Five months of war: How the Business Ombudsman Council helps entrepreneurs overcome new challenges

In April-June 2022, the Business Ombudsman Council continued working in a helpline format. During this period, the institution received 261 appeals on the helpline and completed the investigation of 171 cases. Businesses were most often concerned about expanding critical import goods list (82), interaction with the tax authority (34),  critical employees reservation (13), cross-border logistics and border crossing (7), as well as relocation within the country and abroad (3).
Since helpline launch, critical imports have accounted for almost a third of business appeals addressed to the institution. The Council helped dozens of companies to draw up applications on adding a new product category to the list. Among these are, for example, agricultural machinery for the sowing campaign, cast-iron movable wood stoves popular among the military and internally displaced persons, and bricks needed to restore houses and infrastructure from destruction.
BOC advised entrepreneurs on tax changes during the martial law, particularly transition to a simplified taxation system at a rate of 2%, as well as critical employees reservation, so that the work of enterprises, despite the war, could continue.
The issue of cross-border movement of goods between Ukraine and EU member states also retained its relevance for business. In cooperation with the Polish spokesperson for SME, with whom BOC signed a Memorandum of Partnership in April, the Council helped companies export Ukrainian products in transit through Poland and overcome logistical obstacles on the way to importing goods into the territory of Ukraine. With the Business Ombudsman facilitation, one of the country’s largest private medical universities opened a branch in Poland. More success stories here: https://bit.ly/2Z7yLsq
Apart from processing business appeals, in Q2  2022, BOC jointly with government officials and international initiatives, particularly the Ukrainian Reform Architecture, joined in filling out and editing of the European Commission’s Questionnaire for Ukraine to gain EU candidate status. At the same time, the Council’s representatives participated in the preparation of the Ukraine Recovery Plan within working groups under the auspices of the National Council for the Recovery from the Consequences of the War. The Recovery Plan was presented at a conference in Lugano, Switzerland in early July.
The Business Ombudsman Council is ready to continue supporting the state in fulfilling its European integration obligations and post-war reconstruction of Ukraine.
“We call on the state to be considerate and flexible in relation to business, and therefore we try to treat concerns of our applicants in the same way. After all, business has already supported the state with taxes and volunteering in the toughest days of this war, and it needs a fair and open room for development for the sake of restoring Ukraine,” Business Ombudsman Roman Waschuk pointed out.
You can find a full version of the report in Ukrainian and English here: https://bit.ly/3JlWATB