The Ministry of Finance approved the Long-Term National Strategic Plan for Digital Development, Digital Transformation and Digitalisation of the State Customs Service

The plan was developed in the context of Ukraine’s preparation for joining the EU and the implementation of Annex XV to the Association Agreement, which establishes a clear list of measures that Ukraine must implement in order to harmonize customs processes with European standards. Special attention was paid to the fulfilment of all requirements regarding future integrations into EU systems.

The National Plan based on Multi-annual Strategic Plan for Electronic Customs of the EU (MASP-C), is elaborated to serve as a guiding document for the implementation and advancement of customs information systems in the years ahead. The successful execution of the identified transformations will equip the IT system with effective tools to combat corruption and fraud.

The basis of the IT strategy of the State Customs Service is determined, in particular, by

• service oriented architecture,

• centralized implementation of EAIS,

• a harmonized interface with the EU and the Single window for international trade.

Attention is paid to the implementation of cyber security principles, especially – recording and tracking the history of requests for changes to data, protection against unauthorized access to information, the impossibility of changing or losing logs of work with data, the impossibility of changing information and documents provided by users using a qualified electronic signature.

Among the priorities of the EU now is the introduction of paperless procedures. In the customs department, the Electronic customs initiative is implemented for this purpose. For the implementation of E-Customs, the Multi-annual strategic plan for electronic customs (MASP-C) was developed – a planning document covering all IT-related customs projects.

The State Customs Service has outlined a phased approach to the adoption of electronic customs, including business analysis, policy and legal registration, creation of the system’s technical specifications, development of integration specifications with external systems, and ultimately, the development and implementation of the system.

In the course of IT transformation, the State Customs Service will leverage business process management and BPM modeling to provide a holistic view of customs processes, considering the practical implications of their implementation in alignment with the customs legislation of Ukraine and the EU.

The plan is projected until 2026 and envisions the engagement of international technical assistance to construct robust and modern IT systems for Customs.

The EU4PFM team provided expert support in the process of preparing the Strategic Plan.