Ministry of Economic Development and Trade proposes ten-fold increase in financial collateral of tour operators

The Ministry of Economic Development and Trade has published a draft law, in which it proposes to increase the financial collateral of tour operators by up to 10 times and to introduce fines for the illegal use of categories by hotels. The amount of financial collateral of a tour operator should be:

— at least 5% of the annual sales volume for the previous year, but not less than
EUR 200 thousand for the operator offering outbound tourism services (as compared to EUR 20 thousand set by current legislation);

— at least EUR 100 thousand for tour operators of inbound and domestic tourism (as compared to 10 thousand);

— at least EUR 50 thousand for domestic tourism operators.

At the same time, the financial collateral of a travel agent should be at least 5% of annual sales, and at least EUR 20 thousand.

The amount of collateral for newly-established tour operators is equal to the lower threshold, depending on the type of tourism chosen, or EUR 10 thousand per travel agent.

The Ministry of Economic Development and Trade also proposes to impose fines on violators of tourism legislation.

In particular, for illegal use of categories of tourist infrastructure facilities and failure to ensure arrival and departure of tourists under a contract — 100-500 minimum tax-free incomes of an individual, and following repeated violation during the year — 800-1000 minimum tax-free incomes. The document also stipulates details and conditions related to conclusion of agreements on provision of travel services, defines the concept of “flawless business reputation of the head of the tour operator”.  Moreover, the Draft includes additional standards on the conformity of hotel buildings to state Civil Engineering Standards. Thus, at least 10% of hotel room capacity should be adapted for persons with disabilities and people with limited mobility.

Law On Waste Management registered in Parliament

On 3 July, on which International Plastic Bag-Free Day was marked, a framework law On Waste Management No. 10411 was registered in the Ukrainian Parliament.

The document provides for the introduction of a waste management hierarchy and increased manufacturer responsibility, as well as a significant increase in the sum of fines for violation of waste management rules.

According to the European Business Association, this will help to shift part of the financial burden related to waste disposal from municipalities and citizens to manufacturers, and to reduce public expenditure on waste management. According to the association’s data, only 4% of waste is being sorted, while the rest of it is just taken to disposal sites.

Therefore, it is planned to adopt 9 other sectoral laws related to the waste management industry, and these are currently being worked at by the Ministry of Environmental Protection. For example, the said refer to packaging waste, batteries, hazardous waste, etc.

Ministry of Finance published a new Draft Law On Cashback

Once again, the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine proposes to reimburse buyers the purchase price (so-called “cashback”) if the seller has violated the payment procedure when selling a product or a service worth more than 50 minimum tax-free incomes (UAH 850).

The Draft establishes a fine for the seller in the amount of 200% of the cost of goods sold or services rendered following the first violation, 500% after any subsequent violations. The reimbursement should be paid as part of the sum of fines.  Moreover, the Ministry of Finance proposes to introduce an information system to verify the authenticity of the settlement document received by the buyer, to file a complaint against the seller of goods in the event of violation. Following review of the regulatory document, which is posted on the website along with the Draft, the regulatory authorities conducted 14,780 inspections in 2018 and imposed fines totaling UAH 452.65 million. The average fine came to UAH 30,600.