Kiev says cannot meet end-March deadline for 25 partner program benchmarks worth 7 bln euros
MOSCOW. March 23 (Interfax) - The Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada will not be able to implement 25 structural benchmarks before the end of the first quarter of 2026, as required by Kiev's financial support programs with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank's Development Policy Operation (DPO) for Ukraine and the Ukraine Facility mechanism, local media outlets reported, quoting Ukrainian MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak as saying in a statement on social media.
Ukraine's failure to meet this deadline jeopardizes the disbursement of around 7 billion euros in total, Zheleznyak said. The parliament's current plenary week, which is the last in March, has effectively failed, as a session on Tuesday has been cancelled due to a lack of votes, and decisions are unlikely to be adopted at sessions on Wednesday and Thursday either, he said.
Head of the Verkhovna Rada's committee on finance, tax and customs legislation Daniil Getmantsev said that he met with IMF representatives on Monday to discuss Ukraine's inability to meet its end-March deadline for the structural benchmarks under the new financing program.
"The situation is extremely difficult. And, indeed, failure of the program with the IMF (and we are closer to it than ever) will mean a financial catastrophe," media outlets quoted Getmantsev as saying on social media.
As reported, the Ukrainian Finance Ministry published the so-called large tax bill on its website on March 20. The document contains mandatory VAT registration requirements for single-tax payers with income from UAH 4 million per year, taxation of parcels with imports worth up to UAH 150, the extension of the 5% military tax to the post-crisis period, the introduction of international automatic exchange of information on income received through digital platforms, and taxation of digital platforms, such as Uklon, OLX, etc.
A new $8.1-billion financing arrangement approved in late February under the Extended Fund Facility with the IMF gives Ukraine until the end of March 2026 to adopt this package of tax measures.
On March 10, the Verkhovna Rada voted against a bill on taxing income earned through digital platforms. The initiative received only 168 votes out of the 226 it needed to succeed.
