Information on the COVID-2019 quarantine

An emergency situation due to the coronavirus has been declared in Ukraine. Probably a lot of people still do not have a full understanding of what it is and what restrictions have been imposed for the society and business. We asked S&P Investment Risk Management Agency to explain everything in detail. All the details are below.

1.What does an emergency situation mean?

An emergency is a situation on a separate territory (or economic entity, water body, etc.), characterized by a violation of the population’s normal living conditions.

It can be caused by a catastrophe, accident, fire, natural disaster, epidemic, epizootic (common animal disease), epiphytotic (infectious plant diseases spread in a large area), the use of destruction means or other dangerous events.

As a rule, such circumstances lead to a threat to the population’s life or health, a large number of the dead and injured, significant material loss, and the inability of the population to reside in such a territory or facility (or the implementation of economic activities there).

2. What restrictions are imposed on business ??

• Prohibition of all educational institutions activities, incl. non-state ownership;
• Prohibition of any events involving more than 10 people;
• Prohibition of eating establishments – except for cooking for delivery;
• Prohibition of shopping centers and other entertainment establishments work;
• Prohibition of fitness centers and cultural institutions activity;
• Prohibition of trade and consumer services establishments work;
• Restriction or total prohibition of carriage by route vehicles.
• The Cabinet of Ministers regulates the prices of medicines, socially significant goods.

The prohibition of activity does not apply to:

• catering establishments for targeted delivery – subject to the mandatory use of all personal protective equipment by all employees;
• Work of retail establishments for products, hygiene products, medical equipment and medicines – subject to the mandatory use of personal protective equipment by all employees;
• Banking and insurance activities;
• Activities of gas stations;
• Vehicle maintenance and repair activities;
• Activities of postal facilities;
• Transportation by cars;
• Passenger carriage in shuttle vehicles – limited number of passengers (usually no more than half of the seating capacity);
• Enterprise employees’ transportation by company vehicles – exclusively on routes agreed with the National Police.

Additional prohibitions may be imposed by local governments.

Business support measures:

• Quarantine is attributed to force majeure;
• Simplified procedure for the purchase of medicines and equipment intended to combat COVID-19, the list of which was approved by the CMU;
• Import of the above medicines is not subject to VAT and customs duties;
• Budget managers can provide 100% upfront payment for the supply of goods and services intended to combat COVID-19;
• KSCA gives 50% discount to enterprises for municipal premises rent;
• For violations of tax law committed during the period from March 1 to May 31, 2020, penalties are not applicable except for:
• breach of requirements for long-term life insurance or non-state pension insurance contracts, including supplementary pension insurance;
• alienation of property held in a tax lien without the controlling authority’s consent;
• violation of the rules of accounting, production and circulation of fuel or ethanol in excise warehouses, which are applied on a general basis;
• violation of accrual, declaration and payment of value added tax, excise tax, rent.
• During the period from March 1 to May 31, 2020, taxpayers are not charged a penalty. The accrued but not paid penalties are deductible during this period.
• A moratorium on documentary and actual tax audits for the period from March 18 to May 31, 2020 has been established, except for the case of verification of VAT credit reimbursement in the amount of over UAH 100 000. (Clause 78.1.8 of the Tax Code).
• Scheduled and unscheduled inspections by control bodies have been stopped.
• There is no charge and no payment for land for the period from March 1 to April 30, 2020 (land tax and rent for state and communal property plots) for land owned or used, including on lease, natural or legal persons, and used by them in their business activities.
• FOPs, self-employed persons and farm members are exempted from paying ESAs for the period from 1 to 31 March and from 1 to 30 April 2020 for themselves.
• During the periods from March 1 to March 31 and April 1 to April 30, 2020, payers of a single contribution are not charged a penalty, and accrued penalties for these periods are subject to write off.

Responsibility for non-compliance:

– Administrative. Violation of the rules on quarantine of people, sanitary-hygienic, sanitary-anti-epidemic rules and norms stipulated by the ‘On protection of the population against infectious diseases’ Law of Ukraine, other acts of legislation, as well as decisions of local self-government bodies on combating infectious diseases, –

Will be penalized with a fine:

• for citizens – from 1000 to 2000 non-taxable minimum incomes (17-34 000 UAH)
• officials – from 2000 to 10 000 non-taxable minimum incomes (34-170 000 UAH)

For the qualification of this article of the Code of Administrative Offenses, no consequences are necessary; if such a violation has led to consequences, such as infecting other people or creating a threat of such a contamination, criminal liability is provided.

– Criminal. Violation of the rules and regulations established to prevent and control epidemic and other infectious diseases, as well as mass non-communicable diseases (poisoning), if such actions have caused or knowingly could have caused the spread of these diseases, –

Will be punished by one of the sanctions:

• a fine of 1000 to 3000 non-taxable minimum incomes (17-51 000 UAH);
• arrest for up to six months;
• restriction of freedom for up to three years;
• imprisonment for up to 3 years.
• If this has led to the death of people or other grave consequences – imprisonment from 5 to 8 years.

– Civilian: the person guilty of the above actions shall compensate the damage caused by them by the civil action.