Ukrainian automakers hope to avoid paying environmental tax

Ukrainian automakers consider premature the entry into force on September 1, 2013 of the law that foresees the collection of the environmental tax on the sale of vehicles, but hope to fulfill their obligations on the creation of vehicle recycling centers that will help avoid paying this tax.

Representatives of automakers said this in comments to Ukrinform.

"It was initially planned that the law will be adopted in March and come into effect on September 1, that is [recycling centers] could have been created within six months. However, given that the law was adopted on July 4 and signed at the end of that month and ministries and agencies were given three months to bring regulations into compliance with the law... it would be logical that this law came into force after regulations are brought into conformity with the law. The entry into force of the law obliges you to perform tasks and make payments, but you cannot do that, because there is no mechanism for the enforcement of orders," Director General of PJSC Bogdan Motors Corporation Vitaliy Starosud said.

According to representatives of domestic automakers, the work on the creation of vehicle recycling centers is continuing and could be completed by September 1, but their activity has not yet been regulated by respective legislation.

"We have time to create such centers. However, these centers should not just be created. These centers should be included in the register of the Environment Ministry. If the regulations of the Environment Ministry, which foresee the mechanism of their certification, are published and come into force on August 20-22, then we will have time [to create the centers]," a member of the board of Kremenchuk Car Assembly Plant (part of the AIS Corporation), Ihor Tovkun, said.

"We theoretically realize what a list of requirements could be like, and we are preparing for this. We simply realize that when a document is published, then we'll see some additional requirements and fulfill them quickly," Starosud said.

He said that the work on the creation of recycling centers was being conducted simultaneously with the preparation of documents that will give Ukrainian producers the right to be exempted from the payment of environmental tax.

"Respective requirements to these clauses are currently envisaged in the law, and according to the law, we will create these centers. The only thing is that 20 days are give in the law for consideration and decision on the inclusion [in the list of companies exempted from environmental tax] or refusal of registration, but we don't have these days. We will sell the vehicles manufactured by September 1. And in September we will produce vehicles and sell them in October under the new rules," Starosud said.

As reported, the law on the recycling of decommissioned vehicles, which was adopted by the Verkhovna Rada on July 4, 2013, foresees the exemption of car assembly plants located in Ukraine from the payment of the environmental tax if they build recycling centers at their production facilities.