The Agreement on Conformity Assessment and Acceptance of Industrial Products ("ACAA") is an intermediary step for Ukraine to benefit from the mutual recognition of product quality between the EU and Ukraine until our country becomes a full EU Member State.
The ACAA covers 27 groups of industrial goods/technical regulations. Ukraine's ACAA implementation plan was sequenced in priority sectors to allow a step-by-step sectoral implementation of the ACAA. The initial stage will only apply to three sectors designated as Priority I: machinery, electromagnetic compatibility and low-voltage equipment.
The ACAA implementation foresees an update of the Ukrainian (i) technical standards on the conformity of industrial goods, (ii) the vehicle of certification of such goods (Ukraine's National Qualitive Infrastructure) and (iii) market surveillance rules in line with EU standards. Ukraine has achieved significant progress in all three directions.
By December 2024:
- The Law of Ukraine "On State Market Surveillance and Control over Non-Food Products" ("Market Surveillance Law") was significantly updated, including provisions on (i) the increased fines for the business introducing the product on the market and (ii) inspection procedure for market surveillance and customs authorities (21 December 2024);
- The market surveillance of non-food products was fully restored after a moratorium was introduced during the full-scale invasion in 2022 (27 December 2024);
- The State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection approved a plan of sectoral inspection of imported goods for 2025 (9 December 2024).
The remaining core legislation harmonization is expected to be covered throughout 2025.
Key changes
The key changes, also applicable to Ukrainian and foreign businesses offering goods to Ukrainian consumers, are the following:
- Restored regime of inspections by market surveillance authorities for producers and market introducers (importers, dealers) focused on the designated high-risk products (e.g., toys, electric equipment and lighting devices);
- Increased cooperation between market surveillance and customs authorities; and
- Significantly increased fines for product non-compliance (up to UAH 340,000 or app. USD 8,100 for each violation).
Further anticipated changes in 2025
The ACAA track requires the Ukrainian government to adopt:The Draft Law 12221 amending the Law of Ukraine "On Accreditation of the Conformity Assessment Bodies" introducing new provisions regarding conformity assessment procedure and requirements towards the conformity assessment bodies;
- The Draft Law 12426 overhauled the Market Surveillance Law in line with the EU requirements:
- introducing a new sector of market surveillance in E-Commerce (or other kinds of distant sales);
- introducing the requirement to establish a local Ukrainian representative for a foreign producer to cooperate with local market surveillance authorities;
- introducing new tools and means of cooperation between the EU and Ukrainian market surveillance authorities;
- adjusting the inspection procedures by market surveillance and customs authorities; and
- introducing penalties and corrective measures for online retailers (marketplace providers).
The expected updates extensively cover a large share of the remaining legislative gap for Ukraine to meet ACAA requirements. The addressed changes also already implement the newly adopted EU Regulation 2023/988 of 10 May 2023 on General Product Safety ("GPSR").
Recommendations
Our recommendations for the business producing/disseminating non-food products in or importing to Ukraine are as follows:
- Reassess and update your internal product assessment procedures, product labelling, representation in Ukraine and compliance with EU technical standards.
- Liaise with your import supply chain partners (e.g., importers, distributors, online retailers) and establish a new internal process that is compliant with the current and forthcoming changes.
- Update your procedures for internal communication strategies and consumer/authority response teams to meet requirements for a speedy reaction to incident reports, customer complaints and requests and orders from EU/Ukrainian market surveillance authorities.
By Ario Dehghani, Counsel, and Volodymyr Stetsenko, Associate, Baker McKenzie
