Ukraine Risks Losing $3.3B World Bank Loan, IMF Funding After 2 Bills Stalled in Parliament

Ukraine's parliament is dragging discussions on two critical bills – on SEPA accession and parcel VAT – putting a $3.3 billion World Bank disbursement at risk and again threatening an IMF benchmark. Make us preferred on Google Share Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn Bluesky Email Copy Copied This photograph taken on Aug. 23, 2024, shows a Ukrainian flag fluttering over the Verkhovna Rada building, on the Day of the National Flag, in Kyiv, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Roman PILIPEY / AFP) Content Share Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn Bluesky Email Copy Copied Flip Make us preferred on Google Ukraine risks losing a $3.3 billion World Bank loan and aid from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after two vital bills to advance the country’s EU accession and complete another key IMF benchmark were stalled in parliament, two sources told Kyiv Post. The two bills are a draft law on Ukraine’s accession to the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) – required to receive a $3.3 billion World Bank Development Policy Loan (DPL) – and legislation to impose value-added tax (VAT) on international parcels valued at under €150 ($175), a key IMF benchmark, a source in the government told Kyiv Post. Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official . If the bills are not passed by parliament, Ukraine will also fail to secure the lifeline funds needed to finance its budget in the coming months of 2026. Joining SEPA is necessary for Ukraine to reduce the costs and processing times of euro transactions across 41 countries. The SEPA bill, registered as #14327-d and required under the World Bank’s DPL, must be adopted by July to avoid the World Bank ending its fiscal year without disbursing cash to Ukraine. Otherwise, Ukraine will get the aid later, while also showing less discipline in reforms. “Either we make it into the current fiscal year of the World Bank until July 1, and get the $3.3 billion DPL, or we’re shifting into the next fiscal year and get the tranche later – again with certain reputational consequences, including the fact that we’ve been unable to satisfy a DPL condition for half a year,” Kyiv Post’s government source said.The second source participating in the bill’s discussions also confirmed to Kyiv Post that the SEPA bill is crucial to get the World Bank’s DPL tranche. Other Topics of Interest 2026 IMF Spring Meetings: Middle East War and Ukraine Developments Global finance leaders met in DC as oil topped $100. Kyiv Post reports on Ukraine’s $52B budget gap and the breakthrough unlocking €90B in EU aid following the Hungarian opposition’s victory. Joining SEPA requires creating a centralized registry of individual bank accounts. Under the bill, Ukraine’s law enforcement and anti-graft agencies will have automatic access to the registry during pre-trial investigations into money laundering, terrorism financing, and related offenses. A number of Ukraine’s lawmakers have opposed the bill, fearing Ukraine’s law enforcement would abuse this information to persecute Ukrainians. Nina Yuzhanina, a lawmaker from the opposition European Solidarity party, criticized the bill in a Facebook post , expressing concern that it provides “the widest possible access without adequate safeguards.” Danylo Hetmantsev, a lawmaker from Zelensky’s Servant of the People party, voiced concerns that authorities could freeze bank accounts at will in a response to Kyiv Post’s question regarding the party’s stance on the SEPA bill. “Ask yourself: Would you want a senior investigator from the unreformed Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) or the National Police to have access to information about all your bank accounts – and to be able to freeze them with a single order in any criminal case?” Hetmantsev said. However, the registry would list account holders, account numbers, and opening and closing dates, but not balances or transaction data, according to the bill text published on the parliamentary website . Kyiv Post’s government source acknowledged the concern but argued it was overstated. “What worries lawmakers is that law enforcement agencies will, in one place, have access to these registries,” the source said. “This concern undermines the benefits of SEPA for Ukrainian businesses, which is around €70-100 million [$82-117 million] in saved fees.” The second source participating in the discussions told Kyiv Post that the “registry brings no threat to either lawmakers or Ukrainian citizens,” as shown by “the experience of other countries.” Hetmantsev told Kyiv Post that lawmakers will discuss the SEPA bill in parliament on Wednesday, April 29. “The committee recommended that the bill be adopted by the Verkhovna Rada in the first reading. Agreement was reached on all the key provisions of the bill,” he said. Yulia Sirko, a lawmaker from the opposition Holos party, told Kyiv Post that “there are not enough votes in parliament to support the bill,” adding that it is “more likely to be sent back for further refinement”. Lawmakers are also insisting that the registry begin operating six months before the EU accession agreement takes effect, which the second source participating in the bill’s discussions said undermines the very idea of creating the registry required for SEPA. The bill states that the registry can begin operating as soon as the finance ministry sets it up, but the source said that such a deadline will “turn into an opportunity to postpone the relevant launch.” “That is why international partners do not strongly support this version of the bill, and in fact, this will most likely mean that in order to receive funds under the DPL from the World Bank, we will actually need to launch this registry,” the source said. Hetmanstev told Kyiv Post that concerns about law enforcement access to the registry were the exact reason lawmakers decided to postpone the project. “This concerns everyone, not just lawmakers, because people know our law enforcement officers,” he told Kyiv Post. Sirko also expressed Holos’s concerns about “the balance between financial monitoring and the protection of citizens’ rights” in her comments to Kyiv Post. However, Hetmanstev acknowledged that the SEPA bill “makes sense.” “It’s 200 pages long and contains a vast array of provisions that streamline calculations and introduce modern financial monitoring standards,” Hetmanstev said. Another bill, #15112-1, imposes VAT on international parcels valued at under €150 ($176), aimed at raising Hr.10 billion ($222 million) in tax revenues per year, and is a key IMF benchmark under the $8.1 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program, with a deadline by the end of March 2026. Ukraine’s central bank, the National Bank of Ukraine, also backed the idea in its October 2025 Inflation Report , saying VAT on parcels will curb non-priority imports and reduce the current account deficit. The European Business Association has endorsed the bill, though it called for parallel amendments to the Customs Code to make sure the process works as intended. However, lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak said customs infrastructure can’t handle the extra load if it processes taxes for all parcels. In his Telegram post , he estimated that the number of parcels subject to processing would rise 122-fold – from roughly 600,000 to 90 million annually. In another post , he wrote that in 2025, Ukraine received 75.5 million parcels worth Hr.167 billion ($3.8 billion), of which less than 1%, 600,000 parcels, were subject to any taxation. The remaining 74.9 million parcels entered duty-free under the current exemption. The National Interests Advocacy Network (ANTS) is among the bill’s opponents, saying #15112-1 will cause a collapse when Ukraine’s customs infrastructure processes 100,000 parcels, and that the administrative costs of processing low-value parcels may exceed the actual tax revenue collected. Yuzhanina, from the European Solidarity party, also said the government failed to address postal operators’ concerns about managing 75 million parcels annually and preserving VAT exemptions for essential defense equipment, such as drones and electronic warfare systems. The alternative bill, #15112-1, has been registered in the parliament. Unlike the government’s primary bill, the alternative proposal maintains a VAT exemption for non-commercial “gift” parcels sent between individuals, provided their value does not exceed €45 ($53). The alternative bill also suggests lifting the “no weapons” restriction for imported drones and clarifying VAT exemptions for critical defense equipment. Similar to the original draft, it shifts the responsibility for VAT collection to foreign marketplaces. But, like the SEPA bill, VAT on parcels is not gaining momentum, Sirko told Kyiv Post. She added that it would likely be revised before it is considered again in the parliament. “There is currently no clear timeline for when it will be put to a vote,” she said. Kyiv Post’s government source said the government had already managed a politically painful delay on introducing VAT for sole proprietors (FOPs) – recently stalled by lawmakers, with Kyiv and the IMF discussing alternatives – and could not afford another such concession. “We were able to carry over the FOP question with blood,” he said. “We no longer have such a chance.” Ukraine is once again facing a “Groundhog Day” scenario with its reform commitments. While the government moved forward with a military tax and taxation of digital platforms’ income, two other benchmarks – VAT on parcels and for sole proprietors – remain stalled in the drafting phase. This cycle of last-minute delays now puts a $3.3 billion disbursement at risk. Olena Hrazhdan is the Business Reporter at Kyiv Post, covering Ukraine’s markets, business, and economic policy. While she reports broadly on economic issues, her core focus is banking, finance, monetary and fiscal policy. Olena previously wrote for leading Ukrainian business media and became a Fellow of the International Monetary Fund’s Journalism Fellowship in 2024. Mariіa Boltryk has been a journalist since 2022 and has been working for Ukraine's leading news agency Interfax-Ukraine. At Kyiv Post, she covers macroeconomics in Ukraine and business-related topics.