Approved Amendments to the Customs Legislation under the Draft Law No. 7190

On March 24, 2022, the Parliament adopted the draft Law of Ukraine No. 7190 “On Amendments to the Tax Code of Ukraine and Other Legislative Acts of Ukraine Concerning the Improvement of Legislation for the Period of Martial Law”. The Law introduces a number of amendments to the Customs Code of Ukraine, in particular:

1. The following is exempt from import duty:

• goods imported (shipped) to the customs territory of Ukraine by enterprises for free circulation, except for ethyl alcohol and other alcoholic distillates, alcoholic beverages, beer (except kvass of “live” fermentation), tobacco products, tobacco, industrial tobacco substitutes, liquids used in electronic cigarettes;
• cars, their bodies, trailers and semi-trailers, motorcycles, vehicles designed for the transportation of 10 people and more, vehicles for the transportation of goods imported by citizens into the customs territory of Ukraine for free circulation.

Exemption from import duties does not apply to goods originating in a state recognized as the aggressor or occupying state, or imported from such a state and (or) from the occupied territory of Ukraine, defined as such by law.

These provisions are temporary, for the period from the entry into force of this Law, but not earlier than April 1, 2022 and until the termination or abolition of martial law in Ukraine.

1. Customs clearance of goods imported by single tax payers of Groups 1, 2, 3 (except those who have opted for the rate of 3% and payment of VAT):

• customs clearance of such goods during import (shipment) by enterprises, their declaration for placement in the customs regime of import may be carried out by submitting a preliminary customs declaration, which contains all the necessary information for the release of goods in accordance with part 3 of Art. 259 of the Customs Code of Ukraine.
• customs clearance of the above goods shall be completed as soon as possible, but not more than one working hour from the date of presentation of goods, commercial vehicles subject to customs clearance to the customs authority (if, according to the Customs Code of Ukraine, goods, commercial vehicles appointments are subject to presentation), submission of a customs declaration or a document that replaces it in accordance with the law;
• the fee for the performance of customs formalities by the customs authorities outside the location of the customs authorities or outside the working hours established for them shall not be collected from the concerned persons.

These provisions are temporary, for the period from the entry into force of this Law, but not earlier than April 1, 2022 and until the termination or abolition of martial law in Ukraine.

1. Removal of restrictions on the movement of goods:

According to part 2 of Art. 197 of the Customs Code of Ukraine, the central body of executive power, which implements the state tax and customs policy, determines the codes of goods in accordance with the UKT ZED, the movement of which across the customs border of Ukraine in the appropriate direction is restricted. The “Single Window for International Trade” portal posted a letter of the State Customs Servicce of January 30, 2020 No. 123/16-03-01 with a list of such restrictions. 

Law No. 7190 stipulates that the passage through the customs border of Ukraine and/or release in accordance with the stated purpose of goods that, according to their UKT ZED code and description, may belong, but by their characteristics and physicochemical properties do not belong to: cultural values, narcotic subtances, psychotropic substances and precursors; radioelectronic means and radiating devices prohibited for import and use on the territory of Ukraine; military or dual-use goods; hazardous waste; agrochemicals and pesticides subject to state registration; endangered objects of trade under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora; genetically modified organisms or products produced using genetically modified organisms; those containing ozone-depleting substances, shall be carried out by the customs authorities on the basis of a statement by the declarant or their authorized person not to apply the prohibitions and/or restrictions to such goods established by the relevant laws.

1. Regarding inspections, deadlines and customs formalities:

• documentary checks of compliance with the requirements of the legislation of Ukraine on customs matters, including timeliness, reliability, completeness of accrual and payment of customs duties, shall not start, and the started checks shall be stopped. Acts (certificates) on the results of documentary checks, cross-checks, objections to the acts of inspections and tax decisions shall not be sent (delivered);
• the course of terms shall be stopped for the following: request of the customs authority to verify the documents on the origin of goods or provide additional information; preservation by the bodies that issued the certificate of origin of goods from Ukraine, of its copy and other documents on the basis of which the origin of this goods from Ukraine is certified; those established by the article on adjusting the customs value of goods; term of storage of goods in the customs regime of the customs warehouse; term of temporary storage of goods; term of storage of goods, commercial vehicles by customs authorities; term of storage of documents, information about which is specified in the customs declaration; term of storage of goods, commercial vehicles under customs control until the moment of placing these goods, vehicles in the appropriate customs regime, etc.;
• at the request of the declarant or their authorized person, customs authorities may decide to extend the time period (including the limit) specified by the Customs Code of Ukraine, except for those whose course is suspended (as described in the previous paragraph);
• extension of the term of registration of intellectual property rights in the customs register of objects of intellectual property rights shall be carried out automatically.

These provisions are temporary and effective until the termination or abolition of martial law, a state of emergency in Ukraine.