Department of Science and Education of Kyiv Regional State Administration (KOSA) intends to buy 43 school buses for the expected amount of 127.84 million UAH until October 31, 2023.
According to the announced June 28 bidding on the procedure of request for bid prices, such proposals will be accepted until July 3.
Technical specifications specify, in particular, that the buses must be made not earlier than 2022, have 26 seats for pupils and two – for accompanying persons and crew members, comply with Euro 5.
As it was reported, the Cabinet of Ministers by its Resolution of 28 April 2023 approved the procedure and terms of granting subventions from the state budget to local budgets (this year’s subvention is 1 billion UAH) for the purchase of school buses.
Procurement is carried out using the electronic catalog (ProZorro Market) by the procedure of request for bid, allowing the customer to select the best price offer in four days and lower than in open bidding.
School buses are purchased on condition of co-financing from the state budget (at least 70%) and local budgets.
Subventions to the budget of Kyiv oblast makes up 87.95 million UAH.
As previously reported, a number of regions have already conducted or are conducting such purchases. In particular, the best offer in the similar procedure announced on June 23 for the purchase of 28 school buses of Odessa Regional State Administration was the offer of the Trading House “Etalon Auto” with buses of Chernihiv Automobile Plant for 82.46 million UAH. The second proposal was made by Dnipropetrovsk Avto JSC (UkrAvto corporation) with ZAZ buses for UAH 82.6 million (the expected purchase price).
Container Terminal Mostyska, a dry port near the Polish border, has installed oil transloading equipment at the terminal and is offering piggyback services, the company said on Facebook.
“To meet market demand for the transloading of liquid cargoes such as sunflower and soybean oil, the terminal is equipped with modern and high-performance pumping stations that allow it to transload large volumes of liquid cargo from cars to rail tank cars and from rail tank cars for 1520 mm gauge to 1435 mm tank cars,” Container Terminal Mostyska said in a statement.
According to the report, all liquid cargoes are weighed for both road and rail transport.
The terminal also has technological solutions for acceptance and dispatch of piggyback cargoes. The corresponding transports allow “to combine road and rail logistics due to the use of specialized equipment,” the company explained.
Container Terminal Mostyska, oil transshipment, piggyback services
More and more entrepreneurs and organizations are turning to grant programs in the hope of obtaining financial support for their projects. However, many of them make typical mistakes even at the stage of submitting and implementing an application, which can lead to undesirable consequences. In this regard, Kyiv Analytical Center “Experts Club” together with the founder of “Granta” company and grant projects implementation expert Olga Shaverina, launched a series of YouTube videos, dedicated to the peculiarities of grant financing. In the first video Olga Shaverina shared her experience and told about the most common mistakes made by beginner grantees, as well as gave recommendations on how to avoid them.
The first mistake many people make is not trusting grantmaking tools. Some entrepreneurs do not realize the opportunities that grants provide and miss the chance to get funding for their projects. Lack of information about grant programs and lack of knowledge about procedures can cause missed opportunities.
The second mistake, according to the expert, has to do with not accepting the fact that business is part of society. Many entrepreneurs forget that grant programs are usually aimed at solving social problems or supporting certain social initiatives. Emphasizing the social importance of their project can help in attracting the attention of grantmakers.
The third mistake is neglecting procedures. This is a critical component of successful grantmaking, where proper paperwork and adherence to grant program requirements are critical to your success. Negligence in this matter can cause the application to be rejected.
“Reassign the preparation of the grant application to your secretary on the principle of “He/She can do it! ” because he/she knows how to do the paperwork is the most common mistake among applicants. Most projects fail exactly on this basis,” says Olga Shaverina.
The fourth mistake entrepreneurs often make is underestimating the cost of training. First of all it is a question of labor inputs, because preparation of the grant application demands time, efforts and resources. Some entrepreneurs underestimate the amount of work required to prepare a quality application. Developing a detailed budget, creating a project plan, and analyzing the market and competitors all require careful preparation and research. The lack of a detailed plan and an incomplete understanding of the necessary resources can lead to project failure.
Finally, a fifth mistake worth noting is misunderstanding partnerships and consultant selection. Working in partnership with other organizations or consultants can greatly improve the chances of a successful grant project. However, choosing partners incorrectly or not understanding their role and contribution to the project can lead to conflicts and ineffective work. The criteria for selecting partners and consultants must be clearly defined and meet the goals and needs of the project.
Ms. Shaverina also emphasized the importance of a proper understanding of reporting. Many entrepreneurs underestimate the importance of reporting and do not pay adequate attention to it. Failure to comply with reporting requirements may result in penalties or loss of funding. Therefore, it is necessary to carefully study the reporting requirements and provide all the necessary documents in a timely manner.
Maxim Urakin, founder of the Club of Experts, in turn, shared statistics on grant assistance to Ukraine for the years 2022-2023. Thus, he noted that in 2022 international aid to Ukraine amounted to more than $32 billion, including 18 billion in grant support.
“This year Ukraine has already received about $19 billion in assistance, of which $11 billion was received in January-March, of which $3.7 billion came in the form of grants. That is why grant assistance, including those for specific projects, is extremely important for our economy under current conditions,” said Maxim Uralkin.
So, grant programs are an important tool for business development and implementation of social initiatives. However, in order to receive grant support successfully, it is necessary to avoid common mistakes, which the experts told us about. Compliance with requirements and procedures, understanding the importance of the social aspect of the project, choosing the right partners and consultants, as well as consciously estimating costs and preparing for reporting are all factors that can increase the chances of success.
You can learn more about the mistakes you make when submitting a grant proposal by watching the video on the Club of Experts YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8F7qjrSoWac
Subscribe to the channel at:
CLUB_EXPERTS, EXPERTS, GRANT_APPLICATION, GRANT_FUNDING, GRANTS, SHAVERINA, URAKIN
Verkhovna Rada adopted a law № 8401, an important structural beacon of the program with the IMF, on the abolition of the 2% flat tax (UT) from August 1 and the return of documentary checks and EDB control, said first deputy head of the specialized Committee of the Rada Yaroslav Zheleznyak.
He said in Telegram that 239 people’s deputies voted for the law in its entirety.
According to him, the law stipulates that the payer of the 2% UT will be entitled to submit an application for waiver of the 2% UT and to indicate the tax system he wishes to switch to. Without such a statement, as well as if the payer does not specify the desired system in the application, he will automatically be returned to the system on which he was before the election of the 2% UT.
Also automatically will be considered as payers of UT of the third group with a rate of 5% newly formed business entities, which from the date of state registration chose the 2% UT.
As indicated by Zheleznyak, the law automatically restores the rights and obligations of a VAT payer for those entities whose registration was suspended as a VAT payer, and gives taxpayers who switched from 2% UT to a common system in 2023, the right to switch again in 2023 to a simplified system of their choice by submitting an application. In this case, if the application is filed before September 1, 2023, such a taxpayer will be considered a payer of UT from August 1, 2023.
The bill repeals the current moratorium on inspections of excisable goods (alcohol, tobacco, fuel), gambling and financial services from August 1, the deputy also said.
At the same time, he said, on October 1, responsibility for violations in the use of EDR is returned. An exception was retained only for front-line territories, but not for trade of excisable goods.
Zheleznyak said that the “technical debt” (arising from April 1, 2022 to July 31, 2023 in the electronic cabinet) will not be taken into account in determining the ability of the taxpayer to continue to stay on the simplified system.
The final version of the adopted law, said the deputy, provides for the right to voluntary payment of UT and UTII for the front-line territories (including areas of possible hostilities) and the opportunity for sole proprietors of UT without VAT to indicate the names of goods (services) in the calculation documents in the simplified form.
There is also a rule that for the transfer of goods by legal entities for the defense forces there is no need for the approved list of the CMU, added Zheleznyak.
As clarified by the head of the Finance Committee of the VR Daniel Getmantsev, the bill from August 1, partly repealed the current moratorium on inspections for excisable goods (alcohol, tobacco, fuel), gambling and financial services, and the end of martial law, if the payer pays the amount assessed by the inspection taxes or ERW within 30 days – he is exempt from penalties and fines accrued on that amount.
The head of the committee said that there is a moratorium on documentary inspections for payment of ERUs from August 1, 2023 until the end of martial law.
At the same time, taxpayers are exempted from liability for violations in payment of ERUs, committed from the beginning of martial law and until August 1, 2023, and taxpayers in the frontline territories (including areas of possible hostilities) will not be taken to repay the tax debt.
Hetmantsev added that the “technical debt” (which occurred from April 1, 2022 to July 31, 2023 in the electronic cabinet) will not be taken into account in determining the ability of the taxpayer to continue to stay on the simplified system.
The final version of the adopted draft law provides for preserving the right to voluntary payment of the single tax and ERU for front-line territories (including areas of possible hostilities) and enabling single tax payers without VAT to indicate the names of goods (services) in the calculation documents under the simplified system.
As previously reported, the Rada adopted the draft law № 8401 in the first reading on the eve of the IMF mission on the first review of the EFF – May 29. Then it was supported by the minimum required number of deputies – 226. Within the framework of the EFF program with the IMF it was supposed to come into force on July 1, but because of the delay in its consideration the Rada finance committee proposed to postpone its entry into force until August 1.
After working through almost two thousand amendments a week earlier, the Committee recommended MPs to support the bill as a whole, the first time softening the criteria for selecting companies for documentary checks.
The IMF representatives said on June 29, after the second tranche of $890 million was disbursed to Ukraine, that the Fund had agreed to postpone the implementation of this structural beacon for a month, but it remains one of the key ones in the program.
UkrSibbank has been subjected to cyber attacks for several days, but successfully defends against them, according to the website of the financial institution.
“We are making every effort to quickly defeat the “attack” and restore full access to all our services. We apologize for the temporary inconvenience and thank you for your understanding”, – said UkrSibank.
The financial institution explained that to resist cyber attacks and protect customers, it constantly adapts protection systems and applies new mechanisms of counteraction, which may lead to short-term inaccessibility of Internet platforms: the bank website, UKRSIB online and UKRSIB business.
At the same time it’s underlined that bank’s clients can safely pay by its cards in trade network and withdraw money from ATMs in Ukraine as well as abroad.
“We are waiting for positive news. Hold the line!” – summed up the financial institution.
UkrSibbank by total assets (129.8 billion UAH) at the beginning of May ranked 6th among 65 operating banks in Ukraine.
The National Bank of Ukraine in its Financial Stability Report, published this week, with reference to the survey of banks, indicated that after a certain break at the beginning of the war, cyber risk returned to the top three systemic risks. According to the graph it presented, there were three attacks per month in April and May that caused temporary disruptions, compared to zero to two in January and March.
The Board of Executive Directors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has completed the first review of the Extended Funding Facility (EFF) program for Ukraine and approved the immediate release of the second tranche of SDR 663.9 million (about $890 million) to be used for budget support.
“Officials have made significant progress in meeting their EFF commitments under difficult conditions, meeting all applicable quantitative performance criteria by the end of April and structural benchmarks by the end of June, and remain highly committed to the program,” the fund said in a release Thursday on its website.
At the same time, the fund noted that sustained accountability and momentum for reforms are needed to ensure macroeconomic and financial stability in the difficult period ahead.
“This includes maintaining a solid tax revenue base (including by refraining from measures that could undermine the tax base), supporting sustainable disinflation and exchange rate stability, maintaining a healthy banking sector, and advancing critical governance and anti-corruption reforms, including on asset declarations, financial monitoring and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecution Service (SAP),” the release specified.
The IMF added that it is also crucial that external financing of the budget and reconstruction projects continue on concessional terms, compatible with financial and debt sustainability.
Fiscal policy efforts should also focus on developing a National Revenue Strategy (NRS) that will anchor much-needed revenue mobilization to support reconstruction and social spending, it was pointed out. “Restoring the legal framework for midterm budget preparation, budget credibility, and debt management is also critical, coupled with measures to increase fiscal transparency and strengthen public investment management,” the Fund noted.
Commenting on the financing strategy and debt sustainability, the IMF stated that external support for the budget will continue to make up the bulk of budget financing, although mobilizing domestic financing along with avoiding issuance is still important.
The Fund added that in addition to the March 2023 commitment by the Ukraine Creditors Group (CCG) to restructure part of the official debt, there is a credible process for resolving external commercial debt, according to Fund staff.
Speaking of monetary and exchange rate policy, the IMF stressed that the program aims to further support sustainable disinflation and exchange rate stability, including by maintaining an adequate level of foreign exchange reserves while prudently managing wartime excess liquidity.
“As soon as conditions permit, the program will support a transition to a more flexible exchange rate, a further loosening of exchange controls, and a return to an inflation-targeting system,” the Fund pointed out without any specification of timing.
In the financial sector, the IMF called for continued vigilance, given that the true state of the banking system remains unclear and risks of further shocks, including nationalization of banks, remain. She said bank diagnostics, banking supervision reform, state bank governance and contingency planning remain high priorities.
The fund also stressed the importance of governance and anti-corruption reforms needed to quickly restore living standards and pave the way for EU accession, as well as build public and donor confidence, including in the postwar period.
“It will also be important to pursue a comprehensive strategy for critical spending during recovery and reconstruction, including on energy and procurement,” the IMF added.
As reported, the IMF and Ukraine reached a staff-level agreement on an updated set of economic and financial policies as part of the first review of the four-year $15.6 billion EFF program on May 30.
It was noted that all the quantitative performance criteria at the end of April and structural benchmarks at the end of May had been met, paving the way for the IMF board of directors to consider granting Ukraine the second tranche of the EFF program of about $900 million (SDR663.9 million).
The program was approved on March 31 this year, and the first tranche of $2.7 billion was allocated in early April as well. The program’s schedule assumes that Ukraine will receive three tranches of SDR664 million (about $900 million) after the first tranche in mid-June and October of this year and in late February of the following year based on the first, second and third revisions, when the fulfillment of obligations is estimated for the end of April, June and December of this year, respectively.
