Ukraine to Transfer Customs Administration to Foreign Firms
The Cabinet of Ministers intends to transfer the customs administration of Volyn, Lviv, Chernivtsi and Transcarpathia to specialized foreign companies, as announced by the Prime Minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Interfax-Ukraine reported.
"We want to attract companies that have experience in the fight against corruption at customs, which can absolutely change the customs service system and bring a new management system. The new system should provide for the simplification of obtaining customs services and in fact, the replenishment of budget revenues from customs," he said.
According to the Minister of Finance, Natalia Jaresko, all these projects will be financed from donor funds. She also noted that the first transfer of customs administration could occur within two to three weeks as one donor has already committed to funding it.
"Our objective is the implementation of institutional changes that will allow us to bring customs work into compliance with the EU’s standards, to eliminate the possibility for subjectivity and corruption, to improve the quality of customs services and to improve the administration of customs duties," Yaresko said.
In September of 2015, the President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, signed a law bringing road maintenance under the oversight of customs administration.