The law on the principles of the functioning of the natural gas market, which comes into effect from October 1, 2015, should be complemented by new legislation on royalty payments, Finance Minister Natalie Jaresko has said.

"We plan by July 1 to submit the bill to the parliament to implement it from October 1 together with the law on the gas market, which changes approaches and demands that the new royalty system be introduced on the same day," she told Interfax-Ukraine.

Jaresko said the government had initially planned to introduce a new royalty law on January 1, 2016.

As reported, the Verkhovna Rada adopted the law on the gas market on April 9, 2015. The main purpose of the law is to create an effective competitive environment in the natural gas market, taking into account the basic requirements of EU legislation. In particular, according to the law, the National Commission for Energy, Housing and Utilities Services Regulation (NCER) from October 1 will cease to set ceiling prices for gas, to which the calculation of royalty payments is currently tied.