Rada's relevant committee removes provision limiting PEP status to three years from parcels bill

The Parliamentary Committee on Finance, Taxation and Customs Policy on Tuesday morning abandoned its previous decision to include in the bill (No. 15112-1) on extending the tax on parcels worth up to EUR 150 a provision limiting the lifetime status of a politically exposed person (PEP) to three years after his/her tenure in office, which was intended to increase support for this document among MPs.

"Following the discussion between the ruling Servant of the People faction and Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Taras Kachka… it turned out that this was a violation of our obligations. This was obvious," wrote First Deputy Committee Chairman Yaroslav Zhelezniak (Holos faction).

According to him, this regulation was replaced by another: "before joining the EU, fines for banks for violations of the PEP were stopped."

"That is, banks won’t be afraid to violate any of the PEP regulations and should become more reasonable in their approach to such individuals. I didn’t vote for the first version, so what’s happening now… Not because of the PEP, but because of the very nature of the parcel law, so good luck," Zhelezniak noted.

Bill No. 15112-1 on the taxation of e-commerce transactions with value added tax (VAT), which provides for the abolition of the VAT exemption for international postal items worth up to EUR 150, provides for the abolition of lifetime status for officials of international structures, limiting it to three years after dismissal.

As reported, the bill introduces a new taxation model for parcels valued at up to EUR 150 purchased through electronic interfaces (platforms), whereby the responsibility for calculating and paying VAT falls directly on the marketplace or its intermediary if the company is non-resident. Marketplaces are exempt from preparing tax invoices and filing returns for such transactions, but are required to maintain detailed records. In cases where the seller is non-resident, the tax amount will be determined in euros or US dollars, and the date of incurrence will be the day the funds are received from the buyer.

For non-commercial shipments between individuals, VAT is exempt for parcels worth up to EUR 45, provided they are free of charge and intended solely for personal or family use.

Bill No. 15112-1 is part of the structural framework of the new program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).