Family farms will have their additional SSC payments renewed after repaying the debt

Family farms that lost the state subsidy for paying this contribution due to Unified Social Contribution (USC) debts will be able to receive support again after repaying the arrears. The Cabinet of Ministers has determined exactly when payments will be reinstated and how this procedure will take place, UNN reports, citing the government.

As the government reported on September 17, the changes concern additional financial support for members and heads of family farms through the USC subsidy mechanism. Previously, the legislation provided for the possibility of reinstating such assistance after the arrears were repaid, but the relevant procedure did not specify exact deadlines or the reinstatement process.

When the subsidy will be reinstated

Under the new rules, if the state subsidy was terminated due to late or incomplete payment of insurance contributions, the right to support may be restored after the arrears have been fully repaid. It will be reinstated from the first day of the month following the quarter in which the debt was fully repaid. Therefore, support will not be restored directly from the date the arrears are paid, but will begin from the period specified by the government.

To have state support reinstated, a member or head of a family farm must pay the insurance contribution in full. At the same time, its amount must be no less than the minimum insurance contribution.

What the tax authority and the Treasury must do

The resolution also establishes deadlines for exchanging information between the State Tax Service and the State Treasury Service. After the farmer fulfills the necessary conditions, the STS must enter the relevant information into the register of insured persons within three working days. On the next working day, the tax authority must notify the Treasury of this.

The government explains that this is an attempt to eliminate a gap in the existing state support mechanism. Before the changes were adopted, the legislation provided for the possibility of reinstating the subsidy after the debt was repaid, but it did not establish a clear procedure or deadlines for doing so.

Who is eligible for the state subsidy

The mechanism for providing additional financial support to family farms operates in accordance with the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 565 dated May 22, 2019. 

The document regulates the provision of support through a subsidy, on behalf of insured persons—members and heads of family farms—for the single contribution for mandatory state social insurance.

The funding is provided within the allocations made to the Ministry of Economy and Environment under the budget program "Financial support for agricultural producers." The mechanism provides that the state effectively compensates part of the USC for an insured member or head of a family farm. The amount of such support depends on the period of the farm's participation in the program and gradually decreases, while the farmer's own share of the contribution increases.

What is changing for farmers in practice 

The decision adopted does not introduce a new assistance program or increase the amount of the state subsidy itself. The changes primarily concern the procedure for returning to the existing support mechanism.

Previously, a farm that lost the right to the subsidy due to insurance contribution arrears could repay the debt. However, there was no clear regulatory definition of when support should be reinstated or exactly how information about this should be transmitted between government agencies. Following the changes, a specific procedure has been established: the farmer fully repays the arrears and pays the required insurance contribution, the STS enters the information into the register and notifies the Treasury, and the right to the subsidy is reinstated from the first day of the month after the relevant quarter ends.

It will be recalled 

As UNN reported, Ukrainian farmers will receive 124 million hryvnias for production development.