One thing less to worry about for franchisors in the Ukraine - at least for now
As an update to our blog on 10 February regarding the registration procedure for franchise agreements in the Ukraine, the Ukrainian parliament has passed legislation which effectively cancels Order No. 1601/5 on the “Procedure for the State Registration of Commercial Concession (and Sub-Concession) Agreements”.
The new Law No. 191-VIII "On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Ukraine regarding the Simplification of the Conduct of Business (Deregulation)" stipulates that from 5 April 2015 onwards "commercial concession agreements" such as franchise agreements, no longer need to be registered. At the same time, the new law has also removed the provisions in the Ukrainian Commercial Code that required the state registration of such agreements.
This is welcome news for franchisors, however, the last word may not have been spoken in the matter as an administrative claim against the cancellation of Order No. 1601/5 is currently pending before the District Administrative Court in Kiev.