Rada updates Ukraine's customs tariff to simplify foreign trade

MOSCOW. Oct 20 (Interfax) - The Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada on Wednesday passed a bill that brings the country's customs tariff in line with the 2022 version of the International Convention on the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS Convention), Ukrainian media said.

The Ukrainian Economy Ministry said earlier that Ukraine's current customs tariff relies on the 2017 version of this international system, whereas the majority of countries (China, the United States, European Union countries, Turkey, and Switzerland) have already adopted the 2022 version. This situation causes a number of problems because of the difference in HS codes during the customs clearance of imported products, or when comparing the customs statistics of Ukraine and its trade partners.

The legislation introduces more than 350 changes to product codes, primarily the codes of products manufactured by the agricultural, chemical and forestry sectors, as well as textiles, non-ferrous metals, machine building industry products, vehicles, etc., the ministry said.

The new customs tariff will not entail any changes of the import duty rates, it said.