Almost 120 thousand declarations have been issued in Ukraine during the 2 years of “customs visa-free regime”, and their number increased 3.7 times in 2024
On October 3, the State Customs Service reported, that over the last year the number of issued declarations increased by 3.7 times, the total guarantee amount reached 450 million euros. In general, almost 120,000 transit declarations were processed in the NCTS system over two years.
The NCTS system, based on EU customs IT tools, is one of the key requirements for Ukraine on the way to membership in the European Union. An important moment was that from October 1, 2022, Ukraine officially joined the Convention on Joint Transit and began to use the system at the international level.
During the period of application of the system, there was a significant increase in business activity. Almost 120,000 declarations were issued, among which approximately 5,000 transactions related to internal transit. In addition, 137 general and about 10,000 individual financial guarantees were registered in the NCTS system. The amount of guarantees is about 450 million euros.
In April 2024, Ukraine became one of the first countries of the Convention that started using the updated version of the NCTS system – the so-called Phase 5.
NCTS (New Computerized Transit System) is a computerized transit system that allows participants in foreign economic activity to submit customs declarations in electronic format. It simplifies and ensures the safe movement of goods between the countries participating in the Convention on Common Transit, increasing the effectiveness of control over such transportation.
Ukraine started using NCTS in November 2020, first in a test mode. Full national implementation began in March 2021. After receiving an official invitation to the Convention in July 2022, Ukraine joined the international application of the system.
October 2022 was marked by the start of “customs visa-free”, which allowed the rapid transportation of goods between Ukraine and 36 EU countries. The first shipment under this procedure was sent from Germany.
“Customs free visa” provides Ukrainian businesses with a number of advantages. Now it is possible to use one transit declaration and one guarantee to move goods between EU countries and 8 other countries, including Great Britain, Turkey, Norway, Switzerland and others. It also allows businesses to send and receive goods without the need to go to customs terminals, and Ukrainian guarantees are valid in 35 countries.
