We want our country to steadily move towards stability and prosperity and every Ukrainian to feel important in this movement. And most importantly, we wish peace and harmony!
Our strength and our victory is in unity!
Happy Day of Unity, Ukrainians!
The three largest operators such as Kyivstar, lifecell and Vodafone Ukraine have submitted a joint statement on redistribution of 900 MHz band and separate applications for license renewal, which will allow reforming for the further LTE-900 implementation, to the NCCIR.
Previously, the 900 MHz band was fragmented and a large proportion of it was concentrated in one of the telecommunications operators, which did not allow to provide next-generation 4G services across Ukraine. Therefore, the joint appeal of operators helps to kick start the LTE-900 implementation throughout Ukraine.
What are the next steps?
A plan of activities approved and regional distribution will make it possible to have quality 4G communication in every settlement with more than 2,000 inhabitants in 2 years. Within another two years, it will be available on all international and national highways.
We look forward to the progress, because it is an opportunity to gain full access to electronic administrative services, education and medicine as well as unlock business potential for citizens of small cities and villages.
It should be noted that the Intertelecom company has submitted the application for early implementation of the new LTE-900 radio technology to the NCCIR even earlier, especially given the fact that the spectrum it uses is not fragmented, so it will be able to start deploying its own LTE-900 network as from April this year.
Let us remind that the need to frequency redistribution was analyzed in detail by the BRDO in the research of the RFR market regulation and the ways to solve this problem were presented and discussed in June last year. Following this, in July, the President signed a Decree “On Some Measures to Improve Mobile Internet Access” approving a plan of measures for the introduction of the third- and fourth-generation mobile communications in the 790-960 MHz band. To implement these measures, a working group consisting of NCCIR and BRDO specialists as well as representatives of leading mobile operators, professional associations and government authorities was established as part of the NCCIR.
We are happy that our joint work is delivering results and we will soon be able to reduce the digital divide in the country!
We are convinced that it is possible to create an effective system of interaction and better environment for business in Ukraine only based on principles of transparency and openness.
We are currently conducting a research on the anti-corruption and economic potential of introducing public electronic services in a number of areas. And we really need your help!
Tell us about any corrupt practices or activities you faced with when receiving one of the following services:
Please send information about such cases at [email protected] till February 15, 2020.
Only by working together we can we overcome corruption and make the country more prosperous!
November 2019 was the starting point for the development of the Interactive Platform for SMEs, and it will be officially launched within a few months thanks to the active cooperation of BRDO, the USAID’s Competitive Economy of Ukraine (CEU) program and EasyBusiness.
In December, with the purpose of better understanding the needs of entrepreneurs when working on the Platform’s functionality and content, the initiators of the Platform development conducted a survey of SME representatives, preliminary results of which indicate the following:
54% of entrepreneurs are most often looking for information on how to prepare for inspections.
83% of respondents search for information about inspections on various online resources: from official websites of regulatory bodies to various forums and profile articles. In addition, the information found is not always accurate and relevant.
58% of respondents are convinced that a significant factor that doesn’t allow businesses to comply with the law and be inspected without violations is the activity of inspectors who try to find out any reasons to record the violations.
At the same time, a third of respondents believe that the biggest problem with inspections is a lack of awareness of own rights and legal remedies among SMEs.
“The vast majority of entrepreneurs do not know where to find complete and relevant information about inspections. Its search is time consuming and does not allow to be adequately prepared for the inspector’s visit. The interactive platform will not only become a resource containing all the necessary information, but will also show entrepreneurs how to protect their rights in case of abuse,” Yana Horiunova, BRDO expert, said.
“In the vast majority of cases, Ukrainian small and medium-sized businesses do not have a large staff of qualified lawyers who would advise how to be properly prepared for scheduled and unscheduled inspections and avoid abuses by government agencies on a regular basis. That is why there is a need for a tool that would provide every entrepreneur with at least basic knowledge of how to prevent the abuse of inspectors,” Kyrylo Kryvolap, EasyBusiness expert, added.
In such a way, soon Ukrainian entrepreneurs will be able to find absolutely all the necessary information about inspections on a single resource as convenient and prompt as possible. Transparency and clarity of state requirements for SMEs will reduce corruption and enhance accountability of inspection bodies.
As a reminder, the plan of comprehensive measures of state control for 2020 can be found on the Inspection Portal by following the link.
You can still participate in the survey here.
For information:
The USAID “Competitive Economy of Ukraine” Program (USAID CEU) supports business startups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in becoming more competitive in the domestic market of Ukraine and international markets, assists in creating a simplified and transparent business climate as well as helps to develop an effective trade policy to enable SMEs to take advantage of international trade.
BRDO is a leading independent expert-analytical center for regulatory policy in Ukraine.
EasyBusiness is an independent analytical center focused on improving the business climate in Ukraine.
It will last for one year, and as early as 2021, the share participation, except for the payment of share participation under the contracts concluded before January 1, 2020, will be completely cancelled. Such contracts are valid and continue to be in effect until they are fully executed.
Instead, in 2020, there will be clear rules to pay for share participation:
Payment will be made in cash. They will be used exclusively to create and develop the transport, utility and social infrastructure of the relevant settlement.
The cancellation of share participation will allow Ukraine to improve its position in the Doing Business rating. This year, Ukraine ranked 20th by the Construction Permits component.
On January 1, 2020, beta testing of PTR software “pRROsto” will be officially launched. This is a freeware solution developed by the State Tax Service together with BRDO and Fintellect to simplify payment procedures for sellers and consumers.
The software solution “pRROsto” will interact with the STS’s fiscal server via the Internet and perform all functions defined for the PTR: forming, signing, sending and issuing cash receipts in the established format, session opening and closing, etc.
The seller will need just to scan a product bar code or enter the data manually and confirm the sale on the smartphone to generate a cash receipt. Next, there will be a fiscal sales receipt number with QR code on the screen. After scanning it, the consumer will receive the cash receipt, which will already be on the tax.gov.ua website, on his/her smartphone.
You can apply for beta testing of the application at https://prrosto.kmu.gov.ua/. The software solution is available for smartphones and tablets running Android and iOS. Applicants will be invited for testing after January 9, 2020.
According to the results of testing and after completion of possible upgrading, the software solution “pRROsto” will be launched on a free basis for conducting business activities.
It is worth noting that the Law No. 1053-1 “On Amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On Application of Payment Transactions Recorders in Trade, Catering and Services” Regarding the Unshadowing of Payments in the Field of Trade and Services” provides for the possibility of using both classical and software PTRs, no restrictions imposed by the state for the PTR software development and the registration of software PTRs through the e-cabinet.
In such a way, the proposed software solution is not exclusive, and the availability of an open publicly available software interface (API) allows software developers to offer alternative solutions to entrepreneurs and apply them for own needs. The service does not require certification, technical expertise and inclusion in the State Register of Models, since it is enough for such an application to fulfill legal requirements, form, sign and register cash receipts in the established format and provide them to consumers and service recipients, including in electronic format.
Ensuring the software development for PTRs and the possibility of its testing is carried out by the STS in accordance with the Decree of the President of Ukraine No.837/2019 of November 8, 2019.
The Head of the BRDO’s Agriculture Sector Andriy Zablotskyi was appointed to the post of the Head of the State Forest Resources Agency of Ukraine by the Order No.1348-r of the Cabinet of Ministers.
A number of comprehensive studies of agricultural markets were conducted under Andriy’s leadership as well as more than 20 legislative initiatives aimed at improving their regulation were drafted and implemented during his work at the BRDO Office.
In particular, the foundations have been laid for systematic changes in the forest industry: electronic accounting of timber and introduction of transparent rules for its sale, combating illegal felling, translating permits into electronic format and creating interactive maps to display forestry activities of enterprises.
We hope that these and other important initiatives needed to upgrade the industry will be implemented!
We congratulate Andriy and wish him success in his new position!
In response to several media reports containing false information regarding the BRDO’s activity, in particular regarding the Electronic Communications Code and the draft law 2320, we emphasize:
The Better Regulation Delivery Office (BRDO) is an independent expert-analytical center that is committed to its principles of integrity, openness and transparency.
The defamation is related to the information that the draft law 2320 provides for the RFR function under the monopoly of a private company.
In fact, the draft law provides for the opposite: this function is envisaged for the UCRF state enterprise (Art.8, p.7.6; Art.45; 47 of the draft Law. “Radio frequency monitoring functions are performed by the National regulator with the involvement of an authorized state-owned enterprise under its management”). In such a way, the supervision function is assigned to the NCCIR, while the monitoring function – to the UCRF. Moreover, the text of the new draft law contains a separate article which lists the UCRF’s powers (Article 49).
The draft law 2320, which is available on the VRU website for everyone, was developed on the basis of the latest EU communications developments, namely the European Electronic Communications Code, and provides for the most balanced position of all parties. After all, a working group consisting of the BRDO Office, UCRF, operators, providers and the regulator worked on it. The draft law doesn’t contain provisions that provides for assigning RFR supervision and monitoring functions to any private company.
The BRDO experts Nadiya Kostryba, Hlib Schegol and Ihor Samokhodsky participated in drafting this law. In addition, the activities with market participants (operators, providers, UCRF, NCCRI and associations) were held within working groups at the BRDO Office. Volodymyr Smolyar, who is mentioned in the media as one of the participants who drafted the law, did not participate in the working group and in the development of the draft law. Moreover, Mr. Smolyar was not a consultant on this draft law outside the working group.
We emphasize: We stand for creating the effective regulation along with a competitive environment in every area of our expertise. For this purpose, we are implementing an inclusive and open process of regulatory relations optimization aimed at strengthening the trust and partnership of the state and business.
We seek honest and open relationships with all stakeholders and the media, so we demand refutation of false information.
The total length of Ukrainian roads is 169.6 thousand kilometers. According to the World Bank Group’s research, more than 90% of them are worn out requiring immediate repair or renewal. At the same time, 39% of roads of national importance do not meet the requirements for durability and 51% – for evenness.
Poorly developed road infrastructure and poor quality of roads in Ukraine are caused by underfunding, poor road operation, ineffective control over the use of funds, low competition in the market and corruption. As a consequence, this situation hinders economic development while creating obstacles to enhancing the country’s competitiveness in the international market.
The government and business representatives discussed the ways of solving the road industry problems during the Roundtable “Road construction and repair: how to solve the age-old Ukrainian problem?” on December 18. The event was organized by the BRDO Office with the support of EU4Business/FORBIZ as part of the #PRODialogue Public Dialogue.
“The worn-out state of Ukrainian roads is too bad, and this hinders the country’s economic development. The situation can be qualitatively improved only by changing approaches to all stages of the work, from planning and to maintenance of roads, completely. It is necessary to introduce medium- and long-term planning of road works, including budget financing, as well as to create the competitive environment for contractors and customers,” the BRDO’s Transport and Infrastructure Sector Head Vladyslav Prytomanov said.
Johannes Baur, Head of Sector for Economic Cooperation, Energy, Environment and Infrastructure at the Delegation of the European Union to Ukraine, agreed with the need to improve road construction standards in Ukraine:
“Harmonization with international quality standards in the industry is critical to creating an efficient European infrastructure network. We already support Ukraine’s efforts in this area, and we have plans to expand our support programs up to 400 million euros in the future”.
BRDO experts conducted a systematic analysis of the road construction and repair market and found that existing regulatory instruments did not meet the goals of state regulation in this area. They relate mainly to construction in general rather than to the construction and reconstruction of roads, including repair works. At the same time, medium, maintenance and patch works, as well as maintenance of roads, which are beyond the control of the state due to the lack of appropriate legal instruments, have been the prevailing types of work in this area over the last 5 years. In general, the regulatory environment of the market consists of 50 legal acts, of which 22% are irrelevant and 6% are illegal. The current strategic documents do not contain clear measurable indicators and mechanisms to monitor the achievement of objectives.
Another problematic aspect of the market is low competition. Thus, more than 50% of the market for road works carried out in accordance with state-financed programs and tendered through PROZORRO are covered by only 5 contractors, one of which is the foreign one. In most regions, no more than 2-3 companies participate in tenders, and in Ivano-Frankivsk, for example, more than 80% of the market is covered by only 1 company. That is, there is almost no real competition.
According to BRDO, the following steps are necessary for systemic changes in the industry:
In addition, BRDO experts estimated that it would be necessary to invest about 5 trillion hryvnias over 10 years in order to bring Ukrainian roads in good condition. Accordingly, the State Road Fund should be increased tenfold compared to 2018. Such investments can be attracted through international financial institutions and public-private partnerships, including concessions, with budget funds allocated for 10-12 years.
These measures will allow to build an extensive system of high-quality surface roads, increase the percentage of road construction, reconstruction and major repairs compared to patch repairs and provide better road preservation as well as higher efficiency and safety of transportation.
The event was attended by Oleksiy Dorohan, BRDO CEO, representatives of the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine, Oleksiy Kubrakov, Head of the State Agency “Ukravtodor”, Artem Hrynenko, President of the All-Ukrainian Road Association, Taras Syrotynsky, President of the National Association of Road Workers of Ukraine, representatives of businesses and the public.
For information:
The Ministry of Economic Development and Trade and the State Regulatory Service with the assistance of the BRDO Office are the initiators of the regulatory reform in Ukraine. The project is supported by the EU as part of the EU4Business/FORBIZ initiative.
BRDO is a leading independent expert-analytical center for regulatory policy in Ukraine.
This story began more than a year ago, when BRDO experts decided to conduct a “transparency experiment” on the State Architecture and Construction Inspection (DABI).
Attempts to submit necessary documents to the regulator became a real challenge for the team, and this agency broke the record for rejection statistics. Finally convinced that the changes would not start without us, we held the first meeting with stakeholders to discuss the idea of creating an e-system in construction on November 15, 2018. As early as November 28, the first version of the relevant law, which was immediately provided to the expert community for consultations, was drafted. What came next was a hard work on the legislative framework along with numerous meetings and approvals.
And finally, the modern system became partially operational! The e-cabinet is available at https://e-dabi.gov.ua/
In particular, it currently allows to:
At the first stage, these services are available for CC1 class objects. According to website statistics, 10 objects have been commissioned and 23 construction permits have been obtained through the system since its launch on Friday!
In the following stages we also plan to introduce:
1) including the information on indicators of construction products, which are put into circulation on the market of Ukraine, in the electronic system;
2) adding the reference information on management companies (housing cooperatives), utility tariffs and utility providers for each apartment building as well as creating a so-called “building profile” that will include all the building’s technical documentation.
We are glad that the positive ideas initiated by the BRDO and required for the construction industry development are being implemented! Stay tuned!
The small and medium-sized businesses are the basis for the economic growth of any country.
In Ukraine, small and medium-sized businesses currently represent 99.98% of all enterprises by number, 82% – by employment and 65% – by sales of goods and services. There is more to come if we provide a more favorable business environment.
During the III National SME Development Forum 2019: #ZROSTAYMORAZOM, European partners, experts and government representatives talked about the instruments to develop entrepreneurial potential and implemented initiatives and plans for 2020.
The BRDO CEO Oleksii Dorogan talked about key regulatory achievements of the BRDO Office for improving the business climate:
As for the future plans, Oleksii emphasized the importance of continuing the dialogue on reducing the tax burden on SMEs. He also stressed the importance of simplifying administration for business.
The BRDO CEO also spoke about the BRDO projects and initiatives that greatly facilitate the life of Ukrainian entrepreneurs today, including #StartBusinessChallenge, Inspection Portal and #PRODialogue, and shared plans to launch an Interactive Platform for SMEs in cooperation with USAID in the near future.
“In total, since the beginning of 2017, the BRDO Office has conducted 45 comprehensive studies in various sectors and markets. And most importantly, we have developed and implemented more than 50 solutions for businesses in active cooperation with the Government in this period! And we will definitely continue to move in this direction.”
Congratulations to our servicemen and servicewomen on the holiday! You are our example of courage, loyalty and strength!
We each have our own weapon such as dignity, responsibility, well-done work and others that we must use every day to fight for independent and prosperous Ukraine.
We thank our defenders – servicemen and servicewomen who are preserving peace for us, and we continue our fight!
On December 4, 2019, the CMU approved a series of decisions for business developed by the BRDO Office with the support of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Agriculture as part of the second ‘deregulation’ meeting of the new Cabinet of Ministers.
As a result of the meeting, 76 obsolete acts were abolished and a number of decisions for of business were adopted as well as updated plans of measures and actions on deregulation of economic activity, improvement of the investment climate and raising of Ukraine’s position in the Doing Business rating were approved. Provided the Plan is implemented, the projected rise in the DB 2021 rating will allow the country to be among the TOP-30 countries. The rise is also projected in terms of each of the rating components over the next few years.
The Government adopted crucial decisions, which have been waiting to be approved for more than 3 years, for the forestry industry. They include the monitoring of internal timber consumption on the basis of a unified state electronic timber accounting (ETA) and the introduction of a pilot project on timber sales through the Prozorro.Sales system. The implementation of these decisions will allow to effectively control the timber origin legality, prevent illegal logging and create conditions to eliminate the illegal market, which is now about 30%. Thus, the state will be able to keep track of timber, while additional revenues to the state budget from the ETA introduction will amount to 150 million hryvnias annually.
In addition, an important initiative is the adoption of the CMU Resolution on launching a pilot project on access of private carriers to the freight rail transportation market. The state monopoly on freight transportation by rail is ineffective to meet the logistical needs of manufacturers. Thus, the entry of private companies into the market will allow to attract additional investments in the industry, increase the average daily movement rate, facilitate the shipment of products and thus, increase production volumes and improve the competitiveness of Ukrainian manufacturers.
Other adopted decisions include:
In addition, as a result of the meeting, the use of single license forms was cancelled, requirements for noise emission of equipment were standardized and the Rules of Retail Trade of Petrol Products were amended, in particular, the obligation to keep a book of comments and suggestions at fuel filling stations was abolished.
The twin requirements for the procedure for determining the cost of services related to the assessment of compliance with standards of technical regulations were abolished, the procedure for withdrawing the national standard status was established and the procedure for purchasing equipment to produce official documents was improved.
In 2018, BRDO conducted a comprehensive research of the oil and gas reserves market. Based on its results, we have developed and submitted a package of proposals to provide equal subsoil access, simplify the procedure for selling permits, ensure obtaining geological information digitally, stimulate production and attract investments in the industry to the Government.
At present, some of these proposals have finally been implemented. In particular, the Government adopted Resolution No.960 providing for the extension of a pilot project on the sale of special permits for subsoil use through electronic auctions for a year. Such a procedure for auctions is more efficient and open to investors and also reduces the likelihood of abuse by unscrupulous participants.
An important innovation of the experiment is the reduction of the initial price for sites to be auctioned again, as well as the introduction of a ‘Dutch auction’ (a step-by-step reduction of the initial price) for the sites that were not purchased twice.
In addition, Resolution No.928 that authorizes the State Service for Geology and Subsoil of Ukraine to directly consider the matters of granting, extension, termination, renewal, renewal and revocation of subsoil use permits was adopted. Earlier, a special commission composed of representatives of the Secretariat of Cabinet of Ministers, ministries and other CEBs was created for this purpose, but this gave rise to collective irresponsibility and corruption. From now on, the Chairman of the State Service for Geology and Subsoil is personally responsible for violation of the procedure of granting special permits.
We strongly support the Government in implementing these changes! However, we emphasize that currently, there is a quite limited number of potential subsoil use sites that can be offered to investors.
The state should make rational use of the resource base to strengthen its energy security, including by increasing production of energy resources. Therefore, it is absolutely necessary to encourage companies that have special permits to use them effectively. Those business entities that are unable to fulfill their commitments to extract resources should be encouraged to refuse special permits they obtained. In such a way, the state will be able to set these sites for auctions to attract efficient investors and ensure more rational subsoil use.
The relevant proposals have already been developed by the BRDO Office and submitted to the authorized government authorities for consideration and revision. We look forward to the further implementation of changes needed to fully reform this sector!
In the Ukrainian construction sector, the “White BIM Black Ear” is when there are modern technologies, but they are not used in Ukraine. But now they will!
A Memorandum on Roadmap for Introduction of BIM-Technologies (Building Information Model) implying an information modeling of construction objects in the Ukrainian market was signed a few days ago.
What benefits will it provide?
The signatories are the BRDO Office, the Ministry of Regional Development, the Confederation of Builders of Ukraine, the USCC and the Interstate Consultants Engineers Guild. By working together, we can implement changes more effectively!
“Everyone will benefit from it. This is cool not only for specific projects in the short term, but also it is cool for every consumer. The future lies in the BIM, and our task is to bring it to the Ukrainian regulatory environment,” Oleksiy Dorohan, Head of the Better Regulation Delivery Office, said.