On Doing Business during the Period of Martial Law

Agricultural Industry

Given the importance of maintaining the country’s food security, the government has adopted the following measures in the field of agriculture to ensure the 2022 sowing campaign:

1. According to the Order of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, it is allowed not to register agricultural machinery for the period of martial law. This particularly applies to: tractors; self-propelled chassis; self-propelled agricultural, road-building and meliorative machines; other agricultural machines and their components of domestic and foreign production. Once the martial law is over, the owners will be required to register the equipment within 90 days.
2. In accordance with the requirements of the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of March 3, 2022 No. 194, agricultural enterprises and food producers shall submit to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy lists of critical workers who will be granted deferment from conscription during mobilization and wartime.
3. Additional seed certification procedures have been abolished for the period of martial law. Thus, according to Order No. 132 of March 1, 2022, the State Center for Certification and Examination of Agricultural Products must provide:

– the process of uninterrupted sale of seeds and planting material required for sowing, without additional certification procedures;

– recognition of the producer’s certificate for imported seeds without additional procedures.

At the same time, the State Service for Food Safety and Consumer Protection should recognize foreign seed certification and may inspect the phytosanitary status of seeds, but not apply phytosanitary expertise.

Thus, we see that these measures are primarily aimed at conducting the sowing campaign in 2022 aand making life easier for farmers in the field of machinery, labor and means of sowing.

Export Limitations

In accordance with Government Decree No. 207 of March 5, new rules were established for the export of a number of agricultural goods under the martial law.

It is prohibited to export the following goods:

• oats;
• millet;
• buckwheat;
• sugar;
• salt;
• rye;
• cattle and beef.

It is allowed to export the following goods under the specified declarative licensing:

• wheat and wheat-rye mixture (meslin);
• corn;
• meat of domestic chickens;
• eggs of domestic chickens;
• sunflower oil.

To export these goods, one must obtain a permit after submitting the relevant documents (application for a free license in the form approved by the Order of the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine of September 09, 2009 No. 991; letter of application for a license; document confirming delivery) to the Ministry of Economy, which in turn must issue an export license within 24 hours.

Everything else not listed can be exported freely according to standard procedure.

Logistics

Among the measures taken in the field of freight and rail transport, it is necessary highlight the following:

А) The procedure for crossing the state border for drivers aged 18 to 60 has been simplified. This decision applies to both truck drivers and rail transport, which carry out: international freight; transportation for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine; transportation of medical cargo; humanitarian aid cargo. In order to obtain a decision, a carrier must apply to the Ministry of Infrastructure or to the regional and city military administrations.

1. B) It should be noted that currently there are no regulations that change the procedure for freight and rail transport. Considering the fact that the situation with transport infrastructure may be subject to changes, we recommend to follow these tips when planning and implementing transportation:

? Pay attention to curfew, as it is often changed by local authorities;

? Monitor the situation in the transport infrastructure in the country on a daily basis, as reported by the Ministry of Infrastructure, at the following link: https://www.kmu.gov.ua/tag/transport, where  information about the dangers of certain routes, about the work of permitting points for international freight, the ways to simplify border crossings for carriers in certain countries, etc. is posted;

? Follow the following official resources that update on the work of the infrastructure sector:

–  Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine: https://t.me/miUkraune

– Ukrzaliznytsia: https://t.me/UkrzalInfo

– Ukravtodor: https://www.facebook.com/Ukravtodor.Gov.Ua

– State Service of Ukraine for Transport Safety (DSBT): https://www.facebook.com/DSBT.UA