The President of Ukraine signed the Law of Ukraine “On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine regarding the voluntary activity” of 05.03.15, № 246-VIII, which regulated the legal aspect of volunteers’ activities.
So, the teenagers aged from 14 to 18 years can join the ranks of volunteers, but with the consent of one of the parents (adoptive parents), foster parents or guardians.
Also, it is established in which cases the volunteers are required to conclude the agreements on the carrying out of voluntary activities with organizations and institutions, which involve the volunteers in their activities. In particular, the foreigners and persons without citizenship engage in voluntary activities exclusively through such organizations.
The social benefits are also established for the volunteers. If a volunteer became disabled during the voluntary assistance in the ATO area, battle action and armed conflict, depending on the degree of disability, he/she should be paid the single financial assistance in the following amounts:
- I degree of disability – 250 living minimum wages for able-bodied persons (hereinafter – LMW) (currently – UAH 304 500);
- II degree of disability – 200 LMW (UAH 243 600);
- III degree of disability – 150 LMW (UAH 191 700).
In the event of the death of a volunteer during the voluntary assistance, his/her family should be paid 500 LMW (UAH 609 000).
Also, the voluntary activity includes the following assistance:
- the citizens suffered, in particular, due to the special period, legal regimes of emergency state or martial law, the ATO, as a result of social conflicts, accidents as well as victims of crime, refugees, internally displaced people;
- Armed Forces of Ukraine, other military units, law enforcement authorities, State government bodies during the special period, legal regimes of emergency state or martial law, the ATO.
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted the Law of Ukraine “On licensing of economic activity types” of 02.03.15, № 222-VIII (enters into force in three months after its publication day).
This law reduced the number of licensed types of State economic activity. The documents for a license obtaining may be electronically submitted.
The law clearly defined reasons for dismissing the application for a license without prejudice. The license for the implementation of licensed economic activity type would be in electronic form. That is the entry for the decision of the issuance of licenses by the licensing authority to issue the licenses to this economic entity would be made in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities and individuals – entrepreneurs. Certainly, the license applicant can get the license or a copy of it in hard copy at his/her request.
The licenses are to be issued for an unlimited period. Also, the re-licensing is free of charge.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine by the Resolution “Some issue of simplification of the procedure of providing of administrative services in the field of the State Registration of rights on Real Property and their fixed charge” of 18.03.15, № 137 brought its regulations into conformity with the Law of Ukraine “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine concerning the Business Environment Simplification Task”.
Thus, the public officials of local government authorities, the managers of centers providing administrative services and Notaries Public are entitled to receive and issue the documents when the maintaining of the State Register of rights on Real Property (hereinafter - register).
The issuance of registration documents, in hard or soft format directly in the registration authorities or via mail (incl. via email), is also provided for.
In addition, the government officials equated the legal force of electronic and paper form of the decision of the State Register, as well as certificate of title to real property.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine by the Resolution “On Amendments to the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated 12 January 2011, № 15” of 25.03.15, № 136 (hereinafter - Resolution № 136) (entered into force 31.03.15) extended till 01.01.17 the list of waste and scrap ferrous and non-ferrous metals, supply and import of which were exempted from VAT. These lists are approved by the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine of 12.01.11, № 15.
The supply, import and export of waste and scrap of ferrous and non-ferrous metals are exempted from VAT temporarily to 01.01.17. The lists of such waste and scrap are approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (p.23 of subsection 2 of p. XX of the Tax Code of Ukraine). The Law of Ukraine dated 31.07.14, № 1621-VII extended the effect of this benefit from 01.01.15 to 01.01.17 (previously the benefit was provided for only to 01.01.15).
The State Fiscal Service of Ukraine in its letter “On the payers of environmental tax regarding the tenants of the gasoline generator” of 13.01.15, № 311/6/99-99-15-04-02-15 and the Ministry of Natural Resources of Ukraine in its letter “On the obtaining a permit on the emissions of pollutants into the atmospheric air by the stationary sources (gasoline generator)” of 25.12.14, № 7/3692-14 explained: the tenant should pay the eco-tax for the rented gasoline generator. Because, its work causes the emission into the atmosphere of pollutants, even when using rented stationary sources of pollution. This conclusion is based on the pp. 240.1.1 of the Tax Code of Ukraine.
We note that one should obtain the required permit to use the generator. Depending on the category of the polluting object, this permit should be obtained in the Ministry of Natural Resources in consultation with the Sanitary and Epidemiological Inspectorate, or through the authorization centers in regional and Kyiv City State Administrations in consultation with the local authorities of the Sanitary and Epidemiological Inspectorate.
The State Fiscal Service of Ukraine considers that the amount of uncompleted capital investments increases the net book value of Non-current Assets in order to verify the criterion of right for receiving of automatic budgetary VAT refund (pp. 200.19.3 of the Tax Code of Ukraine, hereinafter - TCU). The tax authorities made this conclusion in the letter of the SFS of Ukraine “On the inclusion of the amount of uncompleted capital investments to the net book value of the non-current assets” of 06.03.15, № 4684/6/99-99-19-03-02-15 based on the Book-Keeping Regulations.
It should be noted that the right to the automatic budgetary refund is provided to the VAT payers that have the non-current assets, the net book value of which in three times at the balance sheet date according to the tax accounting exceeds the declared VAT amount to refund (pp. 200.19.3 of the TCU) (and, if the fulfillment of a set of conditions).
The State Fiscal Service of Ukraine in its letter “On the methodological guidelines on Application of the tax compromise” of 06.03.15, № 550/2/99-99-10-04-01-10, indicated that the declaration of intention to achieve the tax compromise would not be considered in the following cases:
- the application of the tax compromise only to penal (financial) sanctions, including accrued for the late payment of a monetary liabilities under the Art. 126 of the TCU;
- the availability of fact of the reconciliation of the amounts of the tax (monetary) liabilities;
- the availability of inconsistent amounts of tax liabilities under the taxes and duties that are not provided for by p.p. 1, 7 of the Law of Ukraine “On Amendments to the Tax Code of Ukraine to clarify the features of the tax liabilities of the company income tax and the value added tax in the case of application of the tax compromise” of 25.12.14, № 63-VIII. In other words, the taxes and duties are different from VAT and income tax, for example, the single and excise taxes, tourist tax and others.
Let us recall that the mechanism of exemption of the taxpayers from liabilities under the condition of their voluntary declaring of the VAT liabilities and company income tax is introduced from 17.01.15.
