Ukraine risks not receiving about €3.7 billion under the EUʼs macro-financial assistance program if the Verkhovna Rada does not adopt a draft law on VAT on parcels worth up to €150. This law is one of the conditions for the payment of the second tranche of assistance.
This was stated by European Commission spokesman Balazs Ujvari during a briefing in Brussels, reports a Babel correspondent.
Ujvari said the law needs to be passed so that the EU "can continue payments according to plan".
According to the spokesperson, the European Commission is closely following the discussion of this bill, as it is one of the 12 conditions of the macro-financial assistance program for Ukraine. The EU expects that the second tranche of assistance of about €3.7 billion will be provided in early autumn.
"This is a very important law, as it plays an important role in attracting much-needed revenues to the Ukrainian budget," the European Commission spokesman concluded.
What preceded
On September 1, the Verkhovna Rada for the second time did not support the draft law on VAT on parcels worth up to €150 purchased on foreign marketplaces. Only 194 MPs voted for the relevant decision — 32 votes short, it was said during the plenary session of the Rada.
VAT on parcels up to €150 is one of four tax bills that the IMF requires to be passed in order to extend the loan program for Ukraine. In April, deputies passed one of them, extending the military levy at a rate of 5% for three years after the war. And bill No. 15111-d on taxation of digital platforms — the “OLX tax” — was supported in the first reading.
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