April Digest

Driver’s licenses will be taken away from draft-dodgers

On April 11, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine passed a new draft law. It will take effect in a month, unless the president vetoes it.

The text of the new law provides for:

• restrictions on driving vehicles for persons who dodge the draft;
• regulations on seizing cars for the needs of the army.

How will the draft of auto enterprises, organizations and citizens take place

Cars belonging to all state structures, in particular, local self-government bodies, railways, ports, etc., are subject to free seizure. The same applies to private enterprises and organizations of any type, which have vehicles on the balance sheet. Ordinary citizens can also take the cars, provided that the those subject to the draft  own more than one vehicle.

How will it be determined from whom to take a car, and from whom not to? TCC and SP of each oblast together with the Ministry of Defense will determine how many cars the military needs. They will send the relevant documents to the regional military administrations. Information about the availability of cars at enterprises and citizens of TCCs and joint ventures will be received from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Volumes, types and even brands of cars will be determined with the help of the Draft Plan of Ukraine according to the norms submitted by local “military commissars”.

Drafted vehicles will be prohibited from being sold, re-registered, sent outside of Ukraine or even to another oblast.

They must be returned to their owners within 30 days after the draft`s end.

Draft-dodgers will have their driver’s license taken away

The new law also prescribes restrictions on persons who dodge the draft. In particular, they will be deprived of the right to drive vehicles. However, there are exceptions.

• In order to limit a person’s right to drive a car, it is necessary to go through several successive stages.
• First, the TCC and SP appeal to the law enforcement officers to detain the person and bring them to the Military Commissariat.
• If this is not possible, the corresponding request is sent to the citizen by mail or registered letter. TCC and JV will have 5 days for this.
• After a person has signed or not signed in receiving a registered letter, there will be 10 days to go to the TCC.
• If the citizen does not appear, the representatives of the collection centers must apply to the court.
• Based on the court decision, the executive service will restrict the petitioner’s right to drive a car.

Whose rights cannot be taken away:

• in people whose official driving is the main income (drivers who work for enterprises or organizations, private enterprises, taxi drivers);
• in persons with disabilities or in those people who care for persons with disabilities of the 1st and 2nd groups, including children.

Auto experts named 7 problems of Chinese cars

Many Chinese cars have the same problems during operation. This was reported by representatives of the “Kitayana” network of service centers, who listed the main breakdowns of such machines.

1. Most often, the electronics of cars from China suffer from low temperatures. For example, Dongfeng cars are denied oxygen sensors and the ABS system.
2. Owners of Chery Tiggo cars regularly encounter the flow of the engine cooling radiator and the rapid wear of the timing belt.
3. In JAC and Kaiyi models, variators often fail, and Changan owners often encounter overheating of the robotic transmission.
4. Many owners of Geely cars complain about suspension problems after 20,000 km, about broken steering control levers and torn silent blocks.
5. In the last year, the number of cases of breakdowns in the turbocharger system in Haval F7 and F7X has also increased (the turbine actuator fails).
6. Many owners of cars from the PRC complain about hub bearings (they become unusable after 50,000 km), breakdown of the transmission or its control units.
7. In the end, body repair turned out to be a massive problem — original elements are expensive, and replacements are often of low quality.

Gasoline will increase in price by 10 hryvnias

Prices for automobile fuel in Ukraine will rise again. The government has proposed to change excise taxes on petroleum products, which will lead to a gradual increase in the prices of gasoline, diesel fuel, and liquefied gas. The decision was made in the context of the need to increase revenues to the state budget and under the auspices of European integration. It is expected that the budget will receive 1.6 billion hryvnias every month.

According to the government’s proposal, changes in the amount of excise taxes will be introduced in stages, starting from July of this year and ending in 2028. The first stage provides for an increase in the excise duty on gasoline by 29.1 euros per thousand liters, on diesel fuel by 38.1 euros and on liquefied gas by 3.6 euros. After that, four more stages of raising the total excise tax rate are planned. VIDEO

If the changes are approved by the parliament in the next two months, the first price increase is expected already at the beginning of July. According to experts, gasoline may become more expensive by 1.5 hryvnias per liter, diesel by 1.2 hryvnias per liter, and liquefied gas by about 10 kopecks per liter.

In total, after passing all stages of the introduction of new excise taxes, diesel fuel will become more expensive by 7.3 hryvnias, gasoline by 9.6 hryvnias, provided the current exchange rate of the hryvnia is maintained.

Ukraine and Montenegro agreed on “transport visa-free” for freight transportation

Ukraine and Montenegro have reached an agreement on the liberalization of all types of cargo transportation between the countries from June 1, 2024. This was the result of negotiations between the Ministry of Community Development, Territories and Infrastructure of Ukraine and the Ministry of Transport and Maritime Affairs of Montenegro, the Ministry of Reconstruction of Ukraine reported.

“Our goal is to ensure that there are no countries left on the European map with which we have a transportation permit system, and that our transport companies can deliver goods to any country without additional restrictions. That is why we are consistently working on the liberalization of freight transportation with other countries”, commented the reached agreements, Deputy Prime Minister for Reconstruction – Minister of Community Development, Territories and Infrastructure Oleksandr Kubrakov.

He also reminded that the Agreement on road transport between the countries was signed more than 10 years ago, and during that time the trade between Ukraine and Montenegro increased sevenfold.

“This is a confirmation that the liberalization of freight transportation is timely and will benefit both states,” O. Kubrakov emphasized.