Amendments to the Customs Code of Ukraine regarding the customs clearance of biomethane have been INTRODUCED!
Today, significant amendments to the Customs Code of Ukraine regarding biomethane export have been introduced! This is a crucial development for Ukraine’s bioenergy sector!
Draft Law No. 9456 has been adopted. With this step, a critical barrier to biomethane exports has been overcome.
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Parliamentary Committee on Finance, Taxation and Customs Policy, the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine, the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, the State Customs Service, and the dedicated efforts of MPs Andrii Zhupanyn, Yurii Kamelchuk, Inna Sovsun. Their unwavering advocacy for these changes has been instrumental in this achievement!
The UABIO members played a pivotal role in the preparation of the draft law for the second reading. Our active participation and the inclusion of most of our proposals in the final document give us confidence that these changes will effectively unblock biomethane export.
The Law now stipulates that customs control and customs clearance of biomethane, when transported by gas pipeline, will be conducted in the same manner as for natural gas. Additionally, customs clearance of biomethane will be carried out separately based on the volume of biomethane at each gas transfer point.
Temporarily, until the Ukrainian biomethane register is synchronized with the European Union database and the European Union recognizes the guarantees of origin of biomethane issued in Ukraine, the export of biomethane can be carried out according to the following documents:
- a certificate of compliance with the sustainability criteria issued for the producer of the relevant volumes of biomethane;
- proof of the sustainability of biomethane in relation to the relevant volumes of biomethane.
- These documents must be issued according to the voluntary schemes recognized by the European Commission.
The Government and the State Agency on Energy Efficiency and Energy Savings are responsible for the establishment of the Ukrainian biomethane register and its connection to the European Union database.
The customs clearance procedure will change when the Ukrainian biomethane register is ready and synchronized with the European Union database. In this case, to carry out customs clearance of biomethane volumes, the declarant must submit:
- a periodic customs declaration containing information on the account number of the biomethane producer in the biomethane register;
- an additional customs declaration containing information on the guarantee of origin of biomethane for the relevant volume of biomethane.
During the period of validity of the ban on natural gas exports, volumes of biomethane transported across the customs border of Ukraine by gas pipeline may be exported only in respect of the volumes accumulated by a business entity in Ukrainian gas storage facilities at the end of the month preceding the month of export.
Let’s keep working because biomethane is the future!
