Registration of association in Ukraine

1) Association - a contractual union of enterprises in a certain industry.

2) The association is created for the purpose of coordinating the activities of the participants, protecting their interests, increasing influence on the market and expanding the scope of opportunities.

3) Association registration may require approval of documents with the Antimonopoly Committee.

What is an "association"?

An association is a contractual union created for the purpose of permanent coordination of the activities of the united enterprises.

The association achieves its goal by:

• centralization of one or more production and management functions;
• development of specialization and production cooperation;
• the organization of joint productions, on the basis of the pooling of financial and material resources by the participants to meet mainly the economic needs of the participants of the association.

The statute of the association must state that it is an economic association.

What is the status of the enterprises participating in the association?

Enterprises participating in the association retain the status of a legal entity.

A company that is a member of the association has the right to:

• voluntarily withdraw from the association under the conditions and in the manner determined by the founding agreement or the association's charter;
• to be a member of other associations, unless otherwise established by law, the founding agreement or the statute of the association;
• to receive information related to the interests of the enterprise from the association in the prescribed manner.

The association does not have the right to interfere in the economic activities of the enterprises - members of the association.

By decision of the participants, the association may be authorized to represent their interests in relations with authorities, other enterprises and organizations.

What bodies are created in the association?

The following management bodies are created in the association:

General meetings of association members:

• approve the association charter and amend it;
• resolve the issue of accepting new members into the association and excluding members from its membership;
• appoint the executive body of the association in accordance with its charter or contract;
• resolves financial and other issues in accordance with the founding documents of the association.

Executive body of the association (collegial or individual):

• resolves issues of current activity that, in accordance with the statute or contract, are assigned to its competence.

What are the types of association?

Associations are divided into two types:

• with the commercial activities - need approval of founding documents with the Antimonopoly Committee;
• without the commercial activities - need to receive a letter of consent to register the association without obtaining a permit from the Antimonopoly Committee.

Subject to the fulfilment of a number of criteria, which are defined in the order of AMCU dated 30.11.2006 N 511-р, it is possible to register an association without conducting commercial activities and without receiving a letter from the Antimonopoly Committee.

After registration, an association without conducting commercial activity is entered in the register of non-profit organizations. Such an association functions at the expense of membership fees, sponsorship and philanthropic assistance.