July 25, 2012

On July 25, 2012, Galina Khmarksaya (senior associate) drafted an article concerning the new property tax law that has entered into force as of July 1, 2012. In the future, apartment owners where residential area is less than 240 square meters or owners of private houses with residential area under 500 sq. meters, will have to pay property tax in the amount of 1% of the minimal salary (currently 1,102 UAH; revised as of January 1 each calendar year) for each sq. meter of such living area.

Moreover, owners of apartments with residential area in excess of 240 sq. meters and private houses with 500 sq. meters or more will now have to pay a tax in the amount of 2.7% of the set minimal salary for each sq. meter of residential area. Failure to pay in a timely fashion will result in fines and late payment fees.

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June 14, 2012

On June 14, 2012, Tatyana Dzyadok (senior associate) authored an article about new liability for company officials under the new Law of Ukraine No. 3454 “On Amendments to CertainLegislative Acts of Ukraine to Increase Liability for Violation of Personal Data Protection Law,” which came into effect on July 1, 2012. The key provision of this law establishes significant administrative liability for company officials in case they fail to register personal data bases with the Ukrainian authorities.

Significantly, the Criminal Code will be also amended to provide for the arrest of any guilty officials for up to six (6) months or even imprisonment for a period of up to three (3) years.

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April 23, 2012

On April 23, 2012, Alex Frishberg published the latest in a series of articles on foreign investment in Ukrainian agricultural sector. In this article, Mr. Frishberg describes the potential risks associated with cancellation of moratorium on alienation of farm land. If the previous drafts of the law “On the Land Market” are of any indication, potential foreign investors will face significant barriers to entering Ukrainian agricultural sector.

In a worst-case scenario, many of the currently valid lease agreements may be terminated for failure to comply with upcoming legislation. This is very disturbing news for foreign-owned Ukrainian companies (that currently lease large parcels of agricultural land) because they may have problems in preserving their current holdings.

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April 20, 2012

On April 20, 2012, the firm’s senior partner, Scott Brown, made a presentation before the Korean Embassy and Korean Business Association about the current investment climate, focusing on potential problems and corresponding solutions for doing business in Ukraine. Mr. Brown also reviewed various options for importers, including agency agreements, opening non-commercial representative offices and limited liability companies. He also summarized import and company tax consequences as well as issues related to labor law and immigration rules.

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