Customs authorities continue to conduct documentary audits

The moratorium does not apply to documentary inspections by customs authorities

As you may know, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine recently adopted Decree No 89 "On reducing the term of restrictions relating to the moratorium on certain types of audits”. Thus, it was allowed to conduct some types of tax audits of legal entities.

We would like to emphasize that the moratorium does not apply to customs audits. Therefore, customs authorities continue to carry out these audits in accordance with the schedule of the State Customs Service of Ukraine, the form of which is approved by Decree No 509 dated 17 August 2020. In addition, this Decree establishes the list of the grounds based on which customs authorities add a company to the schedule for audits, which includes:

• applying exemptions from customs duties and privileges, including, placement in the temporary admission, inward processing or customs warehouse procedures
• customs clearance of goods with the risk of incorrect classification, customs value or non-declaration
• availability of information on paid income (profits) in favor of non-residents
• availability of decisions on the adjustment of the customs value of goods, determination of commodity code, or refusal by customs clearance
• availability of the results on the analysis of samples of imported goods
• delays in submitting additional customs declarations within the established period (if required)
• availability of protocols on the violation of customs rules for the company's goods.

Based on the above mentioned, we recommend to check compliance with customs legislation and, if possible, conduct an internal customs review or entrust it to PwC experts specialised in customs practice and international trade. This will illuminate risks regarding customs issues before the inspection by the customs authorities and in case of the implementation of the recommendations, avoid charges and fines.