On Thursday, the Saeima adopted amendments to the Law on the Support of Civilians of Ukraine, which envisages the publication of data on commercial companies registered in Latvia that conduct trade with Russia and Belarus.
With the adopted amendments, the parliamentarians supplemented the law with a new article – Article 24, establishing a special regulation for the transfer and publication of information in order to promote openness about the cooperation of Latvian companies with the mentioned countries.
According to the changes, the State Revenue Service (SRS) will be obliged to prepare and transfer to the Central Statistics Office (CSB) data on commercial companies registered in Latvia that export or import goods to Russia and Belarus. In turn, CSB will publish these data on its website once a quarter.
The information to be published will include the identification numbers and names of exporters and importers.
At the same time, the law provides an exception, stipulating that such transfer and disclosure of information will not be subject to the confidentiality restrictions set forth in the Law “On Taxes and Fees”.
The purpose of the amendments is to support the Ukrainian society in the fight against the armed conflict caused by Russia and its supporter Belarus, ensuring greater transparency regarding the economic cooperation of Latvian companies with these countries.
As reported, the relevant amendments were initiated by the members of the “New Unity” (JV) party, a similar initiative had previously also been promoted by the National Union (NA).
