Sumy court fines citizen for importing Mitsubishi as humanitarian aid

The Kovpakivskyi District Court of Sumy issued a ruling on 12 October 2026 to hold citizen Viktor Rachuk administratively liable. The man was found guilty of using a vehicle that had been imported into Ukraine with customs preferences for humanitarian purposes for other ends.

How the car was registered

In June 2022, Viktor Rachuk cleared a MITSUBISHI SPACE WAGON through the Yagodyn checkpoint of the Volyn Customs Administration. In the customs declaration, he stated that the car was preferential humanitarian aid intended for military needs, specifically for the Sumy Territorial Centre for Mobilisation and Social Support (TCMSS). Thanks to this registration, the vehicle was fully exempted from paying customs fees.

Inspection revealed violations

During an inspection, the Sumy Customs Administration sent an official request to the military commissariat (TCMSS). They confirmed in writing that the specified car had never been registered in the military records, had not been transferred to any units, and had not been received as humanitarian cargo. Viktor Rachuk himself did not appear in response to customs officers' summons and did not provide any documents confirming the delivery of the car to its intended destination.

Due to this registration, the state suffered losses of 78,136.97 UAH, consisting of import duty, excise tax, and VAT.

Court ruling

The court found Viktor Rachuk guilty of an offence under Article 485 of the Customs Code of Ukraine. This article punishes actions aimed at the unlawful exemption from paying customs duties and the use of preferential goods for purposes other than those intended.

The following sanctions were imposed on the convicted person:

• a fine of 50% of the unpaid customs duties amount, which is 39,068.49 UAH;
• the collection of a court fee in favour of the state in the amount of 665.60 UAH.