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Pre-Arrival Declaration System to Be Introduced in 2009
The system of compulsory pre-arrival import clearance will come into force no earlier than in 2009, customs officials reported Tuesday. Experts believe that the Federal Customs Service simply is not ready to introduce the new system which is supposed to cut shady imports.
Amendments to the Tax Code binding importers to inform of the arrival of their cargoes beforehand will be drafted by the end of the year, the Customs Service said Tuesday. The procedure of declaring goods before they reach customs posts is believed to make the process more transparent. The new system was expected to come into force in 2008.
Russian Customs Agency Head Andrey Belyaninov earlier announced plans of signing agreements on pre-arrival import clearance with neighboring Finland in a hope to cut the smuggling flow from China and South East Asia which goes through the country as well as through Poland and Baltic states.
The implementation is hampered by poor technical equipment of Russian customs offices. "Customs posts must make a huge jump in technology to make the system efficient", which will inevitably take up substantial financing, says Anton Guskov, spokesman for the Association of Electric Household and Computer Goods Traders and Producers. The transfer is not likely to happen earlier than in 2009 considering the procedure of the draft's adoption.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Feb. 07, 2007
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