Ukraine's president signs into law bills on customs clearance of cars registered abroad
President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko signed bills No. 8487 and No. 8488 legalizing cars with license plates of the European countries that had been brought into Ukraine in violation of customs and tax laws.
"I have signed laws No. 8487 and No. 8488 to legalize cars with Eropean registration plates that have been brought into Ukraine in violation of customs and tax laws. All the money received as a result, from the first to the last hryvnia, will be given to the Pension Fund to cover its shortfall, raise pensions and secure the payments of minimum pensions to those in need. This is clearly stipulated by law," Poroshenko wrote on social media early on Nov. 23, Censor.NET reports.
He stressed that the adoption of those laws was "a delicate compromise between the government and the actual owners of those cars."
He called on the owners of the cars registered abroad to make use of the preferential procedure for customs clearance and abstain from protests.
"There could be no army without taxes, there could be no roads without taxes, and there could be no education without taxes. And the state is built not by presidents, governments, and MPs but by taxpayers. This must become an axiom, and the fact that these laws have been signed is a step in that direction. I thank you all for understanding and your ability to reach a compromise," he said.
Early on Nov. 20, 21, those who brought to Ukraine cars registered abroad without clearing them through customs blocked the government quarter of Ukraine’s capital city, Kyiv, namely Hrushevskoho Str. from its intersection with Kripostnyi lane to the intersection with Shovkovychna Str.
They demanded affordable customs clearance rates for their cars. In particular, they insist on the abolition of bills adopted earlier to settle this issue or amending them so that they reduce excise tax.
