Head of the State Customs Service Pavlo Riabikin considers the idea of transferring the function of foreign exchange control of the customs processing regime to be unrealistic. However, he admits the possibility of expanding the amount of information that the customs office transfers to the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU).
“Now in certain circles they are discussing the possibility of transferring the function of FX control of the customs processing regime to the State Customs Service. But this idea seems unrealistic to me, since this is not part of the customs function,” Riabikin said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
The authority does not have either the appropriate specialists or technical capabilities, he added.
“But to improve interaction with the National Bank and help the regulator in FX control, in my opinion, it would be possible to consider expanding the volume of information that is transmitted from us to the National Bank,” Riabikin said.
In Ukraine, in September 2018, amendments to the Customs Code were adopted, which provided for the possibility of placing goods under the customs processing regime, regardless of the type of contract and forms of payment. This is a favorable regime for external investors, which allows importing raw materials into the country without paying taxes, producing finished products and selling them for export.
“Today, 355 enterprises process imported raw materials in this mode on the customs territory of Ukraine,” Riabikin said.
“Let me remind you: in Ukraine, the subjects of FX supervision are the National Bank and the tax service. Customs in this story performs a semi-technical function. We participate in FX control only in transferring information from customs declarations to the National Bank in accordance with a special instruction from the regulator,” he said.
At the same time, the volume of transmitted information is limited. Information in four of the 54 columns that appear in the document is given, the head of the service said.
The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) will consider the application of French-based Total Eren S.A. (a subsidiary of Total) for the acquisition of more than 50% in six solar power plant operators (SPP).
According to the draft decision published on the AMCU website, Total Eren wants to gain control over Lviv-based Energy Space LLC (5.94 MW and 5.797 MW), Ternovytsia Solar LLC (13.023 MW and 15.537 MW), Ternovytsia Solar Plus LLC (12.832 MW and 15.537 MW), Sunlight Generation LLC (5.94 MW and 5.797 MW), Energopostach-Plus LLC (5.94 MW and 5.797 MW) and Lightful LLC (5.94 MW and 5.797 MW).
The main beneficiary of Energy Space and Ternovytsia Solar Plus is Kseniya Trofymenko (a daughter of the founder of NEST developer, the co-owner of the Multiplex cinema chain and ex-investor in Trade Commodity, Volodymyr Trofymenko), Ternovytsia Solar, Sunlight Generation Energopostach-Plus and Lightful – director general of TKS development holding Ivan Torsky.
Total Eren, together with the Norwegian company NBT, is building a large wind farm in Kherson region (Sivashenergoprom LLC).
Cypriot Dealbeta Investments Limited, created by Emerging Europe Growth Fund III (EEGF III) private equity fund managed by Horizon Capital, intends to gain control over the Cypriot company Avroretail Investments Limited, the owner of the Avrora social store network.
According to the website of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU), the relevant issue was included in the agenda of the commission’s meeting on June 24.
According to the report, Dealbeta Investments has already entered into a shareholder agreement with the citizens of Ukraine and Avroretail Investments, which contains provisions on concerted actions and restrictive obligations for a period of five years.
According to the state register, Avroretail Investments, registered in March of this year, in April became the owner of Prior Investments LLC (Scherbany village, Poltava region) with Seven A LLC (Poltava) instead of the co-owner of the Avrora chain, Poltava businessman Lev Zhidenko, and Vyhidna Pokupka LLC (Poltava) instead of Zhidenko (who owned 33.74%), Taras Panasenko (56.75%) and Lesia Klymenko (9.49%). Promyslova 9 LLC (Vinnytsia), which belonged to Zhidenko and Panasenko on a parity basis, was also registered for Avroretail.
Vyhidna Pokupka LLC (until May of this year – Lafesta) last year increased its revenue 2.4 times, to UAH 1.011 billion, and net profit – 2.2 times, to UAH 55.9 million.
According to the information on the website of the Avrora chain, its stores operate in almost all regions of Ukraine in the One Dollar Store format.
The government is exploring the possibility of strengthening control over visitors from the UK, India, Russia and Portugal to prevent the circulation of the “Delta” (Indian) strain of coronavirus (COVID-19), Health Minister Viktor Liashko said.
“At the Cabinet of Ministers we considered the possibility of strengthening control over people who come from four countries, Great Britain, India, Russia and Portugal, where the greatest circulation of the so-called Delta virus,” he said at a press conference in Kyiv on Wednesday.
As noted by Liashko, the peculiarity of the Delta strain is that it is transmitted faster and leads to hospitalization faster.
“This leads to the fact that hospitals fill up rather quickly, in particular, we see this in Russia,” he said.
The powers of architectural and construction control will be transferred to local authorities by the end of 2021, Minister of Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine Oleksiy Chernyshov has told Interfax-Ukraine.
“My mission as minister of communities and territories development is to transfer powers to the communities. The deadline will be determined by law [on the reform of the system of architectural and construction control]. The beginning of a new budget year would be perfect so that communities have the opportunity to prepare for the high-quality performance of their powers,” Chernyshov said.
The Ministry of Health has developed and is preparing for implementation the National Cancer Control Strategy until 2030, Health Minister Maksym Stepanov said during a press briefing in Kyiv on Wednesday.
“The Ministry of Health in 2020 has developed a National Cancer Control Strategy until 2030, the implementation of which will start in the near future,” he said.
The minister said that it is planned to expand the list of services for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer under the medical guarantees program.
“In 2020, 118 medical institutions provided services for the diagnosis of oncological diseases. In 2021, we will expand the list of such services as much as possible,” Stepanov said.
