Violation of rights of liquid gas importers by SBU suspends

Subject of complaint: Electricity Customs, State Fiscal Service of Ukraine, Ministry of Economic Development and Trade (MEDT), Security Service of Ukraine (SBU)
Complaint in brief: In January 2017, several Ukrainian importers of liquefied natural gas addressed the BOC to help challenge the SBU’s stoppage of customs clearance of liquefied natural gas. The SBU said it intended to check the safety of the product. Some consignments stayed without customs clearance for over two months. SBU officials also addressed the MEDT with a request to impose penalties on the Complainants in the form of restrictions on their foreign economic activity.
Action taken: The BOC investigators determined that the measures regarding the Complainants that the SBU was insisting on were excessive and threatened to stop the Complainants’ commercial activity without the necessary court decision.
Over February-March, the BOC investigators several times addressed the SBU, the MEDT and customs authorities with a request to review the appropriateness of the penalties and of blocking the goods at customs.
Result achieved: In two months after addressing to the BOC, the penalties against the Complainants were dropped. The SBU stopped blocking the goods at customs, and the Complainants were able to resume to their normal activity.