Generator prices: how legal is it to offer paid services for charging smartphones?

There is already a precedent in Ukraine accusing a private entrepreneur of selling electricity because visitors pay for access to sockets in his building. Therefore, lawyers advise businesses to consider how to act without risking their operations, but at the same time be able to offer such services to their clients. writes about it Focus “Electricity for 50 hryvnia. Can entrepreneurs get access to sockets for money?”

Food and beverage companies can legitimately include the cost of running a generator (and therefore electricity) in food or beverage prices. There may even be an option when a special item appears on the menu that provides access to the outlet, or you can charge for a table reservation located next to the outlets. Moreover a business can review the types of activities it is involved in and add KVEDs that will legally allow visitors to come and work on the entrepreneur’s premises.

“For the provision of such services, of course, you should not choose KVED “electric power generation” – you are not a power plant that will generate electricity and transmit it to consumers. At the same time, an entrepreneur can naturally provide services for renting workplaces, buildings, conference rooms – that is, a regular co-working space where a person pays for the time spent in the premises and can freely use the equipment contained in it. (including electrical devices). or charge your devices,” said Vladislav Firsov, attorney for AS Legal.

He recalls that in order for legal services to provide entrepreneurs with access to electricity, it is enough to have the following registered KVEDs:

• 68.20 (leasing of immovable property),
• 77.33 (rental of office machinery and equipment including computers),
• 77.39 (renting of other machinery, equipment and goods),
• 82.11. (providing unified office administrative services),
• 82.19. (Copying, document preparation and other specialized office support activities).

“It is not necessary to provide services for “charging devices” or services for using electricity from a generator. The entrepreneur may provide facility or equipment rental or photocopying and other ancillary office services. In this case, there will be no questions from law enforcement.“, — said Vladislav Firsov.

“The implementation of the main activity of an enterprise (for example, a trading or catering business) provides the opportunity for the customer to enter the premises of a legal entity (FOP) and use certain services there if money is received from the customer, not for access to “charge the device” or “charge” and for services rendered by a legal entity, which also “allows” the device to charge on its own mains, such activities are not covered by the “sale” of electricity and are permitted by law“, – aforementioned Focus Yuriy Khapko, Managing Partner, Lawyer at Totum LF Law Firm.

According to him, the enterprise may organize activities such as the following in order not to be held liable under the article for unlicensed electricity sales:

• a lease agreement for part of the facility with a clause in the electricity compensation agreement, as well as the presence of corresponding KVED activities in the FOP).
• generator rental agreement (in accordance with the norms of the Civil Code, public and a connection agreement);
• mixed lease agreement for part of the lease of part of the building and equipment.

“All these agreements should be accession agreements, public agreements. You can take co-working as an example, there is also a place connected to the electricity grid, but this does not cause any comment from the tax authorities.they usually arrange their services as either equipment rental or workplace rental,” Yury Khapko explained.

Important

Recall that, according to the head of Ukrenergo Volodymyr Kudrytsky, from January 1, 2023, the price of electricity for work will not increase at all.

As he reported FocusFrom 9 November 2022 in Ukraine there is a preferential regime for the import of generators from abroad.