Violation of military accounting rules has long been one of the markers of public tension between citizens and the state. If earlier the state spoke to violators mostly in the language of harsh sanctions, now it has chosen a different intonation. In March, the Verkhovna Rada made amendments to the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses, which significantly change the procedure for prosecution for violating the rules of military accounting. They are aimed at creating additional incentives for conscripts to mobilize in the form of simplifying the procedure for paying fines from TCCs, as well as discounts under certain conditions.
The FACT news agency contacted the lawyers of the Repeshko and Partners Bar Association to find out exactly how the “discounted fine” works under martial law and what it means for citizens.
It should be noted right away that the number of fines from the TCC and SP imposed on violators who are conscripted is constantly increasing. Thus, according to the Ministry of Justice, in 2024, more than 25,000 executive proceedings were opened to implement the resolutions of the TCC and SP on the imposition of fines. About half of them have been completed, which means that the violator has paid the imposed fine or canceled it. Since the beginning of 2025, there have been approximately ten thousand open enforcement proceedings regarding such a fine. However, for the current year, no more than one-tenth of closed enforcement proceedings have been paid as a fine. Violators actively use their right to appeal the imposed fine to the court and in many cases receive a positive decision.
We would like to emphasize that the majority of fines issued for violating the rules of military registration apply to men. However, the number of fines imposed on women also continues to grow. As a reminder, military registration became mandatory for women of certain professions aged 18 to 60 in Ukraine from October 1, 2023. In order not to receive a fine, women had to register by July 17, 2024.
In order to improve the mechanism for collecting fines and relieve the judicial system and departments of the executive service, on March 13, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted the law “On Amendments to the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses Regarding the Improvement of Mechanisms for Bringing Persons to Administrative Responsibility for Violation of Military Accounting Rules and Legislation on Defense, Mobilization Training, and Mobilization.” It has already been signed by the President of Ukraine and is awaiting publication, it will enter into force the day after its official publication. After that, servicemen who defended the country and did not have time to update their data are exempted from paying fines. At the same time, civilians will have a convenient opportunity to pay the fine with a 50% discount in “Reserve+”.
It should be reminded that payment of an administrative fine in any amount is an administrative liability. The new legislative provision provides that it will be easier for citizens to resolve issues related to administrative violations under Articles 210 and 210-1 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The new regulations will open up the possibility to independently initiate the consideration of the case through the electronic office and pay only half of the minimum fine — 8,500. UAH — if data clarification was not submitted without a valid reason. That is, instead of a long bureaucratic red tape, there will be a quick resolution of the situation in a few clicks.
An application for consideration of his case can be submitted by a person who is brought to administrative responsibility in two ways:
- personally in writing;
- through the electronic account of a conscript, conscript, reservist.
However, the possibility of submitting an application through “Reserve+” has not yet been implemented (the Ministry of Defense promises to do so in the summer). Therefore, for now, the application can actually be submitted only in paper form.
The head of the territorial recruitment and social support center will have three days to check whether the person really admitted his guilt and agreed to be held administratively liable without personal presence. If everything is in accordance with the law, the manager is obliged to make a decision on the case – even without the participation of the violator, but in compliance with all the requirements of articles 247, 280 and 283 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. That is, the decision can be made remotely, but exclusively within the legal procedure. At the same time, in the decision on the imposition of an administrative penalty, the head of the TCC and the JV determines the amount of the fine at the level of the minimum amount of the fine provided for by the sanction of the article of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses (CUPAP) for the commission of such an offense.
If a person who is subject to administrative liability filed an application through the electronic account of a conscript, conscript, or reservist, a copy of the decision on the case may be sent to him by electronic means to the email address specified in the Unified State Register of Conscripts, Conscripts, and Reservists, or to his electronic account of a conscript, conscript, or reservist.
In the event that the resolution on imposing an administrative penalty in the form of a fine for an offense provided for in Articles 210 and 210-1 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses is issued in accordance with the procedure provided for in Article 279-9 of this Code, and a person within ten calendar days from the date of entry into force of such a resolution has paid not less than 50 percent of the amount of the fine under the resolution on the imposition of an administrative penalty, such the resolution is considered fulfilled.
At the same time, in case of non-payment of the fine by the person who committed the offense provided for in Articles 210 and 210-1 of this Code, within 30 days from the date of entry into force of the resolution imposing an administrative fine, such resolution shall be subject to enforcement. As you can see, the deadlines for transferring the resolution for enforcement to the state executive service have been changed specifically for cases where the resolution was issued on the basis of the offender’s statement of recognition of the offense. In this case, the TCC and JV will be able to send the resolution to the state executive service only 30 days after the resolution enters into force. The specified term was introduced precisely so that the person had time to pay 50% of the fine, and the TCC and the JV received confirmation of the receipt of the paid funds.
Now, the resolution on the case of an administrative offense provided for by Articles 210 and 210-1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, in cases where the person does not contest the committed violation and agrees to bring him to administrative responsibility in his absence, in addition to the data specified in the second part of this article, must also contain information about the date, method of receipt and content of the statement from the person who is brought to administrative responsibility. In addition, the decision on the imposition of an administrative penalty must contain information on the procedure for the execution of the administrative penalty, including details for paying the fine, and information that the decision will be considered fulfilled in the event of payment within ten calendar days from the date of entry into force of such a decision of not less than 50 percent of the amount of the fine.
Another important nuance: if during a special period a person committed an administrative offense under Articles 210 or 210-1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, and filed a statement in which he admits his guilt and does not object to prosecution without his participation, a protocol is not drawn up for him. Such a statement opens up the opportunity to issue a decision on the imposition of penalty immediately, without unnecessary procedures.
So, according to the new legal norm, the simplified algorithm of actions looks as follows: a person submits a statement admitting to the offense committed before the TCC and SP issue a decision on prosecution. In such a case, within 3 days from the date of receipt of the application, the TCC and JV consider the application and issue a resolution with the minimum amount of the fine (17 thousand hryvnias). If the resolution is issued in this manner (on the basis of an application – regardless of the method of submitting the application), the resolution will be considered fulfilled if the violator pays at least 50 percent of the fine within ten calendar days from the date of entry into force of such a resolution.
We pay attention to the dates – the reference is not to the date of the resolution, but to the date of its entry into force. If the resolution is not appealed, it enters into force after 10 days. In other words, if you submit such an application and manage to pay half of the fine (8,500 UAH) within 20 days from the date of the decision, you will actually be able to receive a 50% discount.
In addition, there was also a new reason for the closure of proceedings on an administrative offense – this is the completion of military service by a person against whom proceedings on an administrative offense have been initiated, provided for in Articles 210 and 210-1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses. This means, if, for example, a violation of the rules of military registration is discovered by a man who became a military serviceman before the decision was issued, then the decision should no longer be issued. However, the changes will not affect those who have already been prosecuted.
Therefore, the purpose of such changes is to create additional incentives for conscripts to mobilize in the form of avoiding the need to pay a fine or pay a fine in the minimum amount without contesting it and without delaying its payment.
Also, according to the adopted changes, data and information from the Unified State Register of conscripts, military conscripts and reservists will be considered appropriate evidence in cases of administrative offenses. That is, the state is taking more and more steps in the direction of digitalization of the lives of ordinary citizens, which is quite a positive change within the existing military realities.
Another novelty was the fact that cases of administrative offenses provided for by Articles 210 and 210-1 of the Criminal Procedure Code can also be considered in two versions:
- according to the place of stay on the military record of the person who committed such administrative offenses;
- according to the place of their discovery.
In other words, for violating the rules of military accounting, not only “your” TCC and SP, but also any other can be fined.
It is difficult to call this legislative innovation positive. After all, it is still not clear how the territorial recruitment and social support centers will check whether a fine has already been imposed for the same violation of military records on other TCCs and SPs. And this is not a formality: double punishment for the same act is contrary to the law and is expressly prohibited – a person cannot be prosecuted twice for the same offense.
The situation is complicated by the fact that in case of non-payment of the fine, enforcement proceedings are voluntarily initiated, which automatically doubles the amount of the fine. Add to this the risks of seizure of accounts, travel restrictions, etc., and we have a classic example of when we wanted the best, but it turned out as usual.
Only time will tell how effectively the new mechanism will work in general. To pay a fine according to a simplified procedure, or to challenge its imposition in court – everyone must decide for himself.
