​The Ministry of Finance announces the monetization of subsidies in Ukraine starting on January 1, 2018

On November 8, following the initiative of the Ministry of Finance, the Government decided to start the monetization of subsidies in Ukraine on January 1, 2018. The draft decree of the Cabinet of Ministries was prepared by the Ministry of Finance, discussed with all interested parties and approved by Ukrainian and international experts.

What’s it about?

The Ministry of Finance has prepared a complex approach to the reform of subsidy settlements comprising three stages:

1. Monetization of the subsidy-related settlements at the level of the respective service providers.
2. Preparation of the system for the monetization of subsidies at the level of households (set-up of the necessary infrastructure, creation of a single register and database for subsidy recipients, verification of recipients etc.).
3. Monetization of subsidies at the level of households.

The Government has now decided to implement the first stage introducing monetization at the level of service providers starting from January 1, 2018.
The goal of these changes is to establish transparent and timely financial settlement – using “real” money – related to subsidies between the state and service providers.

Why is it important?

The monetization of subsidies includes a number of innovations in the subsidy-related settlement:
• Subsidized services shall be paid directly by the State Treasury Office without any protocols;
• Clear timelines for subsidy-related payments (by the 24th day of the respective month);
• Service providers select energy suppliers on their own, settlement is made with the “real” money received for subsidies;
• Transparent calculation of subsidies based on the real consumption volume.

What’s the benefit?

The decision to launch the monetization of subsidies is the first important step in the comprehensive reform of the entire system of payments for the house utilities.
This approach to the reform of the system of subsidies is also required by the international partners of Ukraine including the IMF, World Bank, EU and EBRD.

“We make the financial settlement much easier for the participant of the monetization process and create equal conditions for all parties by covering subsidies based on the real consumption of services. It makes the entire system more transparent, prevents “manual” interventions into the settlement of subsidies and removes any manipulations related to the transfer of subsidies”, Minister of Finance Oleksandr Danyliuk said.