E-adventures
The key task of Russia’s Federal Customs Service is digitization of its activities, automation of customs procedures and development of e-document flow. That is supposed to create conditions for equal and fair competition as well as for minimization of exporters/importers’ costs. Yet, the business takes it with a pinch of salt so far.
Wonderful virtual world
The World Trade Center in Moscow hosted the International Customs Forum 2018 which covered the issues related to modernization of customs activities in Russia.
The key thesis of the Forum was the following: support of the business is to be ensured through the transfer of customs control processes to the e-format. Introduction of new information technologies into customs operations is primarily applicable to customs payments, registration of customs declarations, automatic release of goods, online accounts of importers/exporters.
The share of automatically registered declarations has been increased to 37%, the share of automatically released goods – to 25%. Automatic registration time is 3 minutes. Besides, Federal Customs Service has started electronic clearance of transit. A unified personal account is introduced for importers/exporters. It lets perform customs operations in all customs bodies, depositing funds into customs’ account using a single code. The system of customs declarants’ online accounts has been updated considerably. There is a plan to add a function of paying clearance bills and submitting applications. Mobile version of online account will appear next year. That was announced at the Forum by Ruslan Davydov, First Deputy Head of FCS.
The Roadmap for 2018-2020 foresees the creation of a unified network of e-customs consisting of 16 e-declaration centers operating every day and not requiring presence of importers/exporters for declaration of goods.
E-customs will be established in each federal district. There will be three sea customs center – Baltic, Novorossiysk and Vladivostok customs to service North-Western, Azov-Black Sea and Pacific regions. The Baltic center is to be launched in 2019 with the Vladivostok and Novorossiysk centers to become operational this year. Creation of the entire network is to be completed by 2021.
The first customs of new format, Volga Customs, was opened on October 24. Its turnover is 1,000–1,200 customs declarations per day. From the beginning of 2018 Volga Customs issued almost 270,000 declarations. Risk management system is applied to more than 40% of declarations. During the first day of operation in new format, Volga Customs accepted 1,107 declarations. Some 140 declarations were issues automatically without involvement of inspectors.
Coupling of “Sea Port Portal” software with other software products of the Federal Customs Service (AIST-M, КТТ-2, Ekspertiza) is expected from February-March 2019, Denis Tereshchenko, head of the Central IT Department of the Customs, said at the International Customs Forum 2018. According to him, art of this work will be completed this year.
The Forum participants discussed the first results and prospects of the new customs legislation: Customs Code of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) which came into effect on 1 January 2018 and Federal Law dated 03.08.2018 (No 289-FL) “On customs regulations in the Russian Federation and on introduction of amendments into certain legislative act of the Russian Federation” which came into effect on 4 September 2018.
Extended international cooperation is very important for the increase of export/import operations. The Forum served as a platform for the meetings of customs officials from China, the Netherlands, Finland, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kirgizia, etc.
Digitisation of customs operations is also expected to ensure efficient collection of custom duties and taxes. In September, the federal budget received RUB 537.12 billion, in the 9-moths period of 2018 – RUB 4.237.85 trillion.
Yuliya Podbelskaya
