On November 18, People's Deputy, Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy Aleksandr Dubinskyi sent an official appeal on weekend lockdown to Prime Minister Denis Shmyhal. It was introduced by the government from November 14 to November 30 by Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 1100 of November 11, 2020.

The appeal was developed in the working group on the development of compensatory mechanisms for supporting the restaurant, trade, and entertainment business during the lockdown restrictions, the creation of which was initiated by Dubinskyi after the introduction of the new restrictions by the Cabinet of Ministers. The appeal was signed by the deputy and 27 members of the working group. Its first meeting took place on November 13 and resulted in the preparation of the relevant documents.

The appeal addresses the need to introduce compensatory mechanisms that business needs after the introduction of the new quarantine restrictions. They are the following:

•To initiate the creation of an interdepartmental working group (Ministry of Culture and Information Policy, Ministry of Digital Development, Ministry of Education and Science, Ministry of Social Policy, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Economy, etc.) to develop options for compensatory mechanisms to support small and medium-sized businesses.

•To extend the validity of licenses of business entities for the provision of catering services (restaurants, cafes, bars, snack bars, canteens, cafeterias, buffets, etc.) for activities for which mandatory licensing is established, and which expire during the period of the restrictive measures, for the entire period of their validity without paying for a license.

•To initiate the expansion of the circle of persons and the conditions for granting loans under the state program of affordable 5-7-9% loans for small and medium-sized businesses.

• To develop and approve a national program of targeted loans to ensure the payroll with a preferential interest-free period in order to preserve jobs, as provided for in paragraph 5 of Section XIII. Final and Transitional Provisions of the Law of Ukraine "On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine aimed at providing additional social and economic guarantees in connection with the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19)”.

•To consider redirecting part of the funds from the Fund for Fighting Acute Respiratory Disease COVID-19 caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and its consequences to support small and medium-sized businesses.

Also, MP Dubinskyi, together with a working group, prepared a bill aimed at supporting business in difficult times. It will stipulate a reduction in SSC, cancellation of fines, automatic renewal of licenses (for a year), and much more. It is planned to register it in the Verkhovna Rada on November 19.

Andrey Pshenichnyi for dubinsky.pro