Supreme Court: “green corridor” does not exempt customs officers from the obligation to inspect

The Supreme Court of Ukraine has formulated a principled position: even in a simplified customs control regime (“green corridor”), an official is obliged to check the vehicle, documents and the reliability of the entered data.

The corresponding conclusion was made by a panel of judges of the Cassation Criminal Court of the Supreme Court, having considered the cassation appeal of the prosecutor in case No. 991/5399/23 against a customs officer who had previously been acquitted on charges of abuse of office.

The essence of the case

This is a criminal case against a state customs clearance inspector who was accused of improperly carrying out customs control at the Luzhanka-Beregshuran checkpoint. According to the prosecution, the official did not check the vehicle and goods, in particular Apple equipment, and entered unreliable information about their absence into the system.

According to the investigation, this led to the movement of goods outside customs control and the failure to pay customs duties in the amount of more than 14 million UAH.

The courts of first and appellate instances acquitted the accused, indicating the absence of the elements of a crime and a causal connection between his actions and the losses.

The position of the Supreme Court

The cassation instance did not agree with such conclusions and emphasized:

there is a direct causal connection between the actions of the customs officer and the subsequent calculation of customs duties;
fixing the absence of goods that were actually moved may indicate a breach of duty;
a simplified control regime does not cancel the basic duties of an official.

The court emphasized: a customs officer is obliged to check documents, identify the vehicle and, if necessary, conduct a customs inspection – even in the “green corridor”.

Errors of previous instances

The Supreme Court recognized that the lower courts:

failed to properly assess the actions of the accused;

prematurely rejected the existence of a causal connection;

failed to examine the circumstances of the case in their entirety.
Decision

The prosecutor’s cassation appeal was granted, the appellate court’s ruling was overturned, and the case was sent for a new hearing.

Significance of the position

This decision is of systemic importance for law enforcement, as it:

clearly outlines the limits of responsibility of customs officers;
confirms that simplified procedures do not exempt from official duties;
emphasizes the importance of properly assessing causal connections in criminal proceedings.

In fact, the Supreme Court emphasized: the “green corridor” is a simplification of the procedure, not the abolition of control.