The new year 2018 will become a landmark in the customs sphere for the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union - the Customs Code of the EAEC should come into force on January 1. The correspondent of BelTA, with the assistance of the first deputy chairman of the State Customs Committee of Belarus, Vladimir Orlovski, collected the main innovations envisaged by the EAEC TC in one material.
Project work
The working group on improving the customs legislation on the site of the Eurasian Economic Commission was preparing the draft of the Customs Code of the EAEC. It consisted of representatives of ECE, government bodies and the business community of the countries participating in the integration association.
"The work was intense, we carried out two stages of internal coordination, during which more than 2,000 amendments were made by the parties, all the issues we worked on." The most complex issues were considered at the meetings of the Council of the ECE and the Eurasian intergovernmental council, "said Vladimir Orlovsky.
He stressed that from the very beginning of work on the document, representatives of the business of all five countries participating in the EAEC took an active part in the process. "This is the first example of developing such a serious and comprehensive document with such active participation of business circles," said the first deputy chairman of the State Customs Committee.
The new code codifies about 20 current international treaties. "Over the past six years there have been attempts to amend these documents, which was not always possible." The Customs Code of the EAEC included all the necessary changes, eliminating legal conflicts and gaps, "Vladimir Orlovsky explained.
The EAEC TC is a document of direct action based on the best standards and best practices of customs, including the provisions of the Kyoto Convention on the Simplification and Harmonization of Customs Procedures and the WTO Bali Agreement on Trade Facilitation.
The structure of the new code differs from the current Customs Code of the Customs Union. Terminology and norms are coordinated with the Agreement on the EAEC. The Code includes 9 sections, 61 chapters, 465 articles, 2 annexes.
"The Customs Code of the EAEC is a strategically important document that will contribute to deepening the further integration and disclosure of the economic potential of the EAEC," Vladimir Orlovsky assured.
Customs declaration and release of goods
In the context of the digital economy, one of the key elements of the EAEC Customs Code was the final transition to electronic declaration without the need to provide additional documents on paper. The paper version of the documents should be provided only at the request of the customs authorities within the framework of the risk management system and only if the necessary information can not be obtained from the information systems of the "single window" mechanism, i.e. from other state bodies. "Submission of a declaration to the customs body for goods on paper will be an exception, not a rule, as it is laid down in the current code," said Vladimir Orlovsky.
The experience gained in the customs sphere and the rapid development of information technologies demonstrate the inevitability of replacing the participation of a customs officer with special software. "In this vein, on the proposal of the Belarusian side, the code regulates the possibility of automatic customs clearance and automatic execution of certain forms of customs control - without the participation of customs officials," the first deputy chairman of the State Customs Committee said.
Also, at the initiative of the Belarusian side, the terms for the release of goods have been significantly shortened. If the current code provides for a maximum of 1 working day, the new code shortens the time to 4 hours, which, obviously, will contribute to the speedy advance of commodity flows.
In addition, the use of the institution of pre-customs declaration of goods - before entering the country. "The declarant has the opportunity to file a preliminary declaration not only before the goods are imported, but also before arriving at the internal customs clearance point.This opportunity will contribute to optimizing the costs of participants in foreign economic activity, since the declarant can use the time during which the goods are moved under the procedure for transit," - explained Vladimir Orlovsky.
In addition, the new code significantly expanded the ability to declare goods, when for objective reasons, the declarant does not have any information about them. For the convenience of the declarant, the mechanisms of the so-called incomplete declaration are implemented. with indication of not all information about the product. And for companies that carry out standard deliveries with permanent counterparts, the institute of periodic declaration has been established, when in fact one declaration replaces several for different lots of goods.
The use of the mechanism for the release of goods with subsequent monitoring of the correctness of their classification and origin, the confirmation of benefits has been expanded. "In fact, in this case, customs control will be carried out after the release of goods, and customs clearance itself is carried out as soon as possible." In the current legislation, this mechanism is applied only when controlling the customs value and, if necessary, examination of goods, "said Vladimir Orlovsky.
It is also important that the grounds for refusal to release goods are reduced to a minimum. Now in the case of committing violations that do not entail administrative responsibility, for example, inaccurate filling of the columns of the customs declaration, only the correction of the declaration without refusal in release is provided.
Customs control
According to the new code, during the inspection the customs authorities will proceed from the principle of selectivity, as well as the use of the risk management system.
The Customs Code of the EAEC has reduced the number of forms of customs control - from 12 to 7.
The document also sets standards aimed at further development of the post-customs control system, which allows to minimize control at the design stage and to check certain information in the future.
Customs procedures
The unified description of all customs procedures is laid down in the EAEC TC, and the conditions for the placement and use of goods in customs procedures are uniformly defined, as well as the completion, suspension and termination of their activities, which creates clear and understandable conditions for participants in foreign economic activity.
The document includes provisions on customs procedures of the free customs zone and customs warehouse, which are now regulated by separate international agreements, as well as on a special customs procedure, it is currently regulated by the ECE decision.
In addition, the code extends the geography of the use of goods imported temporarily with exemption from customs payments. "Under the current code, such goods can only be used on the territory of the states where the goods are issued." After the accession of the EAEC TC, they can be used throughout the Union, "Vladimir Orlovsky explained.
Customs transit
"Belarus is a transit country, 70% of consignments of goods are imported to our state with the purpose of transit, therefore creation of the most convenient conditions for transit cargo transportation was especially important for the Belarusian side when the EAEC Customs Code was being prepared. Accordingly, Belarusian experts made proposals on simplifying the procedure as much as possible transit, "- said the first deputy chairman of the State Customs Committee.
So, one of the innovations is the possibility of providing preliminary information in the form of an electronic document without providing a paper version. An electronic document can be used for notification of the arrival of goods, premises for temporary storage and customs declaration.
The procedure for the declaration of information upon arrival has been simplified. "If the documents presented at the border crossing point do not contain all the necessary information, the carrier will be able to declare them by submitting an application in an arbitrary form, rather than waiting for the receipt of this information, for example, from a foreign consignor. days off, at night.Now, if there is no document, it is necessary to wait for the sending company to start working, "said Vladimir Orlovsky.
At the initiative of the Belarusian side, the code includes such an innovation as reducing the maximum time of the procedure for closing the transit at the destination to 4 hours. Also, the approaches to multimodal transport are regulated. "If the transportation is carried out by several modes of transport, the declarant can be one person who once declared the goods," he explained.
The new code enshrines the possibility in the national legislation to apply the so-called untransitive technology. "We already applied the elements of this technology, but as an experiment, we can now do this on an ongoing basis and, in some cases, move goods across the country without placing them under the transit procedure.It is primarily about moving goods to border transport and logistics centers ", - said Vladimir Orlovsky.
In addition, the document establishes individual cases of the use of foreign vehicles in domestic transport through the territory of the Union. Thus, the approaches of customs and transport legislation are unified. "Previously, transport legislation allowed such transportation, customs - did not allow.The application of this rule will reduce the number of so-called empty walkers and full use of vehicles while moving through the territory of the Union," - said the first deputy chairman of the State Customs Committee.
Free customs zone
According to Vladimir Orlovsky, the provisions on the procedure for a free customs zone have been substantially revised. It is envisaged that residents of FEZ may export goods placed under the procedure of the FCZ without its completion in order to create so-called technological chains. "Ie, if not all operations can be conducted in a free economic zone, but you need to go to an enterprise, such an opportunity will appear without closing the transit procedure, payment of payments." It will be necessary to notify the customs authority, take out the goods, bring them back and continue processing ", he explained.
No less significant innovation is the possibility of removing certain categories of goods from customs control without completing the customs procedure of the FCZ and paying customs fees. First of all, this applies to consumables, which are used to build buildings on the territory of the FEZ, to repair equipment. Previously, the goods that were used, continued to stand on the control. The new code will allow to remove such goods from control without customs declaration.
The Code regulates another problem of domestic FEZ residents: it is allowed to transfer goods placed under the customs procedure of the FCZ to other persons for maintenance, repair or testing. Previously, it was necessary to close the procedure. "This will contribute to the creation of additional comfortable conditions for FEZ residents to carry out their activities without having to resort to burdensome procedures," Vladimir Orlovsky assured.
The Customs Code of the EAEC also fixes the norms that allow the Belarusian SEZs in some areas in some regions to take advantage of logistics and port areas.
In addition, the Code provides for the creation in States of another type of zones with a special legal status - the so-called territorial free economic zones. These are zones with the greatest simplifications, but the number of such zones in each state is regulated by the Customs Code of the EAEC. For Belarus, it is possible to operate two such FEZs, for Russia - three, for Armenia, Kazakhstan and Kygyzstan - one at a time. According to Vladimir Orlovsky, Belarus has already decided on one zone. This will be the territory of the Sino-Belarusian industrial park "The Great Stone". What territory will be the second has yet to be established.
Activities in the field of customs
The new code improved the activities of individuals in the field of customs. So, in the event that a person who acts as a customs representative or a customs carrier at the same time is an authorized economic operator, the financial guarantee will be provided only once, and not for each type of activity. This will reduce the financial burden on business entities.
For the customs representative, a decision has already been taken to reduce the financial guarantee from 1 million to 500 thousand euros.
Institute of the authorized economic operator
A fundamentally new development was given to the institution of an authorized economic operator. If the Customs Code of the Customs Union provides for 4 simplifications, then the EAEC - 17. Which of them can use the authorized economic operator, will depend on the type of AEO that the subject chooses. "This is especially important for Belarus, since we currently have the most AEO - 323. For comparison: in Russia there are 150, in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan - 3, in Armenia - 2," said Vladimir Orlovsky.
In Belarus, AEO status is assigned to a legal entity by the State Customs Committee by issuing a certificate of inclusion in the register. A business entity with the relevant status currently can use such simplifications as temporary storage of goods in the AEO territories; release of goods before the submission of a customs declaration; conducting customs operations related to the release of goods in the territories of AEO; other simplifications, defined by the customs legislation of the Union.
Vladimir Orlovsky called several new simplifications, which are envisaged for AEO by a new code. "First of all, this is the primary registration of the operator's goods, both at the border and at the internal customs clearance points. In addition, the delivery of goods from the border to the territory of their enterprise will be allowed, and not to the temporary storage warehouse where the customs clearance point is located. it's enough to say that we have about 40% of the import issued by AEO, "he said." We watched the figures, how many approximately a truck per day can simultaneously, using this rate, go wrong and immediately to the enterprise - about 250 trucks a day, of course, this will affect the operation of operating temporary storage warehouses, but everyone knew in advance about this standard, should be restructured. " Another simplification will be the notification procedure for unloading the imported goods in its warehouse. Those. the business entity will be able not only to deliver the goods to its warehouse, but also, having notified the customs authority, this goods will be unloaded and used.
The First Deputy Chairman of the State Customs Committee stressed that two years after the entry into force of the EAEC Customs Code, business entities that have the status of an EPA at the present time will be able to use all those simplifications that were used before January 1, 2018. Plus the simplification of the delivery of goods from the border to the territory of their enterprise. To use the remaining simplifications, you will need to re-register and get the status of one of the species. By the way, the maximum simplifications are provided for the third type.
It is especially important that with the accession of the EAEC TC due to simplification related to the status of AEO, the business entity can use the entire Union territory, and not only in the country where it got this status. But such an option will be available only to those companies that received the status or re-registered it after January 1, 2018.
At the same time, the order of inclusion in the AEO registry will change. "Since the status will operate not only in the territory of the state, the code stipulates the mechanisms by which each country will be able to exercise control over who is planned to be included in the register." This procedure will slightly increase the time for making decisions, "said Vladimir Orlovsky.
Also, the code provides for a phased reduction in the amount of financial security, the availability of which is a condition for inclusion in the AEO registry. If now such a security of 1 million euros, then within six years it will decrease to 150 thousand euros. "The term of being in the status of the acting EOE will be counted in this period, therefore our commissioners, who enjoy the status for a long time, will be able to feel advantage in the near future," the first deputy chairman of the State Customs Committee said.
In addition, the new document provides for an alternative version of the provision - confirmation of financial stability of the organization. ECE has developed a system for evaluating financial indicators. If enterprises meet them, they will not need to make security.
Legal acts in the development of the Code
In order for the code to work in full force, it is necessary to adopt a package of decisions of the Eurasian Economic Commission on issues that are referred to its competence by the document, as well as to regulate a number of reference rules sent for determination at the national level.
As for ECE, all the primary decisions, and their 28, were adopted.
"After the Customs Code was signed by the Belarusian side in April, we drafted a decree in which we implemented a number of reference rules.We worked closely with the business on this document, as well as on the draft code, for a long time, we discussed it there were several options.In the end, we tried to take into account the interests of business as much as the Customs Code allows us, "said Vladimir Orlovsky. According to him, the final version is coordinated by the majority of state bodies, now the document is at the final stage of agreement.
Vladimir Orlovsky stated that the draft decree contains about 80 norms of direct action. In addition, 20 issues are attributed to the competence of the State Customs Committee, 10 - to government issues. Also, the draft decree amends 15 current decrees regulating the functioning of free economic zones, duty-free shops, the movement of goods by individuals and a number of others.
"At present, the draft resolution of the Council of Ministers has been developed, which further specifies the norms of not only the code, but also the draft decree." In the near future, we will complete the work on the document together with the state bodies and business, "said Vladimir Orlovsky.
Thus, comprehensive work was done to adapt the new code in the context of the application of national legislation. "This work will be continued.In the next year, the task is to develop a new version of the law" On Customs Regulation, "in which the reference rules of the Customs Code of the EAEC will be prescribed," the first deputy chairman said.
Norms of duty-free importation
One of the decisions attributed by the Customs Code of the EAEC to the competence of the ECE was the definition of duty-free importation of goods. All the year 2018 the existing norms will be in force - it will be duty-free to import goods with a total amount of not more than 1.5 thousand euros and weighing up to 50 kg.
In the future, the weight and cost limits for duty-free importation of goods in accompanying baggage by any mode of transport, except for air transportation, will be gradually phased out. From January 2019, they will fall to 1 thousand euros and 50 kg respectively, from January 1, 2020 - to 750 euros and 35 kg. From January 1, 2021, it will be possible to bring goods free of charge from abroad for an amount not exceeding 500 euros and weighing not more than 25 kg. The changes did not affect the goods imported into the territory of the EAEC in the accompanying baggage by air transport. Traveling by plane, duty-free to bring with you from abroad, you can still buy for up to 10 thousand euros and weighing not more than 50 kg.
The concept of a step-by-step reduction in the limits included goods shipped to the buyer from abroad via international postal items or by the carrier, including purchases in foreign online stores. According to the decision of the Council of the ECE, from January 1, 2018, the limit for such goods is set at 1 thousand euros and 31 kg within one calendar month. From January 1, 2019 within one calendar month without paying customs duties and taxes, it will be possible to order goods for a total amount of up to 500 euros and weighing not more than 31 kg. From January 1, 2020, the rates of duty-free import will be reduced to 200 euros and 31 kg. This will remove all restrictions on the time and number of orders.
In addition, along with the norms of duty-free import from January 1, 2020, the amount of the customs duty for exceeding the limits will be significantly reduced. If in 2018-2019 for the excess of the norm you will have to pay 30% of the cost, but not less than 4 euros for 1 kg of weight in terms of exceeding the value or weight norm, then in 2020 - 15% of the cost, but not less than 2 euros for 1 kg of preponderance.
At the same time, the national legislation allows for the introduction of additional restrictions that reduce the rates of duty-free importation. "In Belarus, a decision on this issue is planned to be adopted in the near future," said Vladimir Orlovsky
Currently, different standards apply in the EEA countries. In Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia, the threshold for duty-free import is 1 thousand euros, in Armenia - 200 thousand drams (about 350 euros), in Belarus - 22 euros.
Duty free shops
The Customs Code of the EAEC stipulates that goods in duty free shops can be bought not only at departure, but also at the entrance to the EAEC.
"The new norm: goods in duty-free shops can be realized not only when individuals leave the country, as it is now, but at the entrance to the EEA, but this code is prescribed only at airports and seaports," said Vladimir Orlovsky.
At the same time, the first deputy chairman of the State Customs Committee drew attention to the fact that the code stipulates that in shops located at the entrance, alcohol and tobacco will be sold in established norms of duty-free importation. "Ie not any number, as when leaving, but only within the limits of duty-free import.If, for example, the duty-free import of alcohol 3 liters, then no more than 3 liters," he explained.
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The Customs Code of the Eurasian Economic Union
28 December 2017