Kick-off Meeting in Kyiv Marks the Beginning of Developing Ukraine’s New Customs Code for EU Integration
On February 29, Kyiv hosted a kick-off meeting of the Ministry of Finance and the State Customs Service with the management of the EU Public Finance Management Support Program (EU4PFM) and representatives of the Ministry of Finance Reform Support Team regarding the development of a new Customs Code of Ukraine based on the EU Customs Code. The development of the document is aimed at fulfilling the requirements for Ukraine as a candidate country for joining the EU.
As reported by the Deputy Minister of Finance of Ukraine for European Integration, Yuriy Draganchuk, on February 29, the Minister of Finance signed an order on the creation of 15 expert teams to write the new Customs Code of Ukraine.
It is about the Order of the Ministry of Finance dated February 29, 2024, No. 100 “On the organization of work on the preparation of the project of the new Customs Code of Ukraine.” The specified teams included representatives of the Ministry of Finance, the State Customs Service, and experts of projects financed by the EU—the Ministry of Finance and State Customs Service Reform Support Team, as well as EU4PFM.
The teams were tasked with preparing a basic draft of the new Customs Code of Ukraine based on the EU Customs Code for its further discussion with the involvement of a wider range of experts, representatives of the public, and business.
“Ukraine’s choice is the fastest possible European integration, so we are strengthening preparatory processes for joining the EU in the field of customs. This work is important and difficult. After all, it is necessary, on the one hand, to comply with European procedures, and on the other hand, to take into account the realities of Ukrainian life and the needs of domestic business in the new Customs Code of Ukraine. At the same time, we must ensure the uninterrupted work of the customs office: we cannot allow a stoppage of goods turnover or movement across the borders even for a moment. The main work of the Ministry of Finance and the State Customs Service: establishing the efficiency of all processes, implementation, testing, and, as a result, obtaining a positive opinion of the European Commission,” Yuriy Draganchuk noted and expressed his gratitude to European partners for their constant support and willingness to participate in the creation of new customs legislation for Ukraine.
“Given the irreversible path of Ukraine’s European integration, the harmonization of our legislation with European legislation has become a separate block of the National Revenue Strategy until 2030. Now we are starting the preparation of a new Customs Code of Ukraine, which would cover all the main provisions of the EU legislation in the customs sphere,” said Serhii Zvyagintsev, Acting Head of the State Customs Service.
Vladyslav Suvorov, Deputy Head of the State Customs Service, has been appointed coordinator of the State Customs Service. “In fact, today we are ‘cutting the ribbon’ for the creation of a new Customs Code,” he noted.
“If we look at the ‘Ukraine in the European Union-2030’ horizon, we have a corridor for the development of the new Customs Code of Ukraine with a time margin of up to six months. In 2027, for at least one year, European customs rules should be fully applied at the national level. That is, starting from 2027, all by-laws should enter into force. The adoption of these acts is in the year 2026 because we understand the volume of regulatory regulation. To write by-laws in 2026, a new Customs Code must be adopted in 2025,” said Oleksandr Moskalenko, director of the Department of Customs Policy of the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine, who was appointed as a coordinator by the Ministry of Finance.
As already reported, in the context of preparation for Ukraine’s accession to the EU, European experts developed recommendations and proposed a roadmap for the development of Ukrainian customs legislation—the key element of which is the development of a new Customs Code of Ukraine based on the EU Customs Code. Their position and arguments are detailed in the program article “Why is it better for Ukraine to adopt the EU Customs Code than to ‘Europeanize’ individual articles of its customs legislation? ” (https://biz.nv.ua/ukr/bizinterview/vstup-u-yevrosoyuz-shcho-bude-iz-mitnim-zakonodavstvom-ukrajini-perspektivi-zmin-ekspert-50328209.html).
