The Ukrainian Agri Council appeals to the People's Deputies of Ukraine to support the Draft Law on Amendments to the Civil Code of Ukraine on Lending for the Period of Martial Law (No. 11180-1 as of May 2, 2024), which is extremely important for the occupied agricultural enterprises.

The draft law is aimed at solving the key problem of agricultural producers in the occupied regions who have moved to the government-controlled territory of Ukraine - to freeze penalties and repayments on loans they took out before the war for business development until the war ends.

“At present, most business entities have lost the ability to operate normally due to the hostilities, the economic crisis or the occupation of the territory where they were operating. Entrepreneurs are forced to cope with the risks and consequences of the war, including losses from the destruction of assets, risks related to the safety of personnel, destroyed infrastructure and cyber-attacks,” the explanatory note to the draft law says.

This draft law proposes to consolidate for the period of martial law the legislative norms prohibiting banks from collecting from business entities whose production facilities as of February 24, 2022, were located in the territories of active hostilities or the territories of Ukraine temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation, and related individuals-guarantors of collateral or pledge for loans that were granted under state guarantees on a portfolio basis and/or for which state financial support was provided, as partial compensation for interest.

The implementation of the provisions of the draft law will help to harmonize the norms of civil law and consumer lending legislation, as well as allow businesses that operated in the temporarily occupied territories until February 24, 2022, to resume their business activities and further fulfill their obligations to lending banks under previously attracted loans.