Appeal of the Public Council under the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine to the Chairman of the VRU, Ruslan Stefanchuk, with an appeal not to send Draft Law No. 5420 in the proposed version to the second reading.
The Public Council under the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine appealed to the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Ruslan Stefanchuk, regarding the consideration of the draft Law of Ukraine "On Amendments to the Criminal Code of Ukraine and the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine on the Criminalization of Smuggling of Goods and Excise Goods, as well as False Declaration of Goods", registered in to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on April 23, 2021 under No. 5420.
Draft Law No. 5420 proposes to criminalize the following by amending the Criminal Code of Ukraine and the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine:
- movement of goods across the customs border of Ukraine outside of customs control or hidden from customs control;
- movement of excise goods (except electrical energy) across the customs border of Ukraine outside of customs control or hidden from customs control.
In particular, it is proposed to add new articles 2013 "Smuggling of goods", 2014 "Smuggling of excise goods".
In the case of the adoption of Draft Law No. 5420 in the proposed version, law enforcement agencies will have unlimited opportunities for criminal legal pressure on any subject of the Customs Service and customs officials who can actually "walk under the article" on the illegal movement of goods, regardless of the presence of such objective signs. and components of a criminal offense such as intent, attempt, purpose, preparation for the commission of an offense, and so on.
So, for unknown reasons, in the draft law, actions aimed at tax evasion when moving goods across the customs border of Ukraine are recognized as significantly more socially dangerous than "internal" tax evasion.
Thus, we will get a sharp increase in corruption risks and legal levers of illegal pressure on "white" business, which in the conditions of war and total "presumption of guilt" will be forced to curtail its activities.
We observe a violation of the rights of FEZ subjects (when the customs authorities determine the customs value of goods, the code of goods, drawing up protocols that are canceled in a court of law) and the absence of effective mechanisms for compensation for the damage caused and the responsibility of officials of the authorities.
The adoption of changes to the legislation in this form will lead to tension in society. Now, during martial law, it is premature to bring this bill to a vote. In order to understand the balance of responsibility both on the part of citizens and on the part of officials of state bodies, changes to the legislation should be made together with changes in the responsibility of officials for making illegal decisions. Otherwise, we will observe the irresponsibility and impunity of officials, and at the same time, the disproportionate responsibility of an individual before the law.
In our deep conviction, it is the inaction and irresponsibility of law enforcement and anti-corruption bodies that leads to the existence of such shameful phenomena as smuggling in society.
In view of the above, we appeal to the Chairman of the VRU Ruslan Stefanchuk, the Chairman of the VRU Committee on Law Enforcement with an appeal not to send Draft Law No. 5420 in the proposed version to the second reading.
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