The working group under the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy considered the bill on increasing excise duties on tobacco, which is preparing for consideration by Parliament in the second reading, said the head of the parliamentary committee Daniil Getmantsev.
“The bill is unambiguously timely and will be supported by the Verkhovna Rada. At the same time there are issues that should be considered in the second reading. Realized by the deputies in the hall. Among them the schedule for increasing excise tax rates, their size on certain items and increase in ad valorem rate,” – he wrote in Telegram on Monday.
In addition, according to Getmantsev, there are several other technical issues to the text of the bill to increase excise taxes on tobacco products. The deputies intend to find consensus on them at the level of the parliamentary committee.
Getmantsev also said that the bill adopted in 2020 on the introduction of excise tax on tobacco-containing products for electric heating (TIEN) helped the state to get to date 22.5 billion UAH.
“A good result”, – summarized the head of the Finance Committee.
As reported, the European Business Association strongly opposes the amendments to the Tax Code of Ukraine on revision of excise tax rates on tobacco products (draft law No. 11090), which is being considered in connection with the requirements of the EU Council Directive on the structure and rates of excise taxes applicable to tobacco products.
The revision of excise tax rates on tobacco products already from July 1, 2024 is not in line with the principle of stability of tax legislation, the EBA argued.
The experts drew attention to the fact that the excise tax rates on tobacco products are scheduled to increase by 20% annually for 2024-2027. However, the draft law No. 11090 proposes to increase these rates unevenly. For example, it is proposed to increase the excise tax rate on cigarettes in 2025 by almost 23.5%, and in 2026 and 2027 – by about 5% annually. According to business representatives, such an approach would have a shock effect on the market in 2025.
Meanwhile, member companies support a differentiated schedule of excise tax rate increases for cigarettes and tobacco products for electronic heating with an electronically controlled heater over 2024-2027.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has agreed with the proposal of the Ministry of Energy to establish a state-owned enterprise (SOE) Marine Oil Terminal Pivdenny and to include it under the management of the said ministry. This is stated in the Cabinet’s order No. 381-r dated April 30, 2024, “On approval of the creation of SOE Marine Oil Terminal Pivdenny,” published on the government portal.
“The Ministry of Energy, together with NJSC Naftogaz Ukrainy, shall take measures to transfer the objects of the oil distribution and gas distribution system of the marine oil terminal Pivdenny, which are state property and are in the possession of NJSC Ukrtransnafta, to SOE Marine Oil Terminal Pivdenny,” the document says.
A total of 100% of the shares of Ukrtransnafta belong to NJSC Naftogaz Ukrainy.
The first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 will be broadcast live on May 7 at 22.00 on Suspilne Kultura TV channel. It can be viewed on the film and television platform Kyivstar TV at no additional cost, regardless of the mobile operator or Internet provider.
As early as Tuesday, Ukrainians will be able to cheer for the duo alyona alyona & Jerry Heil in the semifinals of Eurovision 2024. Ever since the National Selection, the song Teresa & Maria has been topping the main music charts in Ukraine. The performance was directed by Tanya Muinho, who shoots music videos for the world’s biggest stars.
It is on May 7 that we will find out whether the Ukrainian singers will make it to the Eurovision final.
The event will be broadcast live on Suspilne Kultura TV channel. Kyivstar TV provides free access for authorized users. To log in, you just need to enter your phone number in the appropriate field. After the broadcast, viewers can also watch the event in the recording on the platform.
By the way, you can watch content on Kyivstar TV from one account on 5 devices simultaneously: smartphone, TV, tablet, laptop and set-top box.
Voting will take place on several platforms:
● in the Eurovision Song Contest mobile application, which is available for Android, iOS or Windows. Viewers from countries not participating in the semi-finals will be able to vote in the app;
● participating countries can cast their votes by phone and/or SMS using the numbers that will be announced during the broadcast;
● non-participating countries can vote on the esc.vote website.
This year, the main European song contest will be held in Malmö, Sweden. In addition to Ukraine, Cyprus, Serbia, Lithuania, Ireland, Poland, Croatia, Iceland, Slovenia, Finland, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Australia, Portugal, and Luxembourg will also perform in the first semifinal.
For more news about the addition of Ukrainian and world movies, TV series and shows to Kyivstar TV’s video library, follow the “Movies for TV” Telegram channel.
Kyivstar TV is a joint project of 1+1 media and Kyivstar, founded on December 11, 2019. It is a film and television platform that provides users with access to hundreds of thousands of hours of domestic and foreign content, live programs, and regularly offers exclusive pre-premiere screenings of projects. The platform currently has more than 400 TV channels and a VOD library of 20 thousand movies, series, cartoons, and shows. For more information: tv.kyivstar.ua
The government has appointed Stanislav Banchuk as acting director of the state enterprise of alcohol and liquor industry “Ukrspirt”, according to the official website of the government.
“To agree with the proposal of the State Property Fund on the appointment of Stanislav Yaroslavovich Banchuk as acting Director of the state enterprise of alcohol and distillery industry “Ukrspirt”, – noted in the order of the Cabinet of Ministers № 386 from April 30.
On the website of the FGI and Facebook-page “Ukrspirt” so far there is no additional information about the new head. According to information on the Internet, a person with the same surname and initials was the deputy regional prosecutor of Chernivtsi region until 2014, after which he ran an individual law practice in Kyiv region.
According to Youcontrol, Banchuk S.Y. is the founder of a number of companies, in particular, Law Company Standard LLC, Gaztehkom LLC, Newest Energy Systems LLC, Trading House P.E.G.O., VOGA Resources LLC and SpetsOil LLC, which specialize in oil and gas trading.
DTEK RENEWABLES BV’s net loss last year amounted to UAH 0.547 billion, which is 29 times less than in 2022 (UAH 15.841 billion).
According to the company’s report published on the stock exchange, its revenue increased by 26.5% (by UAH 0.782 billion) compared to 2022 to UAH 3.728 billion, and gross profit amounted to UAH 2.57 billion against a gross loss of UAH 12.157 billion.
In particular, the group increased revenue from electricity sales by solar power plants (SPPs) at the feed-in tariff by 68% due to its increase and the impact of the hryvnia’s appreciation against the euro, while a 65% decrease in revenue from sales by wind power plants (WPPs) was due to the absence of generating stations located in the occupied territories.
According to the report, at the end of last year, DTEK RENEWABLES’ total assets amounted to UAH 25.841 billion against UAH 26.331 billion a year earlier, and its equity decreased from UAH 3.394 billion to UAH 2.93 billion.
The company states that it has violated certain financial and non-financial covenants on bank and non-bank debt obligations with a nominal amount of EUR222 million as of the end of 2023, and these debts have been classified as current liabilities.
The green bonds are scheduled to mature on November 12, 2024. The Group’s management intends to start negotiations with the bondholders to extend the maturity of the green bonds to a later date and expects to reach a compromise on the terms.
In 2023, the group produced 999 GWh, which corresponds to the estimated amount of avoided CO2 emissions of 1062 thousand tons, compared to 881 GWh and 937 thousand tons of CO2 in 2022, and 2117 GWh and 2250 thousand tons of CO2 in 2021.
DTEK Renewables plans to continue its operations in line with current plans and its long-term strategy until 2030. The Group plans to develop projects in Poltava region (650 MW) and in the south of Ukraine (up to 650 MW) over the next 5 years.
CRH Group, the largest building materials manufacturer in North America and Europe, has invested $80 million in Ukraine over the course of the full-scale invasion. Guillaume Cavalier, President of CRH in Central and Eastern Europe, told Forbes Ukraine that the group’s total investments in Ukraine over 25 years of work amount to more than $500 million. According to him, in the context of rebuilding infrastructure in Ukraine, it is important to use cement produced locally, which will provide jobs and higher revenues to the state budget.
Cavalier emphasized that for the potential growth of the Ukrainian cement market after accession to the EU, it is important to invest in the expansion of production facilities now. He reminded that the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) is currently considering CRH’s application to acquire assets of Italian Buzzi in Ukraine – cement plants Volyn-cement (Zdolbunov, Rivne region) and YuGcement (Olshanskoe, Mykolayiv region).
As reported, on January 23, AMCU reported about the beginning of consideration of the case on concerted actions in the form of fulfillment of provisions on refraining from competition, enshrined in the concentration agreement between the Irish group CRH and Dyckerhoff GmbH, which own assets in Ukraine.
In June 2023, Italian cement producer Buzzi, listed by the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption as an international sponsor of war, through its subsidiary Dyckerhoff GmbH, reached an agreement to sell part of its business in Eastern Europe to Irish group CRH, including Ukrainian assets in the form of two cement plants. The transaction is expected to close in 2024.
Later, in September 2023, the AMCU returned CRH’s application for concentration without consideration due to non-compliance with the requirements, and also noted that the group occupies about one-third of the Ukrainian cement market. In October of the same year, the agency reopened the case.
CRH has been operating in Ukraine since 1999. Since November 2021, its cement enterprises in Ukraine have been operating under the Cemark brand: Podolsk Cement JSC (Khmelnytskyi oblast), Cement LLC (Odessa) and Mykolaivcement PJSC (Lviv oblast).
A separate business area of CRH in Ukraine is production concrete and reinforced concrete products. PoliBeton Energo’s Bila Tserkva Reinforced Concrete Plant is a specialized enterprise that produces supports for power transmission lines. PoliBeton’s concrete unit in the north of Odessa joined CRH in 2020.
CRH is a leading manufacturer of construction materials in the world. The company employs about 71,000 people at its 3,200 plants in 28 countries. It is the largest producer of building materials in North America and Europe. The company is also present in Asia. American depositary shares of CRH are listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
