Ukraine has introduced additional requirements for Russian transporters transiting through its territory, the press service of the Russian Association of International Road Carriers (AsMAP) has announced.
Ukraine’s State Fiscal Service has informed in a letter (the letter No. 99-24/01-01-01-08/455 dated 1 October) that Ukrainian customs authorities began demanding documents confirming guarantee of customs payments via the methods outlined in paragraphs 1 and 3 of Section 1 of Article 306 of the Customs Code of Ukraine (financial guarantee or guarantee in accordance with the 1990 Istanbul Convention on Temporary Admission, using the ATA Carnet) from midnight on 2 October when receiving TIR Carnets issued to Russian carriers.
According to the TASS news agency, the International Road Transport Union (IRU, which supervises the provision of international guarantees, particularly, guarantees for TIR Carnets)’s General Delegate to Eurasia, Dmitry Cheltsov, said that the restrictions would affect only TIR Carnets issued to Russian transporters by AsMAP.
According to Ukraine’s State Tax Service, these measures are temporary, and they will remain in effect until the Federal Customs Service of Russia abolishes the restrictions it imposed on the use of TIR Carnets. "This is a gesture of despair, because the FCS has imposed restrictions on the use of TIR Carnets on the territory of Russia for the past 15 months," said Cheltsov.
The Russian Customs Service imposed restrictions on TIR Carnets for all carriers, regardless of their nationality, in the autumn of 2013. The Russian Customs Service said it changed the procedures for using the TIR system because of AsMAP’s failure to fulfil its obligations and that it considered selecting a new guarantee organization.
Cheltsov said that the cost of transit through the territory of Ukraine might increase significantly due to the imposition of these restrictions, which would ultimately affect the cost of goods to the consumer.
This was confirmed by Alexander Larionov, a member of AsMAP and the general director of the LarTrans international road transport company. "It very much affects transportation to Bulgaria, Turkey, and Italy and back because a significant part of the traffic to these countries passes through Ukraine. Now, a carrier will have to provide financial guarantee on the border with Ukraine, which will affect the cost of transportation," Larionov told TASS. He also noted that the margin of increase in the cost of transportation would depend on the transport distance and possible bypass routes.
