Philip Morris Ukraine this year predicts a decline in the legal market of heated tobacco products by 3.1 times compared to last year, to 1.5 billion pieces, due to an increase in the excise tax on these products from January 2021 by 320%, Financial Director of Philip Morris Ukraine Maksym Barabash said at a press conference in Interfax-Ukraine.
“A one-time increase in excise taxes by 320% from January 1 requires a price increase of approximately UAH 29 (for a pack of heated tobacco products), not including the price increase due to inflation and the devaluation of the hryvnia. If we transfer this price increase to consumers, the price will increase to 80-90,” he explained.
CEO of the company Kostas Salvaras said that Philip Morris Ukraine supports amendments to law No. 4278, proposing an increase in the excise tax on heated tobacco products by 200% with its further growth by 30% in 2022-2025 instead of a one-time increase by 320%. These changes in the form of amendment No. 55 were adopted in February by the parliamentary committee on finance, taxation and customs policy.
According to the calculations of Philip Morris Ukraine, a smoother increase in the excise tax will help protect the legal market, the capacity of which, if this amendment is adopted, will grow this year by 6.3% compared to 2020, to 5 billion units.
The company also expects that in the event of a gradual increase in tax, the growth of revenues to the state budget in 2021 will not be lower than UAH 4.8 billion planned by the Ministry of Finance, and UAH 6.5-7.5 billion in 2022.
Barabash clarified that a one-time increase in excise tax by 320% will lead to a 1.5-fold increase in prices for the products, and will make illegal import of heated tobacco products four times more profitable than smuggling regular cigarettes. The company’s financial director estimated the profit from the illegal import of one heated tobacco product box at $ 500-800.
In addition, according to him, the equalization of the excise tax rate for heated tobacco products and ordinary cigarettes to 320% will entail a return of users of devices for heating tobacco to cheaper and more harmful nicotine-containing products – cigarettes. He noted that this decision contradicts European practice, since on average in the EU countries the excise tax on heated tobacco products is 72% lower than the excise tax on cigarettes, while in Ukraine this figure is 28%.
Barabash clarified that a sharp increase in the excise tax on this product would jeopardize UAH 4.2 billion already invested in the development of the Ukrainian infrastructure of the IQOS brand, which employs more than 2,000 people. It will also make it impossible to localize the production of heated tobacco products in Ukraine, which could reduce the price of this product.
As reported, Philip Morris International is one of the world’s largest tobacco manufacturers. It produces cigarettes in more than 50 factories and sells them in 180 countries.
The company has been operating in Ukraine for over 20 years. In Ukraine, Philip Morris owns a factory in Kharkiv region, the company employs over 1,300 people.
In 2020, the company reduced the shipment of cigarettes in Ukraine by 4.3% compared to 2019 due to a general market decline, which was partially offset by an increase in the market share of heated tobacco products.
Head of the specialized scientific restoration design institute “Ukrproektrestavratsiya” Vasyl Tymkovych expects to start the selection of projects under the Big Restoration Program from next week.
“Yesterday, for the first time, the future commissions for the selection of the Big Restoration program met. It was announced that next week, apparently, regular meetings will start, where the head of the expert commission, a secretary, will be elected, after which they will be able to start considering the projects if they are prepared by the working group,” he said at the All-Ukrainian forum “Ukraine 30. Culture and Media. Tourism” on Wednesday in Kyiv.
According to the decree, so far only objects in state ownership will be selected, but there is an understanding of the need to include municipal property objects in the list, he said.
Also, the program will include first of all the objects with ready-made documentation and accessible infrastructure.
Over the past two years, the prosecutor’s office has initiated 560 criminal cases on the fact of unlawful acts committed by law enforcement officers. And only six of them were brought an accusation.
Former Interior Minister of Ukraine Anatoliy Mohyliov said this at a press conference at the Interfax-Ukraine news agency on Tuesday, noting that no one in the Interior Ministry today is watching the punishment of persons who have committed violation of the law.
“The complete absence of departmental control over violators within the system gives rise to permissiveness and undermines the foundations of the entire state. Remember the murder at the post of a policeman in 2015 – the suspects were detained, they were charged, after which … everyone was released! When persons involved in such a grave crime calmly walk down the street and work, including in government agencies, this is nonsense!” the ex-minister noted.
The ex-head of the Kyiv district police department, Denys Yaroslavsky, in turn, recalled the case with the service center of the Interior Ministry of Ukraine in Kharkiv region. According to him, in November 2020, as part of an ongoing investigation, journalists were able to obtain fake license plates of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, medical certificates of suitability for driving in the name of the head of the Kharkiv region police, Police General Valeriy Sokurenko, a certificate with a photo of SBU Chairman Ivan Bakanov and ex-Deputy Head of the President’s Office of Ukraine Serhiy Trofimov. Moreover, without the presence of the officials themselves. All this was made in the premises of the regional service center of the Interior Ministry in Kharkiv region. After reviewing the materials, Denys Yaroslavsky on the air in November 2020 transferred the relevant documents, testifying to numerous corruption actions in the system of service centers, to Deputy Interior Minister Anton Gerashchenko. The latter promised to study and go into the matter.
According to journalist Ihor Lesev, after the broadcast of the materials of the journalistic investigation, a group of companies led by Serhiy Vakulenko (as a part of Vip-Expert LLC, Region-Expert LLC, Transkom-plus LLC) moved from the building of the service center of the Interior Ministry to another office. None of the responsible persons of the service centers or the main department of the National Police in Kharkiv region incurred any responsibility for the production of false medical certificates, fake registration numbers of vehicles and illegal transactions of its purchase and sale. At the same time, only the non-payment of the lease by Vakulenko’s group caused damage exceeding UAH 200,000 to the service centers in Kharkiv.
According to another participant in the press conference, ex-military prosecutor of Ukraine Ihor Serkov, while the suspects in the journalistic investigation have not been announced they are suspected of committing a crime with the election of an appropriate preventive measure, the violations mentioned in the film are abstract.
“If the employees of the service centers and the officials of the main department of the National Police in Kharkiv region associated with them, suspected of corruption and illegal actions, are not punished, there is no guarantee that this scheme will not find its continuation in the very near future. The main principle is lost – the inevitability of punishment of suspects,” Serkov said.
https://uprava.com.ua/
The National Museum of Folk Architecture and Ukraine’s Daily Life plans to create a museum of Crimean Tatar culture, said director of the Crimean House Akhtem Seitablayev.
“I am very grateful that another future step in order for us to know as much as possible about each other, to be able to adequately present the culture of the Crimean Tatars (because culture is perhaps one of the most durable tools for identifying ourselves) will be a museum of Crimean Tatar culture, which we, together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ukrainian Institute, the Ministry of Culture, dream of building on the territory of the Pyrohove ethnography museum,” said Seitablayev at the opening of the exhibition “Loyalty to oneself is not a crime” at the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday.
On March, 13 and 14 2021 the largest Maslenitsa celebration in Ukraine will take place in Ancient Kyiv in the Principality of Kyivan Rus («Kyivan Rus Park»). In Ancient Kyiv – a real, live, medieval city, surrounded by the masterpieces of the architecture of Kyivan Rus, the guests will be awaited by: ancient traditions and rites, a bright entertaining program with the solemn meeting of the prince, horse-trick performances, traditional burning of a huge Maslenitsa scarecrow. With the dusk, a bright evening fire program will begin. And, of course, hot pancakes with different fillings, hot drinks and tasty dishes prepared on open fire, horse riding, traditional Slavic funs, gifts on Maslenitsa poles, open master-classes, the ancient «Kolodiy» ritual and the unique «Maslenitsa nativity scene» in the ancient Slavic language.
• The program may change
Ancient Kyiv opens at 10:00, the program starts at 13:30.
The ticket price: a full adult ticket – 250 UAH, for pensioners and students – 150 UAH, for schoolchildren – 100 UAH, for preschool children – for free.
Ancient Kyiv in the «Kyivan Rus Park» is located in Kyiv region, Obukhiv district, the vill. Kopachiv.
Details on the website www.parkkyivrus.com
The Interfax subscribers can save money with the “openbusiness-20” promo code for a 20%-discount for a full price adult ticket to the Principality of Kyivan Rus:
– by previous order by tel.: +38 044 461-99-37, +38 050 385-20-35
– or at the cash desk at the entrance to the «Kyivan Rus Park».
The European Investment Bank (EIB) will provide additional financing, namely a EUR 20 million loan, to be on-lent to local private businesses with a focus on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), expanding the increase the funding limit to EUR 280 million.
“The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed an agreement with the State Export-Import Bank of Ukraine (Ukreximbank) to increase the funding limit of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) Support Facility project to EUR 280 million,” the EIB said in a press release on Friday.
“Additional financing, namely a EUR 20 million loan, will be provided via a parallel cross-currency swap in Ukrainian hryvnia (UAH) and will be on-lent to local private businesses with a focus on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs),” the EIB said.
The operation is part of Team Europe’s overall response to the COVID-19 crisis, which aims to support the sustainable social and economic recovery of the region.
“Improved access to affordable finance in local currency is one of our main priorities, especially at a time when SMEs need strong support to overcome the challenges and the liquidity shortfall created by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Head of the EIB Resident Representation for Ukraine Jean-Erik de Zagon said.
Chairman of the Management Board of Ukreximbank Yevhen Metsger said that the bank has a clear goal to direct additional financing to meet the specific and urgent needs of Ukrainian companies.
The EIB is an EU institution. It is owned by the EU member states. The EIB provides long-term financing.
The EIB has been operating in Ukraine since 2007. The country accounts for 60% of the bank’s lending activities in the Eastern Partnership countries.
Ukreximbank, the sole owner of which is the state, was established in 1992.
