ADOPTED LAWS

According to the database of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, no new laws were adopted last week.

REGISTERED DRAFT LAWS

No. 14270 of 02.12.2025

Draft Law on Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine Regarding the Improvement of Legislation in the Field of Foreign Economic Activity and Ensuring the Protection of the National Producer
Key points: The purpose of the Draft Law is to vest the Authorized Body with the competence to conduct anti-dumping, anti-subsidy and safeguard investigations, to review the respective protective measures, to represent the rights and interests of Ukraine during dispute settlement within the WTO framework, as well as other powers related to state regulation of foreign economic activity in Ukraine.

No. 14271 of 03.12.2025

Draft Law on Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine Regarding the Implementation of European Union Legislation in the Field of Renewable Energy Sources

Key points: The draft act provides for the implementation of the provisions of the European Union legislation in the field of renewable energy sources, in particular regarding: harmonization of national terminology in the field of renewable energy with the terminology of the acquis communautaire of the European Union; defining the specifics of calculating the indicator of gross final energy consumption from renewable energy sources and forming the national target indicator; defining renewable energy communities and their specifics; defining the mechanism for performing statistical transfers with the member states (parties) of the European Union or the Energy Community, as well as implementing joint projects and introducing joint support schemes; defining the specifics of forming special zones for the development of renewable energy, energy storage installations and grid infrastructure; introducing the basic principles of permitting procedures for investments in renewable energy; introducing sustainability and greenhouse gas emission reduction criteria for biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels, and their compliance; defining the necessary secondary legislation that must be developed at the level of subordinate regulatory legal acts after the adoption of the draft act, for further implementation of the acquis communautaire of the European Union, in particular the provisions of Directive (EU) 2018/2001 and the relevant delegated and implementing regulations, as set out in the Annex to this explanatory note.

Judicial Practice (Key Cases of the Week)

1. Supreme Court (Commercial Cassation Court), Decision of 02 December2025 in Case No. 906/991/25

Issue:
To secure a claim by imposing a prohibition on the disposal of property, it is not necessary to prove that the defendant has performed or is preparing to perform specific actions aimed at disposing of this property.

Outcome:
4.26. Based on the circumstances established by the courts and considering the nature of the claims in this case, it is evident that the subject matter of the dispute is the recognition of a sale and purchase agreement as invalid, the cancellation of the decision on state registration of a property right, and the termination of the ownership right to the disputed real estate.

Such a method of protection, by its legal nature, is aimed at changing the ownership of the disputed property and making changes to the entries in the State Register of Property Rights to Real Estate, which, in turn, objectively necessitates preserving the unchanged legal and factual status of this property at the time of consideration of the dispute on the merits.

At the same time, the mere unrestricted ability of Defendant 2 to dispose of the disputed real estate (in particular, to alienate it, encumber it, transfer it as security, etc.) creates a real – and not merely hypothetical – threat of complicating or rendering impossible the enforcement of a potential court decision in the event the claim is satisfied, since subsequent changes of ownership or the legal regime of the property may hinder the implementation of the consequences of satisfying the claim in this case.
Taking into account the totality of the above circumstances, the Court finds the existence of a direct link between the subject of the stated claims and the plaintiff’s chosen measure of securing the claim in the form of imposing an attachment (arrest) on this property, which is aimed precisely at preserving its legal status and factual condition until the dispute is resolved on the merits and ensures the real effectiveness of potential judicial protection.

4.27. At the same time, based on the established circumstances, the principle of balanced interests of the parties and the proportionality of the measure of securing the claim to the stated demands has been respected in this case.

The Court takes into account that the attachment of the disputed real estate does not change the actual regime of its possession and use: the property remains in the actual possession of LLC “Bureviy Development”, is not withdrawn from economic circulation in terms of its use, and only the possibility of disposing of it (alienation, encumbrance, etc.) is restricted for the period of the court proceedings. Such interference with the property sphere of Defendant 2 is the minimum necessary and objectively justified to enable enforcement of the court decision in case of satisfaction of the claim.
Therefore, the chosen measure of securing the claim does not lead to an unjustified or excessive restriction of the rights of LLC “Bureviy Development”, while ensuring the real possibility of enforcing the court decision if the claim is upheld, and preventing potential difficulties in its enforcement or the risk of non-enforcement of the commercial court decision in the absence of such measures.

Why it matters:

This decision establishes criteria for selecting measures to secure a claim, as well as the subject of proof in an application for such security. It should be noted that Ukrainian courts apply measures to secure claims with extreme caution, as this legal instrument in Ukraine has been compromised due to its excessive use in corporate raiding schemes.

Business & Market Legal Developments

One of the most discussed topics in Ukrainian business today is the statement of the Director of the IMF Communications Department, Julie Kozack, who noted that the IMF Executive Board will decide on a new program for Ukraine only after the authorities fulfill the prerequisites, namely “all specified prior actions and financing assurances.”

The list of prerequisites includes, in particular, the expansion of the tax base covering income from online operations, the elimination of customs loopholes for the import of consumer goods, the abolition of exemptions for VAT registration, the introduction of countermeasures against the informal economy, “in particular by eliminating loopholes in the current Labour Code.”

What this is about:

First, the Ukrainian authorities allegedly undertook to introduce at the legislative level an obligation for a large category of individual entrepreneurs working under the so-called “simplified taxation, accounting and reporting system” to register as VAT payers and pay this tax.

This information caused a strong public reaction, as for many entrepreneurs this would mean the inability to compete and force them to close their businesses. The issue is not even the automatic increase in the cost of their goods and services by 20% (the current VAT rate in Ukraine). Entrepreneurs claim that they will not be able to organize tax accounting and VAT reporting. Ukraine has introduced and applies an extremely complex VAT accounting system, which requires the preparation of a separate document – a “tax invoice”, in addition to other primary documents. These tax invoices must be registered in special registers. This requires a very large amount of time and specialized knowledge. As a result, entrepreneurs will be forced to hire highly qualified accountants. This will put small businesses at a disadvantage compared to large businesses. The cost of accounting services in large-scale production is spread across many goods and services and will not significantly increase their price. As for small businesses, this will significantly affect the cost of their goods and services. Furthermore, as entrepreneurs note, the tax invoice registration system is highly corrupt and has significant shortcomings. Working with it is extremely difficult. Therefore, many small entrepreneurs have already stated that if these changes are implemented, they will close their official businesses.

The situation is so high-profile that the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine was forced to issue a special clarification dated 05.12.2025, which stated the following:

“The Ministry of Finance is open to the process of developing a comprehensive solution regarding changes in the VAT taxation approach for individual entrepreneurs working under the simplified taxation system, consulting with business, sectoral associations, expert communities and other stakeholders. The proposed approaches should ensure conditions under which entrepreneurs work under equal rules for all, and those who use the simplified system for aggressive tax optimization, business splitting, ‘grey imports’, smuggling, etc., do not receive unjustified advantages.

The introduction of changes is planned no earlier than 2027, which provides sufficient time for finalizing the changes, developing solutions to simplify administration and reporting, public discussion, and preparation of businesses.

This is not about the automatic cancellation of VAT registration exemptions, but about forming a balanced approach that simultaneously strengthens the fight against shadow schemes and protects honest small businesses.
The Ministry of Finance emphasizes: the purpose of such a comprehensive solution is to unite business, individual entrepreneurs (FOPs), analytical centers and society around a common goal: to dismantle shadow schemes, strengthen the fairness of the tax system and, as a result, ensure stable resources for defense and recovery, without shifting the main burden onto consumers and honest small entrepreneurs.”
We will continue to monitor the situation.

Second, the Ukrainian authorities allegedly undertook to introduce at the legislative level criteria for distinguishing labor relations, to prevent large companies from hiring individuals as entrepreneurs (which reduces taxes and social contributions) instead of hiring them as employees.

It should be noted that this issue is not new. Previously, the criteria for determining labor relations were set by letters of the State Tax Service. Currently, these letters are not binding.

There are no such criteria at the legislative level. At present, a draft law No. 13507 dated 18.07.2025 has been registered in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the purpose and objective of which is to minimize discretion by public authorities – by legislatively defining the criteria for the existence of labor relations and establishing an obligation for supervisory authorities and all legal subjects to apply to the court for reclassification of relations into labor relations.

Thus, it is proposed to supplement the Labour Code with a new Article 3-1 “Indicators of the Existence of Labor Relations”.

It will specify that work/services may be recognized by the court as performed/provided within labor relations regardless of the name and type of contractual relations between an individual / individual entrepreneur and a legal entity / individual entrepreneur, if seven or more of the following indicators of labor relations are established simultaneously:

1. personal performance of work / provision of services by the person according to a specific qualification, profession, position, without the ability to delegate this work/provision of services to third persons or hire workers;
2. performance of work / provision of services under the direct instruction and under unrestricted-form and time control by the person for whose benefit the work/services are performed;
3. establishment by the person for whose benefit the work/services are performed of working hours, rest time, work schedule, job descriptions, other internal labor rules and subordination, together with the obligation of the performer/provider to comply with orders within their professional duties;
4. the performer/provider is integrated into the production process and the internal hierarchy (has subordinates, business contacts and/or means of communication, voting rights at staff meetings, represents the organization in external relations, etc.);
5. systematic (with predetermined frequency for an indefinite term or with renewal) payment of remuneration to the person performing the work/providing the services in monetary and/or in-kind form regardless of the result, which constitutes at least 80% of their total aggregate income over a 24-month period, if such payments are received from one person for whose benefit the work/services are performed;
6. direct targeted compensation by the person for whose benefit the work/services are performed of production expenses of the performer/provider;
7. de facto receipt by the person performing the work/providing the services of paid leave and other social guarantees and compensations provided for by the Labour Code;
8. organization of working conditions, in particular providing production means (equipment, tools, materials, raw materials, etc.) solely by the person for whose benefit the work/services are performed;
9. financing of the performer’s/provider’s training at the expense of the person for whose benefit the work/services are performed.

These provisions will enter into force six months after the publication of the proposed legislative amendments.
We will continue to monitor the situation.

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Valentyn Spasybo. Legal Analyst
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/valentyn-spasybo-32540023b/
Email: vspasybo@gmail.com