​The Ministry of Finance is implementing a single account of the State Fiscal Service for customs payments

The Ministry of Finance is implementing a single account at the State Fiscal Service for customs payments by companies. This decision is based on the capacities of the automated customs clearance system designed to contribute to a favorable business environment. It is also in line with the Priority Action Plan of the Government for 2017.

What was the problem?

Customs duties payable during customs clearance shall be transferred to the account of the respective customs office prior to the submission of a customs declaration.

Presently, each customs office has its own account. The Customs Code allows companies to clear their goods at any customs office.

Thus, a company can transfer necessary funds to the account of the respective customs office which are not always used in full (for instance, due to currency exchange rates companies can actually transfer more than needed just to have some reserves).

Thus, companies clearing their goods at different customs offices can be confronted with a situation when they have some pending amount at one customs office and lack these funds on some other customs office’s account.

Decision

The Ministry of Finance issued the order “On the Adoption of the Procedure for the Transfer of Customs and Other Payments Effected prior to/during Customs Clearance to the State Budget” No. 898 dated November 1, 2017 (registered at the Ministry of Justice on November 23, 2017, under No. 1429/31297).

The order will be officially published on December 19, 2017, in the newsletter “Ofiziyny Visnyk” (No. 99).

What’s it about?

According to this order, payments needed for customs clearance at any customs office shall now be transferred from a single account at the State Fiscal Service.

Companies will be gradually switched to the deposit account 3734 opened at the State Treasury Office of Ukraine on behalf of the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine for advance payment (prepayments):

• Transition period (from January 15 till July 16, 2018) – at the discretion of companies;
• Starting from July 17, 2018 – on the permanent basis.

Advance payments (prepayments) made by companies to the deposit accounts 3734 at the Head Department of the State Treasury Office in Kyiv on behalf of the SFS customs offices are terminated starting from June 18, 2018.

The SFS and its customs offices notify companies about:

• Changes in the procedure for the processing of advance payments (prepayments);
• Data of the deposit account 3734 opened at the State Treasury Office on behalf of the State Fiscal Service.

What’s the benefit?

• Companies are enabled to transfer advance payments to the single account of the State Fiscal Service, to submit customs declarations to any customs office and to pay customs duties using the single advance payment account;

• It becomes possible to automate the submission of the written information by the SFS about the use of funds transferred by companies as advance payments to the SFS account;

• Rules for the acknowledgement of funds are improved which are paid by citizens prior to/during customs clearance as well as rules for other payments in the domestic currency effected through advance payment accounts opened on behalf of the SFS customs offices;

• Procedures and state budget allocations for customs and other payments effected prior to/during customs clearance are now clearly regulated;

• Rules for information exchange are established regarding the movement of funds on the account 3734 opened at the State Treasury Office on behalf of the SFS;

• Favorable conditions for business activities in Ukraine are established.