This page is a running list of key challenges that businesses face in Ukraine and the reforms that are taking place to address them as the country attempts to transfer itself into a civilized place for doing business, protecting the rights of its citizens and businesses, and an attractive place for foreign investments.

Further amendments to Real-Estate Law were passed in October 2016.

On October 6, 2016, Ukrainian Parliament amended the Ukrainian real-estate law with an aim to further strengthen property rights in Ukraine. These amendments are part of the ongoing real-estate reforms in Ukraine that started in 2013 with implementation of a unified system of registration of real-estate property ownership, liens, and other rights in a single publicly accessible register.

Key judicial reforms laws came into effect in September 2016

Poor judicial system is a key problem area for foreign investors who are interested in investing in Ukraine. On September 30, 2016, several laws related to much-anticipated judicial reform came into force. They included:

• Amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine (came into force on the 30th of September, 2016);
• Law of Ukraine “On Judicial System and Status of Judges in Ukraine” (came into force on the 30th of September, 2016);
• Law of Ukraine “On authorities and Persons entitled to Fulfill Court Rulings and Decisions of other Authorities” (came into force on the 5th of October, 2016);
• Law of Ukraine “On Enforcement Proceeding” (came into force on the 5th of October, 2016).

For further details, refer to our blog post Judicial Reform in Ukraine – 2016.

Gradual relaxation of currency control restrictions is taking place

Ukrainian government has started to slowly relax the strict currency control restrictions that were put in place due to political and resulting economic crisis of 2013-2014. The most recent easement of these restrictions took place by National Bank of Ukraine regulation #386 on 14th of September, 2016.

The list of currency control measures is quite long. For an up-to-date list of current measures in place, see our article current currency control regulations in Ukraine.

Timely and corruption-free refund of VAT when due has been a challenging task in Ukraine.

When a business during the course of doing business expects a VAT refund from the government, it becomes a almost an impossible task. Often a significant bribe (often in the order of 50% of the refund amount) is expected in order to obtain the refund. This has been a major frustration for businesses who export from the country.

So what is being done to address this problem?

The government of Ukraine has introduced a System of Electronic Administration of VAT. Although many flaws exist and the policies are still evolving, overall the new system has greatly improved the situation already.

More information about VAT can be found in our guide Value Added Tax (VAT) in Ukraine.

• Business Setup in Ukraine
• Taxation in Ukraine
• Banking in Ukraine

For further information, please contact us.