Adopted legislative measures to decrease the impact of COVID-19 on the economy of Ukraine | News Flash

On 17.03.2020 the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted the Act No.530-IX “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine to prevent the Occurrence and Spread of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)”. The law aims to decrease the impact of COVID-19 on the economy of Ukraine by a number of preventive measures.

Implemented measures (during quarantine):

• n employer may instruct an employee to work from home and also provide an employee with unpaid vacation (will not be considered as a part of general available limit)
• the owner or director of the company may change the operating schedule of the company with information of such changes through communication channels
• from the first day of quarantine the terms of applying for administrative services suspend, after termination of quarantine the terms continue
• it is forbidden to carry out planned state supervision/control activities (inspections) in the sphere of business
• the quarantine has been equated to force majeure
• a number of changes were implemented in the Legislative Act about public procurement and taxation of purchases of the goods, works or services necessary to take measures to prevent the occurrence and spread, localization and elimination of outbreaks, epidemics and pandemics of coronavirus disease (COVID-19)

Also, on 17.03.2020 the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted a separate Act No.533-IX “On Amendments to the Tax Code of Ukraine and Other Laws of Ukraine on Support of Taxpayers for the Period of Measures to Prevent the Occurrence and Spread of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)”.

The amendments are the following:

• temporary cancellation of sanctions and penalties for violation of tax legislation from March 1 to May 31, 2020; the exceptions are, in particular, violation of accrual, declaration and payment of VAT, excise and rent tax
• establish a moratorium on documentary and factual tax inspections and insfor the period from March 18 to May 31, 2020, including those inspections that had been started before March 18^th, 2020
• suspension of the limitation period in taxation (1095 days) from March 18 to May 31, 2020
• the deadline of submission of annual declaration of property status and income for 2019 (personal income tax) is postponed by July 1, 2020
• land payment (tax) is not accrued and not paid for the period from March 1 to April 30, 2020;
• private entrepreneurs and self-employed persons are temporarily exempted from payment and accruing of the Unified social duty in respect of amounts payable for themselves from 1 to 31 March and from 1 April to 30 April 2020; penalties for failure to pay the Unified social duty and failure to report are suspended.