At the height of harvest and shipment to elevators and ports, it is documents that become the main subject of inspections by Ukrtransbezpeka, the police, and the tax authorities. The absence of even one mandatory document at the time of inspection is costly: under Art. 60 of the Law of Ukraine "On Road Transport," the transportation of cargo without the documents specified by Article 48 of this Law is punishable by an administrative-economic fine in the amount of 1,000 tax-free minimum incomes of citizens, i.e., UAH 17,000. Therefore, the set of documents should be checked even before the vehicle leaves the field or warehouse. This was reported by Olha Brus, a lawyer at EvrikaLaw.
The basic list is established by Article 48 of the Law of Ukraine "On Road Transport." The driver must have a driving license of the appropriate category (for a road train with a trailer or semi-trailer, this is, as a rule, category CE), registration documents for the tractor unit and for the trailer or semi-trailer, as well as a consignment note (TTN) or another document for the cargo defined by legislation. The carrier, in turn, must have a document confirming the use of the vehicle on legal grounds. If the vehicle does not belong to the carrier, this is a lease agreement, leasing agreement, or another agreement. In addition, the vehicle must have a valid policy of compulsory civil liability insurance, and for trucks, confirmation of passing the compulsory technical inspection.
The consignment note (TTN) is a key document in grain transportation, and the law requires that the shipper fill it out with all mandatory details: the date and place of drawing up; the full name and tax codes of the shipper, carrier, and consignee; the make, model, and registration numbers of the vehicle and trailer; their parameters (length, width, height, total weight with cargo, and gross weight); as well as the loading and unloading points.
Pay special attention to the weight: the data in the consignment note must correspond to the actual weighing on the scales of the farm or elevator. For indicating inaccurate weight in the TTN that conceals exceeding weight norms, a fine is imposed on the consignor under Article 132-2 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses from 500 to 3,000 tax-free minimum incomes of citizens, i.e., from UAH 8,500 to UAH 51,000. Currently, TTNs can be issued in both paper and electronic form. An electronic TTN (e-TTN) has the same legal force, however, as of today it is voluntary. The Ministry for Development has published a draft law that provides for a transition to a mandatory e-TTN from January 1, 2027, but it has not yet entered into force as law.
In addition to transport documents, the grain is accompanied by documents for the cargo itself. Elevators, processing enterprises, and traders usually require a quality document (a quality certificate or a laboratory test report with indicators of moisture, foreign matter, test weight, etc.), since the price and class of the grain depend on it. During export deliveries, a phytosanitary certificate issued by the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection and customs documents are additionally issued. If the grain is transferred for storage, the elevator issues a warehouse document (a warehouse receipt or warehouse certificate) confirming acceptance of the grain.
The tax component should be mentioned separately. The supply of wheat, barley, corn, soybeans, rapeseed and sunflower (UCT ZED codes 1001, 1003, 1005, 1201, 1205, 1206 00) is subject to VAT at a rate of 14% (subparagraph "g" of paragraph 193.1 of Article 193 of the Tax Code of Ukraine). For the tax service, it is the TTN that is one of the main proofs of the reality of a delivery, so its absence or inaccuracies often become grounds for blocking tax invoices or removing a tax credit. If grain is sold by an individual from their own personal peasant farm or from land shares, they must have a certificate from the village, settlement or city council confirming the existence of land plots and provide a copy of it to the buyer as a tax agent (subparagraph 165.1.24 of the TCU). If such a certificate is available, income from the sale of own crop production within 12 minimum wages per year (in 2026 this is UAH 103,764) is not taxed, but without it the buyer will withhold tax from the entire amount.
So, before each trip, check for the driver's license, registration documents for the tractor and trailer, a document confirming the lawful use of the vehicle, an insurance policy, as well as a correctly completed consignment note with the actual weight of the cargo and a grain quality document. Such a set fully complies with the requirements of the regulatory authorities and protects both the carrier and the grain owner in the event of a dispute with the buyer.