Is it possible to obtain a license for implementation a specific kind of economic activity for Public organization or Charity foundation?

Up to date, a business entity must first obtain the relevant license in order to be engaged in a particular type of business activity in Ukraine.

In accordance with Article 56 of the Commercial Code of Ukraine a business entity is a business organization, which can be formed by a decision of a property owner or a body authorized by him, as well as by the decision of other bodies, organizations and individuals in cases specifically established by the law.

A Non-governmental Organization or a Charitable Foundation is subject to state registration as a legal entity in accordance with the procedure established by the law.

Based on the fact, what is a business entity, it can be understood that a charitable organization, namely a Charitable Foundation (CF) acquires the rights and duties of a legal entity from the moment of state registration.

Non-governmental association (NGA) is a willingly association of individuals and / or legal entities of private law for realization and defence of rights and freedoms, satisfaction of public interests, in particular economic, social, cultural, environmental and other interests (the Law of Ukraine “On Non-governmental Associations”).

It should be pointed out that in the case of Non-governmental Associations, the possibility of obtaining a license specifically by a Non-governmental organization with a status of a legal entity will be considered (since the Non-governmental Association can carry out activities without the status of a legal entity).

The status of a legal entity for Non-governmental Organizations and Charitable Foundations is necessary to make possible an obtainment of a license for conducting business activity. After all, a licensee is a business entity (that is, a legal entity), who submitted an application for obtaining a license along with supporting documents in accordance with the requirements of the relevant licensing conditions to the licensing authority (the Law of Ukraine “On Licensing of Types of Business Activities).

For instance, if the Non-governmental Organization or the Charitable Foundation ensure the organization of its activities and the necessary documents in accordance with the licensing conditions, it will be able to obtain a broadcasting license (terrestrial, cable, multichannel etc.). Broadcasting license obtainment is carried out in accordance with the Law of Ukraine “On Television and Radio Broadcasting”.

This license may be issued by a television and radio broadcasting organization, which complied with the requirements of the licensing conditions and submitted the relevant package of documents to the National Council of Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine.

A television and radio broadcasting organization, in its turn, is a legal entity registered in compliance with procedure set by legislation, which (based on the broadcasting license issued by the National Council of Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine) creates or completes and/or packages television and radio broadcasting programmes and / or transmission and distributes them with the help of technical means of broadcasting (the Law of Ukraine “On Television and Radio Broadcasting”).

Besides the licensing requirements, the Non-governmental Organization or the Charitable Foundation should pay attention to the constitutional documents. Since a business entity claiming an obtainment of such a license should foresee creation of a special supervisory board (editorial board) within its governing bodies. After all, if the creation of an editorial board is not provided in charter or constitutional documents, this will be a reason for refusal to issue a license in any case, regardless of who intends to obtain a license - the Non-governmental Organization or the Charitable Foundation. Furthermore, a necessary condition is a certificate of registration of a trademark for goods and services. Or, at least, an application must be submitted to the Ukrainian Intellectual Property Institute (Ukrpatent) to register the trademark.

In order to make sure of a possibility to obtain the broadcasting license for the Non-governmental Organization and the Charitable Foundation, you can refer to the State Register of Subjects of Information Activity in the sphere of Television and Radio Broadcasting, which states the the Non-governmental Organization and the Charitable Foundation that obtained the broadcasting license.

In addition, provided that the relevant license requirements are fulfilled, it will also be possible to obtain a license for medical practice for the Non-governmental Organization (the relevant decision on issuing a license for medical practice to a Non-governmental Organization is stated in the Order of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine number 2494, dated December 28, 2018).

Regarding the types of business activity, which are also subjected to licensing, and when, in compliance with the licensing requirements, a minimum amount of an authorized capital is required, such as for an insurance license, the Non-governmental Organization or the Charitable Foundation will not be able to obtain such a license. Since a licensee must have the relevant minimum amount of the authorized capital (guarantee deposit) of an insurer, and the relevant legislation does not stipulate for formation of the authorized capital for the Non-governmental Organization or the Charitable Foundation (the Law of Ukraine “On Insurance”).

Conclusions

Therefore, in order to have a possibility to obtain a license for a business activity for a Non-governmental Organization or a Charitable Foundation, it is necessary to initially conduct a state registration of the Non-governmental Organization or the Charitable Foundation as a legal entity. After all, a licensee can only be a business entity (a legal entity). Furthermore, the Non-governmental Organization or the Charitable Foundation must comply with the licensing requirements.

Types of business activity, for which the Non-governmental Organization or the Charitable Foundation can definitely obtain a license, is for broadcasting and for medical practice, since decisions of the licensing bodies on the issuance of such licenses have already been taken (they are mentioned above in this article). To obtain a license for other types of business activity (since they are more than thirty), it is necessary to separately consider the requirements for a particular type of business activity, as the licensing requirements are different based on the type of activity.

So, if you are considering a possibility of obtaining a license for your Charity Foundation or Non-governmental Organization, please contact us at number: 0 800 330 967.