The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has refined the procedure for determining the maximum production capacity of equipment used to produce ethyl alcohol and bioethanol, according to the industry publication SEEDS.
The government adopted the corresponding resolution on September 23, 2026. The new rules are intended to ensure a more accurate and technically sound calculation of equipment capacity. This metric is used to determine the guaranteed excise tax liability for alcohol and bioethanol producers.
In particular, the calculations now require determining the actual capacity of processing equipment and taking it into account. The regulations also clarify which changes to equipment should be considered a change in its maximum capacity.
The government has established a mechanism for performing the updated calculation and provided for the possibility of accounting for permissible deviations in actual capacity related to the specifics of the production process or the characteristics of measuring instruments.
One of the most significant changes is the allowance for actual production capacity of process equipment to deviate from the calculated maximum production capacity by up to 3% inclusive.
In addition, the procedure for applying coefficients related to the cleaning and disinfection of production equipment has been clarified. Calculations will take into account the possibility of performing such work during scheduled production shutdowns.
The government explains the need for these changes by citing the technological characteristics of the alcohol industry. The actual productivity of equipment may be influenced by the characteristics of the raw materials used, auxiliary materials, seasonal changes in energy source parameters, and other factors, which in and of themselves do not imply a change in the enterprise’s maximum technical productivity.
Thus, the updated procedure must simultaneously take into account both the technical characteristics of the equipment and the actual technological conditions of ethyl alcohol and bioethanol production.
The mechanism for determining maximum production capacity was introduced by Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 350 of March 28, 2025, in accordance with amendments to tax legislation regarding the specifics of excise taxation of ethyl alcohol and bioethanol. The calculation is performed by an authorized state agency based on the technical and technological parameters of production.
According to the government’s assessment, updating the methodology should increase the predictability of operating conditions for alcohol and bioethanol producers and ensure a more accurate determination of the indicators used to calculate excise tax liabilities.
ALCOHOL, Bioethanol, CABINET OF MINISTERS, EXCISE TAX, UKRAINE
In Hungary, starting January 1, 2027, the VAT rate for certain new housing units may increase from the current reduced rate of 5% to the standard rate of 27%, which will put additional pressure on the prices of apartments in new buildings, according to local media reports.
The current preferential rate of 5% applies to new apartments with an area of up to 150 square meters and single-family homes with an area of up to 300 square meters that meet the established requirements. According to an official clarification from the Hungarian National Tax and Customs Administration (NAV), this regime, in its current form, remains in effect until December 31, 2026.
After that, the standard VAT rate of 27% will apply to properties that do not meet the conditions of the transition period.
However, a significant portion of projects already underway will be able to retain the tax benefit until the end of 2030. Specifically, the 5% rate may apply after December 31, 2026, if the required building permit has become final by the end of 2026. Transitional provisions are also in place for projects implemented under the construction notification procedure.
As a result, the Hungarian market may effectively feature new construction projects with varying tax burdens simultaneously, depending on the project’s start date and legal status.
The potential impact on housing prices could be significant. An apartment costing 100 million forints, taking into account the current 5% VAT rate, has a pre-tax price of approximately 95.2 million forints. If a 27% rate were applied to the same base, the final price would be approximately 121 million forints. The theoretical difference is about 21 million forints, or approximately 58,000 euros.
However, the actual price increase may be smaller, as developers may absorb part of the additional tax burden themselves in the face of weakening demand.
A decline in buyer activity is already being observed in the market. According to data from the National Bank of Hungary, the number of real estate transactions in the first quarter of 2026 fell by 18% compared to the same period the previous year. According to Duna House estimates, approximately 8,100 residential real estate transactions were concluded in August—13.1% fewer than in July and 29% fewer than a year earlier.
At the same time, developers are accelerating the preparation of new projects. In the first half of 2026, permits were issued and notifications were registered in Hungary for the construction of 16,588 residential units, which is 29% more than during the same period in 2025.
The change in the tax regime does not directly affect the resale housing market. However, the widening price gap between new projects subject to a 27% VAT rate, properties retaining the 5% rate, and the resale market may affect the structure of demand and housing prices overall.
Certain new apartments in officially designated “rust belt action areas” will remain an exception: provided they meet the requirements established for them, the preferential 5% rate will continue to apply even after January 1, 2027.
According to Fixygen, the volume of tracked cross-border transfers in stablecoins rose by 77.5% over the latest reporting period—from $124.2 billion to $220.3 billion, according to data from the Chainalysis Geography of Cryptocurrency Report 2026, published on September 23.
The average monthly volume of cross-border transactions more than doubled—from approximately $11 billion in January 2025 to $24 billion in June 2026.
Chainalysis emphasizes, however, that the actual volume of international stablecoin transfers is likely significantly higher. The statistics include only transactions for which the company can identify both the sender’s and recipient’s countries.
A distinctive feature of the market is the relatively small size of transactions. The average cross-border transfer is about $3,000, which, according to analysts, does not correspond to typical institutional transactions.
This pattern points to the growing practical use of stablecoins—for paying suppliers, sending money between countries, and transferring savings out of unstable national currencies.
At the same time, the geography of fund flows is changing. The largest quarter of cross-border routes accounts for 96.1% of the value of transfers, but Chainalysis has observed the rapid emergence of new payment corridors.
During the period under review, 4,708 new cross-border routes emerged, through which a total of $2.64 billion was transferred. The world’s largest stablecoin, USDT, plays a significant role in these transactions.
Growth continues even amid weak conditions in the cryptocurrency market. The total volume of funds flowing into cryptocurrency services decreased by 4.3%—from $9.3 trillion to $8.9 trillion—while the inflow of stablecoins to these services increased by 5.3%.
Peer-to-peer transactions are growing even faster. The volume of transfers between personal wallets within individual countries more than quadrupled—from $56.8 billion to $228.7 billion.
According to Chainalysis, stablecoins are becoming less dependent on speculative cycles in the crypto market and are gradually forming an independent international payment infrastructure.
Residential real estate prices in Italy rose 4% in the second quarter of 2026 compared to the same period last year, according to preliminary data from the Italian National Institute of Statistics (Istat).
The pace of housing price increases slowed slightly: in the first quarter, the year-over-year increase was 5.1%.
Compared to the first quarter of 2026, the housing price index increased by 1.7%. Newly built homes rose in price by 5% over the year, while existing homes rose by 3.7%. In the previous quarter, these figures were 6.7% and 4.6%, respectively.
On a quarterly basis, prices for new housing rose by 2.7%, and for existing housing by 1.5%.
Among major Italian cities, housing prices rose the fastest in Turin. In the second quarter, prices there were 8.5% higher than a year earlier, whereas in the first quarter, the year-over-year increase was only 3.8%.
In Rome, residential real estate prices rose by 6.4% following a 5.5% increase in the first quarter.
In contrast, in Milan—which in previous years had been one of the country’s most dynamic real estate markets—the pace of growth slowed sharply. Prices rose by 2.4% year-over-year, compared to 7.1% in the first quarter.
The most noticeable slowdown in Milan was recorded in the new-construction segment: after a 20.1% jump in the first quarter, year-over-year growth in the second quarter was only 1.1%.
Regionally, Istat recorded the highest price growth in Central Italy—5.1%. In the northeast, housing prices rose by 4.2%; in the northwest, by 3.9%; and in the south and on the islands, by 2.6%.
The rise in prices is occurring against a backdrop of a de facto stabilization in the number of transactions. According to data from the Italian Tax Agency’s Real Estate Market Observatory, the number of housing transactions in the second quarter increased by only 0.1% year-over-year, following a 4.4% increase in the first quarter.
Based on the results of the first two quarters, the cumulative increase in the housing price index for 2026 stands at approximately 3.8%. Istat plans to release its next market assessment on December 17, 2026.
The expansion of Ukrainian companies into foreign markets increases the importance of conducting preliminary checks on potential buyers and distributors. The risks are particularly high when working with a new counterparty on deferred payment terms, Dun & Bradstreet analysts note.
One of the tools for such checks is Dun & Bradstreet’s (D&B) international business information databases, which make it possible to identify a company, verify its registration data, ownership structure, financial indicators, operating history and associated risks.
When entering a new market, Ukrainian companies often focus primarily on finding a buyer and agreeing on commercial terms, while checking the buyer’s solvency remains a secondary task.
“Receiving an order does not yet mean receiving the money. For an exporter, a situation is particularly dangerous when the first large shipment is made to a new partner with deferred payment. Before signing such a contract, it is necessary to understand whether the company actually exists, how long it has been operating, what its financial indicators are, who its owner is and how high the credit risk associated with this counterparty is,” said Maksym Urakin, Director of Development and Marketing at Interfax-Ukraine, Head of the D&B-Interfax-Ukraine business unit, PhD in Economics.
Dun & Bradstreet has a global database containing information on hundreds of millions of companies. A unique nine-digit D-U-N-S Number is used to identify businesses, making it possible to distinguish between legal entities with similar names and link companies within corporate groups.
For a Ukrainian exporter, such a check is particularly relevant when working with companies that are offering a large contract for the first time, requesting a significant payment deferral or acting as intermediaries between the manufacturer and the end buyer.
Depending on the country and the availability of information, a D&B business report may contain registration details, information about executives and owners, financial statements, information on corporate relationships, credit ratings and other indicators used for risk assessment.
“The cost of a check is almost always incomparable with the potential loss from a single unpaid export shipment. International business information should be viewed not as an additional reference, but as one of the elements of the decision-making procedure regarding the credit limit, the amount of prepayment and the terms of the contract,” Maksym Urakin believes.
At the same time, negative information about a potential partner does not necessarily mean that the transaction should be rejected. It may serve as a basis for changing its terms — increasing the prepayment, reducing the size of the first shipment, using a bank guarantee, trade credit insurance or shortening the deferred payment period.
Dun & Bradstreet is an international provider of business data and analytical solutions whose history began in 1841. The company provides tools for business identification, counterparty verification, assessment of credit and commercial risks, compliance, supply chain management and work with corporate data.
The official representative of Dun & Bradstreet in Ukraine is the Interfax-Ukraine news agency. The specialized D&B-Interfax-Ukraine unit helps Ukrainian companies work with international business data, verify foreign partners and obtain a D-U-N-S Number.
Questions can be submitted through the specialized D&B resource — dnb.ua, by email at Urakin@interfax.kyiv.ua or by phone at +38 (044) 270-65-74.
COUNTERPARTY, D&B, DUN & BRADSTREET, EXPORT, UKRAINE, URAKIN
In January–August 2026, Ukraine reduced imports of zinc and zinc products by 35% compared to the same period last year, down to $24.126 million.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service of Ukraine, imports of zinc and zinc products in August totaled $3.306 million.
Zinc exports for the eight-month period totaled $1,108 million; in August, they amounted to $189,000, compared to $888,000 in January–August 2025.
As previously reported, Ukraine reduced its imports of zinc and zinc products by 9.6% in 2025 compared to 2024, down to $52.982 million. Zinc exports last year reached $1.234 million, whereas in 2024 they totaled $563,000.
Pure metallic zinc is used to recover precious metals, protect steel from corrosion, and for other purposes.
