Humanitarian aid in Ukraine: Possibility of importation by paper declarations until 2024 is preserved

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has decided to extend the possibility of importing humanitarian aid using regular paper declarations until April 1, 2024, recognizing this method as an alternative to electronic declarations and the Automated System. This was reported by the press service of the European Business Association, leaving the possibility for the participants of the process to define the reporting mechanisms and information requirements in more detail.

As a reminder, the Ministry of Social Policy has already developed a Procedure that introduces a digital regime for the registration, importation and accounting of humanitarian aid through the Automated System starting December 1, 2023. This initiative was discussed at the meetings of the working group under the Ministry of Social Policy, where EBA experts advocated the need to postpone the changes for better understanding and coordination of the process.

Representatives of the European Business Association expressed their gratitude to the government for taking into account the comments of the business community and processing comments on the shortcomings of the new procedure for the import of humanitarian aid. In particular, they discussed the aspects of updating the legislation, defining goods as humanitarian aid, and legal regulation of the import of vehicles.

The EBA emphasized that the obligation to report on the distribution and use of humanitarian aid remains, even if it is imported under a paper declaration, requiring that a copy of the report be uploaded to the Automated System by March 31, 2024.

As a reminder, starting from December 1, recipients of humanitarian aid will be able to use a digital mechanism to submit declarations online, choosing either the electronic or paper version. Testing of the digital platform for declaring humanitarian aid in Ukraine is already underway, with more than 300 organizations participating.

Recent statistics from the State Customs Service and the Ministry of Defense show more than 3,000 cases of non-receipt of humanitarian aid by military units in January-September. This caused certain changes in the regulation of the process and prompted a detailed review of the procedures for importing and distributing aid.