This situation is reminiscent of the Egyptian scheme with photography on camels, only in the Ukrainian version. For a photo on a camel you will be charged e-hryvnia, but for the camel itself you will have to pay in cash - 20 real dollars, of course.
In his previous material, “simple, simple and simple.” I called “eCherga” conditionally legal. Questions immediately started pouring in: why is this so? Because this state portal does not clearly and clearly state the procedures for the work of government agencies and, most importantly, their responsibility for damage caused to business. Which will definitely happen when “statists”, that is, “government” officials, work. Despite the fact that the sponsors and curators of e-Cherga include a huge part of ministries and government agencies, I did not find instructions for use by officials of this e-portal.
Just an example:
There are several references there to the customs service. Among which it is indicated that there is a queue:
But at the same time, recently, our drivers blocked the international highway, because for some reason customs at this border with ECherga do not have synchronized actions. That is, of course, the driver is forced to make personal contact with the customs inspector and certainly “resolve the issue in the Ukrainian style.” That is, quickly and efficiently for the customs officer. Which does not have clearly written instructions on how to use eCherga in this case, but there is the opportunity to “apply the usual algorithm for solving the problem.”
Has eCherga eliminated corruption? No, she added. This is just one example. It looks like more attention will need to be paid to this miracle invention of Ukrainian state corruption. Looks at the photo.
But why, instead of synchronizing data between eCherga and the UAIS customs database, they still use contact between drivers and customs officers, it becomes clear after information from the latest letter from the Association of International Freight Forwarders of Ukraine to our main customs officer:
“. the issue of extending the delivery time of goods to the customs office of destination depends on the subjective decision of the official, which is a corruption-prone factor. So, more often, in order to extend the period (during the stay in eCherzy), it is proposed to pay an unofficial and not provided for by law payment to customs officials at checkpoints in the amount of 200.00 UAH to 2000.00 UAH in cash.”
Therefore, after standing in ECherga for several weeks, the driver still needs to “coordinate” such a “stay” with the customs officer “in the amount of 200.00 UAH to 2000.00 UAH” - in order to leave ECherga.
This is an indicative corruption scheme for Ukraine:
“There is something for publicity. In fact, the line of trucks itself was simply shoved into the drivers' yards. They don’t take money for registration in ECherga. Then you actually have to stand in line for a couple of weeks. For the right to leave the eCherga at the border, you already have to pay the customs officer from 200 to 2000 UAH.”
But this is a typical Egyptian scheme with photography on camels in the Ukrainian incarnation. When they charge you an e-pound for a photo on a camel, and for withdrawing from the camel it’s already 20 real bucks, of course in cash.
In short, the e-camelization of Ukrainian transport is in full swing. Using e-services, of course.
The “Road” portal deserves special attention. So far, the authorities are loudly reporting that “as a result of the use of the Shlyakh e-portal,” nearly a thousand criminal cases have already been initiated, and the same thousands of investigators, prosecutors and judges have been involved in the investigation. Which, instead of training and actually being sent to the front, groups investigate cases from the state e-portal. The main thing is that they are all “on important matters.”
But 2 more facts from the press regarding “The Way” cannot go unnoticed.
The first is how many private transport enterprises are actually “closed” using “Shlyakh” for their main work, that is, transporting goods. Again, there were only announcements about purely “Roads”, that is, about the beginning of the system’s operation. But about the fact that through “Shlyakh” they will actually close the work of enterprises, and how this will be done legally. There is no public information.
On what basis then are enterprises stopped, their access to the only opportunity to cross the border with their own transport is denied? Who makes the decision, what is the algorithm for making such a decision? How much it costs the company to resume operations in Shlyakh is also unclear. Apparently it will be expensive. Has the tax already been formed? I'll try to find out from the carriers.
Second. Much has also been written about how government officials and deputies massively use “The Way”. A few examples below. In fact, there are not just a few of them, there are thousands of them.
On January 31 of this year, 31-year-old deputy of the Kharkov regional council Vitaly Abramov left the country. He managed to cross the border without any problems; the Kharkov Regional State Administration entered him into the “Shlyakh” system.
Maxim Krivda, a 35-year-old deputy of the Novomoskovsky district council in the Dnepropetrovsk region, left the country back in December 2022. He left with permission from the Dnepropetrovsk OVA through the Shlyakh system.
Deputy of the Kharkov District Council, 39-year-old Stanislav Lebedev. Left Ukraine in November 2022. The Ministry of Development of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure of Ukraine added Stanislav Lebedev to the “Roads” system.
46-year-old deputy of the Soledar City Council Sergei Petrov went abroad in March of this year. It was added to the “Shlyakh” system by the Volyn Regional State Administration.
36-year-old deputy of the Dobropolsky City Council of the Donetsk region Artem Sunduchnikov went abroad in March 2023 based on the decision of the Zhytomyr Regional State Administration. It was included in the “Ways” portal at the request of the St. Michael’s Cathedral in Zhitomir.
in the Ternopil region, 36-year-old deputy of the Chertkiv City Council Nazariy Piptik crossed the border as a volunteer. Nazariya Piptik was added to the “Road” system by the Kiev OVA.
37-year-old deputy of the OPZZh Boryspil city council of the Kyiv region Sergei Pashin went abroad using the “Shlyakh” system. A local deputy from the Kiev region was included in the “Ways” system by the Chernivtsi Regional Administration.
43-year-old deputy of the Zolochevsky district council in the Lviv region, Boris Dovbeta, left Ukraine through the “Shlyakh” system back in April last year thanks to an appeal from the Zolochevsky district council to the Lviv Regional State Administration.
hundreds, thousands of cases of use of the “Shlyakh” system by officials and government bodies. Yes, what??? Businesses are closing.
So, has anyone heard that, as a result of the unlawful use of the “Shlyakh” system, the state suspended the activities of the Kharkov, Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Volyn, Lvov and other OVAs? And the Ministry of Development of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure of Ukraine is also “working”, heavily bargaining for exit permits?
That is, officials are stopping dozens of private enterprises without giving them access to a single (very illegal) portal to their work. Work that feeds the families of workers at these enterprises. Even if an employee of an enterprise does something wrong in this “Road,” they close the entire enterprise completely, ceasing operations. And the officials themselves, bargaining on access to e-services, receiving salaries, do not even think about closing all these corruption traps, that is, numerous OBAs and various local government agencies?
Again, thousands of investigators, office workers, prosecutors and others will be sent to coordinate “illegal benefits” from the “Shlyakh” system.
How did the Ministry of Justice coordinate the introduction of this “Shlyakh” system? Or are they also taking a share, also biting off their part of the “pie”, worthy sons of Ukraine, sending them away from the front? How else to leave?
Some kind of cycle of money and corruption in Ukrainian nature. Camelization.
And finally, 2 comments.
First. Who is now making great money on the Polish border? That's right, customs officers. When trucks forced to stand for weeks under “bead schemes” leave the queues and “into the black bead scheme” or enter Ukraine under the guise of empty beads, the earnings of customs officers are measured in millions of dollars and euros per month. If before the Polish crisis the rate reached 800-1000 euros for a “left bead”, now less than 1500 euros is no longer discussed.
Second. The Verkhovna Rada has finally voted on a bill providing for criminal liability for the illegal import of goods and/or their false declaration. The law provides for a very wide range of punishments for the violator - from a “small” fine of 17 thousand UAH to imprisonment for up to 11 years.
In fact, after the Law comes into force, any dispute between customs officers and entrepreneurs regarding the customs value of goods, name, labeling, packaging, coding, etc., may be equated to smuggling, until a criminal case is immediately opened.
That is, criminal liability will arise not only for intentional customs fraud committed with the aim of evading customs duties, but simply for a dispute with a customs officer, or for a simple refusal to “uncover on the spot.” A classic example from customs in this situation is this: in the Ukrainian customs coding system, cargo.
“Coriander seeds” have one code, and “Coriander seeds” already have a different coding code for customs. A criminal case against the carrier (and losses from downtime), the declarant, and directors of enterprises with these seeds is already guaranteed. And it doesn’t matter what the sender or declarant writes in the documents for our customs. The customs officer will use a different code and will be right. At best, the business will offer a bribe, at worst - a criminal case. There is no third. And we have thousands of such situations in “e-services from the state”.
Our legislators do not want to prepare laws in such a way as to completely exclude two factors from them: personal contact between business and the state in any form and the maximum reduction in the resolution of disputes in our judicial system. For some reason, the state is not ready for either the first or the second. As a result, only business suffers, business cannot and does not want to pay taxes, with such an attitude towards it, hopes for a fair and decent path for an entrepreneur in our country are destroyed.
And it’s especially offensive for the transport industry. Instead of making it a locomotive of the economy, the industry is once again falling into downtime, weeks of code-breaking, and corruption. In camelization, in short.
All that remains is to wait for the next legislators and administrators. The current ones couldn't cope with the word AT ALL.
