Customs Officer’s Day in Ukraine Date in the current year: June 25, 2024

The first President of Ukraine Leonid Kravchuk signed the decree “On the Day of the Customs Service of Ukraine” on June 22, 1992. According to the decree, the holiday was to be celebrated annually on June 25 to commemorate the adoption of the law “On Customs in Ukraine” in 1991.

This law and the Customs Code, adopted on December 12, 1991, formed the legal framework for the functioning of the customs service and the formation of the customs system of an independent Ukrainian state. However, it should be noted that the 1991 Customs Code is no longer in force; the effective Customs Code of Ukraine was adopted in 2012.

In October 2013, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych merged the Day of the Customs Service of Ukraine (June 25) and the Day of the Employee of the State Tax Service of Ukraine (July 2) into a new professional holiday named the Day of the Tax and Customs Worker, celebrated on March 18. This holiday existed until 2020.

Finally, in June 2020, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky restored the professional holiday of Ukrainian customs officers, taking into account the important role of customs officers in ensuring customs security and protecting the country’s economic interests. It is celebrated on its original date, June 25, but instead of the Day of the Customs Service, it is simply called Customs Officer’s Day.

The revival of Customs Officer’s Day became possible because in December 2018, it was decided to split the State Fiscal Service, which, among other things, performed the customs function, into the State Tax Service and the State Customs Service. The State Customs Service of Ukraine was officially created on July 18, 2019, but it only started working four months later, and it took several more months for it to take its final shape.

The State Customs Service of Ukraine consists of 16 territorial bodies (Azov, Black Sea, Bukovyna, Dnipro, East, Galicia, Kyiv, North, Odessa, Podillya, Polissya, Sloboda, Volyn, Zakarpattya customs, energy customs, and coordinating and monitoring customs) and two specialized bodies (the Department of Specialized Training and K-9 Support and the Specialized Laboratory for Examination and Research). Each customs authority in Ukraine is registered as a separate legal entity.

On the day of their professional holiday, the employees of the State Customs Service of Ukraine receive congratulations and gratitude from the country’s leadership and high-ranking customs service officials. Employees who have distinguished themselves are awarded with state awards, certificates of gratitude, presents, etc. Although Customs Officer’s Day is an official holiday, it is not a non-working day.