On August 9, 2024, the law on amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses entered into force, which changes the rules of qualification and sentencing for petty theft.
When the law entered into force, the theft of property in an amount not exceeding 0.2 of the tax-free minimum income of citizens (hereinafter referred to as "nmdg") was considered petty. One nmdg is 0.5 of the subsistence minimum for able-bodied persons. The amount of the subsistence minimum is updated every year and is fixed in Article 7 of the law on the state budget for the current year.
In 2024, this amount is UAH 3028, so one nmdg is equal to 1514 hryvniasAfter the entry into force of the law, theft that does not exceed 2 nmdg is considered petty.
That is, the bar has been raised, and if previously theft of property worth less than UAH 302.80 was considered petty, now theft worth less than UAH 3,028 (2 nmdg) is considered petty.
Moreover, the law now divides petty theft of property worth up to 0.5 NDMG and from 0.5 to 2 NDMG.
The difference between these two categories is the severity of the punishment. Theft of property worth more than 2 nmdg (3,028 hryvnias) entails criminal liability under Article 185 of the Criminal Code.
Together with the value of the property, which is necessary to qualify the act as petty theft, the punishment for this offense has also increased.
The minimum penalty for a first offense has been increased from 10 nmdg (10*17=170 UAH) to 50 nmdg (50*17=850 UAH) for property worth up to 0.5 nmdg, and up to 100 nmdg (1700 UAH) for property worth up to 2 nmdg.
The maximum is from 30 (30*17=510) to 100 (100*17=1700) for theft of property worth up to 0.5 nmdg and up to 300 nmdg (300*17=5100), if the value of the stolen item is from 0.5 to 2 nmdg. During the calculation, it is necessary to understand that there are two different concepts of "nmdg" in the law.
The first - it changes every year, it is fixed in the law on the State Budget. We use it when qualifying an action.
The second is established in clause 5 of section 1 of the transitional provisions of the Tax Code and is equal to the amount of UAH 17. We use it when calculating the amount of the fine.
The punishment for repeated petty theft has also been increased. According to Article 35 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, a uniform offense committed within a year from the moment of imposing an administrative fine for the previous one is considered repeated.
The penalty for repeated petty theft is from 300 (300*17= 5100 UAH) to 600 (600*17=10200 UAH) per month.
The fine for repeated petty theft by a person who has been subject to administrative penalty for petty theft of someone else's property three or more times during the year amounts to 600 to 1000 (1000*17=17000 hryvnias) nmdg.
Also, from now on, the repeated commission of petty theft excludes the possibility of exemption from administrative liability if the offense is minor in accordance with the note to Article 22 of the Code of Administrative Offenses.
Among other changes, from now on, the owner of an enterprise, institution, organization or the body authorized by him has no right to draw up an administrative report on petty theft. The law amends Articles 51, 22, 255 and 277 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and actually changes the qualification of the act of theft (Article 185 of the Code of Criminal Procedure). The changes do not apply to such offenses as fraud (Article 190 of the Criminal Code), appropriation or embezzlement of property (Article 191 of the Criminal Code) and tax evasion (Article 212 of the Criminal Code).
So, if the amount of stolen property under Art. 185, KKU will be more than 2 tax-free minimum incomes of citizens, namely more than UAH 3,028, then the culprit will bear criminal responsibility. Otherwise, administrative sanctions will be applied in accordance with Art. 51 of the Labor Code of Ukraine.
The calculation of damage in large and especially large amounts in Article 185 of the Criminal Code has not changed since the law came into force.
Significant damage in 2024 is recognized if the damage is caused in the amount of 100 to 250 of the tax-free minimum income of citizens = from UAH 151,400 to UAH 378,500. In large sizes: from UAH 378,500 to UAH 908,400. In especially large sizes: from UAH 908,400
