It has long been talked about the simplification of control procedures at customs, improving of its effectiveness and acceleration of clearance of goods. It is time now to regulate the issue by the Government. Let’s determine what to expect from the IT-system of customs and updated control methods of customs operation.
Information and Telecommunication System of Customs (hereinafter − the IT-system) comes into force on 01.08.2016 based on the Procedure of information exchange between agencies of revenues and duties, other public authorities and companies under “one contact” principle with the use of electronic means of information transmission approved by the Cabinet Ministers of Ukraine (hereinafter - CMU) of 25.05.2016, № 364 (hereinafter − the Procedure № 364).
The work of IT-system means the implementing of sanitary and epidemiological, veterinary, and sanitary, phytosanitary, environmental, radiological and other types of state control with the help of automated system of “one contact”. It is intended for the customs clearance of goods and vehicles that are imported into the customs territory of Ukraine or exported out of it.
Cooperation of economic entities with IT-system will be with the help of e-mails and scanned copies of documents with electronic digital signatures of company officials. Also, the system should send messages to the company with electronic digital signature of the official of authority of income and duties.
Reduced import clearance time
IT-system will check e-mail messages and scanned copies of the documents received from the company, first of all, the reliability of the electronic digital signature of the company official.
After the required confirmation by IT-system and receipt of all documents provided for the importation of goods into the customs territory of Ukraine, the official supervisory authority has only four working hours for the adoption of one of such decisions on:
- completion of the relevant type of state control;
- refusal to complete the implementation of control;
- inspection of goods with possible taking samples;
- implementation of further goods processing (fumigation, disinfection, application of appropriate marking, etc.);
- return of cargo outside the customs territory of Ukraine;
- destruction of cargo (para.3 of the Procedure № 364).
During these four working hours the official of controlling authority should also make his/her decision in the IT-system. And if it is not the completion of the control, he/she will have to prove the decision in details.
It is also possible the entering of the information about the date and time of the inspection or sampling of goods during the same four hour period. If it is impossible to make such an inspection or sampling of goods in offered time by the company, the justification of reasons of delay of such procedures as well as information about the nearest date and time when it is possible to implement them should also be entered in IT-system.
And the most important: if, during the next four working hours the officer or administrator of controlling authority does not enter any decision in the IT-system, such a system will automatically operate on the principle of “silence procedure”. Accordingly, it should be made a positive decision on carrying out of the state control, which is the basis for completion of the customs control and clearance of goods.
Also all the controlling authorities should simultaneously carry out the inspection of goods to be imported into Ukraine and/or sampling. In this case such an inspection could not be assigned later than within 24 of working hours from offered time by the company (para. 23 of the Procedure № 364).
Fast export clearance
In the case of export of goods, the official of controlling authority will have 24 working hours to make one of such decisions on:
- completion of the control;
- refusal to control completion;
- inspection of goods and possible sampling;
- implementation of further goods processing (fumigation, disinfection, application of appropriate marking, etc.);
During these 24 working hours the official of controlling authority should enter the information on a made decision in the IT-system and prove the decision in details, if it is not the completion of the control. If the company did not provide all the necessary documents, the name and details of such documents should be also entered.
In addition, the information on the date and time of the inspection or sampling of the goods, as in the case of import of goods, should be entered in the IT-system if necessary (para.32 Procedure № 364).
Reference time of 24-hour period begins upon receipt by the official of controlling authority of e-mail messages and relevant scanned documents verified by IT-system (paras.31, 32 of the Procedure № 364).
If such an officer does not make a decision within the allotted time for this, the IT-system automatically agrees a positive decision on the implementation of relevant type of the state control. In this situation, the IT-system warns the company of the need to comply with the legislation of bordering states. Namely: to submit the originals of phytosanitary certificates, phytosanitary certificates for re-export, international veterinary certificates, veterinary certificates of CIS, etc. (para.34 of the Procedure № 364).
Fixing of customs formalities
In order to control the efficiency of the customs operation, the CMU by its Resolution of 08.06.2016, № 370 approved the Procedure of photographic, video fixation of customs and other formalities, which to be conducted by controlling authorities (hereinafter − the Procedure № 370).
The Procedure № 370 came into force on 01.07.2016, but compulsory video fixation of all inspections (re-examination) should be carried out only in the presence of personal camcorders in the department of customs clearance of authority of revenues and duties. It is also said in para.27 of the Procedure № 364 about compulsory video fixation with appropriate technical means.
The subjects to photo and video fixation are:
- any goods, vehicles that cross the customs territory of Ukraine;
- officials of revenues and duties, other regulatory and law enforcement agencies, which conduct inspection (re-examination);
- documents required for customs control, including those provided directly during the inspection (re-examination) or independently discovered by an official of controlling authorities during its conduction;
- means of identification imposed on the documents, products, vehicles, and other places that are the subjects to customs control;
- territories and premises of temporary storage warehouses, customs warehouses, duty free shops, territories of free customs zones and other places, where the goods, vehicles for commercial purpose to be placed.
Photos and video recordings could be used exclusively for customs purposes and it is prohibited to transmit them to third parties without the permission. If there is a technical possibility, the results of photo and/or video recordings could be attached to the customs declarations or information about the movement of goods and vehicles across the customs territory of Ukraine (para. 26 of the Procedure № 370).
Mobile teams for detection of violations in the customs
The government introduces the work of mobile teams, activities of which are aimed at the preventing and detecting violations of customs laws. The normative basis for their work is the Regulation of the Interagency Task Centre and joint mobile groups to prevent and detect violations of the law on state customs, approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of 08.06.2016, № 371 (hereinafter − the Regulation № 371).
In general, 20 mobile teams should operate in the customs territory of Ukraine on a 24-hour basis. Each of them consists of representatives of: the State Fiscal Service - two people, the State Border Service and the National Police - one representative each.
These mobile teams have sufficiently wide range of rights, namely:
- freely enter into all areas of customs control and border crossing points;
- make a decision on inspection (re-examination), to create a temporary customs control zone, carry out inspection (re-examination) by the mobile team members and/or with the involvement of officials of the authority of revenues and duties;
- if it is necessary, to involve representatives of the territorial bodies of services in conduction of events to prevent and detect violations of customs;
- use the means of communication, technical means of customs control, means of photography and video fixation;
- initiate the drafting of protocols on the violation of customs regulations by customs, where such violations are identified, and independently make such protocols (para.17 of the Regulation № 371).
In addition, on behalf of their management, mobile teams are entitled to stop vehicles with goods, to create temporary zones of customs control, to take samples of the goods and send them for research, expertise, a preliminary assessment to specialized expert institutions of the State Fiscal Service and the Ministry of Internal Affairs (para. 5 of the Regulation № 371).
