Registering an international technical assistance project in Ukraine

International technical assistance (known in Ukraine by the abbreviation MTD) means financial and other resources and services that development partners provide to Ukraine free of charge and on a non-repayable basis under international treaties of Ukraine. That last condition is what separates such a project from an ordinary grant: money from a private foundation operating without an intergovernmental agreement is not technical assistance and is not registered. The rules are set by the Procedure approved by Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 153 of 15 February 2002, and it should be read in its current wording: the latest amendments date from May and September 2026.

Who is who in a project

• Development partner (in everyday speech the donor) – a foreign state, its authorised body or an international organisation providing assistance under an international treaty.
• Implementer – any person, resident or non-resident, that has a written agreement with the development partner and delivers the project.
• Recipient – a resident that directly receives the assistance. If you signed the grant agreement, you are the recipient.
• Beneficiary – the public authority responsible for the sector or territory of the project, including an executive body of local self-government. It has an interest in the results and supervises the project.

For projects aimed at supporting civil society institutions no beneficiary is designated: a ministry support letter is not needed, and the organisation reports directly to the Secretariat.

When registration is needed and when people do without it

The Procedure calls registration of such projects mandatory and at the same time explains its purpose: it is the basis for accrediting implementers and for the exemptions, privileges and immunities provided by legislation and international treaties. The donor transfers the money under the grant agreement, and the validity of that agreement does not depend on Ukrainian registration.

The practical conclusion for EU grants, Horizon Europe included, follows from this. The European Commission does not require registration in Ukraine, and you will receive the grant without it. But the VAT exemption under the 2006 Framework Agreement between the Government of Ukraine and the Commission operates through the registration card and the procurement plan. Without them you buy with VAT, and whether that cost is eligible is decided by the budget rules of the programme. A non-profit organisation pays no corporate income tax on the grant in any case, because that follows from its status rather than from a project exemption.

The Procedure does not cover humanitarian aid, international military assistance, budget support grants from international financial organisations, or projects funded by NATO.

Documents and time limits

The documents are filed by the recipient and the development partner or a person it has authorised, in electronic and paper form, in the original language with a Ukrainian translation:

• a request with details of the development partner, implementer, recipient and beneficiary, and the project number assigned by the donor;
• a certified copy of the contract between the development partner and the implementer, or the part of it stating the objectives, the volume of assistance, the estimated cost and the timeline, plus a support letter from the beneficiary;
• a document confirming that objectives and activities have been agreed, or a certified copy of the grant agreement if the recipient has concluded one;
• a procurement plan in the form of Annex 5, certified by the development partner or the implementer, if tax exemptions are needed;
• a report on results if the documents are filed more than six months after the project started.

The Secretariat reviews the package within 10 working days and issues the registration card within a further five working days of its decision. It sends copies of the card and the procurement plan to the tax and customs services itself. Registration can be refused because of an incomplete package, inaccurate information or the expiry of the project period, so it should not be left to the final months.

A change of recipient, implementer, cost or duration, or the filing of a procurement plan, means re-registration. Keep this in mind every time the donor approves an amendment to the agreement.

Monitoring and reporting

The recipient submits half-year monitoring results to the beneficiary by 10 July and annual results by 10 January in the form of Annex 3, and final monitoring results at the end of the project. The implementer reports to the Secretariat separately, by 30 July and by 30 January. Failure to submit is treated as unsatisfactory implementation: the Secretariat raises the suspension of the project with the donor, and the exemptions do not apply for that period.

Two more duties are easy to miss: property received in the project must be put on the balance sheet within 10 calendar days, and information about that property and about the grant agreement must be published on your own website or in the media within the same period. This reporting runs alongside reporting to the donor and does not replace it.