preparedness framework (logistics + operations + evidence readiness)

Logistics resilience becomes a standalone “KP” (in addition to cost/speed/quality)

• War changes logistics priorities: from efficiency to resilience.
• Key principle: “No single point of failure”
  • Diversification/backup capacity beats one cheap warehouse.

Recommended logistics architecture elements

• Reservation: capacity redundancy
• Visibility: end-to-end visibility of goods + orders + routes + document flow
• Proven scenarios: documented operating modes and triggers

Playbook: scenario design + switching triggers

Define three modes:

• Normal mode
• Emergency mode
• Switching triggers (examples):
  • warehouse damage
  • blocked routes
  • energy disconnection
  • transport shortages
  • sharp load growth

For each scenario, pre-record:

• responsible owners
• operational changes
• escalation procedure
• required systems/process adjustments

Cross-functional crisis team (“single coordination center”)

Business-dependent roles include:

• operations
• legal
• finance + tax
• VAT/customs (if applicable: import/export/customs)
• IT (backup/recovery, document systems)
• commercial (if needed for counterparties)
• insurance contact/coverage owner

The team must define:

• powers
• expected outcomes
• escalation process

Data/document continuity

• Don’t assume redundancy if information is centralized in one system.
• Pre-plan:
  • distributed/backup data and documents
  • how to recover quickly if the primary system is lost
  • manual accounting only as a temporary measure to maintain an audit trail

---

3) Recovery target concepts (execution metrics)

RTO: Recovery Time Objective

• Recovery timing should be explicit:
  • define time windows (RTO) for restoring operations if the object isn’t fully lost
• “Acceptable term” should be emphasized across:
  • logistics
  • legal documentation
  • systems recovery

Operational controls during crisis

Establish maximum allowable concentration of:

• critical stocks
• critical SKUs / CUs
• orders
• documents/data

Crisis mode should support:

• quick relocation of stocks
• changing order priorities
• narrowing assortment if necessary

---

4) Concrete “first hours / first days” response checklist (legal + operations)

Immediate incident actions (government agencies + documentation)

1. Activate anti-crisis plan + team (with assigned responsibilities already set).
2. Call required services:
   • police
   • State Emergency Service / SES
   • plus military administration
3. Ensure SES records the incident in an act/certificate, including causation (e.g., shelling from the РФ/aggressor country).
   • This SES act becomes a foundational document for later tax/legal processes.

Force majeure notifications to counterparties

• Notify via the contract-required process:
  • addressed notifications (often by email)
  • as soon as you gain the ability (email/official channels)
• Timely notification affects:
  • penalties
  • liability outcomes
  • recoverability of losses from counterparties

Evidence capture (premises/assets/docs)

Document damages with:

• photos/videos (general view + object-level detail)
• lawyer-prepared protocols (certified)
• witness protocols (where applicable)

Military administration can also produce an inspection act—useful for tax and loss documentation.

Criminal case pathway (SBU)

• Submit a crime report to SBU including as many details as possible:
  • what/where/when/how
  • what was damaged and how the company suffered
• After proceedings open:
  • apply for recognition of the company as a victim
  • obtain extracts/resolutions to support force majeure and future compensation claims

---

5) Tax/customs execution playbook: deadlines + document recovery

A) Notifications of lost documents (tax + customs)

• If primary documents are lost:
  • notify relevant authorities within 5 calendar days from the “start counting point”
• Practical counting approach:
  • count from the date when:
    • SES permits entry / dangerous consequences are eliminated
    • an internal director order authorizes employees to inspect premises as safe
• Initial notification should include:
  • that the incident occurred
  • that documents were destroyed
  • typically not full detailed lists (inventory is required; full inventory may be impossible within 5 days)

B) Inventory + document restoration timeline

Align two parallel processes:

1. Complete inventory of destroyed documents/assets
2. Recover documents where possible

• Mentioned framework: 90 calendar days for completion/inventory and recovery planning (as cited in the webinar).

Key risk-based filtering

• Restore only what is relevant by:
  • statutes of limitations
  • inspection windows
• Tax inspections are often focused on more recent periods (example mentioned: “23 years old” as an illustration of limitation logic).
• Action takeaway:
  • don’t restore everything blindly
  • identify destroyed vs. damaged by type and period, then map recovery to likely inspection needs

C) Recovery evidence base must include state bodies + audit trail

Inventory should include invitations to representatives of:

• SES
• tax/customs authorities
• SBU

For customs regimes and authorizations, ensure:

• audit trail consistency between:
  • restored systems/manual journals
  • and normal systems

---

6) Chamber of Commerce (CCI) force majeure certificates: what to request

Not one universal certificate for everything

• Supreme Court practice referenced: for each obligation where performance is impossible, you generally need a specific CCI certificate linked to that obligation.

What must be attached to the CCI application

• SES act / confirmed incident evidence
• lawyer protocols / military administration acts (as available)
• confirmation of harm
• criminal case evidence + victim status (if applicable)
• inventory results

Important nuance

• A general “war in Ukraine” letter is not enough for specific circumstances.
• You need a tailored certificate for your situation and obligations.

---

7) Customs-specific execution: goods under vs. outside customs control

Principle: customs responsibility doesn’t disappear automatically

• Force majeure does not automatically exempt liability for obligations.
• You must prove cause-and-effect per obligation and per batch/lot of goods.

For goods outside customs control

Focus on proving:

• loss/damage facts
• contractual notifications
• insurance claims process (if used)
• tax accounting treatment

For goods under customs control

Additional requirements:

• settle the future fate of the customs regime (processing/damaged goods/termination etc.)
• notify customs timely about:
  • circumstances and consequences
  • damaged/unavailable zones
  • lists of affected goods (or explicitly state you’ll provide clarifications when data becomes available)
• engage customs procedures for:
  • inspection/territory inspection when needed
  • termination applications for regimes; otherwise administrative responsibility may arise for missed deadlines
• prepare evidence:
  • inventory separating goods by condition:
    • destroyed (unsalvageable)
    • damaged (usable with operations)
    • suitable
    • leftovers/waste
    • secure access goods

---

8) Tax nuances emphasized (VAT, non-economic use, and documentation)

Lesson from Donbas/occupation experiences

• Some companies impaired assets to zero.
• During audits, tax authorities sometimes treated impairment as the start of non-economic use, creating VAT consequences for missing goods/assets.

Defensive strategy (from the webinar)

• VAT relief wording in the Tax Code:
  • covers destroyed goods connected to force majeure
  • but the scope may be narrower than “everything destroyed”
  • depends on:
    • whether goods were “purchased goods” vs. manufactured/home-made products
    • whether assets are reversible/unreversible
• Therefore build defense on documentation:
  • SES acts
  • criminal proceedings / victim status
  • force majeure CCI certificate (tailored)
  • proper inventory and evidence that destruction occurred and use became impossible

---

9) Compensation mechanisms (high-level, business execution emphasis)

Timing note

• Framed as starting/expanding in 2024–2025, not immediate “guaranteed payment.”

International EU-level loss register

• Register for business losses; applications accepted with evidence.
• Not automatic compensation; a future commission is expected to review (target referenced: 2027).
• Today’s purpose: record eligible losses for later adjudication.

Ukrainian state support examples (with numbers)

• Resumption of production grants
  • Up to UAH 16 million (state share; co-financing required)
  • Condition: grant amounts must be returned within 3 years via taxes/fees (as described)
  • Jobs-related obligations after recovery
• “Pulse Point” support
  • Wage downtime support via employment centers
  • Up to 17,294 UAH per employee (stated as “two minimum wages”)
  • Total duration: up to 6 months (initially 3 months, extendable if recovery isn’t possible)
  • Requires enterprise recovery plan and proof of not shutting down activities
• Loans
  • Total lending amount: up to 150 million UAH
  • First 2 years: 0.1% per annum
  • Later: depends on sector/size (stated range 5–9%)
• Export credit agency insurance-type compensation
  • Eligibility depends on membership at time of incident
  • Mentioned entry fee: UAH 150,000
  • Max compensation: UAH 30 million
• Coordination rule:
  • you generally cannot receive overlapping full compensation multiple times; other mechanism payouts can reduce amounts

---

10) Concrete example & operational takeaway for 3PL/logistics providers

Insurance coverage is not automatically sufficient

• Cited research result: 47% respondents determine cargo insurance as a percentage of declared value, implying it may not cover full cost.
• Recommendation: review 3PL/TPL contract terms:
  • insured amounts and limits per incident/load/event
  • included risks (including war risks)
  • who bears uncovered losses

3PL sustainability requires crisis integration

Ensure crisis procedures exist between client and 3PL, including:

• activation trigger
• how to stop operations / switch to backup locations
• notification deadlines and data updates
• escalation procedure

Emphasis:

• backup model must be measurable and testable
• regularly review routes, reserve capacity, and data copy recovery
• avoid “lost connection” situations: requires communication discipline and escalation

---

Presenters / sources mentioned

• Irina — Manager, Liga 360 Product Expertise Center (webinar host)
• Jeanne Brazhnyk — Director, Head of Practice, Dispute Resolution
• Inna Andrushchenko — Director, Head of Practice, VAT Practice
• Vira Miroshnichenko — Practice Manager, Customs Regulation and International Trade

Additional entities referenced within the content:

• State Emergency Service (SES)
• SBU (Security Service of Ukraine)
• Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI)
• Supreme Court practice
• European Commission (EU-level loss register)
• employment centers
• export credit agency
• international compensation commission (expected next year 2027, as referenced)