Today, the profile "financial" committee of the Verkhovna Rada considered the bills on the so-called "Eurobonds" adopted in the first reading — № 4643-d and № 4644-d. The majority of MPs supported the submission of documents to the hall of Parliament as a whole. However, with some amendments.
TERMS OF APPLICATION
The basic idea of the bills has not changed:
- Only for already imported Europlates.
For those who legally import "fresh" cars from abroad during the law, there will be no discounts.
- The rules will only be valid for 180 days.
Only servicemen who will be in the combat zone in eastern Ukraine for more than 90 days will have an additional 3 months. After that — big fines for everyone.
- Preferential terms apply only to carsand trucks with a total weight of up to 3.5 tons (UKT FEA code 8704).
These are vehicles that comply with the UKT FEA codes8703 and 8704.
- The minimum environmental standard is Euro-2
Cars that do not meet this standard cannot be cleared through customs. As for trucks, there is an additional restriction: the law on the first registration of cars requires them to environmental standard "Euro-5". That is, in practice, it will be possible to clear customs only trucks from 2010.
- For "preferential" customs clearance will have to pay a "voluntary contribution" in the amount of 8500 UAH.
Or for the same 8500 UAH it will be possible to take out the car outside of Ukraine if it makes no sense to clear such car. This will avoid even greater fines in the future.
- The cost of customs clearance will depend on the age of the car and the engine capacity
The formula remained unchanged. The older the car, and the larger the engine capacity — the more expensive will be its customs clearance. On average, you will have to pay between $ 1,000 and $ 3,000 for customs clearance of Eurobonds.
WHAT HAS CHANGED
- Only cars with foreign registration, which were imported in transit or temporary import, and were on the territory of Ukraine as of December 31, 2020, offer to allow to register according to the simplified procedure and preferential tariff.
If the car was once in Ukraine as a "Eurobelt", but on December 31, 2020 it was physically outside the country — it does not fall under the "action". On the one hand, it is a safeguard against the import of cars that have previously crossed the border for tourist purposes. On the other hand, it does not take into account those who took out "Eurobonds" under the threat of fines. Mykola Zaporozhets is forced to stay abroad.
- The new rules of customs clearance come into force one month after publication.
During this time, the owners of "Eurobills" will be able to prepare the necessary documents: to deregister the car abroad and pass certification.
- Cars under the age of 5 will not be covered by the one-time action "legalization of Eurobills".
An analytical study of the secondary car market shows that in 2020 the average cost of customs clearance for cars under 5 years of age was 37.7% of the cost. Over 5 years of age — 84.2%. Obviously, the biggest problem is in customs clearance of older cars over 5 years old.
- The law will be valid for 270 days for participants in hostilities in eastern Ukraine.
But only for those who will be in the combat zone for more than 90 days during the operation of the Law. For all others, the period will be 180 days.
- There will be no temporary customs clearance procedure
The first version of the bills provided for two months for the Cabinet to develop a temporary procedure for customs clearance of "Eurobills". Such a provision was in the laws of the 2018 model. This time, representatives of the Ministry of Finance stated that no further clarification was needed.
All other edits, of which there were 88, were rejected.
REMARK
The main shortcomings that were in the proposed bills from the beginning remained. These problems are global: selectivity of action, non-integrated approach and social injustice.
One of the provisions of the bills contradicts international agreements. Article 85 of Council Directive 2006/112/EC of 28 November 2006 on the common system of value added tax provides that the importation of any goods from abroad must be based on customs value. The use of fixed formulas and tables is not allowed. Given that the rules will be temporary, there is likely to be no reaction from the EU. However, it would be impossible to apply such an approach on an ongoing basis. The desire to reduce corruption at customs is commendable and necessary, but this problem must be solved taking into account the European experience and without violating international agreements.
Another risk is corruption. The temptation to misappropriate may give rise to a scheme of illegally entering the date of entry of the "Eurobond" retrospectively. In order to get under the "preferential" customs clearance and save a few thousand dollars, it is enough to change the entry date for 2020.
In addition, the economic aspect must be taken into account. In addition to official payments to the state budget, it will be necessary to spend on deregistration of cars abroad and preparation of contracts of sale, certification, customs brokerage services, collection to the pension fund, and registration at the Service Center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In total, all payments, even at a discount, can make customs clearance of already imported "Europlates" unprofitable. As a result, during the operation of the law, the number of registered cars may be very small. Experts from the Institute of Car Market Research predict that this number will be up to 10-15 thousand cars with foreign registration.
Such a decision will not have a long-term impact on the Ukrainian car market. In the short term, the impact of such rules will be negative. Some of the "Eurobills" cleared with benefits will immediately go on sale at below-market prices. This can lead to temporary distortions in car prices and slow down market activity.
In the future, the bills must be submitted for voting in the Verkhovna Rada as a whole, and signed by the President of Ukraine.
CONCLUSION
The decision in this format — when the consequence is eliminated, and not the root cause of the phenomenon of "Eurobills" — was discussed in 2016-2018, even before the previous convocation of the Verkhovna Rada. Then the so-called "amnesty" of cars with foreign registration was rejected, deciding that the change in customs clearance rules should apply to all categories of citizens. After all, "Eurobonds" are a consequence of problems in the general rules of customs clearance.
In addition, the "preferential" conditions will not apply to everyone, but to a particular part of society. Those who do not have "Europlates", but they want to buy a car abroad, will pay at full rates. In fact — several times larger.
It is necessary to change the car market and rules on it globally and comprehensively. Donʼt focus solely on cars. Do not forget about trucks, buses, special equipment. And most importantly — change must affect everyone and act on an ongoing basis.
