Webinar of the German-Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry "War-driven legislative changes 2022"

Artem Barinov, Legal & Tax Director in SCHNEIDER GROUP, took part in the webinar of the German-Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry "War-driven legislative changes 2022", which took place in early March 2023.

The topic of his presentation was corporate relations during the war, namely, the main legislative changes that took place from February 24, 2022. The first issue was state registration of business entities. In particular, Mr. Barinov spoke about the Cabinet of Ministers’ Resolution No. 209 of March 6, 2022, by which the Cabinet determined the issue of state registration under martial law, as well as about changes that entered into force on September 26, 2022 and which allowed to simplify the process through automation - carrying out registration actions without the participation of the state registrar, in automatic mode using the Unified state web portal of electronic services. He also spoke about the way in which information is provided about changes to information about a legal entity, as well as about the work of the Unified and State Registers from February 24, 2022.

The presentation also raised the topic of mandatory updating of information on the ownership structure and the ultimate beneficial owner (UBO) and what legislative changes took place in this matter in 2022. It is worth noting that on December 29, 2022 changes to the legislation on simplifying the filing procedure of information about the ultimate beneficial owners came into force (possibility of certifying documents using an electronic signature; limiting the validity period of documents; canceling the obligation to periodically confirm information about the UBO; additional fines for legal entities; responsibility for resident participants of a legal entity for refusing to provide information upon request). Mr. Barinov explained in which cases it is necessary to submit information about the ownership structure and the UBO and what possibilities and simplifications currently exist.

The next topic of the presentation was Law of Ukraine No. 2465-IX "On joint-stock companies", which entered into force on January 1, 2023. This Law applies not only to joint-stock companies, but also to limited liability companies. Mr. Barinov spoke about the main amendments to the legislation regarding joint-stock companies, namely: - optimization of the management structure; - reduction of the minimum amount of authorized capital; - introduction of remote general meetings; - emergence of an authorized electronic system; - introduction of the position of corporate secretary, and other innovations.