Ukraine's parliament adopts laws to fight bribery and meet OECD standards for accession

The Ukrainian parliament has approved key legislation to combat foreign bribery, meeting OECD standards and paving the way for the country's membership in the organization, according to a statement from the Ministry of Finance.

The bills, №10319 and the accompanying №11443, were passed in the second reading and are crucial for Ukraine's accession to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The legislation amends Ukraine's Tax Code in line with OECD recommendations and establishes international standards for combating bribery and corruption of officials, explained Danil Getmantsev, the head of the parliamentary committee on taxes and finance.

The bills needed to be passed in December before the next stage of negotiations for Ukraine's OECD membership, said Yaroslav Zheleznyak, the deputy head of the tax committee.

Key provisions of the legislation:

• Introduction of a ban on deducting expenses related to providing improper advantages to officials from taxation
• Expansion of the control authority's functions to allow the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and taxpayers to report detected facts that may indicate the provision of improper advantages. Both the State Tax Service and taxpayers will be guided by a list of such circumstances (facts) formulated and approved by NABU in agreement with the Ministry of Finance
• Granting taxpayers the ability to independently adjust their tax obligations if improper advantages were indeed provided
• Conducting documentary unscheduled inspections of taxpayers convicted of providing improper advantages to officials
• Increasing the taxpayer's financial result by the amount of expenses determined by law to have been made for the purpose of providing improper advantages.

During the preparation of the bill for the second reading, comments and proposals from OECD experts were considered. These experts will assess Ukraine's readiness to join the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions.

The law will come into force three months after its publication.

Ukraine submitted its application to join the OECD on July 5, 2022.

On July 7, 2023, the OECD launched a four-year program for Ukraine as part of the initial dialogue on accession.

On November 11, 2024, Ukraine joined the OECD's Committee on Agriculture and Fisheries and two of its subsidiary bodies.