Common customs transit procedure for Ukraine: legal aspects

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of current issues related to the accession of Ukraine to the norms of the Convention on Joint Transit and the peculiarities of their implementation.

From October 1, 2022, the provisions of the Convention on the Common Transit Procedure and Simplification of Formalities in Trade in Goods entered into force in Ukraine, which means the introduction of the Common Transit Regime (NCTS), or the so-called “customs visa-free”. This means that Ukrainian businesses and carriers have the right to transport goods throughout the territory of Europe according to standardized procedures, i.e. only one declaration and one guarantee are required for one transport.

The process of joining Ukraine to the Convention on the Common Transit Procedure began immediately after the signing of the Association Agreement with the European Union and continued according to a rather intensive schedule, even during the full-scale military invasion of Russia. Currently, the customs legislation of Ukraine and the developed procedures fully comply with the Customs Code of the European Union.

The accession of Ukraine to the provision of the Convention on the common transit procedure gives Ukraine the opportunity to join the international application of the electronic transit system NCTS - new computerized transit system and to implement European practices in the implementation of customs affairs in Ukraine and should have a positive effect on improving logistics and increasing the competitiveness of Ukrainian goods in maximally simplifies the international movement of goods with 35 countries that are parties to the convention, the cargo can cross the borders of several countries with one transit document, which will save time and money for the preparation of documents and the implementation of other customs procedures, minimizes corruption risks during the preparation of documents and movement of goods.