Importing equipment from the EU: stages, lead times and documents

Stages of supply

1. Technical brief and proposal. The more complete the brief, the fewer rounds of questions. For transformers, switchgear (КРУ, KRU) and packaged substations (КТП, KTP), the factory often asks you to fill in its own questionnaire.
2. Drawing approval. Once the advance payment is in, the factory sends dimensional drawings and diagrams. Production doesn’t start until the customer signs them off. Every week of delay in responding is a week added to the lead time.
3. Manufacturing. The longest stage. For standard production items it takes weeks; for power transformers and custom switchgear, months. The clock starts at drawing approval, not at the contract date.
4. Factory testing. The factory acceptance test (FAT) can be witnessed by the customer. Agreeing on a date adds a week or two, but it settles a lot of questions that would otherwise come up on site.
5. Packing and export clearance. The export customs declaration is filed by the seller or the seller’s broker, depending on the delivery terms.
6. Transport. A regular truck from the EU reaches the Ukrainian border in a few days, but the border queue can add a few more. Oversize loads need permits and escorts.
7. Customs clearance in Ukraine. With a complete set of documents, anywhere from a few hours to a few days.
8. Delivery to site and unloading. Crane, rigging and site access are arranged in advance, especially for heavy equipment.

Lead-time calculator

Enter the manufacturing time from the factory’s proposal. The calculator adds the remaining stages using typical ranges.

The ranges are a planning guide, not a commitment. The factory’s and the carrier’s actual lead times are fixed in the proposal and the contract.

Documents without which the shipment doesn’t move

Settle the product’s customs code under УКТ ЗЕД (UKTZED, Ukraine’s HS-based goods classification) before shipment. It determines the duty rate, any available exemptions and the list of documents, and it’s where questions most often come up during clearance.

Duty and VAT

Under the EU–Ukraine Association Agreement, Ukraine has phased out import duty on the vast majority of industrial goods of European origin. But the zero rate applies only when origin is documented, either by an origin declaration on the invoice or by an EUR.1 certificate. For small consignments any exporter can make out the declaration; for larger ones only an approved exporter can, otherwise an EUR.1 is issued.

Import VAT is 20% of the customs value plus duty. Some power equipment (for solar and wind plants, energy storage systems, gas-engine and gas-turbine generation) qualifies for an exemption that was extended in December 2025 to cover 2026–2028. Whether a specific item qualifies depends on its УКТ ЗЕД code and the current version of the list, so check this for each shipment separately.

Oversize and heavy loads

A power transformer, a КТП in a concrete enclosure or a BESS container can easily exceed the standard limits for a tractor-trailer: about 2.55–2.6 m wide, 4 m high and 40 t gross weight. Then you need special transport, route permits in each country and sometimes an escort. Permits take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, so the route and the packed dimensions are agreed at the proposal stage.

On site, heavy equipment needs an access road that can take the weight, room for a crane and a foundation prepared in advance. Large transformers are sometimes shipped without oil or with the radiators removed; assembly and oil filling on site then become a separate stage.

What to check before you prepay

• Incoterms delivery terms. Under EXW the buyer arranges removal from the EU and export clearance on its own, which is awkward for a foreign buyer. FCA or DAP are usually simpler: the seller takes care of the export side.
• Cargo insurance. Mandatory only under CIP and CIF. Under other terms, decide who insures the goods in transit.
• Payment schedule. Tie payments to milestones: drawing approval, successful testing, shipment. That’s better than 100% prepayment.
• Liability for delays and what happens if the factory pushes back the date.
• The document set from the list above, written into the contract as part of the delivery.

USK ENERGY handles the foreign trade contract, logistics and customs clearance, so the customer receives the equipment as an ordinary domestic delivery with documents in Ukrainian. If you already have a proposal from a European factory, send it to sales@usk.ua: we’ll review the terms and work out the lead time to your site.