21 June 2011, 16:28
People's Deputies of Ukraine, representatives of the Cabinet of Ministers, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, State Customs Service, International Organizations, Council of Entrepreneurs under the Cabinet of Ministers, business-associations, subjects of the foreign economic activity, experts and scholars attended the meeting.
Committee Chairman Vitalii Khomutynnik declared that the effective Customs Code of Ukraine was adopted by the Verkhovna Rada in July 2002. "Numerous changes have taken place in Ukraine and the world since then," he admitted. Namely, in 2002 Ukraine accessed the International Convention on the Harmonization of Frontier Controls of Goods, in 2004 the Convention on Temporary Admission (the Istanbul Convention) in 2006 the International Convention on the Simplification and Harmonisation of Customs Procedures (Kyoto Convention), in 2005 - the World Customs Organization Framework Standards to Secure and Facilitate Global Trade, etc.
Thus, V. Khomutynnik deems necessary to amend the Customs Code of Ukraine to harmonize it with the norms of EU customs legislation and the international agreements.
The Committee set up a working group including the People's Deputies, representatives of the Cabinet of Ministers, central executive bodies, and non-governmental organizations. The group invited experts of the international institutions (USAID, UEPLAC) to assist in drafting the new version of the Customs Code.
In the result of the legislative work, the Verkhovna Rada adopted the bill "On Amendments to the Customs Code of Ukraine and other Legislative Acts of Ukraine" (Reg. № 8130-Д) in the first reading.
The bill harmonizes the Customs Code of Ukraine with the International Convention on the Simplification and Harmonization of Customs Procedures and the Customs Convention on the Temporary Import, incorporates the World Customs Organization SAFE Framework of Standards to Secure and Facilitate Global Trade in the domestic law, and reforms the customs service of Ukraine.
The bill presents the list of personal belongings, which are not subject to declaration and are exempt from tax during the crossing of the customs border of Ukraine.
The participants of the hearing expressed a number of proposals concerning the bill to be summarized and considered in the course of adjustment for the second reading.