According to the Ukrainian government, losses from all kinds of smuggling amount to UAH 4 billion per hour, and the scale of smuggling has long been recognized as a top topic in the news, especially after sanctions against "top smugglers". In order to understand what is actually called smuggling and why it affects each of us, the "ElitExpert" agency asked for comments from the well-known Ukrainian lawyer, manager of the "Shavrov and Partners" law office, Ihor Shavrov.
So, goods that are not produced in our country enter it across the border.
Each product is subject to taxation - VAT (20%), military levy (1,5%) and duty. It turns out that when crossing the border, each imported product becomes more expensive by approximately 30% of its price.
Former smuggling looked like this - at night, in a deserted place, a boat docks to the shore, boxes are thrown out of it and carried into a cave, etc. Probably, such cases exist, but in this way it is impossible to transport a container of contraband or even more.
At the same time, there are other ways: underestimating the cost of goods, specifying the wrong weight, or all sorts of things with documents. But are such methods considered smuggling?
According to the provisions of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, smuggling is the movement of weapons, ammunition, explosives, poisonous or potent substances and cultural values across the customs border of the state outside of customs points or secretly through a customs point. Narcotics are not considered contraband, but their transportation is subject to criminal liability under the article on illegal trafficking of narcotic and psychotropic substances.
Thus, if something similar happens with the above list of things, then it will be a violation of Art. 201 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (smuggling). This is punishable by imprisonment for part 1 — from 3 to 7 years, for part 2 (a group of persons or with the participation of an official) — from 5 to 12 years with confiscation of property.
But the movement of goods that are not included in the above list is also considered contraband, but for this they are punished not criminally, but administratively. This can be a warning (if the person is caught for the first time and the quantity of the goods is insignificant), a fine or the confiscation of the goods.
If we are talking about the most frequent types of such contraband, then these are cigarettes in Transcarpathia and Bukovina. Local residents are very busy with it: they carry it on their own, ferry it through forests, mountain rivers, and so on. For this, a fine of 100% of the value of the consignment of goods is threatened, and if the same person is caught again within a year - 200% of the value of the goods. Naturally, cigarettes are confiscated in any case.
Now about what happens when goods are moved in the form of trade. Here, the goods cross the customs border of Ukraine according to the contract or agreement. And if, in such a case, a person or company declares the wrong details of the contract, the wrong quantity of goods, the wrong country of origin, then for this, too, administrative responsibility threatens, but immediately 300% of the amount of the customs payment that should have been entered when crossing the border.
This decriminalization was done so that the state could control what is actually exported from the country and imported into it and in what quantities.
In Ukraine, smuggling has already been prosecuted, but it was considered ineffective, as only a small part of such cases reached the court. Therefore, it was proposed to fine 300% of the value of the cargo for the illegal movement of goods across the border - it was, on the one hand, fast, and on the other hand, significantly expensive for merchants.
"Thus, oddly enough, not everything that is called contraband really is," concluded Igor Shavrov.
