Notice to importers

Imports of products into the Union under the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement from the non-government controlled areas of the Donetsk and Lugansk oblasts of Ukraine

(2022/C 87 I/01)

The European Commission informs importers that the necessary conditions for the customs authorities of Ukraine to effectively manage and control the preferential tariff treatment provided under the Association Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and Ukraine, of the other part are not in place for goods produced in or exported from the non-government controlled areas of the Donetsk and Lugansk oblasts of Ukraine.

In the absence of the possibility by the customs authorities of Ukraine to apply the relevant provisions of the Agreement to guarantee that goods from those areas are entitled to preferential tariff treatment and to verify that they comply with all the necessary requirements, as provided for notably under Article 33 of Protocol 1 of the Association Agreement, the conditions for such goods to benefit from the preferential tariff treatment are not met.

Therefore, operators of the European Union are advised not to claim preferential treatment for the import into the Union of all goods produced in or exported from the non-government controlled areas of the Donetsk and Lugansk oblasts of Ukraine, since the release of these goods for free circulation gives rise to a customs debt as from date of publication of this notice.