Svitlana Yukhta withdraws resignation from State Customs Service after public scandal

Svitlana Yukhta, who holds the position of head of the customs valuation department within the tariffs department of the State Customs Service of Ukraine, has changed her decision regarding her tenure in the role. The woman, who had previously initiated the dismissal procedure, withdrew her application and returned to performing her official duties.

Details of return to post

Journalist Yevhen Plinsky reported on this change in situation, having previously published information about the official’s leave in the United Kingdom. According to him, on 16 September, the State Customs Service officially confirmed in a response to a request from Petro Stetsenko that Svitlana Yukhta had been on leave and had submitted a resignation application, which was set to take effect from 1 October.

However, as Plinsky claims, the official subsequently returned to Ukraine, withdrew her resignation application, and continued working in her position.

Scandal over customs value

The main focus of the journalist’s attention is on the procedure for determining the customs value of imported goods. Plinsky drew attention to data published by People’s Deputy Yaroslav Zheleznyak. These figures demonstrate a difference in the value of one kilogram of knitted fabric with the same commodity nomenclature code at different customs posts.

According to the provided data, valuations ranged from $2.8 per kilogram at the Zaporizhzhia Customs Post to $1.5 at the Kyiv Customs Post, $1.1 at the Lviv Customs Post, $0.1 at the Chernivtsi Customs Post, and $0.006 at the Sumy Customs Post.

Plinsky notes that the main volumes of goods clearance took place precisely through customs posts with the lowest value indicators. According to his information, during the period from January to August 2026, the Chernivtsi and Sumy Customs Posts cleared over 7,000 tonnes of such goods. The journalist questions why such a significant difference in valuations did not lead to the corresponding adjustment of the customs value.

Issue of “Yukhta’s tables” and requirements for TSC

Separately, the topic of so-called “Yukhta’s tables” was raised — methodologies or guidelines for determining customs value, the existence of which, according to the journalist, has long been known to importers. Plinsky suggests that the approach to goods valuation may depend on the specific importer and supply channel. At the same time, it is noted that the figures cited themselves do not prove the existence of a corrupt scheme or the involvement of a specific official in violations.

The journalist called for Svitlana Yukhta to be summoned to a session of the Temporary Investigative Committee of the Verkhovna Rada, which is investigating the activities of cargo companies and possible abuses during customs clearance. He also proposed asking her questions regarding methods of valuing imported used cars, specifically concerning reports of additional payments of $200–300 per vehicle.

The published statements require thorough verification and official explanations from the State Customs Service and Svitlana Yukhta herself. The key question remains whether differences in customs value have objective causes and whether uniform rules were applied to all importers.