Ukraine Drafting Amendments to Customs Code

The draft law on amendments to the Customs Code of Ukraine has recently entered the parliamentary procedure. It aims to harmonize the local customs legislation, particularly the provisions of Part XIV (IPR protection during the movement of goods across the customs border of Ukraine) with the corresponding EU regulations.

If adopted by the parliament and signed by the president, the draft law will enter into force on January 1, 2019, three years after the entry into force of the Ukraine–EU Association Agreement (January 1, 2016).

The draft law aims to:

• Expand the list of protected IP rights;
• Expand the list of persons who may seek IPR protection;
• Provide new definitions of terms and concepts such as “goods that infringe IP rights”, “counterfeit goods”, “pirated goods”, etc.;
• Establish a procedure for preventing IPR abuse during foreign economic activities, namely during the movement of protected goods across the customs border (export / import / transit of such goods);
• Introduce a destruction procedure for small batches of goods suspected of IPR infringement, in line with the small consignment procedure (EU customs enforcement regulation No. 608/2013).

By: Tatiana Panchenko

For more information, please contact Tatiana Panchenko at our Ukraine office.