Administrative appeal of decisions, actions and inaction of customs authorities: problems and prospects

Abstract

Relying on the outcomes of the study of the procedure of administrative appeal of decisions, actions and inaction of customs under the legislation of Ukraine, the author notes that its most progressive aspects are reflected in the provisions of the customs legislation, which: 1) allow the submission of a complaint to a higher-level customs body in electronic form; 2) provide the opportunity to participate in its review via video conference; 3) optimally regulate the issue of suspending the term for consideration of a complaint, in particular, in the case when a higher-level customs body has appointed an unscheduled on-site documentary inspection; 4) establish the obligation of the higher-level customs body to make a decision based on the results of the complaint review, taking into account the documents and/or information available to such body, if the person who filed the complaint did not provide documents and/or information at his request. In addition to that, the author substantiates the fact that the following are also considered promising directions for improving the effectiveness of administrative appeals as a means of pre-trial settlement of disputes arising from customs legal relations: 1) deepening the publicity and transparency of the activities of higher-level customs authorities regarding the consideration of complaints about decisions, actions and omissions of customs by publishing their final decisions; 2) introduction of mechanisms aimed at ensuring the uniformity of administrative practice within the framework of administrative appeals and assertion of the rule that a change of assessment and conclusions in the same or similar cases is possible only if it is properly substantiated; 3) bringing the legal basis of the procedure of administrative appeal of decisions, actions and omissions of customs authorities into alignment with the requirements of the Law of Ukraine “On Administrative Procedure”.