National Bank of Ukraine allows e-residents to transfer abroad foreign currency received from non-residents

MOSCOW. April 21 (Interfax) - The National Bank of Ukraine has allowed e-residents to transfer abroad the foreign currency, received from non-residents for services or work and credited to their accounts in Ukrainian banks, after paying taxes in Ukraine.

"The amendments will not strain the forex market and Ukraine's international reserves due to the absence of foreign currency purchases - the transfers will involve foreign currency received by an e-resident from abroad," the Ukrainian media quoted the National Bank as saying in a statement on its website on Thursday evening.

The e-residency project will help increase national budget revenue, popularize Ukraine as a global IT brand, and upgrade Ukraine in international ratings, the bank said.

According to the bank, the amendments were endorsed by Resolution 53 on April 20.

The e-residency bill, which amends the Ukrainian Tax Code and a number of other laws and lays down the specifics of e-residents' taxation, took effect on April 1.

"We are planning to invite about 1,000 residents after the testing is done. We are expecting the final permission from the National Bank of Ukraine to launch the project full-scale," Ukrainian Deputy Digital Transformation Minister for IT Development Alexander Bornyakov said in early April, as he spoke about the National Bank's document.

The launch of the e-residency project will allow foreigners to do business in Ukraine, remotely operate their business, use an electronic signature on documents, remotely open and manage bank accounts, and pay taxes at discounted rates in just a few clicks.

The government makes a list of the countries whose citizens are allowed to be e-residents. Before the crisis, Ukrainian e-residency's target audience included five suppliers of outsource IT services - India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, China and the Philippines.