New rules in eCherha electronic system at border with Ukraine

International road freight and passenger transport operators are informed about the implementation of new functionalities in eCherha electronic system, used to manage queues at border crossing points with Ukraine. The announcement was made by the National Road Transport Agency (ANTA), which notes that the new technical tools introduced by the Ukrainian authorities aim to discipline the flow of carriers and reduce congestion at the border.

According to ANTA, the changes apply to both road freight and passenger transport and include automatic mechanisms for sanctioning operators who do not comply with the booking rules in the electronic system.

New rules for freight transport

In the case of international road freight transport, the eCherha system will automatically block transport operators who repeatedly violate Ukrainian legislation or the procedures for using the electronic platform. The system’s rules provide that carriers may postpone their entry to the border crossing point in justified situations, such as technical failures or unforeseen circumstances. Postponement can be made for periods of 4, 6, 8 or 10 hours and is allowed only once every 60 calendar days for each vehicle.

Under these conditions, the place in the electronic queue is kept, and the system automatically updates the border entry time without cancelling the booking. However, the system will automatically apply restrictions to operators who violate the established rules. Thus, users may be blocked for 14 calendar days from booking a place in the electronic queue for a particular vehicle in several situations, including entering inaccurate data into the system or turning up at the border crossing point without being registered in eCherha. The sanction also applies if the authorities find that goods are being exported in a situation where the booking in the system was made for a vehicle declared as without cargo. Blocking can also be applied when the booking of a place in the electronic queue is cancelled twice in a row, either at the user’s request or automatically by the system. Another situation that may lead to blocking access to the system is the cancellation of a booking 24 hours before entry to the border, if the user has carried out this operation twice in the last 30 days.

Changes for passenger transport

The new functionalities of the eCherha system also target operators performing international road passenger transport, particularly on short-distance regular routes. Under the new rules, carriers operating regular services on short routes will be able to reserve in advance a place in the electronic queue according to the number of daily border crossings specified in their transport authorization. The place in the system may be booked up to 72 hours before the estimated time of arrival at the border crossing point. The Ukrainian authorities define a short route as an international transport service approved with a distance of up to 400 kilometres.

Recommendations for carriers

The National Road Transport Agency reminds transport operators that using the eCherha system requires mandatory authentication in the personal account on the platform’s official portal or via the dedicated mobile application. The institution’s representatives emphasize that strict compliance with the system’s rules is essential to avoid technical disruptions, delays at the border and automatic sanctions applied by the platform. At the same time, ANTA recommends that carriers constantly follow the updated information published in the “News” section of the eCherha portal, where changes and conditions of use of the electronic system managed by the Ukrainian authorities are announced.