The Government will amend the Procedure for Issuing Conclusions on Extension of Deadlines for Foreign Economic Activity - Settlements

The Ministry of Economy has published on its website the Draft Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers "On Amendments to the Procedure for Issuing Conclusions on Extension of Settlement Deadlines for Certain Transactions for Export and Import of Goods Established by the National Bank of Ukraine" (hereinafter - the Draft Resolution).

The draft resolution was developed by the Ministry of Economy to improve the legal regulation of relations in the field of issuing a conclusion on the extension of the deadlines for settlements under certain export and import operations established by the National Bank of Ukraine and to bring it in line with the legislation on administrative procedure.

On February 7, 2019, the Law of Ukraine "On Currency and Currency Transactions" (the "Currency Law") came into force.

Article 13 of the Currency Law authorizes the NBU to establish safeguards in the form of deadlines for settlement of transactions for the export and import of goods, exceptions and specifics of their implementation for certain goods and sectors of the economy, as well as minimum thresholds for transactions for the export and import of goods that are not subject to the established deadlines.

Pursuant to Article 13 of the Currency Law, for certain export and import transactions, the settlement deadlines set by the NBU may be extended by the central executive body responsible for formulating and implementing state policy in the field of economic development by issuing a conclusion.

At the same time, part 4 of Article 13 of the Currency Law provides that the procedure for issuing a conclusion, including the list of documents to be submitted for issuing a conclusion, the grounds for refusing to issue a conclusion or leaving documents without consideration, including the list of goods for which documents for issuing a conclusion are subject to leaving without consideration, is established by the Cabinet of Ministers.

The Procedure for Issuing an Opinion on Extension of Settlement Deadlines for Certain Export and Import Operations Set by the National Bank (the "Procedure"), approved by CMU Resolution No. 104 dated 13.02.2019, defines the mechanism for issuing opinions, the list of documents to be submitted for issuing an opinion, the grounds for refusing to issue an opinion or leaving documents without consideration, and the list of goods for which documents for issuing an opinion are left without consideration.

The Ministry of Economy issued the conclusion in accordance with the provisions of Article 13 of the Currency Law and the Procedure, taking into account the requirements of the Law of Ukraine "On Administrative Services".

On December 15, 2023, the Law of Ukraine "On Administrative Procedure" came into force, which approximates Ukrainian legislation to the standards of the European Union and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

The Law of Ukraine "On Administrative Procedure" regulates the relations of executive authorities, authorities of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, local self-government bodies, their officials, other entities authorized by law to perform public administration functions, with individuals and legal entities regarding the consideration and resolution of administrative cases in the spirit of a democratic and rule-of-law state as defined by the Constitution of Ukraine and in order to ensure the rule of law and the law, as well as the state's obligation to ensure and protect the rights of individuals and legal entities.

In this regard, the provisions of the Procedure need to be brought in line with the requirements of the Law of Ukraine "On Administrative Procedure" by amending the Procedure accordingly, which will ensure that the provisions of administrative law are strictly observed when issuing a conclusion.

It should also be noted that in the context of the martial law imposed throughout Ukraine in connection with the large-scale armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, in accordance with the Law of Ukraine of 24.02.2022 No. 2102-IX "On Approval of the Decree of the President of Ukraine "On the Introduction of Martial Law in Ukraine", systemic changes have been made to production and logistics links between foreign economic operators, which necessitates improving the mechanism for practical implementation of the Procedure and revising certain of its provisions, in particular, in terms of excluding force majeure as one of the grounds for refusing to issue a conclusion, regulating the procedure for submitting an application for a conclusion and the documents attached to it, etc.

In addition, the provisions of the Procedure also require updating and bringing in line with the current provisions of the Law of Ukraine "On Electronic Documents and Electronic Document Management" and the Law of Ukraine "On Electronic Identification and Electronic Trust Services".

The draft resolution proposes to:

• provide for the possibility of submitting documents for obtaining a conclusion by an authorized representative of the resident;
• clarify the requirements for the execution of documents attached to the application for a conclusion;
• defining cases when the application for a conclusion is not subject to consideration by the Ministry of Economy with the adoption of a relevant decision;
• the possibility of leaving an application for a conclusion without movement in order for the applicant to eliminate the identified deficiencies;
• the procedure for issuing a conclusion in accordance with the requirements of the legislation on electronic document management and electronic trust services;
• exclusion of force majeure as a ground for refusal to issue a conclusion;
• providing for such grounds for refusal to issue a conclusion as the application of special economic and other restrictive measures to foreign economic entities in accordance with the Law of Ukraine "On Sanctions";
• amendments to the conclusion in case of detection of a technical error in it;
• and others.

Please send your suggestions and comments within one month from the date of publication to the following address:

Ministry of Economy of Ukraine:

12/2, Hrushevskoho St., Kyiv, 01008, or to the following e-mail address: [email protected]

State Regulatory Service of Ukraine:

9/11 Arsenalna St., Kyiv, 01011 or by e-mail: [email protected].

Additional materials:

• Draft Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine "On Amendments to the Procedure for Issuing Conclusions on Extension of Deadlines for Settlements for Certain Transactions on Export and Import of Goods Established by the National Bank of Ukraine"
• Amendments to the Procedure for Issuing Conclusions on Extension of Settlement Deadlines for Certain Transactions for Export and Import of Goods Established by the National Bank of Ukraine
• Explanatory Note to the Draft Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine "On Amendments to the Procedure for Issuing Conclusions on Extension of Settlement Deadlines for Certain Export and Import Operations Established by the National Bank of Ukraine"
• Comparative table to the Draft Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine "On Amendments to the Procedure for Issuing Conclusions on Extension of Settlement Deadlines for Certain Operations on Export and Import of Goods Established by the National Bank of Ukraine"
• Regulatory Impact Analysis of the Draft Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine "On Amendments to the Procedure for Issuing Conclusions on Extension of Settlement Deadlines for Certain Export and Import Operations Established by the National Bank of Ukraine"