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Ukraine's Finance Ministry on Aug. 12 said value-added tax refunds should be automatic in 2011. Ukraine's Finance Ministry plans to streamline the automatic reimbursement of value-added tax (VAT) as of January 1, 2011, amid budget revenue growth, Deputy Finance Minister Tetiana Yefymenko said at a press conference on Wednesday.

"We should make VAT refunding automatic and transparent as of January 1," she said.

She said this requires a corresponding resource in the national budget.

"Since March, when the current government started to work, the difference between the revenue target [and actual receipts] has been narrowing, which will be conducive to [making] VAT refunds," she said.

"We pin hopes on August and subsequent months being resource [replenishing ones]," she said referring to the increase in excises and taxes as of August under law No. 2275.

"Moreover, Ukraine's economy is successfully moving into a phase of growth… The fact that business activity is on the rise allows us to forecast that the [budget] revenues will be secured in full, and by the end of the year Ukraine will shift to automatic VAT refunds."

Vice Premier Sergiy Tigipko earlier said that as of September, Ukraine should start to automatically reimburse VAT to transparently operating companies.