Ukraine has already fulfilled almost 80% of its obligations to implement the provisions of the European Union Customs Code.

The customs component of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU (Annex 15) outlines four key tasks, the first of which is to implement certain norms of the European Union Customs Code.

The second step is Ukraine’s accession to two conventions: the Convention on a Common Transit Procedure and the Convention on the Simplification of Formalities in Trade in Goods. These conventions are closed, meaning that a country’s desire to join is not enough; an invitation from partners is required, preceded by a monitoring mission from the convention’s member states.

After Ukraine’s acquisition of EU candidate status, the government adopted the National Revenue Strategy for 2024-2030. The document’s sections on “customs administration” and “customs policy” focus on complex reform of the State Customs Service. This includes eliminating corruption, ensuring institutional capacity to perform law enforcement functions in investigating goods smuggling cases, and equipping the service with modern customs control technologies.

One element of the customs component is the full harmonization of Ukraine’s sectoral legislation with EU legislation. Therefore, in February 2024, the Ministry of Finance established 15 expert teams that have been working for a year on a new version of the Customs Code. Additionally, last February, an important document was adopted, approving the Strategic Plan for the Development of Information Technologies in the State Customs Service until 2028. This plan is based on the EU’s multi-year strategic IT development plan.

In the EU, the implementation of the Customs Code provisions is supported by 17 core and 16 additional information systems, which Ukraine will either need to build from scratch or adapt by reconfiguring existing systems.

Reference source: http://surl.li/wertyuio