Side-by-sides are the most ambiguous category in our stock as far as Ukrainian customs is concerned. Machines of the same design can be entered under the passenger-vehicle code or under the goods-vehicle code, and that decides the duty, the excise and even which authority registers the machine. Below is what is certain under the acts in force in October 2026, where open questions remain and how to settle them before shipping rather than at the border crossing.
A Canadian brand, a Mexican assembly line
The modernised Canada–Ukraine Free Trade Agreement (CUFTA) has been in force since 1 July 2024. Its 0% duty is available only to goods of Canadian origin — wholly obtained or sufficiently processed in Canada and accompanied by the exporter's origin declaration. According to BRP's annual information form, Can-Am side-by-sides are assembled at the Juárez 2 and Juárez 3 plants in Mexico. The agreement's cumulation rule covers materials from the EU, EFTA, the UK and Israel used in production — it cannot turn a Mexican-built machine into a Canadian one. So the Maverick, Commander and Defender pay the standard Ukrainian tariff rate, even though we ship them from Toronto and Montreal.
Two codes, two different budgets
Two headings of the Ukrainian tariff realistically fit a side-by-side.
- 8703 21 — passenger vehicles with a spark-ignition engine up to 1,000 cc: 8703 21 10 00 for new, 8703 21 90 10 for used up to 5 years, 8703 21 90 30 for over 5 years. Recreational and sport models lean this way. A reference point is US Customs ruling N362119 of 07.07.2026, which classified the Polaris RZR XP4 side-by-side with a 999 cc engine under 8703.21.
- 8704 31 — goods vehicles with a spark-ignition engine and a gross weight up to 5 t. In ruling N362226 of the same date, issued at BRP's own request, US Customs classified the Can-Am Defender XU, XU MAX and XU PRO (999 cc and 976 cc engines, cargo box, intended mainly for short-distance transport of goods in agriculture) under 8704.31.
US rulings do not bind Ukrainian customs, but the six-digit HS code is the same in every country, so they carry weight as an argument. We found no Ukrainian classification decision on the Defender — this is the main open question, and the table shows why it matters.
| Charge | 2026 rate | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Ukrainian tariff code (HS) | 8703 21 (recreational models up to 1,000 cc) or 8704 31 (work models such as the Defender — by analogy with the CBP ruling; not confirmed in Ukraine) | Митний тариф України, CBP N362119, CBP N362226 |
| Import duty | 10% under 8703 21; 5% under 8704 31 (8704 31 91 00 — new up to 2,800 cc, 8704 31 99 00 — used) | Митний тариф України |
| 0% CUFTA duty | does not apply: assembled in Juárez, Mexico | BRP AIF FY2025, CUFTA, ch. 3 |
| Excise under 8703 21 | €50 × (cc / 1,000) × age coefficient from 1 to 15 | Tax Code, art. 215.3.5-1 |
| Excise under 8704 31 | €0.01/cc new, €0.02/cc used; for used vehicles 5–8 years old coefficient 40, over 8 years — 50 | Tax Code, art. 215.3.5-2 |
| VAT | 20% of (value + duty + excise) | Tax Code, arts. 190.1, 193.1 |
| Pension levy | 3–5% set for passenger cars; whether it applies to side-by-sides is not confirmed | Law No. 400/97-ВР |
| Recycling / eco fee | not found in the primary sources we checked; confirmed in the estimate | — |
| Registration | MVS (Resolution No. 1388) or the State Service for Food Safety and Consumer Protection (Resolution No. 694, within 10 days) — the procedure is confirmed case by case | CMU No. 1388, CMU No. 694 |
How excise is calculated and why the model year matters
For heading 8703, excise is a base rate multiplied by a displacement coefficient and an age coefficient. For a petrol engine up to 3,000 cc the base is €50; the displacement coefficient is the displacement in cc divided by 1,000; the age coefficient is the number of full calendar years from the year after manufacture to the year of clearance. For new machines and those less than a year old it equals 1, with a maximum of 15.
- Maverick Sport DPS with a 976 cc engine, new: 50 × 0.976 × 1 = €48.80.
- The same machine built in 2022 and cleared in 2026: age coefficient 3 (2023, 2024 and 2025), excise €146.40.
Heading 8704 31 works differently: €0.01 per cc for new vehicles and €0.02 for used ones (up to 2,800 cc), with a coefficient of 40 for used vehicles aged 5–8 years and 50 for those older than 8. A Defender DPS HD10 with a 976 cc engine, if customs accepts code 8704 31, would pay €9.76 in excise when new.
In absolute terms excise on a new side-by-side is small — the duty is what counts. Adding up the charges on a new machine, code 8703 21 gives 32% of customs value (10% duty and 22% VAT) plus excise and VAT on it; code 8704 31 gives 26% (5% duty and 21% VAT) plus the same small extra. The difference is about 6 percentage points of the machine's value.
A binding classification decision — before shipment
Waiting to see which code the inspector picks at the border is a poor strategy for an expensive machine. For work-oriented Defenders it makes sense to request a preliminary classification decision from Ukrainian customs before shipment, with a technical description, cargo box data and the intended use of the machine. We prepare that package: the BRP specification, photographs and a reference to US ruling N362226. If the decision goes in favour of 8703, the estimate is recalculated in advance and there are no surprises at the border crossing.
Registration and licence: where there is no clear answer yet
Registration of side-by-sides in Ukraine is less clear than taxation. There are two procedures. Under Cabinet Resolution No. 1388, MVS service centres register cars, motorcycles of all types and vehicles "equated to them". Under Resolution No. 694, regional bodies of the State Service for Food Safety and Consumer Protection register tractors, self-propelled chassis, self-propelled agricultural machines and "other mechanisms" — and the owner must apply within 10 days of purchase or customs clearance. Neither act names side-by-sides explicitly, and we found no official clarification of which procedure applies to SSVs. We confirm it for the specific machine before purchase.
The driving licence has a catch too. Category B1 under the Rules of the Road covers quadricycles and tricycles with a permitted maximum mass of no more than 400 kg, from age 18. Full-size side-by-sides are usually heavier: the Defender XU's payload alone is 680 kg according to ruling N362226. So B1 does not cover them, and which category is required instead has not been officially clarified. It is also unconfirmed whether a first registration requires an expert examination or a certificate of conformity, as it does for used passenger cars, and whether the 3–5% pension levy that the law sets for passenger cars applies to SSVs.
Which model for which job
- Narrow forest trails — Maverick Trail DPS 1000R or Trail DPS 700: a 50-inch-wide body, 976 cc and 650 cc engines.
- Leisure plus farm work — Commander DPS 1000R or Commander XT 1000R: 976 cc and 100 hp; the XT adds a hard roof, bumpers and a 4,500 lb winch.
- Work and hauling — Defender HD7, HD9 and HD10 with 649 cc and 976 cc engines; the HD7 and HD9 have a 1,000 lb cargo box. The Defender MAX with a six-seat crew cab suits a work crew, and the 6x6 with switchable 4x4/6x6 drive and 3,000 lb towing handles the heaviest jobs.
- Sport — Maverick X3 with a turbocharged 900 cc Rotax ACE delivering 135 or 200 hp.
The full list with availability is in the side-by-sides section; the differences between sport models are covered in our article on Can-Am Maverick side-by-sides from Canada.
How we handle the deal
The general rules of Ukrainian customs — how VAT is charged, the declaration, the Canadian paperwork — are covered in our article on clearing a car from Canada into Ukraine; for side-by-sides the only addition is the question of the code. Private buyers and companies pay the same: the exemption under article 374 of the Customs Code covers only relocation for permanent residence with a vehicle of heading 8703 or 8704 (up to 3.5 t) owned for at least a year.
We work only with the Canadian market: new machines or clean used ones, no auction units and nothing rebuilt after serious damage. The price is on request. Before purchase we prepare the estimate in two versions — under 8703 21 and under 8704 31 — help with the preliminary classification decision and check the registration requirements. Leave a request with the model and the job it needs to do.
Rates are current as of October 2026 under the Customs Tariff and Tax Code of Ukraine and may change; the final calculation is made on the date of clearance.