SSU agrees to cease delaying clearance for CCC Ukraine

Subject of complaint: State Security Service of Ukraine (SSU)
Complaint in brief: On February 18, 2018, ССС, an international footwear retailer turned to the BOC. The company complained about SSU actions that caused a delay in the customs clearance of its goods.
In early 2018, the importer’s goods were subjected to a number of in-depth customs inspections. According to the Complainant, “special attention” was paid to the batch due to the focus of the SSU. As a result of such thorough inspections, the company suffered not only from delays in the delivery of its goods, but also additional charges for unloading/ loading those goods. Until then the company had never violated import rules.
Actions taken: The BOC appealed to the SSU to verify the accuracy of the information on the specific instruction. The investigator also asked the SSU to refrain from checking such law-abiding importers as the Complainant. In addition, the Council brought up the company’s issue to an expert group meeting with the SSU management.
Result achieved: During the meeting of the Expert Group, law enforcement officers confirmed that there were no criminal proceedings or other negative information against the Complainant. Besides, the SSU noted that it had no intention to further initiate an in-depth customs inspection of the importer’s goods. The case was closed successfully.