New Customs Code - Balancing the Interests of Economic Agents and the State

Pridnestrovian economy is open, and the foreign economic activity of enterprises and their profitability depends on the speed of movement of goods across the border. Until the beginning of 2018, goods at customs, according to the law, could be cleared within 15 days. All clauses of agreements with foreign partners were difficult for our enterprises to implement. On January 1, 2018, a new Customs Code began to operate on the territory of the PMR. Simplified registration of export-import transactions has become one of the significant points of the new document.

The PMR Supreme Council adopted amendments to the PMR Customs Code in September 2017 in the final reading. The legislative initiative of the deputy of the Supreme Council Alexander Korshunov was submitted to the legislators back in 2014. The Supreme Council of the VI convocation considered in 2017 almost 400 amendments to the PMR Customs Code. In fact, it was a reform of customs legislation.

Exporting enterprises were able to establish effective work with the Customs Committee after introduction of amendments to the Customs Code in 2018.

Cardinal reforms have defined a new concept of customs activities in Pridnestrovie. It is based on a fair balance of interests of economic agents and the state.

Some of the innovations that made it possible to simplify customs procedures and intensify foreign trade processes were published in October 2018 by the PMR State Customs Committee:

- business representatives got the opportunity to freely declare commercial consignments of goods at any customs authority of the republic (regardless of the place of registration). This made it possible to simplify logistics, save time and transport costs for entrepreneurs;

- since 2018, the procedure for customs escort of goods has been applied only in exceptional cases, as a result of which the participants in foreign economic activity really felt a decrease in financial costs and a simplification of the procedure for moving goods;

- now there is no need for domestic exporters to deliver their goods to customs. In addition, there is no customs value adjustment for most exported goods. All this ultimately contributed to a significant reduction in the time required for customs clearance of exported goods;

- it became easier for Pridnestrovian production workers to carry out operations related to placement of goods for safekeeping. Now it can be carried out in the warehouses of the enterprises themselves, which receive mostly perpetual permits for safekeeping of goods. This made it possible to minimize the costs of enterprises for the financial support of this customs procedure;

- economic agents now can submit a customs declaration up to 30 days (before the expiration of the period of temporary storage of goods), and not as before, up to 15 days, which means that they have additional time for the quality preparation of customs and other documents;

- a special customs procedure has been introduced for certain categories of goods (imported, for example, under government orders) in the interests of domestic economic agents. Now they are declared in a simplified form and even in some cases without filing a customs declaration. Moreover, certain categories of goods within the framework of this special procedure can be declared and released directly at the border - at the checkpoint. As a result, enterprises received not only a simplified and accelerated procedure for customs declaration, but also the opportunity to use goods as soon as possible after their import;

- documents required by customs was reduced, as a result, it became easier for domestic enterprises to apply simplified declaration procedures. For example, even transport and commercial documents can be used as an incomplete customs declaration;

- approach to the formation of customs payments to the republican budget has changed. Only three remained - the fee for the implementation of customs operations, the fee for storage and the fee for customs escort of the many previously levied fees (which, due to their unsystematic and dubious legality, were a burden for economic agents);

- participants in foreign economic activity, registering goods temporarily imported into the PMR, now, when declaring, pay a periodic payment in a smaller amount (not 3%, but only 2% of their value);

- the institution of an authorized operator (national enterprises and bona fide participants in foreign economic activity) has been introduced into the practice of the customs authorities. Holders of this status received significant simplifications (priority clearance procedure, permission to use goods before filing a declaration, non-use of customs escort and inspection, failure to present goods when declaring, etc.). At the same time, the opportunity to use simplifications is provided not only for bona fide legal entities, but also for individual entrepreneurs;

- conscientious participants in foreign economic activity received a significant relaxation: the amount of financial support for them was reduced five times, from 50 to 10 thousand MW, which allowed such economic agents not to withdraw significant amounts of money from circulation;

- individual entrepreneurs of Pridnestrovie now do not need to personally participate in the delivery and customs declaration of goods purchased abroad. They can use the services of customs carriers;

- enterprises have significantly reduced time and transportation costs due to the emerging opportunity to purchase goods for cash in foreign currency through authorized employees - individuals. In this case, the declaration and customs clearance of such goods is carried out in a simplified manner and directly at the checkpoint;

- The Center for Electronic Declaration of the State Customs Committee of the PMR began to work from January 1, 2019 that ensures the processing of 100% of electronic declarations. This made it possible to reduce the time required for customs clearance and bureaucratic procedures;

- the enterprises received guarantees of the protection of intellectual property rights by the customs authorities as a result of bringing the customs legislation of the PMR in this area in line with international standards. The legal basis for the control of intellectual property rights is enshrined in the provisions of the updated Customs Code of the PMR;

- it became much easier for individuals to carry out temporary import of vehicles: the need to fill out a customs declaration was eliminated, the possibility of declaring the period for temporary import of a car for more than 2 months was introduced, payment of a vignette fee and the possibility of paying it additionally in case of exceeding the declared period of temporary import without leaving territory of the republic;

- the speed of customs control of international postal items has significantly increased. Pridnestrovians receiving goods by mail were also able to feel positive changes thanks to the work of the inspection complex in the customs control zone of the Post checkpoint of the Tiraspol customs.

 Practice has shown that the changes made to the Customs Code in 2017 yielded positive results. In October 2018, the State Customs Committee reported: according to statistics, for 9 months the total trade turnover of Pridnestrovie exceeded $ 1 billion 367 million. This is 37% more than in the same period in 2017. Moreover, the import of goods increased by 31%, and export - by 48%. The supply of Pridnestrovian goods to the Russian market increased by 15%. The republican budget for 9 months of 2018 received $ 34 million in customs payments, which is 20% more than a year earlier.

Work on the Customs Code continued in 2020. The amendments, adopted by the Supreme Council in July 2020, are the result of the changes in customs legislation that began in 2018.

The new amendments simplified the procedure for removing processing waste from customs control. After the processing of raw materials, such waste becomes a product of the internal production of the enterprise, and interaction with the customs authorities ends there. At the insistence of the Supreme Council, the period during which goods must be exported from the territory of Pridnestrovie was increased from two to 10 days. This is after the export clearance has been obtained. In addition, the list of goods for which a preferential regime is provided has been expanded, and the procedure for going to court to appeal against decisions of customs authorities has been simplified.

The new Customs Code of the PMR was studied by international experts. They came to the conclusion that the document as a whole complies with the norms of international law.