Smartphone import rules changed in Ukraine: IMEI now must be declared
From September 4, the customs clearance rules for mobile phones have changed in Ukraine. Now, when importing, it is necessary to indicate the international mobile equipment identifier — IMEI — of each imported device.
According to the State Customs Service, the new requirement should strengthen control over the origin of smartphones and reduce the volume of so-called gray imports of electronics.
What has changed in phone imports
The new rules apply to mobile phones declared under commodity codes 8517 13 00 00 and 8517 14 00 00 according to the Ukrainian Classification of Goods for Foreign Economic Activity.
During customs clearance, column 31 of the declaration now indicates a reference to an electronic list, and the IMEI of all devices in the batch are entered in column 44 under a special code “9113”.
Thus, the state obtains data on specific devices already at the moment of their official import into Ukraine. Previously, IMEI was not necessarily recorded during customs clearance of phones.
IMEI is a unique identification number of a mobile device. Thanks to the new system, controlling authorities will be able to compare imported batches of phones with devices that are subsequently sold on the Ukrainian market.
Rule aimed against “gray” imports
The Customs Service explains the change by the need to bring the mobile electronics market out of the shadows. The information collected during customs clearance should be used by government agencies to identify phones that entered Ukraine outside legal channels.
The introduction of mandatory IMEI registration was supported by representatives of legal business, relevant associations, and official importers of communication devices.
The mechanism itself was enshrined by order of the Ministry of Finance No. 422. A new item 9113 — “Electronic list with information on the international mobile equipment identifier (IMEI)” — was added to the classifier of customs documents.
BEB expects billions in additional revenues
The Bureau of Economic Security was the initiator of the introduction of mandatory IMEI indication. The agency previously estimated that combating illegal phone imports using the new mechanism could bring the state budget more than 5 billion hryvnias in additional revenues annually.
Head of BEB Oleksandr Tsyvinskyi emphasized that this is not about introducing a new tax. The goal of the system is to create transparent accounting of devices and the ability to track their origin from the moment they cross the Ukrainian border.
As a next step, the authorities want to link customs accounting with retail sales of phones. BEB, together with the Ministry of Finance and the State Tax Service, is working on a mechanism that would also include the device's IMEI in the fiscal receipt. This system is still under development.
Thus, starting September 4, the changes directly concern the customs clearance of imported mobile phones. The rules do not introduce a new tax or a separate fee when buying a smartphone.
Based on materials from: State Customs Service of Ukraine, Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine
