Draft Law of Ukraine

"On Amendment of the Customs Code of Ukraine"

According to this draft the Customs Code of Ukraine shall come into force on July 1, 2003 not on January 1, 2003 as it was initially planned. The Cabinet of Ministers thinks implementation of regulations of this Code will substantially reduce revenue of the State Budget of Ukraine.

The new Customs Code of Ukraine was adopted on July 11, 2002. It is based on international legal acts on customs practice and GATT/WTO legislation. In particular, it does not envisage collection of any customs fees during customs clearance. Therefore, adoption of the above draft may considerably impede Ukraine’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO).