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Office of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities under the President: Relevant parliamentary committees agree to resolve the issue of the legal basis for the administrative fee

The issue of systematic regulation of payment for administrative services has started moving. The relevant parliamentary committees – the Committee on the Organisation of State Power, Local Self-Government, Regional Development and Urban Planning and the Committee on Finance, Taxation and Customs Policy – agreed to launch discussions regarding the draft Law on Administrative Fees (No. 4380) in the near future. The joint task for the near term is to include the draft law in the parliamentary session agenda and adopt it as a basis.

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This agreement was reached by the heads of the committees Olena Shuliak and Danylo Hetmantsev during a working meeting on improving the legislative regulation of relations concerning the payment for administrative services and establishing reasonable amounts of administrative fees.

This is the first meeting of representatives of the local government and territorial government organisations subject to the reform, organized by the Office of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities under the President of Ukraine in cooperation with the Project PROSTO "Supporting Access to Services in Ukraine". The meeting brought together MPs of Ukraine, representatives of the Office of the President of Ukraine, the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, central executive authorities, heads of Administrative Service Centres, representatives of local self-government bodies, their associations, and international technical assistance projects, as well as experts.

"We, as the Congress Office, will also act as a communication platform for all stakeholders in creating an appropriate legislative framework aimed at creating high-quality conditions for the development of territorial communities and local self-government, and implementing initiatives that will further implement the reform of local self-government and territorial organisation of power. As we remember, this reform, among other things, is tasked to ensure the availability and quality of public services for people. Therefore, we must proceed from the position of people's interests in every issue," Vyacheslav Nehoda, the Head of the Congress Office said.

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During the working meeting, the participants discussed the current situation in the field of administrative services and relevant fees, as well as ways to resolve problematic issues.

Olena Shuliak, the Chairperson of the Committee on the Organisation of State Power, Local Self-Government, Regional Development, and Urban Planning, stressed the importance of keeping the aspect of social sensitivity in the context of administrative service fees under close scrutiny when discussing draft law No. 4380.

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"The Committee is protecting the interests of people and local self-government, which is closest to the residents of communities. Thus, we must return to the consideration of the draft law that will systematically address the issue of the administrative fee. I would like to draw everyone's attention to the fact that the President of Ukraine has recently signed the Law on Compensation for Damage and Destruction of Certain Categories of Real Estate as a Result of Hostilities, Terrorist Acts, and Sabotage Caused by the Military Aggression of the Russian Federation. The first places where people apply for housing damage are the Administrative Service Centres. I am saying that people who have lost their homes should feel socially protected and receive due attention when they apply to the ASC," Olena Shuliak said.

One of the authors of draft law No. 4380, Parliament Member Larysa Bilozir, emphasized that the adoption of the Law on Administrative Fees is among the tasks of the Anti-Corruption Strategy for 2021-2025. She also noted that during the discussions on the draft law in 2021, reasonable proposals from all parties – central executive authorities, associations of local self-government bodies, etc. – were taken into account.

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"We made a deputy appeal to the Prime Minister of Ukraine with a proposal to monitor and instruct the relevant ministries to make financial and economic calculations for each basic administrative service using the formula proposed by the draft law On Administrative Fees. We’ve been going around in circles for long enough. We need to make responsible decisions," Larysa Bilozir said.

Dmytro Mykysha, a Member of the Subcommittee on Administrative Services and Administrative Procedures of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on the Organisation of State Power, Local Self-Government, Regional Development, and Urban Planning, supported his colleague. He noted the Article 92 of the Constitution of Ukraine, which stipulates that the system of taxation, taxes, and fees is established solely by the laws of Ukraine, and called for the draft law to be adopted as a basis, and for all controversial issues to be resolved between the first and second readings of the document.

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The associations of local self-government entities – the Association of Ukrainian Cities, the Association of ATCs, and the All-Ukrainian Association of Communities also expressed their unanimous support for draft law No. 4380 with the resolution of controversial issues between the two readings of the draft document.

Separately, Ivan Slobodianyk, Executive Director of the All-Ukrainian Association of Communities, suggested that the Office of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities under the President of Ukraine should also take on the communication of the 2023 legislative agenda for decentralisation in Ukraine.

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As a result of the working meeting, the relevant committees of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, headed by MPs Olena Shuliak and Danylo Hetmantsev, agreed to return to the discussion of the draft law On Administrative Fee and put it on the agenda of the parliamentary session.

Oleksiy Ryabikin, Advisor to the Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, expressed hope that the meetings using the communication platform of the Congress Office would become systematic and that the Congress Office would make every effort to ensure the effectiveness of discussions on legislative support for the local government reform.

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Summing up, Vyacheslav Nehoda, Head of the Office of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities under the President of Ukraine, noted that settling the issue of accessibility of administrative services and administrative fees in the interests of people and communities remains a priority. A series of meetings will be held to address other issues related to the accessibility of services to people in the near future.

A reminder that the draft Law on Administrative Fees was registered in the Parliament in 2021.

Earlier, the Decentralisation portal (UKR) wrote about the situation that arose around administrative services and payments for them.

The portal will continue monitoring the progress of this issue to inform and provide feedback from the portal's key audience – local governments.

Source: https://www.decentralization.gov.ua/news/16365 (UKR)

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