No limit to perfection

A package of measures has been elaborated in Russia to improve customs administration, at seaports in particular. A relevant roadmap is approved, a law on customs administration is signed and a bill to simplify customs clearance of goods is passed.

By the right road

Russian Government has recently approved a roadmap named Improving Customs Administration. The document covers the measures elaborated and partly introduced earlier. They include the development of data exchange between state control bodies and participants in foreign economic activity, transitioning to the use of electronic documents, harmonising documents and unifying data submitted to state control bodies,  introducing a risk management system when administering veterinary, quarantine phytosanitary and sanitary quarantine control as well as introduction of 100% pre-declaration at seaborne transport.

As for information exchange, Federal Customs Service of Russia is developing a “Seaport” platform. According to Stanislav Shklensky, Head of the Department on Introduction of Advanced Technologies at the North West Customs of RF FCS, the purpose of this work is to create an information system as a base for a common space with electronic data processing at marine checkpoints. In the future, FCS and other state control bodies will interact on a single platform using the services of each body with the access via personal account. The efficiency of this long awaited system will depend on the quality of administration and servicing as regular and long ‘hanging’ can bring the sense of this system to nothing.

E-document flow has been introduces in the customs long ago. However, e-documents still have their paper duplicates, the effect is minimal therefore. In this context it should be noted that EU countries plan using electronic data processing everywhere from 2014.

The risk management system is applied by the customs at seaborne transport within the framework of commission free operation which became possible after introduction of the Standard Procedure initiated by RF Transport Ministry. According to RF Deputy Transport Minister Victor Olersky, average time spent by goods in Russian seaports used to total 15 days while it is has been reduced to 7-8 days through the amendments introduced into the Standard Procedure so that handling operations could be carried out parallel to the control activities. 

“I have recently met the management of Russia’s largest container operator Global Ports. They tell that average time spent by containers at Petrolesport terminal has reduced to 4.3 days today. I think it is a revolution!”, Victor Olersky said earlier at the conference “Saint-Petersburg Logistics Days”.

Ports are not warehouses

Introduction of mandatory pre-arrival notification on maritime transport is expected by the end of 2015, Stanislav Shklensky says. According to him, the draft decision of Eurasian Economic Commission is ready. Stanislav Shklensky also noted that pre-arrival notification is not a customs procedure.

Meanwhile, according to monitoring executed by Southern Customs Department of RF FCS, the practice of pre-arrival notification in the sector of maritime transport will allow decreasing of time for customs clearance of vessels by 9 times for loaded vessels and by 20 times for empty vessels.  In some ports, clearance of pre-declared containers covers 90-100% cases.

Nevertheless, as proposed by the business community, the roadmap implementation indicator is the time spent by goods in a seaport excluding the storage time. It will let trace the dynamics of the roadmap implementation year by year up to 2017, from 8 to 2 days.

Victor Olersky says implementation of the roadmap activities will let improve the efficiency of state control in seaports and consequently create the environment for a more favorable investment climate in the Russian Federation.

It should be also noted that in April Russian Government approved a bill aimed on simplification of goods clearance at Russian customs. According to the document decisions on classification of goods will be submitted in the form of e-documents. Besides, classification of goods which are not assembled or disassembled will be considered. Customs authorities are supposed to be in charge of making preliminary decisions. 

The law is to simplify the cooperation of the foreign trade participants and customs, enable declarants select customs body for clearance of goods and provide for automation of control over classification of imported/exported goods.

RF President Vladimir Putin also signed a Federal Law on improving administrative procedures in the sphere of customs.

Vitaly Chernov