From today, the European Union (EU) is implementing an even stricter ban on the import of fuels produced from Russian oil, according to the Customs Agency.
According to the new rules, the purchase, import, or transfer - directly or indirectly - into the EU of petroleum products from Russian oil that have been refined in a third country is prohibited. The measures are applied on the basis of a European regulation of July 31, 2014, regarding restrictive measures in connection with Russia's actions destabilizing the situation in Ukraine.
For the purposes of applying the ban, sanctions legislation requires economic operators to present to the customs authorities evidence of the country of origin of the crude oil used in the refining of petroleum products in the third country.
The Customs Agency points out that importers should have adequate due diligence procedures and provide all necessary information to establish the origin of the crude oil, including documents certifying the country of extraction. An exception is allowed when the petroleum products are imported from a partner country included in an annex to the regulation.
Importers may rely on various documentary evidence for the origin of the crude oil, but are urged to exercise increased caution when there are suspicions of falsified or inaccurate documents.
Economic operators are recommended to include special contractual clauses with their suppliers guaranteeing the origin of the crude oil, as well as to apply expanded due diligence.
The customs administration clarifies that when importing petroleum products from position 2710 from a partner country included in the list to the regulation, it is not required to present evidence of the origin of the crude oil from subposition 2709 00.
The Customs Agency has published on its website instructions to traders, as well as a list of countries - net exporters of crude oil for 2024.