New Customs Code of Ukraine Draft

On 28 August 2025, a meeting of the Coordination Team of the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine and the State Customs Service of Ukraine was held to prepare a Draft of the new Customs Code of Ukraine, where the document was officially presented to experts from the European Commission, according to the press service of the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine.

Further steps for cooperation were also discussed, including the organization of its assessment by the European side and the start of consultations with the business community.

Previously, On 26 August 2025, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine supported the Draft of the new Customs Code of Ukraine by a protocol decision. By this decision, the Government Office for European Integration was instructed to send the text of the draft Customs Code of Ukraine to the European Commission for evaluation.

The Draft was developed based on EU customs legislation, but many provisions of the new Customs Code will not differ significantly from the current one, as a significant part of the European integration standards are already included in the current Customs Code.

In particular, the EU Customs Code has the following features:

• • • all exchange and storage of information shall be performed using electronic data processing systems;
    • authorized economic operators have significant advantages (simplified customs clearance, reduced control times, priority passage through inspections, etc.);
    • centralized customs clearance ensures simplified movement of goods between EU countries and partners;
    • ensuring greater unity for businesses by introducing unified and harmonized rules on guarantees.

  The following results are expected:

  • synchronization of customs procedures with those introduced in the EU, which may reduce costs for businesses;
  • opportunity for companies to optimize production and logistics processes by eliminating discrepancies in the application of customs procedures.

  Ukraine has fulfilled 91% of its customs obligations under the Association Agreement with the EU. At the same time, the European Commission, the IMF, the WCO and the business community have positively assessed the progress made in digitizing customs procedures, combating corruption and increasing state budget revenues.

  We will closely monitor further changes in the status of the new Draft Customs Code of Ukraine, in particular the results of its review by the European Commission, and will report on this in future Legal News.