The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted as a basis in the first reading,the draft Law of Ukraine on Amendments to the Law of Ukraine "On Social Services" regarding the improvement of the procedure for providing social services (reg. No. 12124).
The draft law was developed with the aim of improving certain aspects of the provision of social services in Ukraine, resolving existing regulatory gaps and modernizing certain norms in accordance with the latest legislative changes.
The draft provides for amendments to the Law of Ukraine "On Social Services", in particular, it is proposed:
- to supplement the Law with a new article that defines the concepts, forms of work and main tasks of a multidisciplinary team, which is a functionally separated group of specialists united by a common goal and tasks of providing social services (may include specialists in social work, social managers, psychologists, medical, teaching staff, rehabilitation specialists, occupational therapists, etc.);
- to clarify the classification of social service providers by ownership and organizational legal form;
- to esytablish a list of information entered into the register of providers and recipients of social services;
- to normalize the possibility of providing social services remotely (online), as well as concluding a contract on the provision of social services in electronic form;
- to regulate the procedure for providing social services in the absence of a corresponding state standard;
- to determine the cost of social services provided by state/municipal non-commercial enterprises, in accordance with the Methodology for calculating tariffs and adjustment coefficients, approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine;
- to specify responsibility for violation of the requirements of the legislation on social services;
- to regulate certain aspects of the procedure of reorganization (transformation) of state/municipal property social service providers, rehabilitation institutions operating in the organizational and legal form of an institution, into state/municipal non-commercial enterprises.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved the Veterans Policy Strategy for the period of 2030 and approved the operational plan of measures for its implementation in 2024-2027.
This is a fundamental document that should ensure comprehensive changes and development of state veteran policy in Ukraine.
The strategy reflects all spheres of interaction between the state and the veteran: from the initial steps in the soldier's return to civilian life, to the veteran's ability to strengthen the life of the community, region, and state.
The document was developed by the Ministry of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine together with the coalition of co-authors of the concept of veteran policy, the veteran community, public organizations, and international partners, taking into account world experience.
The Strategy is based on such principles as: comprehensiveness, human-centeredness, continuance, realism, respect, etc.
It also clearly spells out the strategic and operational goals of the veteran policy, tasks, indicators of their achievement and expected results. In particular, three main strategic goals are defined:
- restoration of human capital and welfare of veterans and their family members;
- respect and honor;
- ensuring national security and defense capability.
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted in the second reading and as a whole the project of the Law of Ukraine "On Amendments to the Tax Code of Ukraine on Taking into Account the Provisions of the Recommendations of the Council of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development on Tax Measures to Further Combat Bribery of Foreign Officials in International Business Transactions".
Adoption of the Law will contribute to the introduction of international tax standards in the field of combating bribery of foreign officials, and will also be another step on the way to Ukraine's membership in the OECD.
The OECD Council recommendations call for:
- establishment of a clear and effective ban on the deduction from the tax base of illegal benefits related to the bribery of foreign officials, which does not depend on any investigation by law enforcement agencies or initiation of court proceedings;
- provision of proper guidance to taxpayers and tax authorities on the types of expenditures that are considered bribery;
- simplification of the procedure for notification of suspected bribery by tax authorities to national law enforcement agencies.
Therefore, the purpose of the adopted Law is to introduce a mechanism for identifying potential illegal benefits before a court decision is made. In fact, the draft Law is aimed at creating conditions for preventing actions related to the taxpayer's granting of undue benefits to both foreign and national officials, when, given the presence of future tax consequences, the taxpayer will not perform the specified actions. This fully complies with the principles of Tax Compliance, which is promoted by the OECD.
The key provisions of the draft law are:
- introduction of a ban on deducting expenses for taxation purposes in transactions related to the granting of undue benefits to officials;
- supplementing the functions of the supervisory body in providing NABU and the taxpayer with notices of the circumstances (facts) discovered during the inspection, which may indicate the provision of an improper benefit. At the same time, both the State Tax Service and the taxpayer will be guided by the list of such circumstances (facts), which will be formed and approved by NABU in agreement with the Ministry of Finance;
- giving the taxpayer the opportunity to independently adjust their tax obligations, if the facts of the granting of an improper benefit really occurred;
- carrying out an unscheduled documentary inspection of a taxpayer in respect of whom a court verdict has been issued on providing an improper benefit to an official;
- increase in the taxpayer's financial result by the amount of expenses for which, in accordance with the law, it is established that they were made with the purpose of providing them with an improper benefit.
The law enters into force three months after its publication.
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted the Law of Ukraine "On Amendments to the Tax Code of Ukraine Regarding Revision of Excise Tax Rates on Tobacco Products" (basic draft law No. 11090).
The review of excise taxes on tobacco took place with the aim of harmonizing Ukrainian legislation with the requirements of the European Union and is one of the fiscal measures within the framework of the IMF Extended Fund Facility to ensure financial stability, contain risks and achieve the goals of joining the EU. The implementation of measures and policies determined in cooperation with the IMF allows attracting financing from both the IMF and other donors for priority social and humanitarian budget expenditures.
The law provides for a gradual increase of excise tax rates on cigarettes over four years until reaching the minimum level established by Directive 2011/64/EU in view of the European integration obligations of our state. Also, in order to avoid the impact of inflation on rate increases, excise rates for tobacco products will be determined in euros.
The implementation of the law will contribute to the achievement of a social effect: a decrease in cigarette consumption, and, as a result, the incidence of cardiovascular diseases and an increase in the life expectancy of a Ukrainian.
The law enters into force on January 1, 2025.
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted draft law No. 10257 on amendments to the Customs Code of Ukraine regarding some issues of administrative responsibility for violation of customs rules, submitted by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine in the first reading.
The draft law provides for:
- in order to ensure a fair consideration by the courts of cases of violation of customs rules and the possibility of individualizing administrative punishment, establishing the lower and upper limits of fines for the commission of offenses provided for in part six of Article 470, Art. 472, 476, ch. 6 Art. 481, Art. 482, 483 and 484 of the Customs Code, as well as provisions in the sanctions of Art. 472, ch. 1 Art. 482 and ch. 1 Art. 483 of the Customs Code of Ukraine on alternative confiscation of goods, vehicles - direct objects of violation of customs rules;
- definition in the Customs Code of the list of circumstances under which proceedings in the case of violation of customs rules cannot be initiated, and those initiated are subject to closure;
- settlement of the issue of transfer of case materials on violation of customs rules to law enforcement agencies and their consideration by courts in case of closing of criminal proceedings and return for consideration in the order of administrative proceedings;
- clarification of the right of the person who is brought to administrative responsibility and their representative;
- regulation of the implementation by the central executive authority, which implements the state customs policy, of checking the legality and reasonableness of the decision of the customs authority in the case of violation of customs rules, including clarifying the grounds for canceling such decisions, establishing a 15-year period for considering a complaint against the decision.
As of December 1, 2024, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine canceled the licensing regime for certain types of agricultural products. Those are grains, legumes, oil crops and oil. The relevant decision was adopted at the Government meeting on November 29, 2024.
Cancellation of the regime of licensing of agricultural products is necessary to avoid misunderstandings during customs clearance of exports. In contrast, the export licensing of wheat, corn, sunflower seeds and rapeseed to Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland remains unchanged.
We remind you that the regime of export security provides for:
- export of goods exclusively by registered VAT payers;
- establishment of minimum export prices for goods subject to the export security regime. The difference between invoice and customs value of goods should not be negative;
- electronic exchange of information between the National Bank, the State Tax Service and the State Customs Service to track and control exporters' compliance with legislative requirements;
- peculiarities of drawing up a tax invoice and its registration in the Unified Register of Tax Invoices.
