The All-Ukrainian Association of Communities (VAG) is calling on the Verkhovna Rada to support Draft Law No. 4380 on administrative fees at its second reading and as a whole. This will improve the functioning of the Administrative Service Centres (ASCs), enhance the quality of administrative services provided in communities, and safeguard the jobs of officials working in the ASCs.

This position was expressed by VAG members today, 25 March, during a joint meeting of the Committee on Budget and Tax Policy, the Committee on the Provision of Administrative and Social Services, and the Committee on the Organisation of Local Self-Government Activities.

The expansion of the network of administrative service centres (ASCs) is one of the most effective reforms within the decentralisation reform. Its key principle has been to bring administrative services closer to the people. However, the administrative fee for providing administrative services remains extremely low at present, which creates risks of a brain drain. According to available estimates, the level of financial coverage of the costs of maintaining administrative service providers’ staff amounts to only around 15–30 per cent.

Raising administrative fees to adequate levels is urgent, the Association stresses. And this draft law precisely sets out the full list of basic administrative services with clear fees for their provision.

The war has led to a significant reduction in budget revenues and, consequently, to a reduction in funding for Administrative Service Centres (ASCs). To ensure that community residents do not lose the opportunity to receive administrative services directly in their own communities, and that communities, in turn, do not lose qualified staff and have the necessary material, technical, and software resources, the adoption of this draft law is essential. This will help improve the local budgets and increase revenue from administrative services. It will certainly enhance the capacity of local governments to create the necessary conditions for service delivery (through ASCs and their remote offices in starosta districts).

The ASCs can provide a wide range of services to Ukrainian citizens, but 90 per cent of these are free of charge. It is well known that ASC expenditure is funded from local budgets. Given that new services are now being added – for IDPs, e-Restoration, military registration, veteran services, among others – the shortage of professional staff is keenly felt.

Draft Law No. 4380 proposes the following:

1. Reasonable fees for basic/mass services are to be set
2. The following services remain free of charge:
   * social protection and social security for citizens, in particular war veterans and their family members, family members of deceased war veterans, and family members of deceased Defenders of Ukraine;
   * state registration of civil status records;
   * processing and issuing of documents that certify identity and confirm Ukrainian citizenship and its special status.
3. From now on, there will be a clear procedure to determine the specific amounts of administrative fees and the procedure for their payment
4. A cost-recovery approach when determining the amount of administrative fees for paid services, with a cap at ‘cost price’.

For example, copies of the Civil Registry Office records at the local council cost less than one hryvnia. Yet the Ministry of Justice charges UAH 500 for the same service. In reality, it is better to pay UAH 100–200 for the service in your community than to travel dozens of kilometres to a regional office for it.

This draft law is one of the legislative priorities presented by VAG at its General Assembly. Furthermore, this law is also mentioned in the 2024 EU Ukraine Report and included in the Roadmap for Public Administration Reform.