Measure
2.4.4.1.9. Drafting and submitting to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine a draft law proposing to amend legislation with a view to its approximation to the provisions of the OECD Council Recommendation on Tax Measures for Further Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions [C(2009)64)]
Measure status:
Actual execution date:
06.12.2023
The measure is aimed at achieving ESR:
2.4.4.1. Legislation has been amended to introduce incentives for the private sector to improve business integrity
Problem solving:
2.4.4. A high level of tolerance of corruption in the private sector of the economy
Deadlines:
Responsible implementors (authorities):
State Tax Service of Ukraine
Sources of funding:
state budget and/or international technical assistance funds
Volumes of financing (thousand UAH):
within the established budget allocations for the relevant year and/or funds of international technical assistance
Performance indicator:
The draft law has been developed and publicized for a public discussion.
Implementing status
Progress/Result of implementation:
The draft Law of Ukraine “On Amendments to the Tax Code of Ukraine Regarding the Consideration of Provisions of the Recommendations of the Council of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development on Tax Measures for Further Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions” (hereinafter referred to as the draft Law of Ukraine) has been developed and agreed with the interested bodies and submitted for consideration to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (letter of the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine dated December 1, 2023, No. 44030-023/33346). The draft Law of Ukraine was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and registered in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on December 6, 2023, under No. 10319.
In Q4 of 2023 and Q1 of 2024, the National Agency on Corruption Prevention stated the following:
“At the same time, it should be noted that versions of subparas. 78.1.28, para. 78.1 of Article 78 and subparas. 140.2-1.3, para. 140.2 of Article 140 of the Tax Code of Ukraine (hereinafter referred to as the TC of Ukraine) proposed by the draft law provide that the controlling body, in the presence of a court verdict that has come into legal force concerning the criminal liability of the taxpayer or any persons acting on their behalf and/or in their interest for offering or promise of improper benefits to an official of a foreign state, shall conduct an unscheduled inspection, the results of which will lead to an adjustment of the financial result. The National Agency on Corruption Prevention emphasizes that the proper implementation of these provisions is impossible without a clearly defined legislative mechanism for sending such guilty verdicts to the controlling bodies. Currently, neither the TC of Ukraine nor the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine (hereinafter referred to as the CPC of Ukraine) provides an obligation for the court to send a guilty verdict that has come into force by which a taxpayer or any persons acting on their behalf and/or in their interest were found guilty of committing a criminal offense under Article 369 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, concerning an official of a foreign state. Therefore, to properly implement the measure provided in subpara. 2.4.4.1.9 of Annex 2 to the State Anti-Corruption Program for 2023–2025, and to effectively implement the mechanism provided in the draft Law of Ukraine, the CPC of Ukraine should also be amended.” Therefore, in previous reporting quarters, the measure’s partial implementation was noted.
At the same time, the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine reported the following during Q2 of 2024: “The draft Law of Ukraine “On Amendments to the Tax Code of Ukraine Regarding the Consideration of Provisions of the Recommendations of the Council of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development on Tax Measures for Further Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions” (registration No. 10319 of December 6, 2023) was adopted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine as the basis on April 24, 2024.
During the revision of this draft law for the second reading, amendment No. 10, proposed by Member of Parliament Danylo Hetmantsev, was included. It provides for changes to the Tax Code of Ukraine to enable the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine to provide the controlling body with information about a court’s guilty verdict that has come into legal force concerning the criminal liability of a person for offering, promising, or giving an improper benefit to an official of a foreign state, either directly or indirectly (through third parties), regardless of the amount of such a benefit. This amendment was supported on June 26, 2024, at the meeting of the working group on revising the draft law. In this regard, making amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine is deemed unnecessary.”
In view of the above, we state that the measure has been fully implemented, as the amendment proposed by the Member of Parliament provides for a mechanism for sending guilty verdicts to the controlling bodies.