Ukraine: New Customs Laws to Combat Corruption

Published: 15 March 2012

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The Ukrainian parliament adopted a new customs code aimed at making the customs law more transparent and more efficient, announced the legislative body on Thursday.

148 Amendments were added to the existing law, including a ban on the confiscation of goods and vehicles and tighter time constraints for clearing customs.  From now on, travelers have the right to cross the border within four hours and cannot be detained longer by customs officials.  Moreover, the Customs Agency was also stripped of its right to execute decisions that should be left to the country’s court system.

 

Most changes to the law were proposed by President Viktor Yanukovich, reports the Ukrainian news agency, who vetoed a law last November saying it lacked substantial changes.

The code includes a four hour time limit on travelers crossing the border into the former Soviet country, and a list of items to be considered “personal goods” and therefore untaxable.  Travelers are also freed from liability if they make unintended mistakes in their customs declarations, says the news agency.

The new law also decriminalizes commodity smuggling, making it an administrative violation, but lowers the value of goods that can be imported into Ukraine without paying taxes.

The amendments come as Ukraine is preparing to accommodate an estimated 1.6 million tourists when it co-hosts the Euro 2012 football championship this summer.