The Cabinet of Ministers is pressing ahead with its deregulation reform. At a meeting on 8 April, the Government adopted a series of decisions, abolishing over 200 instruments of state regulation.

“Business deregulation is a key focus of our economic policy. Today, the Government has abolished more than 200 instruments at once – permits, certificates, approvals, passports, and the like – which had become outdated and were burdening businesses. This accounts for nearly 45% of the total instruments proposed for abolition by the Interagency Working Group on Deregulation following its review of the regulatory landscape,” said Yuliia Svyrydenko, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy.

In particular, the Cabinet of Ministers backed a draft resolution developed by the Ministry of Economy, declaring 43 regulatory acts and specific provisions in 30 other decisions obsolete. This resolution eliminates 182 state regulatory instruments:

• 150 instruments in the field of healthcare and sanitary control, most of which related to the State Sanitary and Epidemiological Service.
• 17 instruments in the agro-industrial sector.
• 15 instruments across occupational safety, trade, construction, fire safety, and foreign economic activity.

According to estimates by experts involved in the reform, this is expected to yield an economic benefit exceeding UAH 600 million.

The decision abolishes instruments such as:

• Permits from state sanitary-epidemiological authorities for selling products outside designated premises (enterprises).
• Sanitary passports for vehicles.
• Certificates assessing the feasibility of constructing health resorts.
• Approvals for importing poultry products into Ukraine.
• Permits for producing new ranges or types of perfumery and cosmetic industry products.
• Approvals for repurposing enterprise projects.
• Permits for commissioning newly built or existing hairdressing salons following repairs or reconstruction work.

Also scrapped are outdated and highly specific instruments, including:

• Approvals for using stove heating in computer gaming venues located in rural areas with up to 10 gaming stations.
• Attestation-expert certificates confirming an individual’s healing abilities.
• Permits for holidaymakers to enter health resorts.
• Agreements on the frequency and location of water quality sampling for swimming pools on sea and river vessels.
• Approvals for the duration of breaks during outdoor port work in cold weather, among others.

Additionally, the Government endorsed five more regulatory acts drafted by other central executive bodies. These decisions collectively abolish a further 21 instruments in areas such as healthcare, the environment, the agro-industrial complex, and space.

Since its inception, the Interagency Working Group on Deregulation has reviewed 1,323 regulatory instruments affecting businesses. Of these, 584 were recommended for simplification and 456 for abolition. To date, including today’s Government decision, 352 instruments have been abolished.

Background

Ukraine is undergoing a reform to deregulate entrepreneurial activities. To streamline business conditions, the Government established the Interagency Working Group on the Accelerated Review of State Regulatory Instruments for Economic Activity  in January 2023. The group is co-chaired by First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Yuliia Svyrydenko and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov.

The working group includes representatives from the Ministries of Economy, Digital Transformation, Environmental Protection and Natural Resources, Justice, Finance, and the State Regulatory Service. Experts from the Better Regulation Delivery Office (BRDO), the Centre for Economic Recovery, the Centre for Economic Strategy, EasyBusiness, and the EU4Business: SME Policies and Institutions Support (SMEPIS) project – implemented by Ecorys in consortium with GIZ, BRDO, and Civitta with financial support from the European Union – have also contributed to the Group’s efforts.