European Union regulations concerning the transit of goods in Ukraine. What changes lie ahead?

Ukraine has been committed to adopt regulations on the transit of goods binding for the European Union since signing the Association Agreement with the UE in 2014. The bill approved by the Ukrainian government assumes changes in the Ukrainian Customs Law which will adjust it to the requirements of the Convention on the common transit procedure and the Convention on the simplification of formalities in trade in goods. Although it is still difficult to say when the new law comes into force, now is the time to consider what it will mean in practice.

FEWER CUSTOMS PROCEDURES

How is it now? When we transport goods from the European Union to Ukraine or vice versa, we are obliged to abide by both Ukrainian and the UE requirements. In practice, it means that mistakes are not uncommon.How it will be? It will be simpler. There will be fewer formalities in Ukrainian customs offices which are required for control of goods and cargo in transit. It will be no longer necessary to prepare export declarations for goods at the border with the EU. This does not mean however, that export declarations will disappear altogether. They will be made in Ukraine in a standard format during dispatching export shipments.

IMPROVED INFORMATION FLOW

How is it now? Customs services of the European Union and Ukraine work hand in hand (an important milestone of that cooperation was the joint organization of the Euro Football Cup in 2012 by Poland and Ukraine), however there is still room to broaden the partnership and eliminate redundant processes, which would allow for speeding up border controls.How it will be? The new regulations will solve the problem of exchange of information about goods transported through the border between Ukraine and EU member states. Ukrainian customs authorities will receive preliminary information about cargo from customs agencies in other countries before the goods cross the Ukrainian border. The data will allow for a prior analysis of transit operations against the risk involved and help to define the method of customs control much in advance. Thanks to this, the border procedure will be much faster - the customs clearance should not involve unnecessary holding of cargo.

STANDARDIZED DOCUMENTS

How is it now? When we transport goods from the European Union to Ukraine and vice versa, we must fill out both Ukrainian and UE documents (which are significantly different) and we must apply for double guarantees required by the law of the EU and Ukraine.How it will be? Companies will be able to use a standard customs declaration and a standard guarantee for transit of goods. Thanks to this, everything will be faster and cheaper. Officials assure that the change will benefit all the participants of the supply chain: exporters, carriers and importers. Also Ukrainian banks will feel the positive change as their guarantee notes will be valid in territories of all countries which signed the aforesaid conventions.

NEW COMPUTERIZED TRANSIT SYSTEM (NCTS)

How is it now? The NCTS system based on international UN/EDIFACT standards allows for an electronic flow of documents between 3,000 customs points in the whole European Union.How it will be?The Ukrainians are getting ready for a trial implementation of the New Computerized Transit System in the territory of the whole country. The solution will allow for electronic handling of all documents sent by companies and exchange of information between systems used in other countries.

COMMENT

Svetlana Shypil, Road Network East Director, Raben Ukraine
We are waiting for the changes in terms of reduction of transit procedures in accordance with the Convention on the common transit procedure and the Convention on the simplification of formalities in trade in goods. Unfortunately many companies do not understand what the institution of an Authorized Economic Operators (AEO) and the New Computerized Transit System (NCTS) are. However if your company obtains the AEO status, it is a confirmation that the company meets the criteria of legality and reliability. It means the minimum of customs formalities and the reduction of costs and time in the international trade. As far as the NCTS is concerned now all the EU countries  use this system which is really convenient as it completely eliminates paper. Therefore the Ukrainian government has to pass this law as soon as possible in order to not loose time and only after start the long process of explaining the companies how this system works and what are the benefits.