April 14 – 18, 2025. System for granting customs authorizations has been updated to bring it closer to the European

The President of Ukraine signed European integration Law of Ukraine “On Hops and Hop Products ” No. 4341-IX.

The provisions of the Law bring the basic principles and requirements for the cultivation, production, processing, labeling, certification of hops and hop products, as well as the legal basis for the activities of central executive authorities, business entities and the procedure for state control in this area, into line with European Union standards.

The law provides:

• facilitating the export of hops and hop products due to their compliance with European standards;
• digitalization of procedures in the hop growing industry;
• reducing the burden on the budget by authorizing private entities to conduct certification of hops and hop products ;
• increasing the production of hops and its processed products;
• comprehensive solution to a number of problems related to improving the quality of domestic hops and products of its processing.

The law comes into force two years after publication, providing a fairly long adaptation period for farmers.

The provisions of the Law will contribute to the introduction of Ukrainian agricultural products into international markets of high-quality goods and will promote investments in hop processing in Ukraine.

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted as a basis draft law No. 13087 on the introduction of the "Bolar rule" into Ukrainian legislation, which will allow reducing prices for medical drugs.

The "Bolar Rule", which is in force in EU countries, allows manufacturers to begin registration and production of generic drugs (analogs of original drugs) before the patent on the original drug expires.

The draft law, in particular, provides that medicines can be registered the day after the patent for the original drug expires. At the same time, selling, advertising, or commercializing medicines until the patent expires is prohibited.

The adoption of draft No. 13087 will increase competition between manufacturers of generic drugs and reduce drug prices for patients.

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted the Law on Amendments to the Law of Ukraine "On Protection of the Interests of Individuals in the Sphere of Intellectual Property during the Period of Martial Law Introduced in Connection with the Armed Aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine" regarding the Improvement of Patent Legislation, Reg. No. 9383 .

The draft provides for a change in the provisions of Law No. 2174-IX, which previously allowed for the automatic renewal of all patents without exception, including those that cannot be renewed under current legislation.

In particular, this concerns patents for inventions and utility models, the validity of which finally expired during the martial law and which do not provide for the possibility of extension. According to the updated rules, only those property rights remain valid, the validity of which can still be maintained in accordance with the Law "On the Protection of Rights to Inventions and Utility Models".

This clarification is intended to eliminate distortions that arose as a result of the adoption of the previous law, in particular in the pharmaceutical market. The automatic extension of patent terms effectively made it impossible for generic drugs to enter the market, limited competition, and contributed to the preservation of the monopoly position of individual manufacturers.

It is expected that the implementation of the new law will create conditions for fair competition, promote the development of domestic drug production, reduce prices, and increase the availability of medicines for Ukrainians.

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted draft law No. 12230, which blocks the ability to purchase municipal property at reduced prices.

Draft No. 12230 introduces open, transparent auctions for the sale of municipal property. The tenant can either exercise the right of first refusal at the highest price established at the open auction, or receive compensation for the essential improvements made from the new property owner based on actual calculations.

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted in the second reading draft law No. 12150, which brings the Ukrainian telecommunications market closer to European standards and expands the powers of the national telecom regulator - NCEC. This is the final legislative stage on the way to a single roaming area with the EU.

After all formal procedures, Ukrainians will be able to use mobile communications in EU countries without additional costs. The adoption of this draft will also be an important signal of our readiness for further integration into European markets.

One of the important innovations is that European operators will not need to undergo a general authorization procedure in Ukraine if they do not provide electronic communications services. This will allow them to provide their services faster and easier through Ukrainian networks.

The draft law also defines the powers of the NCEC necessary to improve the operation of the Roaming Like at Home service in Ukraine:

• monitoring the compatibility and connection of networks of Ukrainian and European operators;
• ensuring access, interconnection and compatibility of service provision by Ukrainian and European operators;
• helping Ukrainians interact with European operators if their communication services are not working.

Operators will be able to ensure the compatibility of their networks, even if they use different equipment or technologies. Thanks to this, subscribers will be able to roam without any obstacles.

The “Roaming Like at Home” mode operates in all 27 EU countries. In the European Union, work on the implementation of the “Roaming Like at Home” zone began in 2007 and was launched in 2017. This is a complex process that Ukraine, as a candidate for EU membership, is undergoing in an accelerated mode due to the full-scale Russian invasion.

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine approved in the second reading and as a whole the Law of Ukraine "On Amendments to the Law of Ukraine "On the Status of War Veterans, Guarantees of Their Social Protection" regarding the assignment of one-time cash assistance" (reg. No. 12234).

The draft law proposes to amend the Law of Ukraine "On the Status of War Veterans, Guarantees of Their Social Protection" to ensure a fair approach to determining the amount of one-time cash assistance to families of persons who, in the period from February 24 to March 25, 2022 and from March 26, 2022 until the termination or abolition of martial law, died while participating in measures necessary to ensure the defense of Ukraine, protect the security of the population and the interests of the state in connection with the military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine by paying a one-time cash assistance in the amount of 15 million hryvnias, in the case of participation in combat operations in the territories where combat operations were conducted according to the list determined by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The adopted Law will have a positive impact on the interests of family members of civilians who, between February 24 and March 25, 2022 and from March 26, 2022 until the termination or abolition of martial law, died in the struggle for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, and will provide a fair approach to determining the level of state support for the families of the deceased who, side by side with military personnel, police officers, and employees of civil defense bodies and units, stood up to defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine adopted the Resolution "On Amendments to the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 1092 of September 27, 2022."

The adopted changes provide for:

• update of the forms of applications for granting authorization of an authorized economic operator, for granting authorizations for the use of simplifications / transit simplifications (separately for each type of simplification), as well as the forms of such authorizations (this is due to the peculiarities of the decision system of the State Customs Service (CDS). The system works similarly in the EU - one application - one authorization);
• approval of application forms and authorization forms for placing goods under a customs regime (for use of the end-use procedure, temporary importation, processing in the customs territory and processing outside the customs territory), as well as for carrying out certain types of activities (customs brokerage activities, operation of a customs warehouse and a temporary storage warehouse);
• approval of the form of the application for the transfer of rights and obligations specified in the authorization for placing goods under a customs regime, and the procedure for its submission and consideration;
• bringing the form of the self-assessment questionnaire and explanations for filling it out into line with Law No. 3926;
• amendments to the procedures for customs authorities to assess (reassess) an enterprise's compliance with the criteria and/or conditions for granting authorization, as well as planning and monitoring by customs authorities of an enterprise's compliance with the criteria and/or conditions for granting authorization, in particular, in terms of the regulations for individual actions of customs officials during the assessment, as well as updating the methodology for assessing the financial condition of enterprises, which takes into account the type of economic activity, and expands the opportunities for enterprises to confirm the adequacy of their financial stability.
• approval of forms of reports on the movement of goods in a customs warehouse and a temporary storage warehouse.

The Resolution entered into force on April 19, 2025, simultaneously with the aforementioned Law.

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted in its entirety the Law of Ukraine “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine on Improving the National Qualification System in Accordance with the Current Needs of the Labor Market and Other Issues” (basic draft law No. 9630). The document provides for the creation of a Unified Register of Qualifications based on the Classifier of Professions, the Directory of Qualification Characteristics of Employee Professions, and the Register of Qualifications.

This will accelerate the development and improvement of the qualifications system, contribute to the development of professional standards for modern professions, streamline information on professional qualifications, eliminate outdated and overly bureaucratic procedures in the labor market, facilitate obtaining objective information about the labor market and become a catalyst for its development.

Granting the National Qualifications Agency the authority to create and maintain the Unified Register of Qualifications - Classifier of Occupations will contribute to the effective implementation of the tasks in the field of qualifications facing the state, and the implementation of these tasks in line with the needs of the modern labor market.

The President of Ukraine signed Law No. 4316-IХ of March 13, 2025, which provides the opportunity for military conscripts to independently contact the territorial staffing center to clarify their personal data, paying a fine of 50% of the minimum specified amount (i.e. UAH 8,500).

Changes have been made to the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses (hereinafter – the Code of Administrative Offenses), in particular:

• supplemented by new Article 235³ (Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine), which grants the right to officials of the unit authorized by the Head of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine to consider cases of administrative offenses provided for in Articles 210, 210¹ of the Code of Administrative Offenses (in terms of offenses committed by military servicemen of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine);
• Article 247 is supplemented with a new subparagraph and it is noted that military service by a person against whom proceedings have been initiated in a case of administrative offenses provided for in Articles 210 and 210¹ of the Code of Administrative Offenses is a circumstance that excludes proceedings in the specified category of cases;
• supplemented by a new Article 279⁹ , which provides an opportunity for a person who is held administratively liable under Articles 210, 210¹ of the Code of Administrative Offenses to submit an application to the authorized body or unit, in which they independently report the fact of committing the specified offense and provide consent to the consideration of the case in their absence;
• supplemented by a new Article 300³, which provides an opportunity for a person who is held administratively liable, in accordance with the procedure provided for in Article 279⁹ of the Code of Administrative Offenses, within 10 calendar days from the date the resolution enters into legal force, to voluntarily pay 50% of the amount of the fine imposed;
• changes have been made to Articles 249, 251, and 258 of the Code of Administrative Offenses in order to bring them into line with the provisions proposed by the draft law.

It is expected that the adoption of these changes will have a positive impact on:

• encouraging those liable for military service to clarify data in accordance with the Rules for military registration of conscripts, those liable for military service and reservists approved by Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 1487 of December 30, 2022, through the Electronic Cabinet of a conscript, person liable for military service, reservist;
• simplification of payment of fines for administrative offenses provided for in Articles 210, 210-1 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses, as it will provide an opportunity to receive a 50% discount on the amount of the fine provided that the person independently applies to the TSC bodies and voluntarily pays the imposed fine. The introduction of a 50% discount for timely payment will stimulate citizens to quickly pay fines, which, in turn, will improve the implementation of legislative norms;
• reducing the burden on territorial stafiing centers (TSC). The introduction of a digital tool will allow citizens to pay fines remotely, without the need to visit the TCS, which will reduce the burden on the physical infrastructure. This, in turn, will reduce queues and ensure greater efficiency of the work of the TSC.