KYIV. Jan 11 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has approved the updated procedure for electronic administration of value added tax (VAT).
According to cabinet resolution No. 1177 of December 30, 2015 the updated procedure was approved to meet the amendments to the Tax Code that took effect from January 1, 2016.
The government said that the electronic VAT administration procedure was updated to realize the mechanism for partial payment of VAT by agricultural companies that use the special taxation regime depending on the type of agricultural products they make.
The procedure settles the inclusion of the specific conditions for taxpayers who use cash taxation method into the electronic VAT administration system.
As reported, the Ukrainian parliament has approved a compromise on revoking the beneficial VAT taxation regime for farmers via granting the beneficial regime for the period until they transfer to the general taxation system.
In 2016 for the period when milk and meat producers transfer to the general taxation system 80% of VAT will be left for them and 20% will be sent to the budget.
Farmers working with grain and industrial crops will send 85% of VAT to the budget, and other farmers – 50%.
Since 2017, the VAT beneficial regime for farmers will be revoked.
KYIV. Jan 6 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Kuwait’s Al Maousherji Group and public joint-stock company Agrarian Fund would discuss the possibility for Ukrainian products to enter the Kuwaiti market, in particular, flour and fodder wheat.
The Agricultural Policy and Food Ministry reported on its website that the agreement was reached at a meeting of representatives of the international cooperation department of Agrarian Fund and Al Maousherji Group Board Chairman Salah Maousherji on December 31, 2015.
The sides expressed their interest in stirring up cooperation in the agrarian and investment areas.
Agrarian Fund was founded by a government decree in spring 2013. Its charter capital is UAH 5 billion.
Al Maousherji Group is a group which among other things is involved in investment in agricultural property segment. It is also engaged in restaurant business, paper and package production, investment in property and management, publishing business in Kuwait and the Middle East.
KYIV. Jan 6 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The European Union (EU) jointly with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) would provide a $5 million loan to a privately owned diversified agricultural producer Kischenzi LLC (Cherkasy region).
The EBRD said in a press release on Wednesday that the funds are provided under the EU-EBRD Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) small and medium sized businesses (SME) Direct Support Facility.
The loan will be covered by a first loss guarantee from the EU grant under the above the facility. The proceeds of the loan will be used to upgrade its fleet of combine harvesters and to acquire supplementary agricultural equipment like cultivators.
“The project will help Kischenzi strengthen its export potential and implement modern state-of-the-art farming technics and standards thus creating a successful benchmark for the industry in Ukraine,” the bank said.
The Facility being implemented by the EBRD and the EU supports increase of SMEs’ competitiveness, ease their access to finance, helps them with new trade opportunities and compliance with new food safety, technical and quality standards, as well as with environmental protection measures.
Kischenzi LLC operates a variety of businesses ranging from grains and vegetables growing to dairy and pig farming. Around 60% of its output is successfully exported to the European Union and other markets.
KYIV. Jan 6 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine’s Ministry of Economic Development and Trade has promulgated new import duty rates for goods from the European Union, which came into effect on January 1, 2016 in connection with the entry into force of the free trade area (FTA) between Ukraine and the EU.
According to the agency, the EU reduced import duty rates for Ukraine to the level of the first year of the FTA in 2014 within autonomous trade preferences, therefore the functioning of the deep and comprehensive free trade area marks the beginning of Ukraine’s reducing import duties on goods from the EU.
The ministry also notes that in parallel with the free trade regime, the GSP preferential regime, which Ukraine has been using in exports to the EU for many years, will be valid for another two years.
As reported, the agreement on a deep and comprehensive free trade area between Ukraine and the European Union came into force on January 1, 2016 after a one-year pause the parties took at Russia’s request for consultations with the country, which failed.
KYIV. Jan 6 (Interfax-Ukraine) – MP from Petro Poroshenko Bloc Andriy Antonyschak will register a bill on national customs service, aiming at radically changing the service, next plenary session week of the parliament, the press service of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc has reported.
“Today the customs service actually does not exist. Its role is fiscal function: to protect economic interests of the state and replenish the national budget,” Antonyschak said.
He also said that the document aims at creating the National Customs Service that will protect the customs interests, customs security, domestic market, development of the Ukrainian economy, its integration into the global economy and prevent customs irregularities.
He said that MPs held several meetings with European experts and everyone came to the conclusion that the customs service should become a separate institution.
“The main goal of the customs service is not replenishment of the budget. The main task of the customs service is the smooth and transparent movement of goods and protection of the borders from smuggling. We propose in this bill that an independent customs service is created and subordinated to the Finance Ministry,” he said.
The bill envisages the creation of separate services – customs, tax, financial investigation and auxiliary services (analytics and customs value of goods).
The document toughens criminal punishment for bribing.
“For example, if a customs officer takes a bribe of $10, he will be automatically deprived of the job record, an apartment, social benefits and other things,” Antonyschak said.
He added that the next step for conducting the radical reform of the customs service should be direct negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Union (EU).
KYIV. Jan 5 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Yuzhny maritime merchandise port (Odesa region), the largest Ukrainian port in terms of cargo handling, saw a 1.8% rise in cargo handling in 2015, to 15.069 million tonnes.
The port said in a press release that this is 100.5% of the target and it is a record figure for the whole history of the enterprise.
“Traditionally, ore is first in terms of handling – 12.623 million tonnes and coal is second with 2.423 million tonnes,” the port said.
Last year 216,477 wagons and 210 vessels were processed at the port.
Yuzhny port was founded in 1978. It is located on the Adzhalyk firth and is the deepest harbor in Ukraine. The length of its berths is around 2.6 kilometers. The port has six handling terminals.
Sea terminals in various forms of ownership operate at the port: Pivdenny oil terminal, Transbunker-Yug LLC’s fuel handling terminal, a terminal of Transinvestservice LLC, a grain handling terminal of Borivage LLC, and a tropic oil handling and processing complex of Delta Wilmar CIS LLC.
