THE CUSTOMS CODE OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
PART I.
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1. Customs Regulations and the Customs System of the Russian Federation
1. In accordance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the customs regulations are subject to the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation in establishing the norms and the rules whose observance shall enable persons to fulfil their rights to convey merchandise and means of transport across the customs border of the Russian Federation (hereinafter, the customs border).
The customs regulations shall be exercised in accordance with the customs legislation of the Russian Federation and the effective Federal Law of the Russian Federation on the State Regulation of Foreign Trade Activities.
2. The customs system incorporates the methods and the facilities applied to ensure the observance of customs-tariff regulations, prohibitions, and restrictions stipulated by the effective Federal Law of the Russian Federation on the State Regulation of Foreign Trade Activities associated with conveyance of merchandise and means of transport across the customs border.
3. In accordance with Russian federal legislation, the Government of the Russian Federation exercises general supervision of the customs system.
The Federal Customs Authority shall warrant proper fulfilment of customs-related tasks and uniformity of application by all customs authorities of the customs legislation of the Russian Federation on the territory of the Russian Federation.
4. The Russian Federation participates in international cooperation in the field of customs regulations with a view to harmonizing and amending the customs legislation of the Russian Federation in conformity with generally recognised international norms and practices.
Article 2. Customs Territory and Customs Border of the Russian Federation
1. The territory of the Russian Federation constitutes the only customs territory of the Russian Federation.
2. The customs territory of the Russian Federation also includes man-made islands, installations, and structures situated in the exclusive economic zone of the Russian Federation as well as those located on the continental shelf of the Russian Federation subject to the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation in accordance with Russian federal law.
3. The territory of the Russian Federation may incorporate special economic zones set up in accordance with Russian federal legislation, which constitute an integral part of the customs territory of the Russian Federation. The merchandise placed on the territory of said special economic zones shall be regarded as situated outside the customs territory of the Russian Federation in terms of its liability for customs duties, taxes, and economic prohibitions and restrictions pursuant to the effective Federal Law of the Russian Federation on the State Regulation of Foreign Trade Activities, except in those instances stipulated by this Customs Code and other federal laws.
4. The boundaries of the customs territory of the Russian Federation, including the perimeters of the territories specified in Items 2 and 3 herein, shall comprise the customs border of the Russian Federation.
5. The customs border coincides with the State Border of the Russian Federation except the boundaries of the territories specified in Items 2 and 3 herein.
Article 3. Customs Legislation of the Russian Federation.
Legal Acts of President and Government of the Russian Federation
1. The customs legislation of the Russian Federation regulates relations in the sphere of the customs system including those stipulated by the adoption of the customs border crossing procedures for merchandise and/or means of transport, arising in the process of customs registration and customs control measures, due to persons’ complaints to legal acts, actions (inaction) of customs offices and their officers, resulting from the introduction and application of various customs procedures, as well as the relations associated with the establishment, levying and collection of dutiable payments.
The customs border crossing procedures applicable to the merchandise and means of transport conveyed across the customs border, the latter coinciding with the State Border of the Russian Federation, shall be governed by the Federal Law on the State Border of the Russian Federation and in those instances which are not regulated by the Federal Law on the State Border of the Russian Federation, by the customs legislation of the Russian Federation.
As regards the relations predicated on the establishment, levying and collection of dutiable payments, the customs legislation of the Russian Federation shall only apply in those instances which are not regulated by Russian legislation on taxes and duties.
2. The customs legislation of the Russian Federation consists of this Customs Code and other federal statutes adopted pursuant to this Customs Code (hereinafter, the statutes of the customs legislation).
3. The relations specified in Item 1 herein may also be regulated by decrees issued by the President of the Russian Federation.
Based on and pursuant to the statutes of the customs legislation and pertinent decrees of the President of the Russian Federation, the Government of the Russian Federation shall issue specific resolutions and directives pertaining to the customs system.
Article 4. Validity of Statutes of Customs Legislation and other Legal Acts of the Russian Federation
1. The statutes of the customs legislation, the decrees issued by the President of the Russian Federation, the resolutions and the directives of the Government of the Russian Federation (hereinafter, other legal acts of the Russian Federation) shall apply to the relations resulting from their enactment, and they shall have no retroactive effect, except in those cases stipulated by Item 2 herein.
2. The statutes of the customs legislation and other legal acts of the Russian Federation adopted to improve the customs formalities applicable to persons shall have retroactive effect provided such effect is directly stipulated by them. In other situations, the statutes of the customs legislation and other legal acts of the Russian Federation may only have retroactive effect if the latter effect is stipulated by federal laws or the international treaties to which the Russian Federation is party.
3. The statutes of the customs legislation shall go into effect not earlier than in one month from the date of their official publication.
4. The prohibitions, restrictions or requirements pertaining to the customs system set forth by other legal acts of the Russian Federation shall go into effect not earlier than in one month from the date of official publication of said acts except the instances when:
- the respective clauses of the legislative acts, on whose basis and pursuant to which other normative legal acts of the Russian Federation have been issued with an intent to warrant the observance of the prohibitions and restrictions introduced in accordance with the Law of the Russian Federation on the State Regulation of External Economic Activities, directly stipulate that they be enforced within a shorter period of time;
- this Customs Code sets forth a special procedure for the enforcement of said prohibitions, restrictions or requirements.
Article 5. Legal Acts of the Federal Customs Authority
1. In those instances which are directly defined by the statutes of the customs legislation and other legal acts of the Russian Federation, the Federal Customs Authority within the limits of its competence shall issue normative legal acts pertaining to the customs system.
2. The normative legal acts of the Federal Customs Authority shall be subject to state registration and official publication in accordance with the procedure established for the state registration and official publication of normative legal acts issued by the federal executive power bodies.
3. The normative legal acts of the Federal Customs Authority shall go into effect not earlier than in ten days following their official publication with the exception of the instances when:
- respective clauses of the statutes of the customs legislation and of other legal acts of the Russian Federation on whose basis and pursuant to which the Federal Customs Authority has issued its normative legal acts ought to go into effect within a shorter period of time;
- the normative legal acts of the Federal Customs Authority stipulate more equitable procedures than those currently applied. In this case, the time terms for the entry into force of such legal acts may be shortened or they may have a retroactive effect.
- this Customs Code establishes a special procedure for the entry into force of the normative legal acts issued by the Federal Customs Authority.
4. The normative legal acts of the Federal Customs Authority affecting the rights and lawful interests of the persons involved in entrepreneurial and/or other economic activities may be appealed in arbitration tribunals in accordance with the provisions of the Arbitration Procedural Code of the Russian Federation.
Article 6. Requirements Laid to Statutes of Customs Legislation, Other Legal Acts of the Russian Federation, and Legal Acts Issued by the Federal Customs Authority
1. The clauses and provisions of the statutes comprising the customs legislation and the normative legal acts pertaining to customs ought to be worded and formulated so as to ensure clear understanding by every person of his (or her) rights and obligations, as well as his (or her) actions and their sequence in the process of conveyance of goods and means of transport across the customs border.
2. The clauses of the legal acts of the Federal Customs Authority may not contradict the provisions of the statutes of the customs legislation or any other legal act of the Russian Federation or the requirements, prohibitions and restrictions that are not stipulated either by the statutes of the customs legislation or by other legal acts of the Russian Federation.
3. A normative legal act pertaining to the customs system shall be regarded as inconsistent with this Customs Code if said act: -
1) has been issued by a body that is not authorised by this Customs Code to issue such legal acts or its issuance contravenes the order established for the issuance of such legal acts;
2) repeals or constrains the rights of persons with regard to goods or means of transport or affects the powers of the customs authorities laid down by this Customs Code;
3) changes the provisions, conditions, sequence, or order of actions set forth by this Customs Code undertaken by participants of the relations regulated by the customs legislation of the Russian Federation or by any other persons whose responsibilities are defined by the provisions of this Customs Code;
4) alters the substance of the provisions set forth in this Customs Code, or in case such provisions are applied with connotations other than those stipulated by this Customs Code.
4. The normative legal acts specified in Item 1 herein shall be regarded as inconsistent with this Customs Code in case at least one precondition specified by Sub-Item 3) of Item 3 herein applies. Said normative legal act can only be pronounced inconsistent with this Customs Code by an explicit court ruling to that effect.
5. No person may be prosecuted for a violation of any customs regulation if such violation was predicated on vagueness of the legal norm in question contained in the normative legal act pertaining to the customs system.
6. The state shall be obliged to recompense the losses incurred by persons as a result of untimely adoption, entry into force, and/or publication of normative legal whose passage is stipulated by this Customs Code and reimburse the losses caused by inaccurate information circulated by the customs authorities. Compensations shall be repaid from the Treasury of the Russian Federation in accordance with the order set forth by the applicable Russian legislation.
Article 7. Application of Customs Tariff Regulations, Prohibitions and Restrictions Stipulated by the Federal Law of the Russian Federation on the State Regulation of Foreign Trade Activities and Statues of Federal Legislation on Customs Duties and Taxes
The customs system shall be subject to customs tariff regulations, prohibitions and restrictions stipulated by the Federal Law of the Russian Federation on the State Regulation of Foreign Trade Activities and the statues of Russian legislation on taxes and duties effective on the date of acceptance of a customs declaration unless other provisions thereto apply.
Article 8. Application to Customs of International Treaties of the Russian Federation
1. In accordance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the generally recognised principles and norms of international law and the international treaties to which the Russian Federation is party shall constitute an integral part of the legal system of the Russian Federation.
2. In case an international treaty to which the Russian Federation is party contains regulations conflicting with those stipulated by this Customs Code, the regulations of said international treaty should prevail.
Article 9. Determination of Time Terms Established by This Customs Code
1. Commencement and termination of the events stipulated by this Customs Code, which are defined either by a time interval or by the date of their commencement, shall be calculated in accordance with the order laid down by this Customs Code.
2. Unless this Customs Code establishes a special order for determining the time terms of events, the rules set forth in the Civil Code of the Russian Federation shall apply with consideration of the provisions contained in Item 3 of Article 129 of this Customs Code.
Article 10. Handling of Information Received by the Customs Authorities
1. Any information obtained by the customs authorities in accordance with the statutes of the customs legislation, other federal laws and normative legal acts of the Russian Federation or the legal acts issued by the Federal Customs Authority shall be used exclusively for the customs purposes.
2. The customs offices, their officers and other persons who have legitimate access to the information described in Item 1 herein pursuant to law or in accordance with agreement shall have no right to make public, use for personal purposes, or pass to a third party, including the state authorities, any information constituting a state secret, commercial, banking, tax-related, or other secrets protected by law, or other confidential information, except in those instances stipulated by this Customs Code and other federal laws.
The customs authorities shall furnish the information submitted to them to the federal bodies of the executive power branch, if such bodies need said information for fulfilling the tasks vested in them by federal law, abiding by the procedures coordinated between the Federal Customs Authority and the respective power body of the executive power branch based on the observance of Russian legislation protecting state secrets, commercial, banking, tax-related and other secrets protected by law or other confidential information.
The federal executive power bodies, their officers, and other persons who enjoy legitimate access to the information provided by the customs authorities shall have no right to make public, use for personal purposes or pass to a third party any such information, except in the instances stipulated by federal law.
3. The information referred to in Item 1 herein, which constitutes a state secret, commercial, banking, tax-related, or other secrets protected by law or other confidential information, shall be subject to special storage and access procedures.
4. Loss of the documents containing state secrets, commercial, banking, tax-related, or other secrets protected by law or other confidential information, disclosure of such information, its use for personal purposes, or its conveyance to a third party shall entail the responsibility stipulated by the Russian laws to that effect.
Article 11. Definitions of Basic Terms Used in the Customs Code
1. The basic terms used in this Customs Code shall have the following definitions:
1) goods / commodities / merchandise: any movable property conveyed across the customs border, as well as the motor vehicles denoted as immovable articles. The means of transport specified in Item 5) herein shall not be qualified as goods or merchandise;
2) Russian goods: any merchandise which, for customs clearance purposes, enjoys the status of free circulation in the customs territory of the Russian Federation, i.e., the merchandise completely manufactured in the Russian Federation which has not been exported from the customs territory of the Russian Federation; the merchandise manufactured for free circulation in the customs territory of the Russian Federation; and the merchandise manufactured in the Russian Federation from the goods manufactured completely or released for free circulation in the customs territory of the Russian Federation;
3) foreign goods: any merchandise which does not qualify as Russian goods as per Item 2) herein;
4) goods under customs control: foreign goods delivered to the customs territory of the Russian Federation prior to their release for free circulation, their de facto crossing of the customs border in the process of their exportation, or up to the moment of their destruction, as well as Russian goods during their exportation from the customs territory of the Russian Federation up to their de facto crossing of the customs border;
5) means of transport: any seagoing vessel (riverboat) (including self-propelled and towed lighters, barges, and hydrofoils), hovercraft, aircraft, motor vehicle (including trailers, semi-trailers, and combination transport vehicles), or a single unit of railway rolling stock which is used for the international paid haulage of passengers or for the paid or free industrial or commercial haulage of goods, as well as their authorised spare parts, repair tools and equipment thereto, fuel and lubricants contained in their standard tanks if they are transported together with the means of transport;
6) status of goods and means of transport: absence of or pending prohibitions and restrictions with regard to use and disposal of the goods and means of transport as defined by this Customs Code;
7) conveyance of goods and/or means of transport across the customs border: the activities undertaken to import to or to export from the customs territory of the Russian Federation goods and means of transport regardless of the method of conveyance;
8) importation of goods and means of transport to the customs territory of the Russian Federation: de facto crossing by goods and/or means of transport of the customs border and all subsequent procedures with goods and/or means of transport stipulated by this Customs Code prior to their clearance by the customs authorities;
9) exportation of goods and means of transport from the customs territory of the Russian Federation: submission of a customs declaration or performance of the activities specified in the next paragraph herein which are directly intended to export goods and/or means of transport, as well as all the subsequent procedures with goods and/or means of transport stipulated by this Customs Code prior to their de facto crossing of the customs border.
10) The actions undertaken with a direct intent to export goods and/or means of transport from the customs territory of the Russian Federation shall involve entry of a natural person who is departing from the Russian Federation into the customs control zone; entry of a motor vehicle to a customs border gate at the State Border of the Russian Federation for the purpose of exiting the customs territory of the Russian Federation; submission of merchandise to shipment organisations, of mail to international post offices for their dispatch from the customs territory of the Russian Federation; actions undertaken by a person with an intent to effect de facto conveyance across the customs border of goods and/or means of transport circumventing the customs border gates set up in accordance with applicable statutes of the Russian Federation;
11) illegal conveyance of goods and/or means of transport across the customs border: perpetration of actions involving importation to and exportation from the customs territory of the Russian Federation of goods and/or means of transport in violation of the procedures set forth by this Customs Code;
12) customs authorities / customs offices: the Federal Customs Authority and all the customs authorities, offices and their officers of the Russian Federation subordinated to it, except the cases when this Customs Code makes reference to customs authorities of foreign countries;
13) person: any juridical and natural person unless this Customs Code contains a different provision thereto;
14) Russian person: any juridical person set up in accordance with Russian legislation and located in the Russian Federation, as well as any natural person who is a permanent resident in the Russian Federation including those residents who are registered as individual entrepreneurs;
15) foreign person: any person other than those specified in Sub-Item 13) herein;
16) declarant: any person declaring goods or the person in whose name said goods are declared;
17) carrier: a person who conveys merchandise across the customs border, a person who conveys merchandise subject to customs control inside the perimeter of the customs territory of the Russian Federation, and/or a person responsible for the use of means or transportation;
18) customs broker (agent): an intermediary [juridical] person fulfilling customs clearance formalities on behalf of or as instructed by a declarant or another person who is designated or authorised to perform customs operations in accordance with this Customs Code;
19) interested person: any person whose interests are affected directly and individually by the decisions, actions (inaction) of the customs authorities with regards to merchandise and/or means of transport unless this Customs Code contains other provisions thereto;
20) customs control: all measures undertaken by customs authorities for the purpose of ensuring the observance of the customs regulations of the Russian Federation;
21) customs control: the activities performed by persons and customs officers with regards to merchandise and means of transport subject to customs control in the process of their customs clearance as is stipulated by the provisions of this Customs Code;
22) customs procedure: all clauses and provisions of this Customs Code stipulating the sequence of customs operations for determining the status of merchandise and/or means of transport for customs clearance purposes;
23) customs treatment: the customs procedures establishing the terms and conditions including the procedures of subjecting merchandise and/or means of transport to customs duties, taxes, prohibitions and restrictions stipulated by the Federal Law of the Russian Federation on the State Regulation of Foreign Trade Activities, as well as the status of merchandise and/or means of transport for customs clearance purposes depending on the intent of their conveyance across the customs border and their use in the customs territory of the Russian Federation or beyond;
24) clearance: actions performed by customs authorities sanctioning the interested persons to use and/or dispose of merchandise in accordance with the customs procedure applicable to said merchandise;
25) free circulation: circulation of goods in the customs territory of the Russian Federation without any prohibitions or restrictions stipulated by the customs of the Russian Federation;
26) taxes: value-added and excise taxes levied by customs authorities on merchandise due to its conveyance across the customs border of the Russian Federation in accordance with the Tax Code of the Russian Federation and this Customs Code;
27) domestic taxes: value-added and excise taxes levied on merchandise during its circulation in the territory of the Russian Federation;
28) customs declaration: an authorised documentary form for declaring goods and information thereto which is submitted to customs authorities in accordance with this Customs Code;
29) transportation (shipment) documents: bills of lading, waybills, packing lists or other shipment documents confirming the availability and contents of goods shipment contracts, as well as the documents accompanying merchandise and means of transport during international transit;
30) commercial documents: invoices, shipping and packing lists, and other documents used in conformity with international trade agreements of the Russian Federation, applicable laws of the Russian Federation or accepted trade turnover practices pertaining to foreign economic and other activities which, owing to law, agreement of the parties or accepted trade turnover practices, are used for confirming the validity of transactions predicated on conveyance of goods across the customs border unless this Customs Code contains other provisions thereto;
31) customs documents: any documents made or compiled exclusively for customs clearance purposes.
2. All the other terms and notions contained in this Customs Code are used in the meanings defined, respectively, by the Russian legislation on taxes and duties, the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the Law of the Russian Federation on Administrative Offences, and other Russian laws.
Article 12. Conveyance of Merchandise (including currencies and hard currency securities) and Means of Transport across the Customs Border
1. All persons have equal right to convey merchandise and means of transport across the customs border in accordance with the procedures established by this Customs Code, except the cases stipulated by this Customs Code, other federal laws, and the international treaties to which the Russian Federation is party.
2. Merchandise and means of transport are conveyed across the customs border in accordance with the procedures stipulated by this Customs Code.
The procedures regulating conveyance across the customs border of Russian currency, the securities nominated in the currency of the Russian Federation, foreign currencies and other currency values shall be regulated by the Law of the Russian Federation on Currency Control and this Customs Code.
Article 13. Observance of Prohibitions and Restrictions during Conveyance of Merchandise across Customs Border
1. Merchandise prohibited for importation to the customs territory of the Russian Federation shall be subject to its immediate withdrawal from the customs territory of the Russian Federation unless this Customs Code or other federal laws contain other provisions thereto. The withdrawal of such merchandise shall be performed by its carrier. If withdrawal of said merchandise is impossible or its immediate exportation has not been fulfilled, such merchandise shall be placed in a temporary-storage warehouse or in another place which enjoys the status of a customs control zone (Article 362) at the expense of the persons specified in Article 16 of this Customs Code. The maximum duration of storage of such merchandise shall be restricted to three days unless federal legislation stipulates other terms of storage for individual categories of goods. At the expiration of the established term of storage, said merchandise shall be disposed of in accordance with provisions of Chapter 41 of this Customs Code.
Merchandise subject to import restrictions to the customs territory of the Russian Federation may be permitted for importation (such merchandise may be cleared by customs authorities in the instances stipulated by this Customs Code) provided said merchandise complies with the provisions set forth by the international treaties to which the Russian Federation is party or the Russian legislation.
2. Merchandise whose export is prohibited shall not be permitted to de facto exit the perimeter of the customs territory of the Russian Federation.
Merchandise subject to export restrictions from the customs territory of the Russian Federation may be permitted for exportation by customs authorities provided said merchandise complies with the provisions set forth by the international treaties to which the Russian Federation is party or Russian legislation.
3. The expenses incurred by the persons specified in Article 16 of this Customs Code, the declarant, the carrier or any other person due to the imposition by the customs authorities of the prohibitions or restrictions on the importation to or exportation from the customs territory of the Russian Federation of said merchandise should not be reimbursed.
Article 14: Customs Registration and Customs Control
1. All goods and means of transport conveyed across the customs border shall be subject to customs registration and customs control in accordance with the terms and conditions stipulated by this Customs Code.
2. In performing customs registration and exercising customs control, customs offices and their officers have no right to introduce any requirements or impose restrictions that are not stipulated by the statutes of the customs legislation or other legal acts of the Russian Federation.
3. The requirements of customs authorities applied in the course of customs control or customs registration formalities should not obstruct conveyance of goods and means of transport across the customs border or performance of other customs formalities to the extent exceeding the minimal requirement essential for ensuring the observance of the statutes of the customs legislation.
Article 15. Use and Disposal of Merchandise and Means of Transport
1. Merchandise and means of transport may not be used or disposed of by any person until they have been cleared by the customs authorities in accordance with the established procedures and on the terms and conditions stipulated by this Customs Code.
2. Upon customs clearance of the merchandise and means of transport, they may be used and/or disposed of in compliance with the terms and conditions of the declared customs procedures.
Article 16. Obligations Pertaining to Customs Clearance Procedures
The obligations pertaining to customs clearance procedures, unless this Customs Code contains other provisions thereto, shall be borne:
(1) by a Russian person, who has effected a foreign economic transaction or in whose name or upon whose instructions said transaction has been carried out provided the conveyance of merchandise across the customs border is performed in accordance with the terms and conditions of the external economic transaction made by a Russian person;
(2) if conveyance of merchandise across the customs border is not stipulated by an external economic transaction made by a Russian person:
- by the person who possesses the ownership rights and/or the right to use given merchandise in the customs territory of the Russian Federation;
- by other persons who in accordance with Civil Code of the Russian Federation and/or this Customs Code have sufficient powers for performing legally significant transactions in their own name with the merchandise placed under customs control.
Article 17. Guarantees of Proper Fulfilment of Provisions of this Customs Code
In those instances stipulated by this Customs Code and other legal acts of the Russian Federation the customs authorities have the right to demand that persons provide guarantees of proper fulfilment of their duties and obligations set forth by this Customs Code with regard to the goods in customs custody, including the persons’ guarantees for making all the requisite dutiable payments predicated on the requirements stipulated by Chapter 31 of this Customs Code.
Article 18. Customs-Related Activities
The activities of juridical persons in capacity of customs carriers, owners of temporary-storage warehouses, owners of bonded warehouses and customs brokers (agents) shall only be permitted provided they have been formally included, respectively, in the Register of Customs Carriers, the Register of Owners of Temporary Storage Warehouses, the Register of Owners of Bonded Warehouses, the Register of Customs Brokers (agents), (hereinafter in this Chapter, the registers of juridical persons performing customs-related activities).
Article 19. Registers of Juridical Persons Performing Customs-Related Activities
1. The registers of juridical persons performing customs-related activities shall be complied by the Federal Customs Authority.
2. The Federal Customs Authority shall be obliged to ensure regular, at least quarterly, publications in its official releases of the registers of juridical persons performing customs-related activities.
Article 20. Entering Juridical Persons in Registers of Juridical Persons Performing Customs-Related Activities
1. The entry of juridical persons shall be made into the registers of juridical persons performing their customs-related activities in accordance with the terms and conditions set forth by this Customs Code. Such entries shall be made in respective registers free of charge.
2. A juridical person wishing to be recorded in one of the registers of juridical persons performing customs-related activities shall be obliged to submit a written application to the Federal Customs Authority supplemented with relevant information stipulated by this Customs Code and the documents substantiating the details stated in said application in accordance with the list determined by this Customs Code.
3. The documents stipulated by Item 2 herein may be submitted in the original or as notarised copies thereof.
After the applicants documents have been considered the customs authorities shall be obliged to return to the applicant, upon the applicant’s request, the originals of the submitted documents.
4. The customs authorities shall consider the application within not more than fifteen days from the date of its receipt, make a decision with regard to entering the applicant into the respective register, and inform the applicant about their decision without delay. The applicant shall be authorised to perform relevant customs-related activities from the date of issue of said decision. A decision with regard to entry of an applicant into the respective register is formalised by a certificate issued to the applicant.
The customs authorities may resolve to decline the applicant’s application for entry into one of the registers if the applicant has failed to comply with the terms of entry into said register stipulated by this Customs Code. A written resolution to deny entry into the respective register shall be forwarded to the applicant without delay.
5. The customs authorities considering the applications have the right to request that third parties, including the state bodies, present the documents substantiating the details submitted by the applicant. Those persons shall be obliged to submit requested documents within ten days from the date of their receipt of said request.
Article 21. Certificate on Entry of Juridical Person into one of Registers of Juridical Persons Performing Customs-Related Activities
1. A certificate formalising the entry [inclusion] of a juridical persons in one of the registers of juridical persons performing customs-related activities (hereinafter, the Certificate) shall be issued to an applicant based on the form approved by the Federal Customs Authority. This Certificate shall contain the details stipulated by the specific articles of this Customs Code. This Certificate shall not be transferable to any other person.
2. The juridical person (or its successor) included in one of the registers of juridical persons performing customs-related activities shall be obliged to inform the customs authorities in writing of any changes in the information provided by him as per Item 2 of Article 20 of this Customs Code, or in the reference documents attached to it within five days from the date of occurrence of said events or from the date it was notified of their occurrence.
The customs authorities shall be obliged to verify the compliance of newly submitted information with the terms and conditions stipulating said person’s entry into the conformable register; in case some of the details that are to be specified in the Certificate have changed, the customs authorities shall consider issuance of a new Certificate to said juridical person in accordance with the procedure set forth in Item 4 of Article 20 of this Customs Code.
3. The customs authorities may revoke said Certificate only in the instances stipulated by Articles 98, 113, 145 and 231 of this Customs Code.
The customs authorities shall notify the juridical person in writing of their decision to revoke the Certificate with a motivated substantiation of their decision not later than on the day following the date when that decision was made. This decision shall be handed to the director or any other authorised representative of said juridical person against his (or her) formal receipt, or by any other method acknowledging the fact and the date of receipt of that notification. In the event the above persons opt to avoid the receipt of said notification, it shall be dispatched to the juridical person concerned by registered post.
A decision to revoke the Certificate shall go into effect upon the expiration of a 15-day period following the passage of that decision.
The form of the decision to revoke the Certificate is approved by the Federal Customs Authority.
4. Withdrawal of the Certificate necessitates exclusion of the juridical person concerned involved in customs-related activities from the conformable register.
5. An application of the excluded juridical person involved in customs-related activities with a request for its reinstatement in the conformable register following its Certificate withdrawal may only be submitted to the customs authorities after the juridical person concerned has rectified the reasons for the Certificate withdrawal. If the Certificate has been revoked due to multiple administrative charges, the juridical person may submit a request for reinstatement of the Certificate upon expiry of the term of administrative penalty.
Article 22. Removal of Juridical Person from Registers of Juridical Persons Performing Customs-Related Activities
1. A juridical person shall be subject to removal from the registers of juridical persons performing customs-related activities in the following instances:
(1) upon express wish of said person, from the day following the date of receipt by the customs authorities of a written request from said person to be excluded from the respective register;
(2) upon expiry of the term of effect of the Certificate as set forth by Item 2 of Article 96, Item 3 of Article 111, Item 3 of Article 229 of this Customs Code, from the day following the date of expiry of said term;
(3) upon a decision made regarding withdrawal of a Certificate, from the date when said decision goes into effect;
(4) upon liquidation of said juridical person, from the day following the date of entry in the General State Register made to the effect that said juridical person is undergoing liquidation under the Law of the Russian Federation on the State Registration of Juridical Persons;
(5) upon termination of operations by said juridical person as a result of its reorganisation, except the instance of its reform, from the day following the date when the reform of the juridical person concerned is approved as completed in accordance with Russian legislation on the state registration of juridical persons.
2. Removal of a juridical person from the registers of juridical persons performing customs-related activities shall not relieve that person (or its legal successor) from the obligation to complete all pending customs operations involving haulage or storage of cargoes under customs control or fulfil its other commitments made prior to the exclusion of the juridical person concerned from respective register in accordance with the procedures set forth by this Customs Code.
Article 23. Procurement of Information Substantiating Reasons for Decision-Making, Action (Inaction)
1. The person in whose regard a decision has been made or an action taken by a customs office or a customs officer, as well as the person in whose regard a decision has not been made or an action was not implemented within a prescribed period of time has the right to make an inquiry to the customs office concerned requesting explanation of the reasons and/or grounds for the decision made or the action implemented, or the decision not made or the action not implemented if they have affected the rights and lawful interests of the such persons directly or individually.
2. Such an inquiry ought to be made within six months from the date of said decision, action (inaction), or from the date of expiry of the term of its enactment or implementation, or from the date the person becomes aware of said decision, or action (inaction).
3. An interested person has the right to make either a written or a verbal inquiry requesting necessary information. A person’s verbal inquiry shall be considered by the customs office on the same day. If a person makes a written inquiry, he (or she) shall be entitled to a written response within ten days following the receipt of that inquiry by the customs office concerned.
Article 24. Information on Legal Statutes in Sphere of Customs System
1. Both the Federal Customs Authority and the other customs authorities shall provide free unrestricted access to the information on currently effective statutes and legal norms in the sphere of the customs system including such access using contemporary information technologies.
2. The customs authorities shall provide access to the information pertaining to draft statutes, as well as the amendments and additions to the statutes in the sphere of the customs system which have not been enacted, including the access to such information using contemporary information technologies except for the cases when preliminary knowledge of the draft statutes may interdict customs control procedures or diminish their effectiveness.
3. The Federal Customs Authority shall ensure publications in its official releases and bulletins of the statutes adopted by this body, as well as the statutes of the customs legislation and other legal normative acts of the Russian Federation pertaining to the customs system.
Article 25. Consulting on Issues of the Customs system and Other Issues in Competence of the Customs Authorities
1. The customs authorities shall provide consulting services to all interested persons with regard to the issues of the customs system and other issues in its competence. The Head of the customs office (or his [or her] deputy) shall nominate the officers of the customs office authorised to provide consultations. The information based on the inquiry made by an interested person shall be presented within shortest possible time but not later than within one month from the date of receipt of said inquiry.
2. The customs authorities shall provide free written and/or verbal consultations to any interested person. Upon request of an interested person, the customs authorities shall be obliged to provide desired information in writing.
3. The information provided thereby to interested persons shall not serve as grounds for decision-making or implementation of any specific actions (inaction) by the customs authorities in the process of customs procedures with goods and/or means of transport.
4. In the event when the information requested by a person is provided untimely or proves to be unauthentic as a result of which the person who made the inquiry has suffered losses, said person’s losses shall be reimbursed in accordance with the provisions of Item 6 of Article 6 of this Customs Code.
5. The customs authorities shall not be responsible for the losses incurred as a result of the distortions occurring in the texts of customs statutes published without their knowledge or supervision, or for the losses resulting from unqualified consultations rendered by unauthorised persons.
Article 26. Customs Statistics pertaining to Foreign Trade of the Russian Federation
1. With a view to analysing the status of foreign trade of the Russian Federation, exercising supervision over the customs revenues contributed to the state budget, effecting currency control, analysing the condition, dynamics and trends inherent in the development of foreign trade of the Russian Federation, its trade and payment balances, as well as assessing the condition of Russian economy as a whole, the customs authorities shall collect and process information pertaining to the conveyance of goods across the customs border and present said customs statistical data pertaining to foreign trade of the Russian Federation to the President of the Russian Federation, the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation (the State Duma and the Council of the Federation), the Government of the Russian Federation and other entities specified by Russian legislation.
The Federal Customs Authority shall provide said customs statistical data pertaining to foreign trade of the Russian Federation to various international organisations in accordance with international treaties to which the Russian Federation is party.
The Federal Customs Authority shall publish said customs statistics pertaining to foreign trade of the Russian Federation in accordance with the terms and conditions established by the Government of the Russian Federation.
2. The customs statistics on foreign trade of the Russian Federation shall be collected and processed in accordance with this Customs Code and other legal statutes of the Russian Federation
3. The customs statistics on foreign trade shall comply with the methodology ensuring compatibility of the data pertaining to foreign trade operations between Russia and its foreign economic partners.
Article 27. Special Customs Statistics
1. With a view to fulfilling the tasks assigned to the customs authorities, the latter shall keep special customs statistics in accordance with the procedures approved by the Federal Customs Authority.
2. The data comprising special customs statistics shall be used by the customs authorities exclusively for the customs purposes only.
Article 28. Documents and Information Used for Statistical Purposes
1. The documents and information required for statistical purposes shall be submitted by persons in accordance with the provisions of this Customs Code.
2. The information used for statistical purposes shall be subject to the provisions stipulated by Article 10 of this Customs Code.
Chapter 6.
THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN OF GOODS.
NOMENCLATURE OF GOODS SUBJECT TO FOREIGN TRADE
Article 29. Sphere of Application of This Chapter
1. The country of origin of goods shall be determined based on the provisions of this Chapter in the event when application of the customs and tariff regulations, prohibitions and restrictions stipulated by the Federal Law of the Russian Federation on the State Regulation of Foreign Trade Activities is predicated on the country of origin of goods.
2. The procedures for determining the country of origin of goods shall be carried out with a view to applying either tariff preferences or non-preferential measures of trade policy.
Article 30. Determination of the Country of Origin of Goods
1. The country of origin of goods shall be defined as the country where the goods were manufactured wholly (Article 31) or subjected to sufficient processing (Article 32) in accordance with the criteria laid down by this Customs Code or in accordance with the procedures defined by this Customs Code. The country of origin of goods may be regarded as a group of countries, countries’ customs unions, a region, or part of a country whenever it is required to identify them for the purpose of determining the country of origin of goods.
2. Upon the request made by a declarant or any other interested person, the customs authorities shall make a preliminary decision with regard to determining the country of origin of goods as per Item 3 herein.
Article 31. Goods and Commodities Wholly Produced in a Given Country
The following goods and commodities shall be regarded as wholly produced in a given country:
(1) the minerals extracted from deposits within a given country, in its territorial waters, or from its seabed;
(2) the vegetable products, grown or harvested in a given country;
(3) the live animals, born and raised in a given country;
(4) the products derived from live animals raised in a given country;
(5) the products obtained as a result of hunting and fishing in a given country;
(6) the sea-fishing products and other sea products obtained by a vessel registered in the country concerned;
(7) the products obtained onboard a processing vessel registered in the country concerned exclusively from the products specified in Item 6 herein;
(8) the products obtained from the seabed or from the sea subsoil outside the territorial waters of a given country provided this country has exclusive rights to exploit said seabed or subsoil;
(9) the waste and scrap metals (secondary raw materials) derived from manufacturing and other machining operations in a given country, as well as used articles which have been collected in said country and are only applicable for their processing into raw materials;
(10) the products of high technologies obtained onboard spacecraft orbiting in space provided said country is the country of registration of the spacecraft concerned;
(11) the goods manufactured in a given country exclusively from the products specified in Items 1 through 10 herein.
Article 32. Criteria for Goods Processing Sufficiency
1. In case given goods have been manufactured in two or more countries, the country of origin of such goods shall be the country in which they were subjected to processing or manufacturing operations meeting the criteria of the goods processing sufficiency in accordance with the provisions laid down herein.
2. If no special requirements are set forth for determining the country of origin of specific kinds of goods imported to the customs territory of the Russian Federation, as per Item 4 herein, the following general rule shall apply: merchandise shall be regarded as originating from a given country if the operations involving the processing or their manufacture have caused a change of any of the first four digits in the goods classification codes as per the Nomenclature of Goods subject to Foreign Trade (EU Customs Tariffs).
3. Regardless of the provisions specified in Item 2 herein, the following operations or conditions shall not comply with the criteria of sufficient processing:
(1) goods preservation operations performed to ensure their safety during storage or haulage;
(2) operations for preparing goods for sale and haulage (division of merchandise into consignment, its sorting and/or repackaging);
(3) simple assembly operations, as well as other operations which do not cause any essential change of given merchandise as per the register defined by the Government of the Russian Federation;
(4) mixing of goods originating from different countries provided the specifications of finished products have no essential distinctions from the specifications of the products with which they are mixed.
4. The following criteria shall apply for determining the country of origin of goods in accordance with the procedures set forth by the Government of the Russian Federation:
(1) performance of specific manufacturing or technological operations sufficient for identifying the country where such operations took place with the country of origin of said goods;
(2) change of the goods value whereby the percentage ratio of the cost of used materials and the added value has reached a fixed share in the product's end price (the ad valorem ratio).
5. In the process of establishing the procedures for applying the goods processing sufficiency criteria with regard to specific goods imported from the countries to which the Government of the Russian Federation has accorded special tariff preferences, the Government of the Russian Federation has the right to determine the terms of application of direct purchase and shipment rules with a view to providing special tariff preferences.
Article 33. Peculiarities of Determining the Country of Origin of Goods
1. On a declarant’s request, the assembled or disassembled goods supplied by consignments, the goods whose shipment in a single consignment is impossible for manufacturing or shipment reasons, or if a consignment of such goods has been mistakenly subdivided into several lots, shall be regarded as a single commodity for the purpose of establishing its country of its origin.
2. The conditions for applying Item 1 herein to goods shall require:
(1) preliminary notification of the customs office concerned about a shipment of goods in assembled or unassembled state or supplied by several lots, which preliminary notification shall contain the reasons for such consignment and the classification codes of the goods in each lot pursuant to the Nomenclature of Goods subject to Foreign Trade, the prices and countries of origin of said goods in each lot, or a documentary confirmation of a mistaken division of goods into several lots;
(2) shipment of all lots of goods from the same country of origin by the same supplier;
(3) declaration of all lots of goods to the same customs office;
(4) importation to the customs territory of the Russian Federation of all lots of said goods within a period not exceeding six months from the date of acceptance of the relevant customs declaration by the customs authorities, or upon expiry of time limit stipulated for its submission with regard to the first lot of goods. Based on a declarant’s motivated request, the customs authorities may extend the term of submission for the period required for the importation of all the lots of said shipment of goods.
3. The appliances, spare parts and tool-kits designed for servicing and repairs of machines, equipment, devices or means of transport shall be regarded as originating from the same country as the machines, equipment, devices or means of transport provided said appliances, spare parts and tool-kits are imported and utilised together with said machines, equipment, devices or means of transport in the completeness and in quantities that are normally supplied with such devices.
4. The packaging in which the goods are imported to the customs territory of the Russian Federation shall be regarded as originating from the same country as the goods packed in them with the exception of the cases when the goods’ packaging is to be declared separately from the goods per se. In such situations, the country of origin of the packaging shall be determined separately from the country of origin of goods.
Article 34. Verification of Country of Origin of Goods
1. The customs authorities have the right to request documentary proofs certifying the country of origin of goods, as in the instances stipulated by Article 37 of this Customs Code.
2. The formal documentary proofs certifying the country of origin of goods is contained in the Declaration of the Country of Origin Goods (Article 35), or the Certificate of the Country of origin of goods, as in the situations specified by the Government of the Russian Federation (Article 36).
Article 35. Declaration of the Country of Origin of Goods
1. In accordance with the provisions of this Customs Code, the documentary proofs certifying the country of origin of goods may be contained in a Declaration of the Country of Origin of Goods, which is a written statement made in any desired form is provided it contains the information confirming the country of origin of goods. Used as such a declaration may be any statement to that effect made by the manufacturer, seller, or exporter of said goods in connection with its exportation.
2. If the declaration of the country of origin of goods is based on the criteria other than those adopted in the Russian Federation (Articles 31 and 32), the country of origin of goods shall be determined based on the criteria adopted in the Russian Federation.
Article 36. The Certificate of Origin of Goods
1. The Certificate of the Origin of Goods constitutes an indisputable documentary proof of the country of origin of goods issued by the competent body or organisation of a given country or of the country of exportation of said goods if the country of exportation issues such Certificates based on the information obtained from the country of origin of said goods.
In case the information on the origin of goods contained in the Certificate is based on the criteria other that those adopted in the Russian Federation (Articles 31 and 32), the country of origin of goods shall be determined based on the criteria adopted in the Russian Federation.
2. At the instance of exportation of goods from the customs territory of the Russian Federation, the Certificate of the Origin of Goods shall be issued by the bodies or organisations authorised by the Government of the Russian Federation provided said Certificate is required under the terms of a given contract or in accordance with the national regulations of the country of importation of said goods unless the requirement for said Certificate is otherwise stipulated by the international treaties to which the Russian Federation is party.
The bodies and/or organisations responsible for issuance of the Certificates of Origin of Goods shall be obliged to preserve the copies of said certificates and other documents of whose basis the country of origin of goods was certified for a period of at least two years from the date of issuance.
3. The Certificate of the Origin of Goods is submitted to the customs authorities together with the customs declaration and other documents requisite for customs clearance of the goods imported to the customs territory of the Russian Federation. In the event the Certificate is not available, its formally authenticated copy shall be accepted.
4. If the Certificate of the Origin of Goods is not properly executed (the Certificate has erasures, blots or uncertified corrections; the Certificate does not contain all required signatures, stamps and/or seals; the information contained in the Certificate does not prove its correspondence with the declared goods; the Certificate does not contain an indisputable proof of the country of origin of goods or the criteria serving as the basis for establishing the country of origin of goods provided the statement of said criteria is mandatory in accordance with the international treaties to which the Russian Federation is party or the applicable Russian legislation), or the customs officers have detected other evidence that said Certificate contains incorrect information, they have the right to lodge a request to the competent bodies or organisations in the country that issued said Certificate to provide additional documentary proofs.
5. The customs authorities also have the right to request that the competent bodies or the organisations in the country that have issued the Certificate of the Origin of Goods provide additional documentary proofs or clarifications for the purpose of carrying out spot checks. Such spot checks shall not impede the process of customs clearance of goods based on the information of their country of origin declared during the goods customs registration formalities.
Article 37. Submission of Documents Certifying the Country of Origin of Goods
1. At the instance of the importation of merchandise to the customs territory of the Russian Federation the declarant shall be obliged to present to the customs authorities documentary proof of the country of origin of the imported goods provided that country enjoys tariff preferences granted to it by the Government of the Russian Federation pursuant to the international treaties to which the Russian Federation is party or in accordance with the applicable Russian legislation. The documents certifying the country of origin of goods shall be presented to the customs authorities together with the pertinent customs declaration.
Note: application of above tariff preferences may also require that the declarant submit to the customs authorities the certificate of the country of origin of goods drawn up in strict compliance with the international treaties, to which the Russian Federation is party, or in conformity with the applicable Russian legislation.
The customs authorities have the right to ask the declarant to present documentary proof of the country of origin of goods if they doubt the authenticity of the declared information denoting the country of origin of the goods in question, so long as such information may affect the application of the customs duties, taxes, and/or restrictions and prohibitions stipulated by the Federal Law of the Russian Federation on the State Regulation of Foreign Trade Activities.
2. Regardless of the provisions of Item 1 herein, submission of the Certificate of the country of origin of goods will not be required in the following instances:
(1) if the goods imported to the customs territory of the Russian Federation have been declared as international customs transit or temporary importation with complete exemption from customs duties and taxes, except the cases when the customs authorities find evidence that said goods have originated from the country whose goods are prohibited for importation to or transit in the territory of the Russian Federation in accordance with international agreements and the applicable Russian legislation;
(2) if the overall customs value of the merchandise conveyed across the customs border in a single consignment, by the same method, by one the same supplier, and addressed to same recipient is below the 20,000.00 roubles;
(3) if the goods are conveyed across the border by a natural person as per Chapter 23 of this Customs Code.
(4) in other instances stipulated by international agreements and/or the applicable Russian legislation.
Article 38. Additional Terms of Merchandise Customs Clearance while Determining the Country of their Origin
1. In case the documents proving the country of origin of goods are not available whereas their presentation is mandatory for tariff preferences (as per Article 37), such goods shall be liable for customs duties according to the rates applicable to the goods originating from a country enjoying the status of a most favoured nation in terms of its trade and political relations with the Russian Federation, except the case specified in Sub-Item 1) of Item 2 herein.
2. In the instances when requisite documents certifying the country of origin of goods have not been presented or the customs authorities found evidence that the documents submitted by the declarant are not properly drawn up and/or contain fictitious information, the goods in question shall be subject to the measures, as stated below, until the declarant presents authentic documents certifying the country of origin of said goods or provides other explicatory evidence:
(1) in case customs authorities have found evidence that the goods in question have originated from a country that does not enjoy the status of a most favoured nation, such goods shall be liable for customs duties as per the tariffs applied to the goods originating from a country whose trade and political relations with the Russian Federation do not stipulate the status of a most favoured nation, or for the customs duties based on the said tariffs;
(2) in case customs authorities have found evidence that the goods in question have originated from a country whose goods are subject to various restrictions stipulated by the Federal Law of the Russian Federation on the State Regulation of Foreign Trade Activities or the international treaties to which the Russian Federation is party, such goods shall only be cleared by customs after the declarant has presented documentary evidence proving the observance of such restrictions or recompensed the required antidumping duties or other indemnities;
(3) in case the customs authorities have found evidence that the goods in question may have originated from a country whose merchandise is prohibited for importation to the Russian Federation by the international treaties of the Russian Federation or Russian law, such goods shall be denied customs clearance.
3. The goods specified in Item 1 and Sub-Item 1) of Item 2 herein shall be accorded the effective (reinstated) preferential tariff treatment or to the tariffs applied to the goods originating from a most favoured nation if the country of origin of said goods has been authenticated within one year from the date of acceptance by the customs authorities of the customs declaration pertaining to said goods. In this case, the charged amounts of customs duties and taxes shall be refunded in accordance with Article 356 of this Customs Code.
Article 39. Nomenclature of Goods subject to Foreign Trade
1. The Nomenclature of Goods subject to Foreign Trade is approved by the Government of the Russian Federation based on the internationally acceptable classification systems applied to goods and commodities.
2. The Nomenclature of Goods subject to Foreign Trade is used for effecting measures of customs-tariff and non-tariff regulations of foreign trade and other kinds of external economic activities, filing, and recording customs statistical data pertaining to foreign trade operations of the Russian Federation.
Article 40. Classification of Goods and Commodities
1. All goods and commodities shall be subject to classification at the instance of their declaration to the customs authorities (Chapter 14), i.e., the goods classification code(s) shall be determined pursuant to the Nomenclature of Goods subject to Foreign Trade.
2. On a declarant’s request, the customs authorities will make a preliminary decision with regard to the classification of the declared goods as per §3 herein.
3. In case the customs authorities reveal breach of the rules laid down by the Nomenclature of Goods at the instance of their declaration, the customs authorities later have the right to classify such goods at their discretion.
4. The Federal Customs Authority shall make decisions with regard to classification of specific kinds of goods and ensure publication of such decisions.
5. The decisions passed by the customs authorities with regard to the classification of goods and commodities shall be mandatory. The declarant has the right to appeal such decisions as per Chapter 7 of this Customs Code.
Article 41. Preliminary Decisions
1. Upon a request of an interested person, the Federal Customs Authority and the customs offices designated by the Federal Customs Authority will make a preliminary decision on the classification of goods pursuant to the Nomenclature of Goods subject to Foreign Trade with regard to any specific kinds of goods and the goods origin from a specific country (the country of origin of goods).
2. The form and the measures involved in making a preliminary decision shall be determined by the Federal Customs Authority.
Article 42. Request for a Preliminary Decision
1. A person interested in a preliminary decision shall be obliged to submit his (or her) written request for a preliminary decision to be made to the respective customs office.
Such a request needs to contain all the information required for the process of making a preliminary decision, and it should be supplemented with the goods’ samples and specimens, their description, photographic images, sketches, drawings, commercial, technical, and other documents.
2. If the information submitted by an applicant is insufficient for a preliminary decision, the customs office concerned shall instruct the applicant to provide additional information within thirty days from the day of submission of the request setting the time limit for its submission. In case the applicant has failed to provide the requested additional information within the prescribed term of time, his (or her) request for a preliminary decision shall be declined.
In case the first request for a preliminary decision has been declined, the interested person has the right to apply to customs authorities with a new request for a preliminary decision provided the reasons for the first refusal of his (or her) request have been resolved.
Article 43. Legal Substance and Validity of Preliminary Decisions
Preliminary decisions shall be mandatory for all customs authorities. A preliminary decision shall remain in effect within five years from the date of its issuance unless it has been amended, revoked, or its validity terminated as per Article 44 of this Customs Code.
Article 44. Termination or Amendment of a Preliminary Decision
1. The customs authorities have the right to pass a resolution whereby a preliminary decision issued either by them or by their subordinate customs office may be terminated, amended or revoked (to amend or revoke a preliminary decision issued either by the customs authorities or their subordinate customs office) in the instances stipulated herein.
A resolution passed to terminate, amend or revoke a preliminary decision shall be made in writing and forwarded to the recipient of said preliminary decision not later than on the day following the date when the resolution is passed to terminate, amend or revoke said preliminary decision.
2. A resolution to terminate, amend, or revoke a preliminary decision shall be made if a preliminary decision in question was made on the basis of fictitious documents submitted by the applicant. The resolution to terminate a preliminary decision shall go into effect on the date of issuance said preliminary decision.
3. A preliminary decision shall be amended in case the Federal Customs Authority has passed a formal resolution mandatory for all the customs authorities with regard to the classification of specific goods or in the event of detection of errors in the process of preliminary decision-making.
An amendment shall go into effect based on the terms specified in the resolution on said amendment of the preliminary decision but not earlier than within three months from the date of adoption of the resolution to amend the preliminary decision.
4. The effective preliminary decision may be revoked in the following instances:
- in case the Nomenclature of Goods subject to Foreign Trade has been amended, or the World Customs Organisation adopted the classification requirements mandatory for application in the Russian Federation;
- in case the international treaties to which the Russian Federation is party or Russian laws which regulate the procedures of determining the country of origin of goods, establish other terms and conditions for determining the country of origin of goods.
A resolution to revoke a preliminary decision should be passed not later than within three days from the date of publication of the above-mentioned statutes and go into effect concurrently with them.
Article 45. Right to Appeal
1. Any person has the right to appeal a decision, action (inaction) of the customs authorities or a customs officer if, in the opinion of this person, said decision, action (inaction) has infringed upon his (or her) rights and freedoms, created obstructions for its realisation, or unlawfully imposed a responsibility upon said person.
2. A person’s waiver to appeal decisions, actions (inaction) of a customs office or a customs officer shall not be legitimate.
Article 46. Appeal Procedures
1. Decisions, actions (inaction) of the customs authorities and customs officers may be appealed to customs offices and/or in a court of justice or arbitration tribunal.
A complaint to a decision, action (inaction) of a customs office or its officer does not preclude a possibility of lodging concurrently or subsequently an identical complaint to a court or justice or arbitration tribunal. The complaints to a decision, action (inaction) of a customs office or its officer(s) lodged to a court or justice or arbitration tribunal shall be considered by the respective court.
2. The procedures for lodging complaints and their adjudication by a court of justice or arbitration tribunal are set forth in the Russian legislation on civil court proceedings and on arbitration proceedings.
3. The procedures regulating the submission, consideration and adjudication of complaints lodged with customs offices with regard to actions (inaction) of customs offices or their officers are specified in this Chapter, and they pertain to the complaints against decisions, actions (inaction) of customs offices or their officers except the resolutions passed by the customs authorities (the customs officers of customs offices) with respect to the cases of administrative offences or other actions (inaction) of a customs office or its officer(s) who are liable for special appeal procedures.
Article 47. Procedures for Lodging Complaints to a Decision, Action (Inaction) of Customs Office or its Officer
1. A complaint to a decision, action (inaction) of a customs office shall be submitted to its superior customs office.
A complaint to a decision, action (inaction) of a customs officer should be submitted to the customs office where said officer is posted (substitutes a state post), whereas a decision, action (inaction) of the chief of a customs office shall be submitted to the superior customs office.
A complaint to a decision, action (inaction) of a customs office or its officer may be submitted either directly to the superior customs office or via the customs office whose decision, action (inaction) or whose chief’s decision, action (inaction) is subject to appeal.
2. The customs office whose decision, action (inaction) or whose chief’s decision, action (inaction) is subject to appeal shall be obliged to forward said complaint to its superior customs office along with related materials within five days from the date of its submission.
In case the customs office to which a complaint to a decision, action (inaction) of a customs office or its officer has been lodged does not have sufficient powers to adjudicate the complaint, it shall be obliged within three days to forward that complaint to the customs office whose officers are duly empowered to consider the complaint pursuant to the provisions laid down in this Article and dispatch a written notification to that effect to the person who has lodged the complaint.
3. A complaint to a decision, action (inaction) of the Federal Customs Authority shall be submitted directly to the Federal Customs Authority.
Article 48. Time Limits for Filing Complaints to a Decision, Action (Inaction) of Customs Office or Its Officer
A complaint to a decision, action (inaction) of a customs office or its officer may be filed within three months:
- from the day when the person concerned becomes aware or is supposed to become aware of an infringement on his (or her) personal rights, freedoms or lawful interests, of the obstacle impeding their realisation, or of a responsibility that was unlawfully imposed on said person;
- from the date of expiration of the time limit designated for a customs office or for its officer for making a decision or carrying out an action stipulated by the provisions of this Customs Code.
Article 49. Restoration of Time Terms for Filing Complaints to a Decision, Action (Inaction) of Customs Office or Its Officer
1. In case a person has missed the time limit established for filing a complaint to a decision, action (inaction) of the customs authorities for justifiable reasons, such a time term may be restored by the customs office empowered to consider said complaint.
2. A missed time limit for filing a complaint shall be restored by way of de facto acceptance for consideration of said complaint to a decision, action (inaction) of the customs authorities.
Article 50. Form and Content of a Complaint to a Decision, Action (Inaction) of Customs Office or its Officer
1. A complaint to a decision, action (inaction) of a customs office or its officer shall be lodged in written form, and it should be signed by the person filing said complaint.
2. A complaint to a decision, action (inaction) of a customs office or its officer should contain the following details:
- the name of the customs office or the position; the surname, the first name, and the patronymic name of the customs officer (if they are available); the decision, action (inaction) subject to complaint;
- the surname, the first name, and the patronymic name of the complainant, his (or her) place of residence or whereabouts;
- the substance of the appealed decision, action (inaction);
3. The person who files a complaint to a decision, action (inaction) of a customs office or its officer shall not be obliged to provide any documentary evidence of the circumstances stated in the complaint. If the customs authorities deem such evidence essential for considering the complaint and/or such documents are not available at the customs office whose or whose officer’s decision, action (inaction) constitutes the reason for the complaint, the customs authorities considering the complaint have the right to request that the complainant furnish requisite documentary evidence. In this case, the time limit prescribed for adjudicating a complaint to a decision, action (inaction) of a customs office or its officer shall be deferred for the period required for the complainant to provide the documentary evidence requested by the customs authorities, but for not more than three months. If the complainant has failed to furnish the required documentary evidence within the prescribed period, a ruling with regard to said complaint shall be passed without consideration of the allegations that have not been substantiated by documentary evidence.
Article 51. The Consequential Effect of Complaint to a Decision, Action (Inaction) of Customs Office or its Officer
1. A lodged complaint to a decision, action (inaction) of a customs office or its officer shall not suspend the execution of the appealed decision of action.
2. When the customs authorities addressing the complaint have sufficient grounds to presume that the appealed decision or action (inaction) contradicts the Russian legislation or in the instance when non-suspension of the execution of said decision or action (inaction) may have an irreversible effect, they have the right to suspend the execution of the appealed a decision or action (inaction) until a ruling is passed with regard to the essence of said complaint.
Article 52. Rationale for Rejecting Complaint to a Decision, Action (Inaction) of Customs Office or its Officer
1. The customs authorities reject a complaint to a decision, action (inaction) of a customs office or its officer for the following essential grounds:
(1) the prescribed time terms of filing said complaint have not been observed; the appellant has not requested to restore the missed time term, or a request to restore the missed term has been declined;
(2) the requirements stipulated by Items 1 and 2 of Article 50 of this Customs Code have not been observed;
(3) the appellant has already filed an analogous complaint to court; the court of justice or arbitration tribunal has accepted said complaint for consideration, or passed a ruling thereto;
(4) said complaint is lodged to a decision, action (inaction) made by an office other than a customs office, or an officer other than a customs officer.
2. The rationale for a rejecting a complaint to a decision, action (inaction) of a customs office or its officer should be provided not later than in three days following the submission of said complaint, whereas in the case stipulated by Sub-Item 3) of Item 1 herein, from the date the customs office considering the complaint receives a notification from a court of justice or arbitration tribunal stating that a complaint analogous in content has been filed for consideration or passage of a court ruling in its regard..
3. The decision by the customs office concerned to reject the complaint to a decision, action (inaction) of a customs office or its officer may be appealed in a higher customs office, in a court of justice or arbitration tribunal.
Article 53. Withdrawal of Complaint to a Decision, Action (Inaction) of Customs office or its Officer
1. A person who has lodged a complaint to a decision, action (inaction) of a customs office or its officer may withdraw his (or her) complaint at any moment prior to a resolution passed in its regard.
2. A second complaint with regard to the same subject may be submitted within the time terms stipulated by Article 48 of this Customs Code.
Article 54. The Customs Office Considering Complaint to a Decision, Action (Inaction) of Customs office or its Officer
1. A complaint to a decision, action (inaction) of a customs office shall be considered by a superior customs office.
2. A complaint to a decision, action (inaction) of a customs officer shall be considered by the customs office where said officer serves (substitutes a state office), whereas a decision, action (inaction) of the chief of a customs office shall be considered by the superior customs office.
3. A resolution in the name of the customs office with regard to the complaint lodged to a decision, action (inaction) of a customs office or its officer shall be passed by the chief of said customs office or a person authorised by him or her to that effect.
Note: a complaint to a decision, action (inaction) of a customs office or its officer may not be considered by the customs officer responsible for the appealed decision or the action (inaction) or by any his (or her) subordinated officers.
Article 55. Time Limits Allocated for Considering Complaints to a Decision, Action (Inaction) of Customs Office or its Officer
1. The customs authorities shall be obliged to complete the consideration of a complaint to a decision, action (inaction) of a customs office or its officer within one month from the date of its submission to the customs office empowered to consider said complaint.
2. If the customs authorities considering the complaint to a decision, action (inaction) of a customs office or its officer deem it necessary to prolong the time allocated for the adjudication of a given complaint, such prolongation may be authorised by the chief of said customs office for a maximum of one month, of which decision the appellant shall be informed in writing with a statement of reasons for said prolongation.
Article 56. Resolution of Customs Authorities with regard to Complaint to a Decision, Action (Inaction) of Customs Office or its Officer
1. The resolution by a customs office with regard to a complaint to a decision, action (inaction) of a customs office or its officer shall be passed in writing in accordance with the form established by the Federal Customs Authority. Such resolution should contain the following details:
- the name of the customs office responsible for considering the complaint;
- the position, the surname and the initials of the customs officer responsible for passing a resolution with regard to said complaint;
- the surname and the initials of a natural person or name of the juridical person that filed said complaint;
- the essence of the complaint;
- the resolution passed with regard to said complaint;
- rationale for the passed resolution;
- information on the appeal procedures with regard to said resolution.
2. Based on the results of the consideration of a complaint to a decision, action (inaction) of a customs office or its officer, the customs office shall:
(1) acknowledge lawfulness of the decision, action (inaction) of the customs office or the customs officer concerned and refuse to satisfy the complaint;
(2) acknowledge unlawfulness of the decision, action (inaction) of the customs office or the customs officer concerned, partially or completely, and resolve to satisfy the complaint partially or completely.
3. In the event of satisfying a complaint to a decision, action (inaction) of a customs office or its officer, partially or completely, the customs authorities shall:
- rescind the decision made by the customs office or its officer partially or completely;
- rescind the decision made by the customs office or its officer obliging said customs office of the officer concerned to make a new decision in accordance with Russian law, or shall make such a decision independently provided said decision is in the competence of the customs authorities considering the complaint;
- acknowledge the unlawfulness of the action (inaction) by the customs office or its customs officer and determine the measures which need to be taken with a view to eliminating said violations, or take the requisite measures independently provided the implementation of such measures are in the competence of the customs authorities considering the complaint.
4. The measures predicated by the resolution passed by the customs authorities with regard to a complaint to a decision, action (inaction) of a customs office or its officer ought to be carried out by the customs office, whose or whose officers’ decision, action (inaction) was found unlawful within 10 days from the date of delivery of the resolution with regard to said complaint to the customs office concerned unless the resolution specifies different terms of its fulfilment.
5. In case the customs officer responsible for considering a complaint to a decision, action (inaction) of a customs office or an officer acting on behalf of said customs office finds evidence that the customs officer concerned has been deliberately shirking or improperly fulfilling his (or her) duties, the investigating officer shall be obliged to take measures for disciplining said officer in accordance with the established procedures.
6. A copy of the resolution passed with regard to the complaint to a decision, action (inaction) of a customs office or its officer shall be forwarded to the appellant within the time terms stipulated by Article 55 of this Customs Code.
7. The resolution passed by the customs authorities with regard to the complaint to a decision, action (inaction) of a customs office or its officer may be appealed at the superior customs office or in the court of justice or arbitration tribunal.
Article 57. Simplified Complaint Procedures with regard to a Decision, Action (Inaction) of Customs Office or its Officer
1. Subject to the simplified complaint procedures may be a decision, action (inaction) of a customs officer posted in the customs office or at a customs border gate related to the conveyance across the customs border of goods the overall value of which does not exceed 1.5 million roubles or one motor vehicle.
2. A simplified complaint procedure with regard to a decision, action (inaction) of a customs officer is defined as a verbal complaint made by an appellant to a customs officer holding a superior position, respectively; in the customs office or at a customs border gate; in case a complaint is made to a decision, action (inaction) of the chief of a customs border gate, the complainant ought to address it to the chief of the customs office responsible for the operation of said border gate.
3. A complaint to a decision, action (inaction) of a customs officer made in accordance with the simplified procedure should be addressed at once with a resolution thereto passed without delay.
4. Upon the request of a person who has made a complaint in accordance with the simplified procedure the customs officer considering said complaint draws up a complaint report (act) with regard to the complaint investigation according to the simplified procedure, which act should contain information on the customs officer who is addressing the complaint, the complainant, a brief description of the complaint, and the resolution passed thereto. In case of a refusal to address the complaint at a decision, action (inaction) of a customs officer in accordance with the simplified procedure, the act should contain the reasons for such a refusal.
The form of the complaint report (act) shall be determined by the Federal Customs Authority. The complaint report to a decision, action (inaction) of a customs officer made in accordance with the simplified procedure shall be signed by the customs officer who has addressed said complaint and by the complainant. A copy of the complaint report shall be handed to the complainant.
5. Consideration of a complaint to a decision, action (inaction) of a customs officer in accordance with the simplified procedure and a resolution passed thereto shall not be regarded as an obstruction for filing a formal complaint to a decision, action (inaction) of a customs officer in accordance with the generally established order.
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