Ukraine has become one of the first countries to implement the latest version of the NCTS Phase 5 joint transit system, allowing businesses to use a single customs declaration to move goods between 36 countries. This was reported by the Ministry of Finance, UNN reports.
Ukrainian business is among the first 20 countries out of 36 under the Convention on a Common Transit Procedure to use the latest version of the NCTS Phase 5 joint transit system thanks to the coordinated work of the Ministry of Finance, the State Customs Service and the support of international partners
The NCTS is an IT system that allows businesses to use a single customs declaration with a single guarantee for shipments between the 36 countries of the Convention.
Convention countries began developing and implementing NCTS Phase 5 in March 2021. In the same year, Germany switched to using this new phase. In 2023, 13 more countries joined NCTS Phase 5, including Slovenia, Spain, Luxembourg, Croatia, Switzerland, Denmark, Bulgaria, Latvia, Italy, Ireland, Finland, Estonia, and the Czech Republic.
In the first half of 2024, Ukraine, along with Norway, Sweden, Serbia, Romania, and Cyprus, also switched to NCTS Phase 5. In July this year, they were joined by the United Kingdom and Slovakia.
Another 15 countries plan to complete the transition to NCTS Phase 5 by the end of 2024, including Lithuania, Austria, Poland, the Netherlands, France, Turkey, Portugal, Malta, Greece, Hungary, and others.
Ukraine had 1.5 years less time to develop NCTS Phase 5 compared to other Convention countries, but started the process even before joining the Convention on October 1, 2022. Despite the war, Ukrainian government agencies, with the support of international partners, in particular the EU4PFM program, have ensured that Ukrainian businesses can work with the latest version of the NCTS since April 22 this year.
"Since the beginning of Ukraine's accession to the "customs visa-free regime", the dynamics of issuing declarations under the common transit procedure continues to grow: as of today, the State Customs Service has issued more than 100 thousand NCTS declarations, 21 thousand of which were issued during the 4 months of using NCTS Phase 5," the Ministry of Finance added.
Recall
In the first quarter of 2024, the number of Ukrainian companies that received permits for transit facilitation under the joint transit procedure doubled compared to the first quarter of 2023, indicating an increase in business activity despite the ongoing military operations.