At the end of last week, city mayor Anton Kryvytskyi issued an order to create a commission to facilitate the work of the open joint-stock company "LuAZ". How important and predictable such a decision was became evident on Tuesday, when the main assembly line of the automobile plant stopped due to a lack of components. The history of such a situation is known to all - tax officials did not issue a certificate for customs clearance of cargo. This became the reason for the commission's meeting. The head of the city tax inspection, Mykola Hryn, explained the delay in issuing certificates by the enterprise's debt on value added tax. LuAZ General Director Volodymyr Hunchyk explained it differently: - For the first half of this year, the total amount of payments, fees and taxes paid by the plant exceeded ten million hryvnias. Value added tax was paid in "real" money to customs authorities - over three million. Also, in accordance with current legislation, the plant presented promissory notes to customs authorities, which have already been redeemed but not recognized by tax authorities. Other enterprises also use the promissory note system, but for some reason tax officials have no claims against them. But a planned terror is being applied against the automobile plant. City mayor Anton Kryvytskyi also clearly expressed his position at the commission meeting: - We will not allow the destruction of one of the largest enterprises, which produces 37 percent of the total volume of industrial output, provides work for 1,200 residents of Lutsk, and pays them an average of 700 hryvnias in wages monthly. The prospects of the regional center are linked to LuAZ. And it is impossible to allow the plant to be destroyed because of someone's political ambitions. As the speakers noted, no one objects to regulatory bodies performing their duties and exposing violations. But why stop production? Members of the commission at the city executive committee spoke almost unanimously in defense of LuAZ. Volodymyr Hunchyk noted that issues related to the issuance of certificates could have been resolved in a matter of hours: plant specialists were ready to come to work even on a day off so that everything could be quickly coordinated with tax officials on Monday. However, tax office employees refused dialogue. According to the general director, he has to respond to 10-15 requests from the tax office every week. - One gets the impression that the inspectors themselves do not know what they are looking for at the plant, and in conversations with people they complain that they come to us under coercion, - Volodymyr Hunchyk said with bitter irony, emphasizing that the plant's workforce, driven to despair, will defend their rights under the walls of the tax administration on Kyivska Square. Thanks to the intervention of the city authorities, it was possible to relieve the tension. The tax officials did issue the certificate, though at the end of the working day. But who will compensate for the losses? After all, one day of downtime at the enterprise costs 2.5-3 million hryvnias in losses.