Problem

A survey of entrepreneurs conducted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine as part of the study titled “Guidelines for Customs in Ukraine” found that 80 percent of the companies surveyed stated that the existing administrative appeal system is ineffective.
One of the main reasons for this ineffectiveness, according to companies, is that the review of an appeal is biased: in practice, a higher-level body often defends the opinion of the body whose decision is being appealed without properly evaluating the evidence.
Studies by the IMF and the World Bank suggest that the problem of conflict of interest in administrative appeals can be resolved by excluding from the appeal review process those officials who made the decision being appealed, were involved in any way in its adoption, or directly coordinate the activities of the bodies whose decisions are being appealed.
The foregoing makes it safe to say that there is problem involving the ineffectiveness of the mechanism for reviewing complaints against the actions of customs officials.
At the same time, significant changes have recently taken place in the process of implementing the customs reform aimed at harmonizing Ukrainian customs legislation with EU legislation.
At present, proper implementation of these changes in practice remains challenging.