The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted the draft Law of Ukraine "On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2025" in the second reading and as a whole. It is aimed at providing a comprehensive approach to support priority areas, development of critically important industries, and economic recovery in wartime conditions.
The amount of the minimum salary from January 1, 2025 and for the whole year will be the same as from April 2024:
- monthly — UAH 8,000;
- hourly — UAH 48.
The revenues of the general fund (excluding grants and international aid) are planned at the level of UAH 2.05 trillion. Expenditures of the general fund are foreseen at the level of UAH 3.6 trillion.
No.1 priority is security and defense.
In 2025, 26.3% of the country's GDP will be directed to security and defense, because this is a key priority: expenditures will increase to UAH 2.23 trillion, which is UAH 47.6 billion more compared to the revised plan for 2024. This increase will make it possible to strengthen the defense capability of the country.
In addition, spending on weapons and military equipment is increasing.
Special attention is paid to the development of the defense industry. Funding of the Ministry of Strategy and Industry, which is engaged in the modernization of the defense-industrial complex, will increase to UAH 55.1 billion. This is UAH 15.3 billion more than in 2024, and such funds will be used for technological renewal of production facilities, which will contribute to increasing the country's defense capabilities.
Growth is also taking place in financing the purchase of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
One of the innovative components of the budget was Public Investment Management system (PIM), introduced with the support of the World Bank. This approach to managing public investments ensures a more efficient use of budget funds, directing them to the implementation of priority projects that meet the country's strategic goals. Thanks to PIM, the government will be able to ensure transparency of expenditures and improve the quality of investments in critical industries, contributing to faster infrastructure recovery.
This approach allows not only to finance reconstruction, but also to modernize the existing infrastructure, creating a basis for further economic growth.
For the development of entrepreneurship within the framework of the "5-7-9%" program, UAH 18 billion is provided. This financing is aimed at affordable lending to small and medium-sized businesses, which will help stimulate economic recovery and preserve jobs. UAH 1.4 billion is provided for business grants, and UAH 3 billion for the Innovation Development Fund.
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted draft law No. 11493 on improving patients' access to medicinal products purchased with budget funds in the first reading .
The draft law envisages, in particular, the solution of a number of practical issues related to the state registration of medicinal products under simplified procedures, ensuring the expansion of patients' access to new medicinal products that can be purchased at the expense of the state.
In accordance with the draft law, it is proposed to simplify the procedure for the registration of medicines purchased by the SE "Medical Procurement of Ukraine" at the expense of the state budget, provided that the following medical supplies:
- registered by the national competent authorities of the EU member states under the national procedure (and not only registered in the EU under the centralized procedure), as well as by the competent authority of Great Britain, which was part of the EU;
- requalified by the World Health Organization or included in the database of drugs that can be purchased within the framework of the US President's plan to provide assistance in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted Law No. 9149 on improving the execution of punishment in the form of a fine and community service .
The law stipulates that in the case of impossibility of collecting a fine due to the debtor's lack of property and funds, it can be replaced by another type of punishment. In particular, the replacement of a fine with another type of punishment in the event that it is impossible to collect the fine due to the lack of property and funds of the debtor.
In addition, it is possible to perform community service within the entire city or region, provided that convicts are transported to the relevant facility and back.
Also, according to the Law, community service is performed no more than four hours a day, and at the request of a convicted person - up to eight hours a day, but not less than forty hours a month, and minors - no more than two hours a day, but not less than 25 hours per month.
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted as a basis the project of the Law on Amendments to the Civil Code of Ukraine on strengthening the protection of the rights of a bona fide purchaser (reg. No. 12089 ).
The draft law proposes to make appropriate changes to the Civil Code of Ukraine (hereinafter –the Civil Code), according to which, in particular:
- statute of limitations for claims regarding the claim, occupation, recognition of the right to real estate, the right to which is registered in the State Register of Real Property Rights to immovable property, begins from the day of state registration of the right of an individual (new part 8 of Article 261 of the Civil Code);
- property cannot be claimed from a bona fide purchaser, if more than 10 years have passed since the date of state registration of the private property right of the purchaser (natural or legal entity) to state or communal immovable property, regardless of the type of such property (item 3 part 2 of the updated Art. 388 of the Civil Code), as well as from the date of transfer to the acquirer (individual or legal entity) into private ownership of the state or communal movable or immovable property, for which at the time of such transfer, state registration of the deed or registration of the right of ownership was not provided for by the current legislation, more than 10 years have passed (item 4, part 2 of the updated Article 388 of the Civil Code);
- resolution of the issue of compensation by a state authority or a local self-government body to a bona fide purchaser takes place in accordance with the market value of the property (new Part 5 of Article 390 of the Civil Code), etc.
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted in the second reading and as a whole the project of the Law on Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine on Ensuring the Housing Rights of Internally Displaced Persons (Reg. No. 11281 ), which was processed by the Committee on Human Rights, Deoccupation and Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine, National Minorities and of international relations determined in charge.
The draft law creates an Information and analytical system of real estate objects to provide internally displaced persons with housing, designed to automate processes and procedures related to the collection, accumulation, processing and publication of information about state, communal and private objects (with the consent of the owners) forms of ownership that are used or may be used or reconstructed, converted for the residence of internally displaced persons.
Also, this document stipulates that during the period of martial law and within three years after its termination or cancellation, buildings and structures of educational institutions, with the consent of the founder, are leased for the residence of internally displaced persons in accordance with the procedure established by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, provided that the specified buildings and the buildings were not used for their purpose as of the beginning of the academic year and during the last 12 months preceding it.
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted Law No. 12104 on clarifying the grounds for granting deferment from conscription for military service during mobilization to persons whose close relatives died or went missing while participating in hostilities.
The purpose of the law is to remove legal uncertainty regarding the basis for granting deferment from conscription during mobilization to women and men whose close relatives were killed or missing in action during the war.
The document provides for the right of persons whose close relatives (husband, wife, son, daughter, father, mother or sibling, full-blood, half-blood brother or sister) died or went missing (declared missing) under special circumstances or during the implementation of measures to ensure national security and defense, repulse and deterrence of armed aggression of the Russian Federation during Anti-Terrorist Operation, Joint Forces Operation and full-scale invasion.
The passage of the law is expected to guarantee the right to deferment from conscription during mobilization to women and men whose close relatives have died or are missing.
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted in the first reading the project of the Law of Ukraine "On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine Regarding the Digitalization of Executive Proceedings" (reg. No. 9363) (hereinafter – the draft Law), aimed at the modernization and digitization of some stages of executive proceedings, which will contribute to the optimization of stages executive proceedings, deadlines for execution of executive actions and increasing the efficiency of executive proceedings.
The draft Law proposes amendments to some laws of Ukraine, which provide for:
- automated exclusion of information about a person from the Unified Register of Debtors and removal of seizure from funds on their accounts;
- expansion of the functionality of the automated enforcement proceedings system;
- introduction of interaction between the Unified Register of Debtors (as a component of the System) and other registers in order to prevent alienation of property by the debtor;
- possibility of creating a certificate on the presence/absence of information about a person in the Unified Register of Debtors;
- improvement of the procedure for collection of debtors' funds in bank accounts. Connecting banks and other financial institutions (non-bank payment service providers who have the right to open payment accounts) to information interaction will be mandatory;
- renewal of enforcement proceedings in case of repeated presentation of the enforcement document, and not the opening of a new enforcement proceeding. This will make it possible to exclude duplication of information about the debtor in the Unified Register of Debtors;
- determination of the procedure for collection of the debtor's funds held in deposit accounts;
- introduction of automated interaction of the System with the securities depository accounting system.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine adopted the resolution "On Amendments to Certain Resolutions of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Regarding Implementation of Official Control Measures", the draft of which was developed by the Ministry of Finance.
First of all, it is about bringing the resolutions of the Cabinet of Ministers on the movement of goods subject to official control measures into compliance with the legislation of Ukraine* with the aim of:
- simplification of control procedures at checkpoints across the state border;
- improvement and development of electronic interaction at checkpoints during preliminary documentary control during customs procedures.
Thus, by the decision of the Government, the descriptions of goods have been brought into line with the Customs Tariff of Ukraine.
It was also established that veterinary and sanitary control of veterinary drugs in the form of preliminary documentary control is not carried out at checkpoints across the state border of Ukraine.
In addition, for the purposes of preliminary documentary control, it is necessary to submit electronic (scanned) copies of international documents to the "One Window" web portal without submitting their paper originals to customs authorities at checkpoints across the state border of Ukraine.
It is worth noting that when goods subject to appropriate control are imported into Ukraine, the legal norms continue to apply, according to which such goods must be accompanied by the originals of relevant international certificates.
