The Ukrainian Business Ombudsman Council has released a report on the main problems faced by Ukraine’s business in the customs sphere, and outlining legal changes local companies would like authorities to make.
From May 2015 until July 2018 the council received 150 complaints, challenging actions or inaction by the customs authorities. Having analyzed “the most pressing of them for business nowadays,” the council on Aug. 10 presented a comprehensive report on the issue.
The report contains recommendations on how different Ukrainian ministries and lawmakers can improve the ease of doing business with customs in Ukraine. The council provided recommendations to state bodies based on the examples of specific cases, including proposals for amendments to the law.
The report draws attention to poor current customs control mechanisms, including unjustified requests to disclose documents and the often non-systematic and non-transparent use of control methods. Among other suggestions, the council recommends “shifting communication between participants of customs procedures to an electronic format.”
Ukraine’s Business Ombudsman Council, headed by Lithuanian-born Algirdas Šemeta, has been operating for three years, investigating cases of the state infringing on the rights of private entities.
The council has an annual budget of 1.5 million euros, funded through a European Bank for Reconstruction and Development donor account. The donors are Denmark, Finland, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
