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Ukraine may farm out its customs sovereignty

The idea of inviting foreign experts to run the Customs Service has been widely discussed in Ukraine, the country’s PM has asked the Minister of Economic Development and Trade to look into the matter

© AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti

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KIEV, June 23. /TASS/. The authorities in Kiev are mulling the invitation of a foreign company to run Ukraine’s Customs Service, Ukrainian Minister of Economic Development and Trade Aivaras Abromavicius told the ministry’s board meeting on Tuesday.

"We are discussing within the government, as one of the most drastic measures, putting the customs under the control of a foreign company, and I know that the Finance Minister will present at an early date a reform of the State Fiscal Service following Prime Minister’s request to the Cabinet," Abromavicius said.

On March 23, Ukraine’s Cabinet dismissed head of the State Fiscal Service Igor Bilous and deputy heads Volodymyr Khomenko who was in charge of the tax police and Anatoly Makarenko who was responsible for the customs service.

The idea of inviting foreign experts to run the Customs Service has been widely discussed in Ukraine recently, and the country’s premier has asked the Minister of Economic Development and Trade to look into the matter. According to opinion polls, the Customs Service was among Ukraine’s most corrupt state agencies, along with the Internal Revenue Service, the State Agency of Land Resources and the State Traffic Inspectorate.

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