By KYIV. Nov 21 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Verkhovna Rada supported at the first reading two bills on improving the taxation of foreign economic transactions for the export of agricultural commodities, member of the Holos parliamentary faction Yaroslav Zhelezniak reported on his Telegram channel.
According to the report, the document was supported by 231 MPs out of 253 present in the hall (with the required minimum of 226 votes).
“This bill is aimed at combating “black” grain and non-return of FX earnings,” Zhelezniak said, adding that by the second reading the bill will be significantly improved together with the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food.
As reported, the European Business Association (EBA) on Tuesday called on the government and the Rada not to adopt these bills because they introduce an opaque, complex and manual mechanism for allowing market participants to export agricultural products. In addition, the bills change the procedure for VAT refunds.
Bills No. 10168-3 and No. 10169-3 introduce a system for confirming the origin of agricultural products through the State Agrarian Register, which, according to the business association, needs to be improved.
“The adoption of the above-mentioned draft laws may create corruption risks due to the possible establishment of a manual export regulation regime, significantly complicate the work processes of all involved exporters, lead to delays in the dispatch of ships, and generally threaten the possibility of exporting Ukrainian agricultural products,” the EBA said, adding that the proposed initiatives duplicate a number of provisions of the government’s recently introduced verification system for agricultural exporters.
