Russian-Ukrainian
Legal Group, P.A.
Kiev,
Ukraine; Washington, DC, USA
Chronicle of Recent Developments in
Ukrainian Legislation
JUNE 2003
Banking Criminal Law Intellectual Property International Treaties Labor Law Licensing Money Laundering Registration Taxes Specific Sectors of the
Economy/Miscellaneous |
The “Chronicle
of Recent Developments in Ukrainian Legislation” is a monthly summary of the
most important legislative developments in Ukraine in
the area of business and corporate law, and is prepared, published and
distributed by the Russian-Ukrainian Legal Group as a free service to our
clients. The Chronicle will be
distributed only via e-mail, in English and Russian, by the middle of each
month, and will summarize the legislative developments of the previous
month. The Chronicle is prepared in an
effort to capture news of greatest interest to the widest cross-section of our
firm’s clientele, without restating all legislation published and drowning our
readers in too much information. Due to
the winnowing process necessary when preparing the Chronicle, we cannot and do
not guarantee that it contains a comprehensive list of all Ukrainian
legislation relevant to your business. Finally, please bear in mind that this
summary does not constitute legal advice; it is an informational service
only. Should you wish to receive further
information or actual legal advice, please do not hesitate email us at chronicle@rulg.com.
1) Law of Ukraine No. 914-IV dated 5 June 2003 "On Amending Article 45 of the Law of Ukraine “On Banks and Banking". Each bank must establish an internal audit service, subordinate to the bank’s supervising committee, reporting to it and acting in accordance with regulations passed by the bank’s supervising committee. The Law entered into force on 27 June 2003.
2) Law of Ukraine No. 903-IV dated 5 June
2003 "On Amending the Criminal Procedural Code of Ukraine”. Pretrial discovery of
computer and computer systems crimes is assigned to the investigative agencies of the Security Service of
Ukraine (the “SBU”). The Law entered into force on 27 June 2003.
3) Law of Ukraine No. 850-IV dated 22 May
2003 "On Amending Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine on Legal Protection
of Intellectual Property". The
Law introduces numerous changes to various Codes and Laws of Ukraine in
order to bring Ukrainian laws into compliance with the requirements of the
Uruguay Round of WTO Negotiations. Fines for violations of intellectual
property rights have been increased. Judges are authorized to apply preventive
measures at
the pretrial stage. The definitions of “trademark” and “service mark” have been
changed. New types of activity have been added to the definition of the term
“use of trademark”. The criteria for, and the ways of,
recognizing a mark as “well known in Ukraine” have been defined.
Exceptions to the rules for appealing for the early termination of a trademark
certificate in case of its non-use for three years have been introduced. The
Law entered into force on 25 July 2003.
4)
Law
of Ukraine No. 941-IV dated 5 June 2003 "Оn Amending the Law of
Ukraine "Оn Accession of Ukraine to the Protocol to the Madrid
Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks". Ukraine has opted to
receive a flat fee for every international trademark registration in lieu of a pro
rata annual
payment. The fee is 500 USD for a trademark registration, 500 USD for a ten
year extension, 100 USD for each category under the International
Classification of Goods and Services.
5) Cabinet
of Ministers of Ukraine (“CMU”)
Resolution No. 901
dated 16 June 2003 "On Amending the Regulations on the Procedure for
Payment of Fees for Actions Related to the Protection of Objects of Intellectual
Property". If an applicant is an inventor or an author of an industrial sample or
integrated circuit layout, then
50% of the usual application fee is levied. If an individual, who is neither an
inventor nor an author, becomes one of the applicants, the full fee is levied.
The amount of the application fee has been significantly increased for both
residents and non-residents. The Resolution has already entered into force.
6) CMU Resolution No. 992 dated 27 June 2003 "On the Size of Payments by Manufacturers and Importers of Equipment and
Physical Media, Usable at Home to Reproduce Works and Performances, Recorded as
Phonograms and (or) Videos. "
The Resolution sets out the rates that must be paid to producers of phonograms
and videos and to other persons who have copyrights / neighboring rights for
various types of goods. These fees are defined as percentages of the sales
price for manufacturers of equipment and media, and as percentages of the cost
laid out in the relevant foreign economic contracts for importers. The
Resolution has already entered into force.
7) Law of Ukraine No. 942-IV dated 5 June
2003 "Оn Ratification of the Convention between the Cabinet of
Ministers of Ukraine and the Government of Algeria on Avoiding Double Taxation
of Income and Property and Prevention of Tax Evasion." The Law ratifies the
Convention, signed on 14 December 2002 in the city of Algiers.
8) Law of Ukraine No. 943-IV dated 5 June
2003 "Оn Accession of Ukraine to the Convention Concerning International
Carriage by Rail (COTIF)". Ukraine acceded to the 1980 Convention with two
reservations. According to the first
reservation, Ukraine refuses to arbitrate claims between Ukraine and other
signatory states. Under the second reservation, the Convention shall not apply
to citizens of Ukraine and permanent residents of Ukraine, who are victims of
accidents that took place in Ukraine.
9) Law of Ukraine No. 854-IV dated 22 May
2003 "Оn Amending the Law of Ukraine
"Оn Pension Security".
This Law changes the method of calculating the salaries on which pension
payments are based. A 10% bonus is added for every full year of work put in
after reaching retirement age, up to a maximum of 40% of the pension. The Law
entered into force on 10 June 2003.
10) CMU
Resolution No. 990 dated 27 June 2003 "Оn Amending the List of Licensing Bodies
and the List of Documents, that are Submitted with an Application for a License
for a Separate Type of Economic Activity". The
manufacturing, storage and sale of pedigree (genetic) resources, as well as the
conducting of genetic analyses of the origins of and anomalies found in
animals, are now subject to licensing.
12) Law
of Ukraine No. 755-IV dated 15 May 2003 "Оn the State Registration
of Legal Entities and Individual Entrepreneurs". This law creates a unified national registration system, to
be supervised by the State Committee on Regulatory Policy and Entrepreneurship.
Registration will be carried out by
state registrars subordinate to local executive agencies. The registration
procedure is substantially simplified, as the registrar is required to inform
statistics agencies, the state tax inspectorate, the pension fund and the
social security funds about the registration of an enterprise not later than
one day after registration. The usual registration fee is increased from 7
minimum tax free incomes (“mtfi”)
to 10 mtfi; for individual entrepreneurs it is
increased from 1.5 mtfi to 2 mtfi.
The notion of “expedited registration“ is abolished.
Registration is to be carried out within three days after submission of the
respective documents. Data on legal entities and individual entrepreneurs who
are registered is to be stored in a unified electronic register of
entrepreneurial activity. The Law enters into force on 1 July 2004.
13) Law of Ukraine "Оn
Amending the Law of Ukraine "Оn Value Added Tax" (“VAT”). On 1 January 2004, Ukraine’s VAT rate will drop from 20% to 17%. On 1 January 2005, Ukraine’s
VAT rate will become 15%. Most VAT tax breaks will be abolished and the
taxation base will be expanded. The Law has been passed by the Rada and should
be submitted to the President for signing shortly.
Specific
Sectors of the Economy/Miscellaneous
14) Law of Ukraine No. 855-15 dated 22 May 2003 "Оn Reconstruction and Paid Exploitation of the Kiev-Odessa Motor Road in its Part between Zhaschkov and Chervonoznamenka". The toll for this part of the Kiev-Odessa road will be collected from all motorists that use the road, except for residents of the inhabited localities that the road passes through. The Law entered into force on 24 June 2003.
15) Law of Ukraine No. 898-IV dated 5 June
2003 "Оn Mortgage". The
Law regulates the mortgaging of realty (land, buildings), chattels (aircraft,
sea vessels, inland-waterways vessels, space objects). The Law allows the
mortgaging of agricultural lands and of plots with unfinished constructions, as
well as their sale by auction. The Law will enter into force on 1 January 2004.
16) Law of Ukraine No. 917-IV dated 05 June 2003 "Оn Amending the Civil Procedural Code of Ukraine". Article 31-А "Complaints on Decisions, Activity or Inactivity of State Agencies, Agencies of Local Self Government, Functionaries and Officials" is amended to authorize courts to hear complaints against local self-government agencies. The Law entered into force on 26 June 2003.