Should you have any questions with regard to the below please feel free to contact Dr A. Tsirat directrly: A.Tsirat@jvs.com.ua
Laws on non-profitable organizations
Registration of non-profitable organizations
Laws on non-profitable organizations
The Laws "On Citizen Associations" and "On Charitable Activity and Charity Organisations" are the main acts that regulate the foundation and activities of not-for-profit organisations.
According to the Law "On Taxation of Enterprise Profit", not-for-profit organisations are:
- public authorities, organs of local self-government and establishments or organisations which are supported by facilities of the proper budgets created by them;
- charity funds and charity organisations, created in a specific order under the law for the conduct of charitable activities, including public organisations created with the purpose of the achievement of ecological, health, amateur sport, cultural, educational and scientific activities, as well as creative unions and political parties, public organisations of invalids and their local cells created under the Law "On Citizen Associations".Research establishments and high educational establishments holding the III - IV levels of accreditation in the State register of scientific establishment reserves and museums;
- pension funds and credit unions, created in a specific order according to the law;
- other legal entities, the activities of which do not anticipate the receipt of income pursuant to the norms of the appropriate laws;
- unions and other associations of legal entities created for the furtherance of the interests of their founders i.e.they existonly due to payments received from such founders and they do not conduct economic activity, except for the receipt of passive profits;
- religious organisations incorporated in a statutory order;
- housing and construction cooperatives, associations of joint owners of apartment houses created in a specific order according to the law;
- trade unions, their associations and organisations of trade unions formed in a specific order according to the law.
Public Organisations
According to the Law "On Citizen Associations", a public organisation is defined as an association of citizens that is created for the protection of the legal, social, economic, creative, age, national-cultural, sportiing and other common interests of people.
Citizen associations of Ukraine may have the following status:
local organisation - whose activity is related to the territory corresponding to the administrative-territorial unit or region of Ukraine. These can be regional, city, district and city district not-for-profit organisations;
pan-Ukrainian associations - whose activity is related to the whole of Ukraine. These organizations may have local units (branches or other representation) in the majority of the regions of Ukraine;
international organizations - whose activity is related to Ukraine and at least one foreign country.
Charity Organisations
Charity Organisations are created under the Law "On Charitable Activity and Charity Organisations". Their main purpose is to carry out charity activity for the interests of society and different categories of persons.
Charity organisations may have the following organisational/legal forms:
- membership charity organization;
- charitable fund;
- charity authority;
- other charity organisations (foundations, missions, leagues, etc.).
Charity organisations are formed and act under the territorial principle and may have the status of a local, pan-Ukrainian or international not-for-profit organisation.
Registration of non-profitabe organizations
1. Registration of public organisations
In order to legalise (to register) a public organisation, an application should be submitted to the Ministry of Justice or its local department. Depending on the status of the public organisation, the legalisation procedure should be implemented by the following bodies:
- public organisations with pan-Ukrainian and international status are legalised by the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine;
- public organisations with local status as well as local units of pan-Ukrainian and international organisations are legalised by the corresponding departments of the Ministry of Justice in the Autonomic Republic of Crimea, region, city, district, city district.
For a registered public organisation to receive the status of a not-for-profit entity it should be filed at the Registry of Not-For-Profit Organisations held by the Ukrainian tax authorities.
2. Registration of charity organisations
Charity Organisations must be registered at the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine or its corresponding department depending on the status of the charity organisation. As with public organisations, charity organisation should to be filed at the Registry of Non-Profitable Organisations.
