On April 23, 2024, Valeriy Prytulyak, a member of the NGO LEC “ProJustice”, took part in a general discussion of problematic issues arising in the process of land sale, which was attended by more than 120 participants, including private executors, representatives of the Notary Chamber of Ukraine, JSC “Prozorro.Sale”, trading platforms and assistants to private executors. The participants of the discussion noted that in order to comply with the procedure for conducting and formalizing the results of land auctions and to avoid challenging their results, private executors – organizers of land auctions – should pay additional attention to the following: 1. Responsibility for determining the winner or disqualification of the winner rests entirely with the auction organizer, in this case, the private contractor, including verification of compliance of the potential buyer with the requirements of Art. 130 of the Land Code of Ukraine and verification of the authenticity of the submitted documents specified in Art. 137 of the Land Code of Ukraine. The organizer of the land auction does not sign the protocol of the auction, does not conclude an agreement based on the results of the land auction with the winner of the auction who does not comply with the requirements of the Land Code of Ukraine and the terms of the auction, and decides to refuse to sign the protocol with such a winner, which is formalized by an act of disqualification of the bidder, which is uploaded to the electronic trading system . 2. The operator of the electronic platform does NOT have the right NOT to allow potential buyers who submit incomplete data on compliance with the requirements of the Land Code to participate in electronic auctions, but only checks the payment of guarantee and registration fees, further verification of the potential buyer is entrusted to the organizer of the land auction – a private contractor when signing the protocol. 3. Documents submitted by potential buyers through their personal accounts, namely: an application for participation in land auctions and documents specified in clause 3. a, b h. 7 Art. 137 of the Land Code of Ukraine must be certified by a qualified electronic signature of a person wishing to participate in the auction, while signing such documents with a unified electronic signature is NOT allowed. Participants who do not sign documents with a qualified electronic signature are subject to disqualification. This position is consistent with the decision of the Supreme Court as part of the panel of judges of the Commercial Court of Cassation in case No. 904/2391/22 dated 29.08.2023. 4. In order to properly inform and protect the rights of the holder of the preemptive right to purchase an agricultural land plot, the organizer of a land auction for the sale of a land plot shall notify the holder of the preemptive right to purchase it in writing of such auction no later than 30 calendar days before the day of the land auction, including repeated auctions, i.e., the notice to the holder of the preemptive right shall be sent each time the auction is scheduled. The authenticity of the signature on the notice shall be notarized. 5. Due to the inconsistency between the provisions of the Land Code of Ukraine and the Law of Ukraine “On Personal Farming”, as well as the latest position of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, private executors are advised to pay special attention to the sale of land plots with the designated purpose “for personal farming”. Since the Law of Ukraine “On Private Farming” defines the scope of powers of the owner of a land plot for running a private farm and the definition of Art. 33 of the Land Code that such land plots may be transferred to legal entities only for use, NOT to allow legal entities to participate in such land auctions (having previously indicated the restrictions when publishing the lot) and/or to decide to disqualify the winner – a legal entity. The event also discussed the improvement of electronic offices of bidding organizers. Representatives of the SE Prozorro. Sale assured that such accounts will be finalized in terms of notification of payment of the security deposit, adding information that the land plot is in emphyteusis, indicating that the debtor in the enforcement proceedings is a VAT payer, adjusting and adding information on encumbrances and seizures of the land plot throughout the period until the electronic auction, etc. technical issues outlined by private contractors. In addition, after discussing the legislative issues of preparation for and conduct of land auctions, as well as the results of their registration, representatives of the Association of Private Enforcement Officers, the Notary Chamber of Ukraine and SE “Prozorro.Sale” agreed on the need to hold joint events with representatives of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine and the StateGeoCadastre for further actions aimed at legislative regulation of the voiced problematic issues, including the issue of acquisition of land by legal entities as a result of land auctions.