On the latest Service chief resolution, customs office heads will be entitled to demand from importers a display of packing sheets that contain a description of commodities, and specify their amount and marking. Customs inspection and drawing up of customs papers may be prolonged in case the importer fails to display the documents or they do not contain required information, said our interviewee of the
Federal Customs press service.
Many batches presently come from Southeast Asian countries, China, Turkey and certain European
Union countries in bales, trunks or cardboard boxes, with diverse items in each, to complicate customs checks and drawing up papers. The arrangement promotes wrong declarations, pricing batches down, and uncertified or counterfeit imports, the Novosti informant went on.
The new measures are by no means spearheaded against commodity manufacturers based in the countries he mentioned, nor against aboveboard exporters, he reassured. What the Federal Customs Service means is to prevent fraudulent Russian-based foreign traders dodging customs duties.
The measures will help to streamline consumer goods imports from Southeast Asian countries, China and Turkey, and promote equal competition of Russian and overseas manufacturers in the Russian market, said the customs officer.
The new rules are entering into force, January 15.
