1.1.3. Theoretical and legal grounds for small and medium-sized enterprises in Ukraine

In article 55(3) of Economic code of Ukraine SMEs are defined and mainly similar to the Commission Recommendation’s approach:

“Subjects of economic activity, depending on the number of employees and income from any activity for a year, can be regarded as small entrepreneurship as well as microentrepreneurship, and medium or large entrepreneurships.

Subjects of microentrepreneurship are:

individuals registered as prescribed by law as physical persons-entrepreneurs whose average number of employees during the reporting period (calendar year) does not exceed

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10 people and annual income from any activity does not exceed the sum equivalent to 2 million euros, defined by the average annual rate of the National Bank of Ukraine

legal entities — subjects of economic activity of any organizational-legal form and form of ownership in which the average number of employees during the reporting period (calendar year) does not exceed 10 people and annual income from any activity does not exceed the sum equivalent to 2 million euros determined by the average annual rate of the National bank of Ukraine.

Subjects of small entrepreneurship are:

individuals registered as prescribed by law as physical persons-entrepreneurs whose average number of employees during the reporting period (calendar year) does not exceed 50 people and annual income from any activity does not exceed the sum equivalent to 10 million euros, defined by the average annual rate of the National Bank of Ukraine

legal entities — subjects of economic activity of any organizational-legal form and form of ownership in which the average number of employees during the reporting period (calendar year) does not exceed 50 people and annual income from any activity does not exceed the sum equivalent to 10 million euros determined by the average annual rate of the National bank of Ukraine.

Subjects of large entrepreneurship are legal entities — subjects of economic activity of any organizational-legal form and form of ownership in which the average number of employees during the reporting period (calendar year) exceeds 250 people and annual income from any activity exceeds the sum equivalent to 50 million euros determined by the average annual rate of the National bank of Ukraine.

All other subjects of economic activity shall be regarded as medium entrepreneurship” [71].

At the same time we can notice some further differences:

1) Commission Recommendation uses 3 criteria to define SMEs and they are quantity of employed persons, annual turnover, annual balance sheet, but in Ukraine only 2: annual income and quantity of employed persons.

2) Ukraine applies different treatment to individuals and legal entities, because large entrepreneur can be only legal entities in accordance with Economic code’s text.

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Law on development and state support of small and medium-sized entrepreneurship in Ukraine which actually reversed the Economic Code of Ukraine in the SMEs’ context and brought the definitions of types of SMEs has also some relevant provisions. Art. 1 of this law says: «The terms «small entrepreneurship» and «medium entrepreneurship» are used in this Law in the meaning provided in the Economic Code of Ukraine, taking into account the fact that for the purposes of this Act, the term «small entrepreneurship» includes micro entrepreneurship» [83] Generally speaking, this law excludes such a kind of SMEs as a «micro enterprise», but why it is so, this is not explained. Only from the statistics of the quantity of the SMEs in Ukraine it is showed that a small business includes a micro business [74]. Anyway, I think it contradicts the notion set in article 55(3) of Economic code of Ukraine, because this article legibly singles out small entity and why a micro entity is not a small by revealing such a type. This approach comes up from teleological and logical interpretations and means that a micro entity cannot be a small entity and otherwise the situation is same.

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