REUTERS
Ukrainians bought premium cars abroad and used them in Ukraine's customs territory as cars with foreign registration, hoping to avoid customs clearance.
Ukrainian journalists say that in recent years, Ukrainians have imported not only used cars with foreign registration plates, but also those of the premium segment; they also named five most popular premium cars brought from abroad.
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"Ukrainians also bought premium cars [abroad and used them with foreign registration plates], hoping to avoid customs clearance. But the law is the same for everyone, and now, if they travel across Ukraine, they should drive cars with Ukrainian number plates only. But Top Five prestigious foreign vehicles that Ukrainians have already brought here as imported cars with foreign registration plates have impressed even seasoned customs officers," Ukrainian TV Channel 2+2 said on February 27.
In particular, a Mercedes-Benz V-Class 2018 sedan was bought at a declared price of US$62,000, while its customs clearance fee was as much as UAH 500,000 ($18,525). Nearly the same sum was paid for a Mercedes-Benz G-Class 2015 model, sometimes called G-Wagen.
"Yet, the current owners of these cars did not lose, because in Ukraine the prices of such cars start from $110,000," the journalists said.
Then goes a Bentley (for a declared price of US$74,500) and its customs clearance fee was UAH 727,000, or almost $27,000. The same customs clearance costs were paid by the owner of a Porsche Cayenne. Another Porsche Cayenne, a 911 Turbo S sports car, has a declared price of $83,000 and its customs clearance cost $34,000.
All the customs clearance costs were paid with a 50% discount during the grace period, which is over now.