On August 16, the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine adopted a corresponding order on the introduction of updated rules and requirements for the registration of geographical names as a way to protect the local producer.
The order establishes new requirements and rules, adapted to the regulations of the European Union, for the registration of a geographical indication, as well as new forms of documents for submission for registration. This applies to registration procedures, submission of an application for registration, requirements for a list of documents, a form for filling out an application for registration, general requirements for product specifications, as well as a list of documents confirming the legal protection of a geographical indication in the relevant foreign country or the acquisition of rights to such an indication .
Also, with the adoption of updated rules, according to European standards, Ukrainian geographical indications will have official recognition and protection on the territory of the European Union.
August 28 The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted a draft law amending the legislation on the protection of land owners.
Among the main provisions of the document, the following can be identified:
·Extension of the term of registration of unclaimed lands until 2028.
·Reinstatement of mandatory qualifications for certified land surveyors.
·Continuation of the pilot project of the State Land Cadastre until 2026 with the entry of information into the State Land Cadastre by certified land surveying engineers.
·Bringing the laws of Ukraine "On Land Management" and "On Land Appraisal" into compliance (regarding the granting of the right to conduct land management and land appraisal work, both with legal entities and natural persons-entrepreneurs).
·Use of compensation funds for forestry production losses for the development of land management projects.
·Expenditure of funds from the compensation of agricultural losses for land protection.
This law enters into force on the day following its publication.
August 28 The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted a draft law on the implementation of the Customs Code of Ukraine to the EU Customs Code.
1. The law contains significant changes in the order of content and functioning of customs regimes, in particular :
· Authorization of actions in the customs regime of import based on the application of the enterprise or the customs declaration.
· Mandatory storage of documents and keeping of accounts for identification of goods, their status and movement.
· Possibility of full or partial transfer of rights and obligations to another enterprise.
· Permission to move goods without a customs transit regime, except for those goods that require the storage of documents and accounts.
· Conditions for completion and termination of customs regimes with the obligation to submit a report to the customs authority within 30 days for actual confirmation.
2.The law changed the approach to assessing the financial condition of enterprises.
·Now, the accounting and financial reporting data for the current year and the previous three must confirm the sufficiency of the financial position to fulfill obligations, taking into account the type and volume of commercial activity, as well as the absence of negative net assets (if not secured).
·An updated approach to the criterion "stable financial condition" will be presented by the Government through changes to the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated September 27, 2022 No. 1092.
·New terms have been introduced: "declarant", "customs representative", "accounting records", "risk management", "customs regime holder", "delivery place holder", "goods holder" to align with European terminology.
3. Also, the law introduces the institution of "customs representation", which allows a person authorized by another person to perform the necessary customs actions as a representative of that person.
Now any person can appoint a customs representative:
· Direct representation: the customs representative acts in the interests and on behalf of the person he represents.
· Indirect representation: a customs representative acts in the interests of a person, but on his own behalf.
In any case, the customs representative must declare his authority and provide documents confirming his status and type of representation.
4. The procedure for declaring goods according to the "procedure of release by location" has been regulated. In this case, the declarant can be:
· The enterprise specified in the authorization for simplified declaration.
· Direct customs representative of the enterprise with authorization, who acts in its interests.
· An indirect customs representative acting in the interests of the enterprise without authorization, but having his own authorization for simplification. Responsibility for non-fulfillment of duties is borne by the indirect customs representative.
5. The law defines the subject and procedure of post-customs control, which includes:
· Before verification analysis of completed customs declarations.
· Documentary checks of compliance with the requirements of customs legislation, in particular regarding the calculation and payment of customs payments.
Customs authorities have the right to check:
· Correctness and reliability of information in customs declarations.
· The availability and accuracy of the documents on the basis of which the goods are placed in customs regimes.
· Legality of import and export of goods.
· Timeliness and completeness of payment of customs payments.
The notice of documentary inspection can be sent in electronic or paper form, as well as delivered under a personal signature.
6. The organization of documentary on-site (scheduled and unscheduled) and off-site inspections of compliance with customs legislation has been regulated.
Planned inspections are carried out on the basis of quarterly plans-schedules, which are formed by the customs authorities based on the results of the analysis of foreign economic transactions using the risk management system.
Quarterly schedule plans are published on the official website of the central executive authority by the 15th of the last month of the quarter preceding the inspections.
7. The law improves the protection of intellectual property rights during the movement of goods across the customs border of Ukraine. Includes:
· Improvement of sampling procedures and samples for identification of violations.
· Measures to suspend customs clearance of suspect goods.
· Expanding the possibilities of proving violations through the recognition of the opinion of the right holder on the same level as an expert opinion.
· The right of the right holder to participate in cases of violation of customs rules.
· Simplification of the procedure for destruction of goods whose customs clearance has been suspended.
· A reasonable period for decision-making by customs authorities was introduced and the list of normal transactions with goods in various customs regimes was expanded.
The proposed changes enter into force 6 months after the official publication of the Law. The Cabinet of Ministers and the Ministry of Finance must approve by-laws.
27 August National Bank of Ukraine accepted the resolution introduces a temporary restrictions for certain payment operations.
In particular, from October 1, the national bank sets a limit of UAH 150,000 per month for card-to-card (P2P, C2C) transfers of individuals for six months for outgoing transfers between individuals in the same bank. The limit does not apply to volunteers and persons with high incomes, as well as transfers between own accounts and legal entities. 98% of customers do not exceed this amount, so the limit will not affect their activity.
The National Bank explains such actions as the emergence of problems with fictitious transactions that require an urgent response, as they are used by individuals to "launder" funds. In 2024, more than 80,000 customers were excluded from banks due to participation in " drop " schemes, which indicates the growth of such operations. The National Bank of Ukraine estimates that about UAH 200 billion goes through " drop " cards a year.
The goal of the innovation is to minimize the use of the payment infrastructure for illegal purposes. Legislative changes are planned to increase liability for violations of payment legislation, create a register for banks, change the regulatory powers of the NBU, and increase requirements for banks to comply with legislation.
The limits will not affect volunteers, as the NBU has taken their needs into account. To identify volunteers, it is necessary to meet at least two of the five criteria.
1) the individual user is officially registered as a volunteer;
2) conducting volunteer meetings is a typical activity for the accounts of a natural person-user with a provider of payment services;
3) the user-individual submitted a letter from a state body/military unit/charitable fund regarding cooperation within the fund-raising organization;
4) the individual user has provided information on the planned amount and terms of collection of funds, indicating the purpose of such collection and further use of the collected funds;
5) information from open sources, social networks, and the Internet, by comparison with other information available to the payment service provider, confirms the volunteering activity carried out by the individual user and the purpose of meetings held within the scope of volunteering.
August 26 The Ministry of Justice of Ukraine adopted an order on making changes to the application forms in the field of state registration of legal entities, physical entrepreneurs and public formations.
This order updated form 6 (Application for state registration of a public formation without the status of a legal entity) and added a new form 11 (Application for state registration of a separate subdivision of a legal entity formed in accordance with the legislation of a foreign state).
You can view the forms at the link.
This order enters into force on September 3, 2024.
August 24 The President of Ukraine signed the draft law on the ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is an international treaty that defines the jurisdiction of the court and the procedure for its work, including crimes of aggression, genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.
Ukraine signed the statute on January 20, 2000, but its ratification was delayed due to a negative opinion of the Constitutional Court in 2001. Only after the changes to the Constitution in 2016, which allowed the recognition of the jurisdiction of the ICC, the situation changed.
On February 25, 2014 and February 4, 2015, Ukraine recognized the jurisdiction of the ICC, and on May 3, 2022, a law on cooperation with the court was adopted.
Real investigations of international crimes began after the Russian aggression on February 24, 2022. On March 2, 2022, the ICC began investigating war crimes in Ukraine, but cannot investigate the crime of aggression because Ukraine and Russia have not ratified the statute. This emphasizes the need to create an international tribunal to investigate Russia's aggression against Ukraine.
Ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court is important for Ukraine, as it is the main tool for bringing Russian war criminals to justice. It is obliged to do so in accordance with the Association Agreement with the EU and international justice. The statute defines the court's jurisdiction over the crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, as well as the procedures for their investigation.
Ratification will allow Ukraine to become the 125th member state of the court, participate in the work of the Assembly of States Parties, and submit candidacies for the election of judges and prosecutors. Membership will contribute to the prevention of serious crimes in the future and ensuring the punishment of the guilty, which is important for the international community.
The law on the ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court will enter into force only together with the draft law introduced by the President on August 15, 2024, concerning changes to the Criminal and Criminal Procedure Codes. This law is important for implementation because it defines the responsibility of commanders and crimes against humanity, but does not resolve all the issues related to ratification. The bill is currently being processed by the specialized committee.
The order establishes new requirements and rules, adapted to the regulations of the European Union, for the registration of a geographical indication, as well as new forms of documents for submission for registration. This applies to registration procedures, submission of an application for registration, requirements for a list of documents, a form for filling out an application for registration, general requirements for product specifications, as well as a list of documents confirming the legal protection of a geographical indication in the relevant foreign country or the acquisition of rights to such an indication .
Also, with the adoption of updated rules, according to European standards, Ukrainian geographical indications will have official recognition and protection on the territory of the European Union.
August 28 The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted a draft law amending the legislation on the protection of land owners.
Among the main provisions of the document, the following can be identified:
·Extension of the term of registration of unclaimed lands until 2028.
·Reinstatement of mandatory qualifications for certified land surveyors.
·Continuation of the pilot project of the State Land Cadastre until 2026 with the entry of information into the State Land Cadastre by certified land surveying engineers.
·Bringing the laws of Ukraine "On Land Management" and "On Land Appraisal" into compliance (regarding the granting of the right to conduct land management and land appraisal work, both with legal entities and natural persons-entrepreneurs).
·Use of compensation funds for forestry production losses for the development of land management projects.
·Expenditure of funds from the compensation of agricultural losses for land protection.
This law enters into force on the day following its publication.
August 28 The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted a draft law on the implementation of the Customs Code of Ukraine to the EU Customs Code.
1. The law contains significant changes in the order of content and functioning of customs regimes, in particular :
· Authorization of actions in the customs regime of import based on the application of the enterprise or the customs declaration.
· Mandatory storage of documents and keeping of accounts for identification of goods, their status and movement.
· Possibility of full or partial transfer of rights and obligations to another enterprise.
· Permission to move goods without a customs transit regime, except for those goods that require the storage of documents and accounts.
· Conditions for completion and termination of customs regimes with the obligation to submit a report to the customs authority within 30 days for actual confirmation.
2.The law changed the approach to assessing the financial condition of enterprises.
·Now, the accounting and financial reporting data for the current year and the previous three must confirm the sufficiency of the financial position to fulfill obligations, taking into account the type and volume of commercial activity, as well as the absence of negative net assets (if not secured).
·An updated approach to the criterion "stable financial condition" will be presented by the Government through changes to the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated September 27, 2022 No. 1092.
·New terms have been introduced: "declarant", "customs representative", "accounting records", "risk management", "customs regime holder", "delivery place holder", "goods holder" to align with European terminology.
3. Also, the law introduces the institution of "customs representation", which allows a person authorized by another person to perform the necessary customs actions as a representative of that person.
Now any person can appoint a customs representative:
· Direct representation: the customs representative acts in the interests and on behalf of the person he represents.
· Indirect representation: a customs representative acts in the interests of a person, but on his own behalf.
In any case, the customs representative must declare his authority and provide documents confirming his status and type of representation.
4. The procedure for declaring goods according to the "procedure of release by location" has been regulated. In this case, the declarant can be:
· The enterprise specified in the authorization for simplified declaration.
· Direct customs representative of the enterprise with authorization, who acts in its interests.
· An indirect customs representative acting in the interests of the enterprise without authorization, but having his own authorization for simplification. Responsibility for non-fulfillment of duties is borne by the indirect customs representative.
5. The law defines the subject and procedure of post-customs control, which includes:
· Before verification analysis of completed customs declarations.
· Documentary checks of compliance with the requirements of customs legislation, in particular regarding the calculation and payment of customs payments.
Customs authorities have the right to check:
· Correctness and reliability of information in customs declarations.
· The availability and accuracy of the documents on the basis of which the goods are placed in customs regimes.
· Legality of import and export of goods.
· Timeliness and completeness of payment of customs payments.
The notice of documentary inspection can be sent in electronic or paper form, as well as delivered under a personal signature.
6. The organization of documentary on-site (scheduled and unscheduled) and off-site inspections of compliance with customs legislation has been regulated.
Planned inspections are carried out on the basis of quarterly plans-schedules, which are formed by the customs authorities based on the results of the analysis of foreign economic transactions using the risk management system.
Quarterly schedule plans are published on the official website of the central executive authority by the 15th of the last month of the quarter preceding the inspections.
7. The law improves the protection of intellectual property rights during the movement of goods across the customs border of Ukraine. Includes:
· Improvement of sampling procedures and samples for identification of violations.
· Measures to suspend customs clearance of suspect goods.
· Expanding the possibilities of proving violations through the recognition of the opinion of the right holder on the same level as an expert opinion.
· The right of the right holder to participate in cases of violation of customs rules.
· Simplification of the procedure for destruction of goods whose customs clearance has been suspended.
· A reasonable period for decision-making by customs authorities was introduced and the list of normal transactions with goods in various customs regimes was expanded.
The proposed changes enter into force 6 months after the official publication of the Law. The Cabinet of Ministers and the Ministry of Finance must approve by-laws.
27 August National Bank of Ukraine accepted the resolution introduces a temporary restrictions for certain payment operations.
In particular, from October 1, the national bank sets a limit of UAH 150,000 per month for card-to-card (P2P, C2C) transfers of individuals for six months for outgoing transfers between individuals in the same bank. The limit does not apply to volunteers and persons with high incomes, as well as transfers between own accounts and legal entities. 98% of customers do not exceed this amount, so the limit will not affect their activity.
The National Bank explains such actions as the emergence of problems with fictitious transactions that require an urgent response, as they are used by individuals to "launder" funds. In 2024, more than 80,000 customers were excluded from banks due to participation in " drop " schemes, which indicates the growth of such operations. The National Bank of Ukraine estimates that about UAH 200 billion goes through " drop " cards a year.
The goal of the innovation is to minimize the use of the payment infrastructure for illegal purposes. Legislative changes are planned to increase liability for violations of payment legislation, create a register for banks, change the regulatory powers of the NBU, and increase requirements for banks to comply with legislation.
The limits will not affect volunteers, as the NBU has taken their needs into account. To identify volunteers, it is necessary to meet at least two of the five criteria.
1) the individual user is officially registered as a volunteer;
2) conducting volunteer meetings is a typical activity for the accounts of a natural person-user with a provider of payment services;
3) the user-individual submitted a letter from a state body/military unit/charitable fund regarding cooperation within the fund-raising organization;
4) the individual user has provided information on the planned amount and terms of collection of funds, indicating the purpose of such collection and further use of the collected funds;
5) information from open sources, social networks, and the Internet, by comparison with other information available to the payment service provider, confirms the volunteering activity carried out by the individual user and the purpose of meetings held within the scope of volunteering.
August 26 The Ministry of Justice of Ukraine adopted an order on making changes to the application forms in the field of state registration of legal entities, physical entrepreneurs and public formations.
This order updated form 6 (Application for state registration of a public formation without the status of a legal entity) and added a new form 11 (Application for state registration of a separate subdivision of a legal entity formed in accordance with the legislation of a foreign state).
You can view the forms at the link.
This order enters into force on September 3, 2024.
August 24 The President of Ukraine signed the draft law on the ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is an international treaty that defines the jurisdiction of the court and the procedure for its work, including crimes of aggression, genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.
Ukraine signed the statute on January 20, 2000, but its ratification was delayed due to a negative opinion of the Constitutional Court in 2001. Only after the changes to the Constitution in 2016, which allowed the recognition of the jurisdiction of the ICC, the situation changed.
On February 25, 2014 and February 4, 2015, Ukraine recognized the jurisdiction of the ICC, and on May 3, 2022, a law on cooperation with the court was adopted.
Real investigations of international crimes began after the Russian aggression on February 24, 2022. On March 2, 2022, the ICC began investigating war crimes in Ukraine, but cannot investigate the crime of aggression because Ukraine and Russia have not ratified the statute. This emphasizes the need to create an international tribunal to investigate Russia's aggression against Ukraine.
Ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court is important for Ukraine, as it is the main tool for bringing Russian war criminals to justice. It is obliged to do so in accordance with the Association Agreement with the EU and international justice. The statute defines the court's jurisdiction over the crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, as well as the procedures for their investigation.
Ratification will allow Ukraine to become the 125th member state of the court, participate in the work of the Assembly of States Parties, and submit candidacies for the election of judges and prosecutors. Membership will contribute to the prevention of serious crimes in the future and ensuring the punishment of the guilty, which is important for the international community.
The law on the ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court will enter into force only together with the draft law introduced by the President on August 15, 2024, concerning changes to the Criminal and Criminal Procedure Codes. This law is important for implementation because it defines the responsibility of commanders and crimes against humanity, but does not resolve all the issues related to ratification. The bill is currently being processed by the specialized committee.
