Receipts of taxes and other charges to the general fund of the state budget in 2022 in terms of payments administered by the State Tax Service amounted to 694.4 billion UAH, which is 4.5 billion UAH, or 0.6% below the indicative indicators, the head of the parliamentary committee on finance, tax and customs policy Daniel Getmantsev said.
“More than last year the fact of January-December 2021 paid 80.0 billion UAH (+13.0%),” he wrote in a telegram on Saturday.
Hetmantsev said that in December 2022 the general fund of the state budget received 55.8 billion UAH, which is 12.6% or 6.2 billion UAH more than the indicator, and by 12.3% or 6.1 billion UAH more than the plan 2021.
According to him, such figures are largely due to an increase in revenues from the value added tax (VAT) on manufactured goods compared to last year by almost 1.4 times, or 58.1 billion UAH – up to 213.9 billion UAH. This is also by 19.1% or 34.3 billion UAH more than the indicative plan.
The head of the committee added, without specifying the amount of VAT refund, that in December the indicative indicators for this tax are exceeded by 22.5%, or 3.2 billion UAH, and amounted to 17.5 billion UAH, which is 13.4% or 2.1 billion UAH more than in December 2021
Hetmantsev also noted that the excise tax (made + imported) brought the budget 8.6 billion UAH, or 270 million more to the figure of the Ministry of Finance.
On the eve of the State Customs Service reported that in 2022 transferred 300.8 billion UAH of customs payments to the state budget, including 36.7 billion UAH in December compared to 33.4 billion UAH in November and 32.5 billion UAH in October.
The department recalled that in January and February of this year the receipts were 37.2 billion UAH and 39.6 billion UAH respectively, then collapsed in March and June to 7.7 billion UAH, 8.8 billion UAH, 9.5 billion UAH and 12.7 billion UAH respectively.
However, in the following months, including due to the abolition of import privileges introduced at the beginning of the war, they increased significantly, amounting already in July to 22.9 billion UAH and 30 billion UAH in August and September.
As it was reported with reference to the Ministry of Finance, the State Tax Service revenues to the general fund of the state budget in 2021 were 614.4 billion UAH, an increase of 3.1%, or 18.4 billion UAH above the budget.
Customs revenues last year brought 409.3 billion UAH to the general fund, and another 75.6 billion UAH to the special fund, which is 35% or 126.3 billion UAH more than in 2020. Including in December 2021 the total transfers of the State Customs Service amounted to 52.7 billion UAH, and during martial law in Ukraine (February 24) – 226.4 billion UAH of customs payments.
It should be noted that under martial law the functionality and positive dynamics of the increase of transfers of customs duties and other payments to the revenue part of the budget has been maintained.
Thus, the indicators of revenues increased from UAH 7.7 billion in March to UAH 36.7 billion in December this year.
China will soften restrictive measures previously imposed to combat the spread of the coronavirus in early January, the South China Morning Post reported.
China’s State Health Commission has decided to downgrade the threat of COVID 19 from the highest, “A,” to “B.” The “A” category was introduced back in 2020.
As part of this decision, from January 8, 2023, those arriving in China will not have to be sent to mandatory quarantine: this measure will remain in force only for those who have COVID 19.
At the same time, a negative test for coronavirus will be required to enter the territory of the PRC, notes Bloomberg.
In addition, according to the news agency EFE, China will also weaken control over its territory for people with coronavirus. In particular, the authorities will abandon the practice of tracking with whom a sick person had contact. They will also do away with the practice of determining how high the risk of infection is in a particular area.
During the last two months a series of scientific and practical seminars-tastings of vintage drinks of 20-80 years old were held on the basis of Analytical center “Club of experts” with the assistance of a public association “Ukrsadvindindprom” and Charity fund “Reconstruction and development of Ukraine”. Representatives of Ukrainian wine industry, retail, mass media and other experts took part in these seminars.
All in all, participants of the workshops got acquainted with more than 40 kinds of vintage alcohol, produced in Ukraine and European countries in the second half of the last century. The total age of the drinks exceeds 3000 years.
In particular, such famous Ukrainian collection brands, as “Massandra sherry” from the 1980s and “Black Doctor” from 2007 were presented at the conferences. Among the European alcoholic brands the participants distinguished a rare sherry brandy “Hispano” 1870 (!), another Spanish drink “Ponche Rives” 1978, vermouth “Marsala” 1950-ies and other drinks. All in all 15 different vintage drinks were evaluated by the participants.
According to the words of the expert-collector of vintage alcoholic drinks Igor Magalas, the cost of the majority of samples which were presented at the seminars does not exceed the prices of similar drinks on supermarket shelves. At the same time, the taste and eco-friendliness of vintage drinks are an order of magnitude superior to many modern brands.
“The thing is that the automation of alcohol production lines, which became widespread at the end of the last century, led to a natural decline in quality for the sake of quantity. More than once I faced situations when at closed tastings sommelier experts preferred lower class vintage alcohol produced in the 1960s-1970s to modern expensive brands bottled in the 2000s-2010s,” Magalyas noted.
According to the expert, the reason for this is not the number of years the drink has been in the bottle, but the technological process of production at the initial stages, which largely affects the bouquet and taste of any alcohol.
Maxim Urakin, the organizer of the series of seminars, in turn, expressed hope for the further development of the vintage drinks market in Ukraine and for promotion of the culture of their consumption in the new year 2023.
“We will continue the promotion of vintage alcohol in the Ukrainian market. In Europe this product has a wide consumer audience for a long time, while in our country it is still considered “elite” and unavailable, although in my opinion it is a delusion. Therefore, the main purpose of our seminars, to make vintage alcohol more accessible to Ukrainians” – he stressed.
Vintage (molesim) in wine-making means the year of ripening of a certain grape variety which is used to produce wine, brandy, cognac or other vintage-based drinks. This indicator is important in determining the characteristics of the drink because weather and climatic conditions change every season, which may affect both positive and negative effects on the organoleptic characteristics of beverages of the same brand.
The Club of Experts is Kiev analytical center, which is engaged in researches in the field of economics, sociology and other scientific disciplines. In particular, with the assistance of the Club of experts during the last year there were held several events for the promotion of the national winemaking products.
Public Union “Ukrsadvindindprom” was a partner of the seminar and tasting. “Ukrsadvindwinprom” unites about 200 producers of fruits, berries, nuts and grapes, enterprises that process fruits and berries and produce wine, as well as scientific institutions for implementation of new scientific approaches in production.
The “Reconstruction and Development of Ukraine” Charitable Foundation has been providing extensive volunteer support to the army and civilians since the war began. In particular, with the support of KNUSA Rector Petr Kulikov, the foundation donated a modern mobile hospital for the needs of the military.
CLUB_EXPERTS, CONFERENCE, SCIENCE, UKRSADVINPROM, URAKIN, VINTAGE_WINE, WINE, WINEMAKING
The forestry industry in Ukraine by the end of 2022 received a record for the time of independence proceeds from the sale of products in the amount of 23.5 billion UAH, which is 3.1% more than last year’s figures, profit of the industry amounted to 1.3 billion UAH (+30%), and the amount of taxes and fees paid – 8.9 billion UAH (+6.7%).
As the head of the State Agency of Forest Resources of Ukraine Yuri Bolokhovets said in Facebook on Wednesday, the average salary of the department’s employees rose to 20 thousand UAH.
“Even during the war, we did not stop capital investments, which exceeded 800 million UAH. The main priority is the prevention of occurrence and extinguishing of forest fires. Observation towers with video surveillance, fire trucks and modules, 188 cross-country vehicles for patrolling, 165 tractors, 12 units of specialized equipment (excavators, graders, etc.) necessary for implementation of fire prevention measures, forest roads construction”, – he wrote.
Also in 2022 the State Forestry Agency purchased the first two innovative forestry machines, three forestry harvesters, a forwarder and two skidders. Bolokhovets noted that for the first time in Ukraine with ultramodern equipment can be provided the whole technological cycle of forestry, from planting material to harvesting. The department is actively involved in countering the energy crisis: during the year were purchased three lines to produce technological chips and five complexes for wood cutting.
The head of the department noted that this year the activities on protection and reproduction of the state hunting fund were preserved. However, hunting throughout Ukraine has been banned since the beginning of the Russian full-scale invasion, so no funds from users of hunting grounds are temporarily received.
According to Bolohovets, this year the demand for Ukrainian timber has dropped significantly, as the war has almost stopped construction inside the country, and the Russian blockade of the Black Sea ports has led to the closure of Asian markets for Ukrainian exports, and the logistics of timber to Asia through other channels has been unprofitable. At the same time, as a result of the recession, the EU market has been oversaturated with its own products.
As a result, in Ukraine in 2022 the weighted average stock prices for pine logs fell by more than 20%, while the cost of logging has increased significantly, in particular, only the fuel has doubled in price.
“We had to pursue a very flexible policy and be in a constant dialogue with the business. Few people have noticed, but this year not only raw timber, but also lumber for the first time began to be sold through open auctions. We completely abandoned the practice of direct contracts. As a result, we managed to keep the balance: the profitability and logging volumes were reduced, but kept at an acceptable level, and the market and Ukrainian processors were provided with available raw materials,” summed up the head of the State Forestry Agency.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has announced a message to the Verkhovna Rada on the external and internal situation of Ukraine
“Soon I will present my view on the implementation of these tasks in the annual message to the Verkhovna Rada on the external and internal situation of Ukraine. I want this message to be not a report, but our conversation with you about the next year,” he said in a video message on Tuesday.
According to him, “This week will be politically important for Ukraine. We’re going into next year and we have to maintain a common understanding of our national goals.”
“Of course, it is the liberation of our land from the enemy, as well as the reconstruction of Ukraine, the return of our people home, the further rapprochement of our state with key partners, the opening of new opportunities for Ukraine in the world – this is the task for the near future. And not only for the state, but also for each of us,” Zelensky said.
The temporary administrative board of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) decided to impose a fine on LLC “Ukrstalpostach” and LLC “Ukrainian Pipe Plant” for collusion in their participation in public procurement.
According to a press release on Tuesday, the case involves eight procurement procedures that were announced by different customers.
“When considering the case, the circumstances were established, which in their totality indicate the commission by the defendants of anti-competitive concerted actions to eliminate competition between them when participating in the tenders. There were irrefutable facts that indicate coordinated behavior of the companies in the preparation and participation in the bidding, communication between them and exchange of information,” – stated in a press release.
According to the AMCU, such concerted actions of public procurement is a violation (Clause 4 Part 2 Article 6, Clause 1 Article 50 of the Law on Protection of Economic Competition).
For collusion LLC “Ukrstallpostach” and LLC “Ukrainian Tube Works” have been fined by the Committee in the total amount of UAH 103,256 million. In particular, “Ukrstallpostach” LLC was fined in the amount of 94,890 million UAH, “Ukrainian Pipe Works” LLC – 8, 366 million UAH.
