Ilona Mishchenko

Dr Ilona Mishchenko

Managing Editor at CustomsClear
Ukraine

Dr Ilona Mishchenko is Managing Editor at CustomsClear, where she oversees and edits articles published on the platform and in the Customs Compliance & Risk Management (CCRM) journal. She is also a member of the CCRM journal’s editorial board.

She is Associate Professor in the Maritime, Customs and Information Law Department at the National University ‘Odesa Law Academy’, where she has taught EU and Ukrainian customs law since 2005. She is also a lecturer at Vytautas Magnus University, teaching on the MBA programme ‘Customs Process Management.

Dr Mishchenko works across the Ukrainian, EU and UK customs systems, with much of her writing examining how rules set out in one system operate in practice in another. She has researched customs matters since 2004, with a particular focus on customs valuation, tariff classification, origin of goods and non-tariff measures in international trade. She is the author of around 100 academic and professional publications.

At CustomsClear, she writes mainly on customs valuation and tariff classification, including case notes on judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union, developments in the European Commission’s Compendium of Customs Valuation, and developments in UK customs law.

Contact information

Content by Ilona Mishchenko

CJEU: when can the cost of EU-based design work be included in customs value?

CJEU: when can the cost of EU-based design work be included in customs value?

Ilona Mishchenko
Ilona Mishchenko
20 Aug 2026

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) recently ruled on a matter with significant implications for companies importing packaged goods into the EU. When an EU-based buyer pays for label printing templates produced in the EU and provides them to an overseas supplier free of charge for printing...

Valuation
Case law
Why companies need to rethink how they manage tariff classification

Why companies need to rethink how they manage tariff classification

Jakub Dobrzynski
Jakub Dobrzynski
12 Jul 2026

This article examines why tariff classification errors persist in many companies, revealing that the root cause is often not a lack of customs knowledge, but rather weak processes, poor product data, and ambiguous responsibilities. Based on a case study of an international manufacturer, it identifies where the greatest risks lie...

Classification
Topic spotlight
UK customs updates 2026: NCTS Phase 6, import duties, trade agreements & export controls

UK customs updates 2026: NCTS Phase 6, import duties, trade agreements & export controls

Ilona Mishchenko
Ilona Mishchenko
21 Jun 2026

A concise briefing on the latest UK customs and trade developments as of mid-2026, relevant for customs and trade compliance professionals managing UK import/export operations. Topics covered: NCTS Phase 6 go-live and the move from version 5 to version 6 Digitalisation of the ATA Carnet system (e-ATA Carnet) across the...

News
Using export price data under the fallback method of customs valuation: lessons from CJEU

Using export price data under the fallback method of customs valuation: lessons from CJEU

Ilona Mishchenko
Ilona Mishchenko
06 May 2026

Since the start of 2026, the Court of Justice of the European Union has issued two rulings focusing on the use of the fallback method for customs valuation. These decisions have brought renewed attention to the types of price information that may be relied upon when determining the customs value...

Valuation
Case law
Valuation fall-back method - pracical insights from case law

Valuation fall-back method - pracical insights from case law

Ilona Mishchenko
Ilona Mishchenko
28 Apr 2026

The fallback (residual) method is the most flexible but also the most complex of the six methods for determining customs value under EU law, applied only once every other method has been exhausted. This video sets out when and why it applies, and what customs authorities and importers may -...

Valuation
FTAs vs GSP: understanding key differences and practical implications for companies

FTAs vs GSP: understanding key differences and practical implications for companies

Annette Reiser
Annette Reiser
23 Apr 2026

This article explores the practical differences between free trade agreements (FTAs) and the Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) scheme. As they operate in fundamentally different ways, they also influence internal company processes differently. It explains why origin information relevant to the GSP may still be included in suppliers’ declarations and...

Origin
Topic spotlight
UK trade and customs developments in March 2026

UK trade and customs developments in March 2026

Ilona Mishchenko
Ilona Mishchenko
08 Apr 2026

A lot happened in UK trade and customs in March 2026: this webinar recording, presented by Ilona Mishchenko (CustomsClear), walks through the month's key developments across policy, classification, duties and origin, trade relations, export controls, and trade remedies. Topics covered: The UK's new Steel Strategy and proposed trade measures (tariff...

News
Key updates to the 2025 Commission’s Compendium of customs valuation

Key updates to the 2025 Commission’s Compendium of customs valuation

Ilona Mishchenko
Ilona Mishchenko
18 Dec 2025

Can EU green initiatives influence the determination of the customs value of goods imported into the EU? This article reviews the latest developments from the European Commission included in the updated version of the Compendium of Customs Valuation, and provides the answer to this question.

Valuation
Topic spotlight
UK customs law update: May 2025

UK customs law update: May 2025

Ilona Mishchenko
Ilona Mishchenko
31 May 2025

In this recording of the CustomsClear UK roundtable, Dr Ilona Mishchenko, editor of the CCRM Journal, gives customs and trade compliance professionals a concise overview of the key UK trade and customs developments from May 2025. Topics covered: The new UK-US Economic Prosperity Deal and its scope (tariff relief, rules...

News
Local rules vs EU freedoms: Italian case law on customs representatives

Local rules vs EU freedoms: Italian case law on customs representatives

Ilona Mishchenko
Ilona Mishchenko
06 Apr 2025

Rules on customs representation, as part of customs law, are an exceptional competence of the EU. However, the EU lays down general provisions and leaves considerable discretion to the Member States in this area. This article examines a recent case in which the EU Court of Justice assessed whether Italian...

Customs law
Case law

Popular articles

CJEU: when can the cost of EU-based design work be included in customs value?

CJEU: when can the cost of EU-based design work be included in customs value?

20 Aug 2026

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) recently ruled on a matter with significant implications for companies importing packaged goods into the EU. When an EU-based buyer pays for label printing templates produced in the EU and provides them to an overseas supplier free of charge for printing...

Case law
Valuation
Why companies need to rethink how they manage tariff classification

Why companies need to rethink how they manage tariff classification

12 Jul 2026

This article examines why tariff classification errors persist in many companies, revealing that the root cause is often not a lack of customs knowledge, but rather weak processes, poor product data, and ambiguous responsibilities. Based on a case study of an international manufacturer, it identifies where the greatest risks lie...

Topic spotlight
Classification
Using export price data under the fallback method of customs valuation: lessons from CJEU

Using export price data under the fallback method of customs valuation: lessons from CJEU

06 May 2026

Since the start of 2026, the Court of Justice of the European Union has issued two rulings focusing on the use of the fallback method for customs valuation. These decisions have brought renewed attention to the types of price information that may be relied upon when determining the customs value...

Case law
Valuation