Customs visa-free: from October 1, Ukrainian exporters will be able to send goods abroad directly from warehouses

From October 1, Ukraine will apply the common transit procedure to help reduce the lines at the border checkpoints, as the majority of shipments will cross the borders already sealed, informed the State Customs Service.

“The Convention on the Common Transit Procedure (the new computerized system, NCTS) is the new reality for the Ukrainian business that will start on October 1,” stated Vladyslav Suvorov, Deputy Head of the State Customs Service, during a seminar on the application of the joint transit procedure (NCTS), which was attended by 1,500 representatives of businesses.

Now, when goods are exported outside the customs territory of Ukraine, a transit declaration is drawn up at the border with the EU, and an Entry Summary Declaration must be submitted in advance (the Ukrainian general declaration of arrival is an analogue of the same European declaration). These documents are often issued directly at the border checkpoint. The cost of the relevant services is included in the price of goods transportation. With the application of the NCTS, the companies will have an opportunity to submit the declarations inside the country. Provided that transit simplifications are obtained in combination with the simplifications provided for by the Customs Code, Ukrainian companies will be able to send goods directly from their warehouses to at least 35 countries that are parties to the Convention on the Common Transit Procedure. The companies will save money and time spent on the border.

DG TAXUD predicts that Ukraine could be ranked in the Top 10 countries by the number of transit declarations.

“Customs is responsible for controlling goods. We, at the EU, aim to reduce the time for the control on the borders and spend more time on that inside the country. At the moment, the majority of goods travel in Ukraine without the inspection inside the country. All control-related work is done directly on the border, which creates lines. The NCTS resolves a part of this problem, as it makes it possible to submit the declaration to the system in advance, and place the seals recognized in the EU once the inspection inside the country is complete. Then, all you will need to do at the border is to have the barcode read, as it is done at a supermarket,” stated Vytenis Ališauskas, International Key Expert on Cusoms of the EU4PFM.

He said that if there won’t be many users of the common transit in Ukraine, they will have to wait in one line with the others. However, if the majority comes to the border after the inspection was performed inside the country, and with the seals, the lines will be much shorter. The expert called on businesses to invite their colleagues and competitors to use the common transit procedure.

There are hundreds of trucks on the border checkpoints with Poland. There are times, when truck drivers have to wait for a week to cross the border.

Source: Еспресо