Ukraine may ban imports of second-hand goods

Deputy Social Policy Minister Oleh Koval said this at a briefing on Thursday, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"We will be proposing to ban imports of second-hand goods to Ukraine. We will only allow, for example, diving equipment, a special high-quality uniform that protects a firefighter, and so on," Koval said.

He specified that respective proposals were being prepared jointly with the State Customs Service and the Reanimation Package of Reforms.

"We demand that government agencies send application letters to the Social Policy Ministry that they are waiting for a certain amount of humanitarian aid. If we then check, then the relevant government officials will be punished. I will personally appeal to law enforcement agencies with the request to open a criminal case on these actions. I have already signed several statements," Koval said.

He noted that it is now a widespread practice in Ukraine when, under the guise of humanitarian aid, things are actually imported into the territory of the country without customs clearance and then sold in a second-hand shop.

"According to my calculations, the state loses about $2 million a week in the form of losses due to the non-payment of customs duties. That means between UAH 2 billion and UAH 3 billion a year," Koval said.

op