Business is concerned about the suspension of e-bookings and asks to extend existing reservations for the duration of the audit

21/ 10/ 2024

On 20 October, the procedure for electronic reservation of critical company personnel via the Diia portal was abruptly halted. Additionally, according to available information, the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine has suspended the issuance of orders for reservations for companies that applied through the paper-based version of the procedure. Earlier, a government protocol decision was made to conduct an audit of enterprises deemed critical for the economy and essential for the livelihood of the population during the special period and to suspend the issuance of orders granting the status of critical enterprises until at least 15 November this year. Businesses are extremely concerned about the current state of affairs, particularly the lack of official communication from the authorities. At present, businesses, which are the primary source of defence funding for the state, are unclear about how the reservation procedure will be conducted and how to plan their operational activities going forward. Besides its destructive impact on domestic business, this situation sends negative signals to our international partners, investors, and clients. The sudden increase in taxes on compliant businesses, followed by this pause in staff reservations, undermines the confidence of foreign partners in the ability of Ukrainian businesses to fulfil contract obligations, jeopardising future orders and cooperation. There are also questions regarding the legality of suspending the reservation procedure for the audit, as this is not provided for in the relevant law On Mobilisation Training and Mobilisation or the aforementioned government decision. Within a day, the European Business Association received dozens of appeals from business representatives who are either currently in the process of renewing reservations or were planning to apply for renewals soon. As a possible temporary solution, businesses propose the option of automatically extending the validity of existing reservations in the Oberih register for 60 calendar days for all critical company employees whose reservations are due to expire during the audit period plus three days (since Diia processes applications within 72 hours), i.e., from 17 October to 18 November. The European Business Association also hopes to resume dialogue with the authorities regarding the reservation processes and to have business feedback considered when making such important decisions.

Earlier, a government protocol decision was made to conduct an audit of enterprises deemed critical for the economy and essential for the livelihood of the population during the special period and to suspend the issuance of orders granting the status of critical enterprises until at least 15 November this year.

Businesses are extremely concerned about the current state of affairs, particularly the lack of official communication from the authorities. At present, businesses, which are the primary source of defence funding for the state, are unclear about how the reservation procedure will be conducted and how to plan their operational activities going forward. Besides its destructive impact on domestic business, this situation sends negative signals to our international partners, investors, and clients. The sudden increase in taxes on compliant businesses, followed by this “pause” in staff reservations, undermines the confidence of foreign partners in the ability of Ukrainian businesses to fulfil contract obligations, jeopardising future orders and cooperation.

There are also questions regarding the legality of suspending the reservation procedure for the audit, as this is not provided for in the relevant law “On Mobilisation Training and Mobilisation” or the aforementioned government decision.

Within a day, the European Business Association received dozens of appeals from business representatives who are either currently in the process of renewing reservations or were planning to apply for renewals soon.

As a possible temporary solution, businesses propose the option of automatically extending the validity of existing reservations in the “Oberih” register for 60 calendar days for all critical company employees whose reservations are due to expire during the audit period plus three days (since Diia processes applications within 72 hours), i.e., from 17 October to 18 November.

The European Business Association also hopes to resume dialogue with the authorities regarding the reservation processes and to have business feedback considered when making such important decisions.