yesterday at 10:29
,Ukraine
Forestry remains one of the leading sectors of the Transcarpathian economy and plays an important role in the region’s foreign economic activity. At the same time, some entrepreneurs seek to exploit this by engaging in the illegal export of forest products using forged documents on the origin of timber.
During customs control, Transcarpathian Customs officers record discrepancies in the geometric dimensions of timber or establish that the actual consignment does not match the one declared in the certificate of origin. In the first half of 2026, the customs service documented nine violations of customs regulations related to the illegal export of 183 cubic meters of timber and sawn timber with a total value exceeding 3 million hryvnias.
Current legislation provides for strict sanctions for such offenses: a fine ranging from 50 to 100 percent of the value of the goods, as well as confiscation.
A notable example is one of the recently detected cases. While processing the export of 46.4 cubic meters of coniferous edged sawn timber valued at nearly 500 thousand hryvnias, customs officers found that the documents contained false information about the timber dimensions and that the certificate itself pertained to a different consignment. As a result of the inspection, a protocol was drawn up against the entrepreneur under part one of Article 483 of the Customs Code of Ukraine. In addition, a notification was sent to the Bureau of Economic Security regarding the possible commission of a criminal offense under Article 201-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
To verify the legality of timber origin, customs officers engage forestry specialists who confirm or refute the legitimacy of the submitted certificates. This interagency approach enables more effective detection of illegal export schemes and accountability for violators.
