AmCham Ukraine initiated the improvement of the normative legal acts regulating the activities of enterprises with the status of an Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) according to the Customs Code of Ukraine (CCU).
A lot of the AmCham Ukraine member companies are working to obtain the AEO status and the respective authorization from the State Customs Service of Ukraine. The CCU explicitly provides that enterprises with AEO authorization, among other things, have the right to prioritize customs formalities and use a specially designated lane at automobile checkpoints across the state border of Ukraine.
At the same time, according to AmCham Ukraine member companies, the abovementioned advantages for enterprises that have received the AEO status have yet to be implemented in practice due to the lack of proper regulation of this matter on the by-laws level.
AmCham Ukraine requested the Ministry for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine (the Ministry) to initiate the revision of the Draft Order "On Amendments to the Order of the Ministry for Communities, Territories, and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine #339 dated May 1, 2023". Such changes should include adding to the abovementioned Order provisions that ensure the priority state border crossing for the movement of goods by companies with the AEO status and/or goods issued by such enterprises under customs declarations (customs brokers) and when moving goods by transport organizations (carriers) that have received this status. In particular, the electronic system "Electronic Border Crossing Queue" (eQueue) will be integrated with the Unified Automated Information System of Customs Authorities (System).
The Ministry provided an official reply regarding the further elaboration of the relevant Draft Order, where, among other things, it is proposed to expand the information interaction of the eQueue with the System on documents used for declaring goods and to ensure the possibility of booking a place in the electronic queue based on such documents. After the adoption of the Draft Order and ensuring information interaction with the System on transit declarations issued under the Convention on the Joint Transit Procedure, enterprises that are granted the AEO authorization will be able to receive a priority right to cross the state border upon a transit declaration application.
We are grateful to MP Oleksandr Sova, Head of the Subcommittee on Customs Affairs of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Financial Issues, Tax and Customs Policy, the Ministry for Communities, Territories, and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine, Vita Miroshnychenko, Co-Chair of the AmCham Ukraine Customs Committee, PwC and all the AmCham Ukraine member companies that were involved in the advocacy process. AmCham Ukraine members' experts will continue to work on ensuring the practical implementation of benefits for enterprises with AEO status and will closely monitor the adoption of these changes.
