Since 4 March 2022, due to the start of the full-scale invasion, Ukraine has introduced a zero export quota for natural gas of Ukrainian origin — de facto a ban on its export. As biomethane is analogous to natural gas, the Energy Customs classified biomethane as natural gas, thus extending the export ban to biomethane. To address this issue, a draft law was developed to amend the Customs Code of Ukraine on customs clearance of biomethane. On 20 March 2024, the provisions of the draft law were adopted by the Verkhovna Rada in the Law of Ukraine ‘On Amendments to the Customs Code of Ukraine and Other Laws of Ukraine on the Peculiarities of Customs Control and Customs Clearance of Certain Categories of Goods’ No. 3613-IX.
Steps required to export biomethane
According to the Law, a traditional periodic customs declaration must be submitted for customs clearance of biomethane volumes. However, it must contain information on the account number of the biomethane producer in the biomethane register. Moreover, the additional customs declaration must also contain information on the guarantee of origin of biomethane for the relevant volume.
Nevertheless, as of September 2024, the register is not functioning, and therefore no guarantees of origin of biomethane are issued. The launch of the biomethane registry has been postponed due to the need to synchronise it with the EU database (UDB) and to ensure that the EU recognises the guarantees of the origin of biomethane issued in Ukraine. This may take considerable time.
Documents required to export biomethane
The full list of documents needed for the export of biomethane is provided for in the Customs Code of Ukraine. In particular, in accordance with part 5 of Article 232 of the Customs Code of Ukraine, customs control and customs clearance of biomethane transported by gas transportation system under foreign economic contracts are carried out in the same manner as for natural gas.
The following documents must be provided to the customs authority for clearance:
- a foreign economic agreement (contract) or other documents confirming the right to own, use and/or dispose of goods;
- an act of acceptance and transfer of goods or a certificate confirming the amount of goods;
- commercial and accompanying documents (if available from the owner of the gas transportation system) for the goods transported across the customs border of Ukraine, and at the time of customs clearance — an invoice;
- name and address of the sender of goods;
- name and address of the recipient of goods;
- documents (permits, certificates) confirming the characteristics of the product (in the case of biomethane, also to confirm of its origin).
Temporal requirements for biomethane export
The Order of the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine provides for certain peculiarities for customs clearance of biomethane. They are in effect temporarily, until the Ukrainian biomethane register is connected to the UDB database and the European Union recognises the guarantees of origin of biomethane issued in Ukraine.
An act of acceptance and delivery of produced biomethane, an act of the gas storage operator on the movement of biomethane in gas storage facilities, and a certificate of the GTS operator on the accounting of commercial biomethane supplies shall be submitted until the ban on natural gas exports is lifted.
Law No. 3613-IX also defined the procedure for resolving the issue of biomethane imbalances. During the period of the ban on natural gas exports, biomethane volumes may be exported only in terms of biomethane volumes accumulated by a business entity in Ukrainian gas storage facilities as of the end of the month before the month of export. Therefore, producers must store biomethane in underground storage facilities for a month before exporting it. This is to avoid imbalances and prevent actual exports of natural gas. The act of the gas storage operator on the movement of biomethane in gas storage facilities is submitted to confirm this.
Due to the adopted legislation and regulations, the first volumes of biomethane allowed for export from Ukraine are expected in early 2025.
This analysis for SAF Ukraine was prepared by Anna Pastukh, legal expert of the Bioenergy Association of Ukraine.