On August 19, 2026, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine passed draft law No. 15450, a new Customs Code of 781 articles, in its first reading. The bill was drafted by the Ministry of Finance, the State Customs Service and the parliamentary Finance, Tax and Customs Policy Committee over nearly two years and received a positive assessment from the European Commission, the State Customs Service said.
The Code aligns Ukrainian customs rules, terminology and safety standards with those of the European Union and is described as a key step toward Ukraine's accession to the EU customs union. It is scheduled to enter into force on December 1, 2027, with migration to new electronic systems completing in phases through the end of 2029. Importers, exporters, customs brokers and authorised economic operators (AEOs) trading with Ukraine now have a fixed runway to prepare for EU-equivalent authorisation, declaration, valuation and appeal procedures.
What does the new Customs Code change for importers and exporters?
The draft adopts the logic of European customs legislation wholesale. It introduces EU customs terminology, a system of authorisations and customs procedures, and the European approach to decision-making, declarations, customs debt, guarantees and duty exemptions. For trading companies, this means re-mapping internal clearance processes onto EU-aligned categories, notably the authorisation regime that will govern simplified procedures, special procedures and customs representations.
The bill was adopted as a basis in first reading, meaning deputies' amendments will be incorporated before the second reading. Compliance teams should treat the 781-article structure and the December 1, 2027 entry into force as the planning anchors, while monitoring second-reading changes to the operative provisions.
How does the Code protect existing authorisations and AEO status?
Existing indefinite authorisations continue to operate, and time-limited authorisations run until their term ends, so businesses will not face a re-authorisation cliff on day one. Companies holding AEO status retain their advantages as trusted customs partners: reduced physical and documentary control and priority clearance, with a prospective path to mutual recognition of AEO status by customs authorities of other countries.
The Code also fully preserves existing import-duty reliefs, including those supporting defence capability, energy and humanitarian aid. For the duration of martial law and one year after its end, the duty-free thresholds for goods in citizens' luggage remain at EUR 500 and 50 kg by ground transport and EUR 1000 and 50 kg by air.
What new procedural rights does the right to be heard give businesses?
The Code introduces a procedure allowing a business to substantiate the validity of its customs value before the customs authority issues a formal decision. The stated aim is to reduce the number of disputes that reach the courts, giving declarants an earlier, administrative channel to defend a valuation before it crystallises into an assessable customs debt.
Decisions, actions or inaction of customs authorities become appealable under a fixed sequence: first to a higher-level customs body, and where needed to the courts, aligned with the Law of Ukraine On Administrative Procedure. For trade compliance teams, this codifies a predictable administrative-appeal track that previously lacked a single statutory anchor.
When do digitalisation and customs search powers take effect?
The Code fixes data exchange between business and customs through an electronic single window, into which the permit documents of other government authorities will flow automatically. For declarants this is intended to mean less paper, fewer in-person visits to customs offices and less room for subjective decisions, lowering corruption risk.
The Code also provides for granting customs authorities operational and investigative powers, a practice the draft notes is common in 25 EU member states. These norms will not enter into force together with the Code: the criteria and limits of customs officers' powers will be defined separately through amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code and other laws, after consultations with the prosecutor's office, business and experts. Separately, the migration to new electronic systems completes in phases through the end of 2029.
| Milestone | Date | What it means for compliance |
|---|---|---|
| First reading passed | August 19, 2026 | Bill adopted as a basis; amendments prepared for second reading |
| Entry into force | December 1, 2027 | New EU-aligned authorisation, declaration, valuation and appeal rules apply |
| Electronic systems migration complete | End of 2029 | Full single-window data exchange phased in across systems |
Continuous, per-jurisdiction monitoring surfaces a development like this the moment it publishes, before second-reading amendments reshape the operative text.
Take advantage of this real-time watch
What trade compliance teams should do next:
- Confirm whether your company holds Ukrainian customs authorisations or AEO status, and map them onto the Code's EU-aligned categories before December 1, 2027.
- Track second-reading amendments to draft law No. 15450 through the Verkhovna Rada register, especially on authorisations, customs debt and the single window.
- Brief your customs broker, trade compliance and indirect-tax teams on the new right to be heard and the fixed administrative-appeal sequence.
- Review the phased electronic-systems timeline through end of 2029 against your IT and declaration workflows.
