REUTERS
The draft law was backed by 333 lawmakers.
The Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, has passed a bill to extend the tax relief period and simplify administration for businesses during the lockdown set by the government as part of measures to counter the coronavirus crisis.
The draft law passed its second reading on May 13 after it had been backed by 333 MPs with at least 226 votes required, according to an UNIAN correspondent.
Bill No. 3329-d introduces, among other things, amendments to the Tax Code of Ukraine and other laws to additionally support taxpayers during the quarantine period set to combat the spread of the novel COVID-19 coronavirus.
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First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada's Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy Yaroslav Zhelezniak said his committee recommended that the draft law be adopted as a whole with the required technical and legal changes.
"The bill extends tax and other benefits for Ukrainian businesses ... The businesses are waiting for such legislation because, unfortunately, the quarantine has lasted longer than we planned in the previous versions of the document. So we just have to prolong its effect so that our businesses could at least somehow survive these difficult months," the official said.
According to the explanatory note, the draft law aims to protect both small- and large-sized businesses from the negative consequences of the restrictions.
In particular, the bill provides for the extension of a grace period when fines and penalties for violations of tax legislation are not applicable from March 1 until the last calendar day of the month (inclusive) when the quarantine expires. The document also enacts the prolongation of the moratorium on document audits and physical checks of companies and further exempts individual entrepreneurs and self-employed individuals from paying single social security tax for the period from May 1 to May 31, 2020.
In addition, the document provides for a reduction in the requirements for the minimum size of operating banks' charter capital from UAH 500 million (US$18.7 million) to UAH 200 million (US$7.5 million). The bill also extends until 2024 the law of Ukraine on simplifying capitalization and reorganization procedures for banks, which was to expire on August 1, 2020.
As UNIAN reported earlier, bill No. 3329-d was tabled in parliament on April 30.
Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers in March 2020 introduced a nationwide coronavirus-related quarantine, which will remain in effect at least until May 22. Yet, a number of curbs on businesses and citizens were lifted from May 11. The government also introduced a five-step plan to exit from the coronavirus lockdown.