Illegal movement of goods across the customs border harms the interests of society, the state, and good business. Customs infringements lead to tax evasion, entry of dangerous products into the market, distortion of competition. Therefore, in establishing liability for violations of customs legislation, the legislator must ensure the effectiveness, proportionality, and dissuasiveness of the sanctions system for such violations.
The existing system of administrative liability for customs violations in the Customs Code of Ukraine is far from effective. At the same time, the improvement of the norms on sanctions for violating customs rules should take place in the context of the general direction of reforms in the customs sphere.
Ukraine’s commitments under the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement provide for the imposition of proportionate and non-discriminatory penalties (which will not lead to unjustified delays in goods) for breaches of customs legislation. The same provisions are also contained in the EU Customs Code, which Ukraine must also implement into national legislation under the Association Agreement.
Therefore, when harmonizing Ukraine’s customs legislation with EU norms, it is advisable to look at the experience of individual EU countries that have introduced liability for customs legislation violations, taking into account the requirements of the EU Customs Code mentioned above.
The study is aimed at analyzing the legislation of individual EU member states in the field of administrative sanctions for customs regulations violations.
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Authors:
Oleksandra Bulana, PhD, Analyst, UCEP Review: Dmytro Naumenko, Senior Analyst, UCEP |