Korea Customs Service Extends Customs Payment Deadline Up to 1 Year for Companies Affected by 'Ukraine Crisis'

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] The Korea Customs Service will extend the customs payment deadline by up to one year and allow installment payments for export-import companies facing difficulties such as trade restrictions and payment disruptions due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

On the 7th, the Korea Customs Service announced that it will implement a 'Comprehensive Customs Administration Support Plan' including tax support, special customs clearance, and resolution of customs clearance difficulties.

The support targets not only companies directly engaged in export-import transactions with Russia and Ukraine that have suffered damage but also export-import companies indirectly affected by rising raw material prices, supply instability, and logistics delays caused by the conflict. There are 5,370 export companies and 2,850 import companies trading with Russia, and 2,450 export companies and 860 import companies trading with Ukraine.

The Korea Customs Service will first extend the customs payment deadline (allow installment payments) and waive collateral requirements for applying companies to help reduce their financial costs. Refunds for raw materials used for export will be paid immediately upon refund application based on the 'advance payment and post-review' principle, and the export obligation period will be extended to prevent cases where refunds are not received due to delayed export schedules.

Special customs clearance support will also be provided. For goods urgently needed due to raw material supply shortages caused by logistics delays or export cargo that cannot enter Russia or Ukraine and returns to Korea, 24-hour customs clearance support, priority processing, and minimization of import inspections will be implemented. The regulation requiring export goods to be shipped within 30 days after export declaration acceptance will be relaxed for goods destined for the affected regions, and extension requests for storage periods will be approved within a one-year range.

Additionally, the Korea Customs Service plans to promptly identify customs clearance difficulties faced by local companies and cooperate with customs authorities in the conflict areas and the European Union (EU). Along with exempting documentation proving direct transportation of goods transiting Russia and Ukraine, active export-import consultations will be conducted if domestic affected companies face difficulties with Free Trade Agreement (FTA) certificates of origin.

Furthermore, by utilizing export-import information data among government ministries, continuous monitoring and information sharing will be strengthened for items at risk of supply disruptions.

A Korea Customs Service official stated, "We operate 'Export-Import Company Support Centers' at six customs offices nationwide to receive reports of damages caused by the Ukraine situation," adding, "We will focus all our capabilities on customs administration support to minimize damage to our companies."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.