On April 2, 2012, Vasil Kisil & Partners together with U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC) and SigmaBleyzer conducted a workshop entitled «Customs Value: Challenges and Possible Practical Solutions».

Vasil Kisil & Partners' experts Andriy Stelmashchuk, dispute resolution partner, Ivan Yurchenko, senior associate with tax group, and Oleksandr Tereshchenko, associate with antitrust, competition & trade practice presented at the event.

Recent changes in legislation, including the Customs Code, have made ​​significant updates to the procedure of identification and registration of the customs value of goods crossing the customs border of Ukraine. In addition, the business community had a serious reaction to the recently published by State Customs Service of Ukraine letter on "Increasing the income payments to the budget» #11.1/2-20/1949-EP, issued on February 23, 2012. According to the letter from the beginning of April 2012 we can expect mass inspections of foreign economic activity subjects regarding customs issues, and in particular, the non-declaration of specific elements that should be a part of the cost of goods for customs purposes, such as royalties, freight, engineering, cost of insurance.

The experts highlighted these changes in detail and gave practical advice outlining some options of determining the customs value before the actual import of goods, confirming the customs value and undergoing the consultation procedure with the customs authorities in respect of customs value.

According to speakers, the most unregulated issue is how to incorporate royalties in the customs value of goods, which raises numerous legal disputes. Based on the extensive experience of judicial practice of  Vasil Kisil & Partners Law Firm, the experts noted that many companies, not knowing thoroughly the mechanisms of calculating fees and taxes, do not risk challenging the actions of regulatory authorities. However, it is safe to say that it is quite possible to win a lawsuit challenging an incorrect determination of customs value and the tax obligations imposed by regulatory authorities after the customs clearance of goods.

The workshop was attended by corporate lawyers, heads of departments of foreign trade, finance directors, accountants, managers of logistics services, customs clearance experts and senior management of companies that are active in foreign trade. Participants noted the usefulness of the seminar, which was also confirmed by a lively discussion that accompanied the presentations, during which participants shared their experience in solving problems related to customs clearance.

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For more details please contact Tatyana Efremova,

Head of PR/BD Department

Tel.: +380 44 581 7777

E-mail: pr@vkp.kiev.ua

About the Firm

Established in 1992, Vasil Kisil & Partners is a Ukrainian law firm that delivers integrated legal advice in banking & finance, mergers & acquisitions, capital markets, antitrust, competition and trade, dispute resolution, tax law, energy and natural resources law, intellectual property law, labor and employment law, real estate and construction law, as well as PPP, concessions and infrastructure law.

The firm`s clients include such world-known companies as Alpcot Agro, Africa-Israel Group, Astellas Pharma, BASF, Bayer Consumer, BNP Paribas, British American Tobacco, Central European Media Enterprises, Coca Cola, Credit Agricole Group, Danone, Dell Inc., Du Pont, Energy Standard Group, Eurosport, Google, IKB Deutsche Industriebank, LG Electronics, Leroy Merlin Ukraine, Lukoil, Metso Automation Oy, Moody’s, Mott MacDonald Limited, NCH Capital, Novacke chemicke zavody, Opel, Philips, Pioneer, Red Bull, Russian Standard Bank, St. Sophia Homes, SEB AB, SEB Group, Swedbank AB, Seven Hills, Shell, Standard Charted Bank, Tchibo, UniCredit Group, Vanco International / Vanco Energy, Volkswagen, VympelCom, YouTube.