Overview of changes in legislation for November 2024

On November 28, Law No. 4015-IX on amendments to the Tax Code was adopted.

The text of the law makes changes to the Tax Code, providing for the following:

1. Increase in military levy:
- For individuals, from 1.5% to 5% from December 1, 2024.
- For IE 1, 2 and 4 groups from January 1, 2025 - 10% of the minimum wage (800 UAH per month).
- IE of the third group - 1% of turnover for the first quarter of 2025.
- The military levy for military personnel remains at the level of 1.5%.

2. Income tax increase:
- For financial companies, up to 25% from 2025.
- For banks in 2024 – 50%.

The law also introduces monthly consolidated reporting on personal income tax, social security and social security to replace quarterly reporting, increases the minimum tax liability for farmers to UAH 1,400 per hectare, introduces an advance payment of income tax for gas stations, increases minimum prices for wine, as well as rent for sand and crushed stone.

This law will enter into force the day after its publication, November 30, 2024, except for some items that will enter into force as early as January 1, 2025.

November 20 The Verkhovna Rada adopted draft law No. 12089 on the protection of the rights of a bona fide purchaser as a basis.

According to the provided explanatory note to the draft law, the adoption of this draft law is necessary to delineate ways of protecting property rights to real estate in order to ensure a balance of interests of the state, the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, territorial communities and private owners. It will also protect the rights of bona fide purchasers and avoid cases when they have to turn to the state for compensation. At the same time, the state and other subjects will be able to receive compensation from the persons who caused it.

The draft law proposes to make changes to the Civil Code of Ukraine, in particular:

·Establishing an objective statute of limitations for claims regarding real estate registered in the State Register, starting from the date of registration of the right or transfer of real estate.

·Impossibility of applying a negatory claim, if the authorities took actions that led to the alienation of property in favor of any individual or legal entity.

·Strengthening the protection of the rights and interests of the bona fide buyer against claims: prevention of vindication if more than 10 years have passed since the time of registration/from the date of transfer of real estate.

·Guarantee of claim of property, if it belongs to critical infrastructure, state property, cultural heritage, has strategic and economic importance for the security of the state, etc.

·Compensation, according to a court decision, to a bona fide buyer when claiming property for the benefit of the state or community, with the mandatory deposit of the market value into the court deposit. The transfer of the market value to the bona fide acquirer takes place without the bona fide acquirer filing a separate lawsuit against the state or territorial community.

This draft law will enter into force on the next day after its publication. At this stage, the draft law is in the process of being finalized.

November 20 The Verkhovna Rada adopted draft law No. 8153 on the protection of personal data as a basis.

According to Article 307 of the Civil Code, a natural person may be photographed, filmed, televised or videotaped only with his consent. However, consent is considered given if the filming takes place openly on the street or at public events.

In turn, draft law 8153 makes corrections and changes the rules for processing personal data collected in public places. In particular, Article 11 of the project specifies that during audio, video or photo recording at public events, the controller is obliged to inform the subjects in advance about the recording and its purpose, providing the opportunity to object to the processing of their data. The publication of materials where the subjects can be identified is allowed if it is proportionate to the legitimate purpose, is consistent with the purpose of recording and takes into account the right to protection of personal data. In order to conduct the shooting, it is necessary to notify the persons who may be caught in the video or photo, giving them the opportunity to object to it. Journalists must also comply with these requirements and notify in advance of the filming of public events, as referred to in Article 15, which regulates the processing of personal data for journalistic and creative activities, which does not contain exceptions to the notification rules established by Article 11.

Also, the draft law proposes to amend the law on electronic communications. In particular, it is proposed to settle the issue of tracking unwanted calls to subscribers. The draft law proposes to prohibit the making of unwanted calls or messages to the subscriber. The subscriber will also be able to contact the Provider of electronic communication networks with a written request for the contact data of another subscriber who makes such calls, providing confirming information and an obligation to use the data only for legal defense.

The Provider is obliged to respond to the Subscriber's request for information about another subscriber within 10 days. If the request is satisfied, information about the subscriber's number and name, as well as the address, if any, is provided. Information about the request is stored by the Supplier for 3 years. The provider must also notify the subscriber of the provision of his data within three working days.

In addition, the Subscriber is also entitled to request the tracking of unwanted calls, and the Provider may record the origin of the calls for up to three months. Tracking data is provided to the requesting Subscriber in writing. Such data shall be stored by the Providers for three years after they have been provided to the Subscriber.

This draft law is currently being finalized. Since the draft law was submitted for consideration back in 2022, the information contained in the transitional provisions regarding the date of entry into force of the law is not currently relevant.

November 25 The Ministry of Development of Communities and Territories has announced the launch of automatic registration of ownership of real estate after the completion of construction. As noted in the publication, the newly created service allows you to automatically update the technical characteristics of objects and register ownership without the participation of the state registrar, including registration of encumbrances and joint ownership. Automation, in turn, introduces:

-expanding the list of administrative services, simplifying their provision.

-increasing the protection of rights to real estate, excluding the possibility of registration based on falsified documents.

-automation of processes allows individuals and legal entities to receive a comprehensive registration service from the beginning to the completion of construction.

This project allows the State Register of Real Property Rights to receive information from the Unified State Electronic System in the field of construction about the commissioning of objects for which a special property right is registered, in particular:

-divisible objects of unfinished construction (houses).

-future real estate objects (apartments, parking spaces, parking spaces, etc.).

-indivisible objects of unfinished construction (cottages, garden houses, residential houses).

This functionality was developed for the purpose of offloading and effective distribution of management of regulation systems in the field of construction.

On November 22, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine adopted Resolution No. 1336 regarding the launch of an experimental project to create, implement and ensure the functioning of the multi-apartment building management system.

According to the text of the document, the purpose of the resolution is determined as follows:

-introduction of a unified digital approach to decision-making by co-owners of apartment buildings. (introduction of electronic general meetings)

-creation of the Register for the centralized accumulation and processing of information on the management of multi-apartment buildings, association of co-owners, managers and certified persons. (initiation of the first registry database of all members of building management)

-expansion of co-owner’s access to information about the technical condition of common property and participation in management decisions. (transparency of the information base regarding real estate objects, building passport, characteristics, etc.)

Also, the resolution defines the phasing of the creation and implementation of the Management System for multi-apartment buildings, which will be carried out in the following terms:

After 3 months from the date of entry into force of this resolution, the following shall be ensured:

-functioning of the Register;

-electronic offices for co-owners, boards of associations, local self-government bodies and the Ministry of Infrastructure;

-entering information about multi-apartment buildings and associations into the Register;

-uploading documents accepted by associations to the Management System;

-entering technical documentation into the Management System.

After 6 months from the date of entry into force of this resolution, the following shall be ensured:

-entering information about certified persons and managers;

-voting by co-owners through the Management System.

After 1 year from the date of entry into force of this resolution, the following shall be ensured:

-creation and functioning of the Manager's Management System's Electronic Office;

-uploading the manager's documents to the Management System;

-introduction of technical documentation by managers to the Management System;

-entering information about certification bodies into the Register;

-creation of electronic offices for certification bodies and certified persons;

-creation of functional possibilities of electronic offices of the Management System;

-conducting electronic document management in the process of managing multi-apartment buildings by means of the Management System;

-voting using the means of the Management System by authorized persons of co-owners.

After one and a half years from the date of entry into force of this resolution, the following shall be ensured:

-creation and functioning of the electronic cabinet of the Audit Commission Management System.

The Ministry of Community Development is tasked with ensuring electronic interaction between the Management System and the Unified State Electronic System in the field of construction, as well as filling the Management Register with information on certified persons and certification bodies.

This resolution, together with the register of management of multi-apartment buildings, will be put into effect in February 2025.

November 20 The Verkhovna Rada adopted draft law No. 10256 on the accounting of information on damage caused by war to individuals.

The Ministry of Social Policy noted that the legislative initiative should introduce non-property damage accounting, which is an important tool for recording the loss of life, health, family and access to education and medicine due to war. The document also regulates the creation of a register of data on children deported due to the aggression of the Russian Federation.

The main areas of operation of the system include recording information about victims, data collection and assistance in damage verification. The system will also allow accounting of budget expenditures for assistance to citizens affected by the war.

The principle of operation consists in the exchange of data between registers to simplify the collection of information. In the future, it is planned to be able to submit damage reports through "Diya" and TsNAP, which will allow victims to receive a file on the damage and available support.

The main goal is to ensure the collection of information about the damage caused to Ukrainians, which will help prove damages for international compensation in the future. The creation of the Register of Victims will ensure the accounting of expenses for the support of victims.

The registry will be an automated system for collecting data on damage and state costs for compensation. The Ministry of Social Policy is designated as the holder of the Register, and the Pension Fund is designated as the administrator. Information from the Register will be used to submit applications to the court and the international Register of Damages.

Civilians can file lawsuits personally or delegate this authority to the state. When receiving compensation from the budgets, an agreement is concluded on the assignment of the right of claim to the Russian Federation.

The Ministry of Social Policy emphasizes that the system is the first step towards effective support for citizens, and the next stage will be the development of a law on measures to support victims.

After reviewing this document in the second reading, it was finally adopted in the final version, according to which this draft law will enter into force one month from the day of its publication.

November 8 The President of Ukraine signed Act No. 3993-IX on amendments to some legislative acts of Ukraine regarding the protection of the interests of owners of land shares.

The law provides:

-Extension of the deadline for registration of unclaimed land plots until 2028.

-Resumption of mandatory advanced training of certified land surveyors.

-Continuation of the implementation of the pilot project of entering information into the State Land Cadastre until 2026.

-Use of funds for the development of working projects of land management.

-Peculiarities of applying the administrative procedure in land relations.

-Determining that compensation for agricultural losses will be spent on land protection.

This law entered into force on November 8, 2024.

In October The Committee of the Verkhovna Rada re-examined draft law No. 6013 on the peculiarities of the regulation of entrepreneurial activity of certain types of legal entities and their associations in the transition period.

On October 24, the Committee recommended the draft for consideration by the Verkhovna Rada in the second reading.

On October 28, a comparative table of the draft text, including the text in the new edition (second reading), was published on the website of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

We will remind you that the draft law amends the Civil Code of Ukraine and recognizes the Commercial Code as having lost its validity, and introduces a transition period for the transformation of "enterprises" into commercial partnerships. Amendments are also being made to special laws to harmonize them with the Civil Code.

Also, the Committee noted that the draft law takes into account the best practices of corporate governance, in particular, defines the duties of officials of legal entities. The terms "right of economic ownership" and "right of operational management" are replaced by constructions of use (lease) and management of someone else's property. Market control mechanisms for state and communal property are being introduced.

The main provisions of draft law No. 6013:

1.Corporatization: State and communal unitary enterprises should be transformed into joint-stock companies or limited liability companies.

2.Change of legal regime: The property transferred under the right of economic trust must be inventoried and entered into the authorized capital of the new JSC or LLC. Non-privatized property will be transferred with the right of usufruct.

3.Transparency and accountability: Transactions with the property of enterprises where the state owns more than 50% of shares will be carried out through electronic auctions in the "Prozorro.Prodazhi" system. Enterprises are required to publish procurement announcements and reports in the Prozorro system.

4.Unification of legal regulation: Founders of atypical organizational and legal forms can transform them into limited liability companies.

5.Publication of financial statements: State enterprises and companies with a state share of more than 50% are obliged to publish financial statements on the Unified State Portal.

These provisions will contribute to creating transparent conditions for enterprises, attracting investments, simplifying the management of state property and minimizing corruption risks.

Referring to the article of the Institute of Law-Making and Scientific-Legal Expertise of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine dated October 28, 2024, we can draw a certain conclusion that this draft law No. 6013 is perhaps the loudest in recent times, that it has undergone a considerable amount of criticism and discussions, which in one way or another improved its text . The purpose of the draft law is primarily to improve corporate governance in all sectors of legal relations, as well as to eliminate contradictions between the Civil Code and other special laws.

The main point on which the Institute emphasized is the abolition of the Economic Code, which will contribute to the formation of a unified legal practice.

Emphasizing this issue, many discussions and manipulations were created about the risks associated with the adoption of this draft law. However, the Institute gives several arguments that such negative feedback towards this draft law is groundless, in particular:

1. Legal certainty: The draft law eliminates contradictions between codes, which ensures clarity and stability in legal relations.

2. Public legal guarantees: The Commercial Code has long ceased to fulfill a system-forming role, and the guarantee system can operate without it.

3. Jurisdiction of the courts: Derivation of the concept of "business relations" will not create new disputes regarding the jurisdiction of the courts, since the jurisdiction is clearly defined in the Commercial Procedure Code.

4. Commercial courts: The abolition of the Commercial Code will not lead to the liquidation of commercial courts, which exist in many countries.

5. Dualism of law: The abolition of the Commercial Code does not mean the rejection of the dualism of private law, since this issue is broader than the coexistence of codes.