Lawyers helped with the resolutions of absurd demands of State traffic inspectorate workers
The legal department of the NGO "Rozvytok Hromady" ("Community Development") responded to the appeal of Iryna Horobets, and provided clarifications regarding this situation.
“As of today’s current legislation of Ukraine, and the international agreements, the owner has a right to give the vehicle, which was temporarily imported into the customs territory of Ukraine, to a 3 person (wife). However, the right of a temporary possession and usage of the vehicle by a 3 person (wife) must be confirmed with permission of the owner; for example, the authorization or the contract which allows the use of the vehicle. If the 3 person (wife) is a co-owner of the car (this should be stated in the certificate of state registration of the vehicle or the contract of sale, etc.), vehicle use is not limited for that person”- said the lawyer Oksana Tsikaylo.
We would like to present normative and legal groundings of the question.
About a year ago, the current Customs Code of Ukraine contains restrictions on the free disposal of vehicle with foreign registration, namely the inability to transfer the right to use the car to a third person. In particular, chapter 4, page 380 Customs Code of Ukraine stated that this car can be used only by citizens who import it in Ukraine, and only for personal use.
As a result, in practice we often met an absurd cases where the Court apply sanctions to the owner of the vehicle (non-resident citizen), who, at the time when the car was stopped, was driving. This abuse, according to authorities of the State Customs Service and the Court, is because the vehicle was imported into the territory of Ukraine by other person under a power of attorney from the owner, and therefore at the time the owner was not entitled to use the car.
Due to the Law № 588-VII from 19.09.2013, the appropriate changes were made in the Customs Code of Ukraine, chapter 4, page 380 of the Customs Code of Ukraine:
“Temporarily imported vehicles for personal use may be used in the customs territory of Ukraine only by citizens who imported these vehicles in Ukraine, for their personal needs.
Vehicles for personal use, classified by commodity item 8903 according to Ukrainian Classification of Goods and Foreign Economic Activity, can be used by citizens who imported them in Ukraine and citizens residents and non-residents who are duly authorized by the temporary importation, if the use of the vehicle is on behalf of, and according to the manual of temporary admission”.
In addition, Article 1 of the Annex of the Convention on Temporary Admission, to which Ukraine is attached, according to the Law of Ukraine "On Ukraine's accession to the Convention on Temporary Admission" - c) «private use" means the transportation by a person, exclusively for personal use, excluding any commercial use.
Temporary admission is granted in accordance with Article 2 of this Convention: commercial or private use vehicles.
In accordance with paragraph b) of Article 7, Annex C of the Convention on the temporary importation of private vehicles may be used by third persons who have granted permission for a temporary admission. Each Contracting Party may permit such use by a person, resident in its territory, in particular, if a person uses it on behalf of and in accordance with instructions of the temporary admission.
“Summing up the aforesaid, it should be noted that there are legal reason to believe that the use of private vehicles, temporarily imported into the customs territory of Ukraine may be used by third persons who are duly authorized for granted temporary admission. Of course, if that third person is the owner (co-owner) of this vehicle, its use on the territory of Ukraine for private purposes in any case cannot be considered as a violation of customs regulations. Unfortunately, the Convention and changes in the Customs Code are not well known, and Ukrainian officials are not interested in the dissemination of such knowledge”,- added the head of the NGO "Rozvytok Hromady" Andriy Bolyubash.