Rules of the game for businesses seeking protection from mobilization in Ukraine have changed significantly. The Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture has issued Order No. 6954, which effectively raises the bar for obtaining the status of a critical enterprise. Now, the right to reserve employees is available only to companies that meet stricter financial and production indicators.
Agricultural Sector: Entry Threshold Doubled
One of the most noticeable changes is the tightening of requirements for agricultural enterprises. If previously obtaining the status of a critical enterprise required a turnover of 500 hectares of land and an annual income of 20 million UAH, these figures have now been doubled. The minimum area of cultivated land is now 1000 hectares, and the financial threshold is 40 million UAH.
At the same time, some old criteria have been abolished. Now, paying personal income tax (PIT) of at least 324,000 UAH per quarter is no longer grounds for obtaining the status. It is also impossible to claim a reserve simply by owning 90% of the capital of another critical enterprise. Instead, a new mandatory requirement has been introduced: providing a copy of the tax calculation with confirmation from the controlling authority.
Forestry and New Financial Filters
Significant changes have also affected the forestry sector. The area of permanent land use for forestry enterprises has been increased from 500 to 2500 hectares. At the same time, the alternative criterion for the number of insured employees has been reduced from 15 to 10 people. However, a financial requirement is now mandatory for this condition: annual income must be at least 10 million UAH. Previously, such a condition did not exist for the forestry sector.
Hunting, engineering, geology, and certain types of educational services have been excluded from the list of relevant activity codes (KVED) in this sector. This means that companies operating in these areas can no longer automatically claim critical status within the forestry sector.
New Rules for Regional Companies and Manufacturers
For the first time, mandatory criteria have been introduced for enterprises operating in three or more regions. Now, to obtain the status, it is necessary to have a staff of at least 10 people and pay taxes and the Unified Social Contribution (excluding customs duties) of at least 24,000 UAH for each of the regions over the last three months.
Special attention has been paid to manufacturers of machinery and equipment of Ukrainian production. Such companies can obtain critical status if their products are included in the Ministry of Economy's list and are partially subsidized by the budget.
What Remains Unchanged
Despite a number of innovations, some criteria remain the same. Enterprises that meet previously established standards in other industries are still considered critical. It is also worth noting that banks were previously blocked from reserving employees through a loophole that some financial institutions used to obtain critical status.
The new reservation rules came into force at the beginning of this year, and businesses have already received the updated procedure for confirming the status of critical enterprises. Now, taking into account the new requirements, only companies that truly make a significant contribution to the economy will be able to count on protecting their employees from mobilization.
