International HIV/AIDS Alliance is to pay over UAH 3 m in antidumping duty for imports of syringes, says ministry

Kyiv, January 28 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Income and Tax Ministry of Ukraine insists on the obligatory payment of UAH 3.314 million in antidumping duty for imports of Spanish syringes by the International HIV/AIDS Alliance, Executive Director of the International HIV/AIDS Alliance in Ukraine Andriy Klepikov, said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine on January 24, 2012.

He said that the batch of syringes was imported to the country in 2010 as a part of the charity HIV/AIDS program.

"We’ve been working in Ukraine since 2000 and actually it's a first time when we face an attempt of real blackmail against the Alliance… Early this year we obtained notification that we're to pay the antidumping duty for syringes imported to give out free of charge," he said.

Klepikov said that the notification says that the foundation is to pay UAH 3.314 million in antidumping duty.

He said that when the syringes were imported to Ukraine in 2010, the antidumping duty was not in effect, and the goods passed all of the required procedures under a zero tariff.

"Now, they're backdating their demand for payment of the duty from us. I don't need to add that this is 196% of their value," he said.

Head of Kyiv Regional Customs Service of Ukraine, Hennadiy Romanenko, said that the cargo of the foundation was not declared as a humanitarian one during the registration of customs declarations and was registered as a usual business procedure.

"The deal was registered as a usual import, which we registered at the time in line with the then Ukrainian law and court rulings that were in effect at that moment," he said.

Romanenko said that the antidumping duty applies in line with the law on the protection of national goods producers from dumping imports. The decision on application of antidumping measures is made by the interagency commission for international trade. Under its decision of September 29, 2009, antidumping duties of 196.38% on imports of 10-millimeter syringes from Spain were introduced.

He said that at the moment of the importing of a batch of syringes by the International HIV/AIDS Alliance in Ukraine, the decision of the interagency commission was suspended due to court hearings. The decision of the interagency commission was declared legal by the higher administrative court of Ukraine, so the antidumping duties are to be imposed during the whole period of their application. Persons who import goods to Ukraine in the period when the commission's decision was in effect are to pay the antidumping duty to the budget.

"Due to court rulings that were in effect at that moment Kyiv region customs service did not accrue any fines, while UAH 3.314 million of the antidumping duty is to be paid by the International HIV/AIDS Alliance," Romanenko said.

He said that similar receipts to pay the antidumping duties were sent to other companies that registered customs declarations in the period of suspension of the commission's decision.

"The total sum for all the companies which imported syringes over the period amounts to some UAH 30 million. I point out that only the antidumping duty is being introduced by the interagency commission, and not any fines," he said.