News and developments

Press Releases

GOLAW ATTORNEYS HAVE SUCCESSFULLY DEFENDED THE INTERESTS OF THE INTERNATIONAL RETAILER OF BRANDED CLOTHING, FOOTWEAR AND ACCESSORIES IN A TAX DISPUTE

As the result of the actual audit in 2019 at one of the stores, the company was fined for violation of the tax legislation. According to the tax authorities the audit was conducted based  on the consumer’s complaint about the store’s violation of the payment transactions procedure. Instead, having reasonable doubts about the existence of such a complaint, the company refused to assist the tax authorities in conducting the tax audit. GOLAW attorneys, in its turn, sent a request to obtain a copy of the above-mentioned complaint.
13 September 2021
Corporate and Commercial

New Mode of Corporate Governance: One-Tier Boards to be Introduced in Ukraine

Businesses all around the world face enormous challenges due to pandemic. Good governance is in demand like never before. Both public and private companies have recognized that corporate governance affects directly their financial performance and long-term development. The governments have seen the value in well-governed companies too, and thus they cooperate with business in updating corporate governance codes and reforming corporate law.
19 January 2021
Corporate and Commercial

Esport is a new niche in IT sector of Ukraine

Nowadays, few of us could be surprised by the scale of the esport industry development. Hundreds of thousands of tournaments’ live views, millions of dollars in prize pool and advertising revenue are constantly promoting esport in the world and in Ukraine in particular. The recent privatization of the Dnipro Hotel, which will include an esport arena, training areas and special rooms for professional players, emphasizes once again that esport is no longer the future, but the present.
19 January 2021
Press Releases

GOLAW Partner Iryna Kalnytska spoke at the ‘11th annual international taxation in CEE’ conferenc

GOLAW partner Iryna Kalnytska spoke at the ‘11th Annual International Taxation in CEE’ online conference which took place on December, 3-4. The event was devoted to the discussion of recent changes in tax planning, mandatory disclosure rules,, managing tax audits, tax risks, transfer pricing guidelines and case studies on tax compliance in Central and Eastern Europe.
10 December 2020
Corporate and commercial

Ukrainian Code of Corporate Governance: new guidance for private companies

In the last five years, there has been a revolution in corporate governance in Ukraine. Starting with establishment of Supervisory boards in state – owned enterprises and ending with huge interest from private companies and all business owners; corporate governance has become a trend. Whether it is right or wrong, it is likely to continue. In response to the market demand; the National Securities and Stock Market Commission has adopted the Core Code of Corporate Governance: Requirements and Recommendations (the Code) introducing international standards and best practices in corporate governance for Ukrainian companies.
19 October 2020
Tax and Private Client

Tax reform 2020: How to prepare for the change

The majority of the latest tax changes in Ukraine are based on the best tax experience throughout the world, especially on the BEPS Plan which Ukraine undertakes to implement. The Tax reform prescribes novelties to transfer pricing rules; new rules for preventing from double tax treaties abuse; new rules for preventing from avoidance of the status of permanent establishment and taxation of permanent establishments; etc.
19 October 2020
Projects, energy and natural resources

Is there still any future for renewable energy in Ukraine?

In the summer of 2020, Ukraine’s renewable energy market underwent another string of changes, this time mainly because of the “green” tariff reduction. After more than six months of negotiations, “green” energy investors and the government managed to reach some consensus on how to protect the market against the default of the State Enterprise Guaranteed Buyer (hereinafter – Guaranteed Buyer) which was initially reflected in the memorandum on the so-called “green” tariff restructuring and later found its own legislative settlement.
19 October 2020
Press Releases

GOLAW Helps Register Over Three Miillion UAH in Tax Invoices for Agricultural Company

GOLAW law firm has successfully defended the interests of an international agriculture company specializing in mineral fertilizers in a tax dispute against Ukrainian tax authorities by successfully unblocking twenty tax invoices, resulting in a VAT tax credit in the amount of more than 3 million hryvnas. GOLAW law firm has successfully defended the interests of an international agriculture company specializing in mineral fertilizers in a tax dispute against Ukrainian tax authorities by successfully unblocking twenty tax invoices, resulting in a VAT tax credit in the amount of more than 3 million hryvnas.
18 August 2020
Corporate and Commercial

Corporate reorganization in Ukraine: consolidations and liquidations

The global financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic are impacting businesses all over the world so badly that many operations have stopped, exports have fallen and imports are being replaced by domestic consumption, and international corporations had to put on hold any expansion plans and their forays into other markets. In such an unprecedented situation, businesses have to either shut down or use their accumulated  financial resources and find ways to stay afloat.
02 July 2020
Tax & Private Client

Lease during quarantine in Ukraine: what should you know?

Businesses that rent premises in the Malls and can not operate there during the period of prohibition have a logical question: do they have to pay rent for the quarantine period? The same question arises for those businesses the activities of which are not prohibited for the quarantine period but they switch over to remote work so that do not actually use the premises they rent (primarily for offices) in buildings that do not close for the quarantine period.
31 March 2020
Employment

Topical labour issues during quarantine in Ukraine

The remote work, part-time work, vacation at own expense, idle period – what is the best option in labour issues for a business owner during the quarantine period? How to act within the law and prevent violations that could lead to fines and litigations in the future? The situation in the country changes every day and employers have to make quick decisions regarding the further operation mode and employment relations with the employees.
31 March 2020
Tax & Private Client

5 Difficulties of Mortgage Foreclosure and How to Avoid Them

A mortgage has always been one of the most common and safe ways to secure an obligation. The popularity of a mortgage is explained by the fact that creditors believe the risks of losing real estate are minimal and therefore it can always be foreclosed. At the same time, unscrupulous borrowers and mortgagors are coming up with more sophisticated ways to avoid liability for failure to return funds which are not always managed by legislation and case law. In this article we will look at 5 difficulties that banks often face when applying for a mortgage, and explain how to avoid them.
13 November 2019
Tax & Private Client

How much does it cost to use “proprietary” TM?

For many international companies, it is a common practice to allow the use of their trademarks (TM) to all group companies on a free of charge basis. Some parent companies do not even have a right to charge the royalty payments from their subsidiaries, as this contradicts the company’s policy. In the case of subsidiaries located in the territory of Ukraine, such a situation suits everyone, at first glance, because royalties do not have to be paid at all. 
28 October 2019
Press Releases

“Hardtalk: Renewables in Details” - Prospects and Problems of the “Green” Energy Market have

State of implementation of the new electricity market and readiness of the Regulator and market participants for the new regime of state support for renewable energy projects - these were the main topics discussed by the TOP market experts during the interview at the “Hardtalk: Renewables in Details” event on March 28 in Kyiv. The organizers of the event -A7 CONFERENCES and GOLAW. 
28 October 2019
Tax & Private Client

The Parliament of Ukraine ratified the MLI Convention. Is this the end of offshores?

“Ukraine will never join BEPS and will not introduce an automatic exchange of tax information! Ukrainian tax authorities are not able to understand the international tax planning and therefore BEPS will not work in Ukraine!” - such statements in different variations repeatedly sounded addressing the deoffshorization process launched in Ukraine a few years ago. Indeed, earlier there were grounds for such thoughts, but now it is clear that all this does not match the reality. Particular evidence is ratification by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on February 28, 2019, of the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures, which was signed back in July 2018, in order to counteract the tax base erosion and profit shifting (hereinafter referred to as the “MLI Convention”).
28 October 2019
Corporate & Commercial

Cancellation of the "green" tariff: international practice of protecting the rights of foreign inves

Perhaps the hottest topic in the energy sector at the end of 2018 and early this year is the discussion of changes to the approaches of providing state support for electric power producers from renewable sources. The main idea of the change is that, starting from 2020, new players of the RES market will be subject to a new incentive system - "auctions" instead of the "green" tariff. 
28 October 2019
Tax & Private Client

​how Risky A Taxpayer Are You?

A new blocking system for tax invoices, along with a new procedure for suspending the registration of tax invoices in the Unified Register of Tax Invoices, has been in operation since March 2018 in Ukraine. According to the new procedure, established under Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine resolution № 117 of Feb. 21, 2018, the registration of tax invoices is suspended when such invoices meet the risk criteria of the transaction, or when the taxpayer meets the risk criteria set for taxpayers.
28 October 2019
Corporate & Commercial

New Instruments Of Corporate Security Under The New Law On Llcs

Strong oversight of corporate security and risk-taking is surely one of the most critical component of companies’ management process. We are no longer talking about whether or not boards should implement corporate governance and compliance policies: in the current climate we are grappling with the issue of all-round companies’ protection, which raises a much more meaningful set of questions.
28 October 2019
Press Releases

GOLAW strengthens its leadership position among TOP-10 Ukrainian law firms

GOLAW has been ranked No. 7 Law Firm in Ukraine according to the 50 Leading Law Firms annual rating published on 4 December 2018 by Legal Practice periodical. «The core value of GOLAW is our Clients. I am grateful to each of them for awarding us their trust and challenging projects, for allowing our team to continuously demonstrate the power of legal excellence during all these years.» Valentyn Gvozdiy, Managing Partner
28 October 2019
Press Releases

Ukraine we want you to know: a large-scale business Forum on promoting cooperation between Ukraine a

On November 26 in Prague, a large-scale business Forum “Ukraine we want you to know”, gathered about 100 representatives of large and medium-sized Czech business and government institutions. The main topic of the event was a discussion of the investment attractiveness of Ukraine and the positive changes that are currently taking place in the country and promoting the attraction of foreign business. The event was organized by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Czech Republic in cooperation with the Embassy of Ukraine in the Czech Republic, with the support of GOLAW law firm.
28 October 2019
Employment

Employing Foreign Specialists in Ukraine – Rules of the Game Have Been Simplified?

Following the strategy of the Government to improve the doing business climate in Ukraine, Parliament adopted the Law of Ukraine “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine Concerning Elimination of Barriers for Foreign Investments Attraction” dated May 23, 2017 (hereinafter – “the Law”), which came into force on September 27, 2017.  The Law with such an expressive name should have definitely removed the barriers for employment of foreigners, but what have we actually received? Putting the cart before the horse, the Law really significantly changed the procedure of obtaining work permits (hereinafter – “the Permit”) facilitating it essentially from the one hand, but introducing some questionable conditions from the other.
28 October 2019
Press Releases

GOLAW has been recognised in 13 practices by the annual research "Ukrainian Law Firms: A Handbook fo

According to the annual research "Ukrainian Law firms in 2018", GOLAW has been recognised in 13 practices, while lawyers of the firm have been named as the notable practitioners in several fields of law. Among them - Managing Partner Valentyn Gvozdiy (Tax and Transfer Pricing, Litigation), Senior Partner Sergiy Oberkovych (Energy & Natural Resources), Partner Angelika Moisieieva and Counsel Igor Glushko (Criminal Law / White-Collar Crime). 
28 October 2019
Litigation & Dispute Resolution

The Code of bankruptcy procedure in Ukraine: positives and negatives of the new document

The Verkhovna Rada registered a draft law on the Code of Bankruptcy Procedure (No. 8060). Among other things, it is noted that such a document will increase the efficiency of bankruptcy procedures, the level of protection of the rights of creditors, improve the procedures for selling debtor property at the auction, increase the level of execution of contracts and court decisions. However, does the text of the document correspond to the stated purpose? 
28 October 2019
Projects, Energy & Natural Resources

Changes To Ppa: To Make Financiaers Happy

Over the last few months before January 2018, when the latest changes to the power purchase agreements (PPAs) between State Enterprise “Energorynok” and producers of energy from alternative sources were adopted, more than ten agreements were signed with upgraded conditions set earlier in 2017. In the mentioned agreements, the changes to the PPAs were applied and helped bring Ukraine’s PPAs closer to international standards. Nevertheless, the revised PPAs still have a lot of issues that need to be clarified and further elaborated to make them perfectly bankable, and to make them properly executable.
28 October 2019
Press Releases

Golaw Strengthens Its Team Of Leaders

GOLAW announces the appointment of its employees to the new key positions: Max Lebedev became a Partner at the Firm, and Iryna Kalnytska, Kateryna Manoylenko, Anatoli Grabovy, and Igor Glushko became Counsels to the Firm.  “The GOLAW clients are our greatest value. The GOLAW team consists of real professionals, and we are confident that the new personnel changes are our investment in the future of the Firm and a guarantee of the further provision of highest quality services.” - Valentyn Gvozdiy, Managing Partner at GOLAW
28 October 2019
GOLAW