The State Customs Service of Ukraine has granted the status of an authorized economic operator (AEO) with the right to apply simplified procedures to 46 companies, with 50 authorizations issued.
“A year ago, only one company in Ukraine had the AEO status, and now we are pleased to announce 50 authorizations received by 46 companies in total,” the agency said in a post on its Telegram channel.
The State Customs Service clarified that two of these companies received both types of authorizations at the same time: “on granting the right to apply simplifications” (AEO-C) and “on confirmation of safety and reliability” (AEO-B), which brings Ukraine closer to the possibility of concluding a mutual recognition agreement with other countries where the AEO program operates.
The agency emphasized that the list of roles that authorized companies play in the international supply chain has significantly expanded: 31 manufacturers (exporters), 10 importers, three warehouse holders and four companies that are carriers, forwarders and customs representatives have been granted AEO status.
According to the SCS website, the list has been updated with the following companies: Zaporizhzhia Non-Ferrous Alloys Plant (Ivano-Frankivsk), Firm Kaskad LLC (Dnipro), Ukrainian Kaolin Society (Hlukhivtsi, Vinnytsia region), Kliningspor (Velyki Mosty, Lviv region), and Oriflame Ukraine (Kyiv).
The AEO status was also granted to Popilnyansky Feed Mill (Kyiv), Tarkett Vinisin (Kalush, Ivano-Frankivsk region), and Agrosem (Kyiv).
The State Customs Service clarified that 28 applications for AEO authorization are currently under consideration. The agency believes that this figure indicates a consistently high interest of Ukrainian business entities in obtaining the relevant status.
In addition, the agency reminded companies planning to apply for AEO authorization or for the application of simplifications, transit simplifications, of the need to conduct a thorough self-assessment and fill out the relevant questionnaire, as this approach will allow companies to successfully pass the assessment of compliance with the criteria and/or conditions for granting authorization and, in particular, reduce the time for obtaining it.
“For its part, the State Customs Service, together with the Ministry of Finance, is developing initiatives that will expand the list of opportunities and benefits for businesses that have AEO authorization,” the service summarized.
As reported, the provisions of the Customs Code of Ukraine regarding the possibility of customs clearance of goods without presenting them to the customs authorities will cease to be effective on November 7, 2023. In order to continue to use the possibility of clearing goods at the facilities of enterprises, the State Customs Service recommended that businesses obtain the status of an authorized economic operator.
Having AEO authorization will allow the company to take advantage of all the benefits of AEO and facilitate access to the simplifications provided for by the Customs Code and the Convention on the Common Transit Procedure. In particular, the simplifications include reducing the level of risk in relation to the goods being transported, prioritizing customs formalities and releasing goods at the company’s location. Earlier, roundtables were devoted to customs reform, where the event’s organizer and moderator Maksim Urakin stated that the State Customs Service provides 35-40% of state budget revenues, and these figures have remained stable in recent years. That is why customs reforms are so important for the country.
Ukrposhta JSC has opened a logistics terminal with automated sorting lines in Odesa, which handles 270,000 small and large parcels per day for the entire south of Ukraine, the company’s press service said on Tuesday.
“The peculiarity of it (the terminal) is that it is here that parcels for three regions – Odesa, Kherson and Mykolaiv – are sorted,” said Igor Smelyansky, Ukrposhta’s CEO.
According to him, by installing fully automated sorting lines, Ukrposhta can adaptively respond to changes in the military situation and, by reducing the possibility of errors during sorting, deliver parcels to their destinations quickly and accurately.
As Smelyansky clarified on Facebook, the new terminal in Odesa is equipped with equipment and software from a Ukrainian manufacturer with the ability to process three parcels per second.
It is noted that the opening of the Odesa terminal is part of Ukrposhta’s development and modernization strategy, which the company launched in 2021. Currently, the company has installed 17 automated lines in seven cities of Ukraine: nine lines sort small shipments and eight sort large parcels. Over the next two months, the company will open new terminals, logistics centers, and depots with innovative equipment in cities across Ukraine.
Smelyansky also noted that Ukrposhta plans to complete the automation of facilities in all seven terminals and 16 logistics centers by 2024.
Norway allocates another €5.6 million to support nuclear safety and decommissioning activities
With the ratification of the framework agreement of the International Cooperation Account for Chornobyl (ICA) by the Ukrainian Parliament, the international community and Ukraine are ready to enter a new stage of cooperation on long-term nuclear safety and decommissioning, with a special focus on the Chornobyl NPP. In June 2024, the Rada approved the relevant law, which paves the way for a wider range of nuclear safety activities to be managed by the RSC.
To reaffirm its unwavering support for international efforts for decommissioning and nuclear remediation in Ukraine, at a recent meeting of the PFDR Donor Assembly, Norway announced an additional €5.6 million contribution to the PFDR.
Donors also agreed on the next tranche of funding for projects to improve the safety of spent fuel storage and optimize liquid radioactive waste management at the Chornobyl NPP.
Balthasar Lindauer, Director of the EBRD Nuclear Safety Department, said: “Russia’s military occupation of the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone (ChEZ) in March 2022 has not only damaged the infrastructure at the site, but also left a challenging operational legacy for one of the most vulnerable nuclear power plants in the world. The EBRD has a long-standing commitment to supporting the decommissioning and safety of Chornobyl, and we are determined to ensure that the significant progress made over the years through international cooperation is not lost. The ratification of the framework agreement, additional donor support and commitments to a new tranche of projects are an important statement of this renewed international support for safety at Chornobyl.”
The RMCS was established in November 2020 by the EBRD at the request of the Government of Ukraine. It was established as a multilateral fund to support the development of a comprehensive plan for Chornobyl. After the occupation of the ChEZ at the beginning of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, the RMSF’s scope of tasks was expanded to support the restoration of safety in the ChEZ, as well as broader nuclear safety measures throughout Ukraine.
AGREEMENT, CHORNOBYL, international cooperation, VERKHOVNA RADA
Ukrzaliznytsia JSC (UZ) has changed the opening time of online sales for international trains to reduce the load on the application, the company’s press service reports.
“We are changing the opening time of online sales for international trains to stabilize the slightly overloaded application,” the press service said in a statement on Wednesday.
It is noted that from Thursday, ticket sales in the Polish direction (Przemyśl, Dorohusk, Chełm, Warsaw) will start at 09:00, with a sales period of 20 days before the departure date.
Slovak and Austrian direction – from 08:00, 20 days in advance. Ticket sales for trains to Moldova will start at 08:00, with a sales depth of 30 days.
“All sales start simultaneously on the Ukrzaliznytsia website and in the app. The opening of sales for all domestic flights will remain at 08:00,” UZ said.
The company explained that prior to these changes, ticket sales for all international trains opened at 8 am, except for the Kyiv-Warsaw train, which started selling tickets at 9:00 am.
“The changes will help reduce peak loads on our systems and, accordingly, make the use of the (…) application even more convenient and faster,” UZ assured.
UZ also reported that it has begun a gradual transfer of ticket sales to the new website https://booking-new.uz.gov.ua. International tickets will no longer be available on the old website.
The consumer sentiment index (CSI) of Ukrainians in June fell by 8 points to 64.5 points (on a scale from zero to 200), which is the lowest level of this indicator since February 24, 2022, according to a monthly survey by InfoSapiens agency.
According to a publication by the Center for Economic Strategy (CES) on Wednesday, among the components of the HPI, the economic expectations index fell more in June, to 73.6 points from 83.9 points, while the current situation index dropped to 50.9 points from 55.9 points.
Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country, the CPI fell to a minimum of 70.2 points in February 2024, while the index reached its maximum value in March 2022 and May 2023 – about 92 points.
Export of agricultural products during the marketing year, mln tons
Source: Open4Business.com.ua and experts.news
