The Law Enforcement Committee recommended that the Verkhovna Rada adopt in the second reading the draft Law “On Amendments to the Criminal Code of Ukraine and the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine regarding the criminalization of smuggling of goods and excise goods, as well as false declaration of goods” No. 5420 .
During the consideration of the mentioned issue, the Committee supported the position of the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine and the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, which proposed the phased entry into force of the provisions of the project on the introduction of criminal liability for smuggling : excise goods – from January 1, 2024, all other goods – from July 1, 2024.
The European experience of establishing criminal liability for smuggling shows that in a number of developed countries with a stable and powerful economy, emphasis is placed on the use of economic incentives to combat smuggling, taking into account the high level of law-abiding business entities and citizens. At the same time, among the levers of influence there is also criminal liability for the smuggling of goods, including excise goods, in particular in certain states of the European Union (the Republic of Italy, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Poland, Romania, the Slovak Republic, the Kingdom of Sweden, the Federal Republic of Germany, Hungary, etc.) strict criminal liability for smuggling.
Representatives of the European Union Consultative Mission in Ukraine (EUAM), the EUBAM Mission, and other international institutions constantly emphasize the need to introduce criminal liability in Ukraine for the smuggling of goods and excise goods, as well as for tax evasion.