Reservation of employees, deregulation and loans for businesses: Government dedicates meeting to supporting entrepreneurs

During its regular meeting on 8 September, dedicated to supporting entrepreneurship, the Government adopted several measures to enhance business efficiency and foster Ukraine’s economic growth.

“Entrepreneurs are reliable allies, crucial to the country’s economic well-being. We are committed to ensuring honest businesses operate in comfortable conditions with clear rules. To this end, we are continuously reforming legislation and adopting relevant government decisions. Today’s support package simplifies equipment imports for large investors, provides affordable loans for agricultural producers, supports businesses in frontline areas, introduces digital tools for the fisheries sector, and automates procedures for businesses overall,” said Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture Oleksii Sobolev.

The Cabinet of Ministers, in particular:

• Extended the maximum term for preferential lending under the “Affordable Loans 5-7-9%” programme for agricultural producers until 31 March 2027. This will help farmers avoid default on existing loans, ensuring the agricultural sector has financial resources for sowing campaigns amidst war, crop losses, and export restrictions.
• Improved and automated the handling of entrepreneurs’ complaints regarding licensing authorities’ actions, inaction, or decisions. Updates to the Complaint Review Register procedure enable processing through an information-communication system for centralised data collection and handling. Complaint and applicant information submitted electronically will be automatically recorded, significantly speeding up the process. The estimated annual economic impact is UAH 2.8 million.
• Approved the operation, content, and maintenance of the Unified State Electronic Fisheries Management System, eFisheries. This tool will reduce permit issuance times from 30 to 2 days, saving businesses approximately UAH 150 million annually. De-shadowing procedures could generate UAH 15–150 million in annual budget revenue, with curbing illegal fishing potentially increasing gross domestic income by up to UAH 500 million yearly.
• Revised the import procedure for new equipment and components by investors with significant investments for their own use. The changes provide more flexible timelines for finalising equipment lists, aligning pricing with actual contract values, and eliminate the requirement to specify the country of origin, which previously complicated customs clearance and required contract amendments if manufacturers changed.
• Enabled reservation of all employees at critical enterprises operating in active or former combat zones and those in the defence-industrial complex. This will help businesses supporting regional operations and frontline areas retain staff, with an estimated economic impact (preserved GDP and tax revenues) of about UAH 2.25 billion annually.

Additionally, the Cabinet of Ministers proposed abolishing the mandatory signing of Certificates of Completed Works for non-cash service payments as proof of service receipt. After completing work, entrepreneurs will issue an invoice and receive non-cash payment from the client as confirmation of service delivery. This is expected to save businesses UAH 20.2 billion annually in document preparation costs.