18 December 2015, 14:40
The draft law No. 2275a offers to strengthen the responsibility of business entities providing forwarding services in road transport by amending the laws of Ukraine "On the forwarding activity," "On automobile transport" and the Code of Administrative Offences of Ukraine.
The Committee believes that the draft law creates excessive burdens for business entities, and in addition to hindering from the realization of rights and legitimate interests of business entities, this can create conditions for the emergence of corruption risks.
Creation "on the official website of a list of forwarders providing forwarding services in road transport" (hereinafter the list) in its essence is a hidden licensing of such activity. At that, the mechanism of the creation, support and maintenance of such a list is absent in the draft law.
The mechanism of the inclusion of forwarders into such list is not clearly set and creates potential possibility of emergence of corruptogenic relations, when financial statements or documents of some business entities could be declared as satisfying the necessary conditions, and of others as not satisfying them.
The introduction of a provision stipulating that the main condition of inclusion in the list is the availability of fixed assets not burdened with obligations, fixed and financial assets for the amount of 50,000 non-taxable minimum incomes of citizens (as criteria for the financial statements are not defined in the draft law), may prevent the provision of forwarding services by newly created companies and limit the number of existing ones, artificially preserving on the market only large and old enterprises.
The draft law does not define the deadline for the inclusion of the business entity (even in case of its compliance) into the list. Thus, is not specified the responsibility of officials for the failure to include in the list or to comply with the deadline for the inclusion, which also creates potential conditions for obtainment of improper advantage.
The draft law does not take into account the procedure of withdrawing a forwarding company from the mentioned list or making amendments to it. Considering the above, it is reasonable to reject the draft law.