_ Nadezhda Tynnikova, employee of the Eurasian sector of the Center for Computer Science and Mathematics of the National Research University Higher School of Economics. Moscow, November 10, 2017

The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU, Union) is an international organization for regional economic integration, within which the task is set to create a full-fledged economic union without exceptions and restrictions. The integration association passed the stage of a free trade zone, creating a full-format Customs Union in 2010. Then, in 2012, agreements were signed that formed the basis of the Common Economic Space, and on this basis a decision was made to create a full-fledged economic union. The EAEU includes 5 member states: Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan.

Main legal document The EAEU is the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU Treaty).

Section VIII of the Treaty on the EAEU provides for unified customs regulation in accordance with the Customs Code of the Customs Union (CU CU), as well as other international treaties and acts. The Customs Code is a codified legal act that defines the rules for interaction between authorities in the field of customs circulation within the Union. TC TC provides simplification and acceleration of procedures customs declaration and supplies of goods within the Union.

At the end of 2016, the heads of the EAEU member states tried to adopt new option The Customs Code, the development and approval of which took about three years. The Customs Code of the EAEU (TC EAEU) will replace the Customs Code of the Customs Union, which was adopted in 2009. The new document provides for the transition to unified customs regulation within the Eurasian Economic Union. The new Customs Code will come into force on January 1, 2018.

The new Customs Code of the EAEU contains 83 more articles than the Customs Code of the Customs Union. Also, it is worth noting that the CU TC was divided into parts: a general part and a special part; in the new code there is no such division, but there are 4 appendices.

The EAEU Customs Code provides for a number of changes: simplification of customs operations; introduction electronic document management; priority of electronic customs declaration - declaration on paper will be allowed in exceptional cases; new approach to regulation of the status of an authorized economic operator. Key innovations of the EAEU Customs Code can be seen in Figure 1.

Fig.1. Innovations of the EAEU Labor Code

The authorities and business, which took an active part in its development, have high hopes for the adoption of the new Customs Code of the EAEU. It is expected that the application of the best international practices, excluding the impact of the “human factor”, will significantly enhance the activities of related external markets enterprises.

The main innovation of the code is a significant simplification of customs procedures and their translation into electronic view in order to exclude the influence of the human factor. The changes that the new Labor Code will bring with it come down to three main points: the priority of electronic technologies, refusal to provide supporting documents and automatic release of goods. In the new code, electronic technologies cover the entire process from the receipt of a product to its release into the market for sale. Currently, basic customs procedures are completed on paper, and electronic processes duplicate traditional paper workflow. After the introduction of the new Customs Code, everything will be the other way around: basic customs procedures will be carried out electronically, and paper will duplicate them.

Another innovation is the increase in the status of an authorized economic operator (AEO). It can be obtained by organizations that meet certain criteria and enjoy the trust of customs authorities. Such companies are given the opportunity to benefit from simplified customs procedures, including the possibility of releasing goods before submitting customs declaration, preliminary customs declaration, filing an incomplete, periodic declaration, performing customs operations with goods that are in the warehouse. The new code views authorized operators not as potential violators, but as partners of the state who conduct transparent business and therefore do not require close attention from regulatory authorities. As a result, customs officers will be able not to divert resources to work with law-abiding organizations, but focus on real violators.

Traditionally, in the customs territory of the Customs Union, the authorized economic operator had only one type of certificate and 4 simplifications, the EAEU Customs Code offers participants foreign economic activity 4 types of certificates and up to 13 simplifications, inclusive, depending on the type of certificate. Also, if in the CU CU the status of an authorized economic operator was recognized only on the territory of one member state of the Union, then after the EAEU Labor Code enters into legal force, the status of an authorized economic operator will be recognized throughout the entire territory of the Union.

In general, customs regulation will now mainly be carried out at the supranational level, while mainly technical issues will remain at the national level. Thus, at the union level, the structure of customs authorities and a number of technological elements of their internal functioning, which relate to national prerogatives, will not be regulated.

In accordance with the Customs Code of the Customs Union, the release of goods is carried out by an official of the customs authority, but the new EAEU Labor Code states that the release of goods is carried out using the information system of the customs authority. The old and new codes differ significantly in matters of persons entitled to special simplifications. Thus, the Customs Code of the Customs Union names only one participant in foreign economic activity - the declarant; the EAEU Labor Code expands this list and includes not only the declarant, but also the carrier, customs representative, forwarder and owners of temporary storage warehouses (TSW).

In conclusion, I would like to note that the new EAEU Customs Code provides certain advantages not only to customs authorities, but also to business. Legally, the EAEU Labor Code stipulates the following:

• expansion of the list of persons (importer, exporter, carrier, forwarder, customs representative, temporary storage warehouse owner);
• division by type of AEO certificate;
• expanded list of special simplifications;
• application of simplifications throughout the EAEU;
• ordering internal control, which minimizes the risks of violations.

Thus, the innovative nature of the EAEU Customs Code, which significantly simplifies and speeds up customs operations, allows us to hope that its introduction will lead to an increase in trade volumes and will become a tool for the development of the union economies. And the transfer of most customs powers to the union level will contribute to the further deepening of Eurasian integration and its qualitative development.

The successful functioning and sustainability of the EAEU as an integration association will help member states take their place and defend their interests in the global economic system.

The Customs Code of the Eurasian Economic Union came into force in January of this year. In this article we will tell you what has changed in the code, what clarifications have been made to it and whether this simplifies the passage customs control.

On January 1, 2018, the Treaty on the Customs Code of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU Customs Code) dated April 11, 2017 came into force.

Prior to this, all five countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (Russian Federation, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Kyrgyzstan) ratified the Treaty on the EAEU Customs Code and sent notifications to the Eurasian Economic Commission about the implementation of domestic procedures necessary for the entry into force of the international treaty.

Simultaneously with the entry into force of the Treaty on the Customs Code of the Eurasian Economic Union dated April 11, 2017, the Treaty on the Customs Code of the Customs Union dated November 27, 2009, as well as a number of international agreements regulating customs legal relations and concluded at the stage of the Customs Union, ceased to apply.

The EAEU Customs Code replaced the Customs Code of the Customs Union (CU CU), adopted in 2009, which at the time of signing included Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus. The main disadvantages of the old Customs Code of the Customs Union were that, firstly, most of the powers of customs authorities were transferred to the national level, and this gave rise to differences in the conduct of customs procedures and mechanisms for collecting payments; and secondly, in addition to the Customs Code of the Customs Union itself, more than 20 international agreements were in force within the EAEU, the provisions of which sometimes contained a number of contradictions. Therefore, the development of a new code and its signing should serve to solve pressing problems and simplify customs procedures on the territory of the EAEU. Let's look at the main innovations and differences between the codes.

The new customs code has become more voluminous

The new Customs Code has become significantly larger - almost three times. Also, the new code includes 61 chapters instead of 50 in the old code. This happened because most of the international agreements between the EAEU member countries existing on the date of entry into force of the EAEU Labor Code found their place in the new code. Unlike the old one, the new code is not divided into general and special parts. Also, the new code has 9 sections (instead of 8 in the old code). The last section is devoted to transitional provisions that indicate how to act if, at the time of entry into force of the EAEU Labor Code, additional decisions of the Eurasian Economic Commission have not yet come into force.

Specific deadlines and forms for preliminary informing customs about the arrival of goods have been established.

In order for customs authorities to receive information about goods planned for movement across the customs border of the Union, to assess risks and make preliminary decisions on the selection of objects, forms of customs control and measures to ensure customs control, before the arrival of goods on the customs territory of the Union, the new code provides for mandatory presentation of preliminary information about arriving goods on all types of transport. Unlike the old code, the EAEU Customs Code establishes a specific deadline for submitting preliminary information, that is, no less than two hours before the movement of goods across the customs border of the EAEU.

Preliminary information now has two types:

• information that will be provided mandatory for risk assessment and making preliminary decisions on the selection of objects, forms of customs control and measures to ensure customs control;
• information to speed up customs operations and optimize customs control, which will be provided at the request of the foreign trade participant.

According to the new rules, preliminary information can be presented in the form electronic document using Internet resources, through the interaction of the information system of the customs authority and the information systems of persons submitting preliminary information, and (or) in another way determined by the Commission.

Submission of documents for customs operations through a single window has been established

According to the provisions of the old code, persons determined by the Customs Code of the Customs Union were required to submit to the customs authorities the documents and information necessary for the release of goods.

Now, if information about such documents is necessary for customs authorities to carry out customs operations, then they can obtain it from the information systems of customs authorities, as well as from other information systems of the EAEU states within the framework of information interaction. For this purpose, persons determined by the EAEU Customs Code indicate information about these documents in the customs declaration.

That is, documents for customs operations, when registered, will be submitted once and displayed in the information system of the customs authority of each of the EAEU states. When these documents need to be presented to the customs authorities of another EAEU state, it will be enough to indicate information about them in the customs declaration.

The priority of electronic declaration has been determined

If, according to the old code, customs declaration could be made both in written and (or) electronic forms, then in the EAEU Customs Code, written declaration of goods is possible only in certain cases, namely:

• during the procedure customs transit;
• in relation to goods for personal use;
• in relation to goods sent by international mail;
• in a relationship Vehicle international transportation;
• when using transport (transportation), commercial and (or) other documents as a customs declaration, including those provided for in international treaties of the Member States with a third party, in accordance with paragraph. 2 clause 6 art. 105 Labor Code of the EAEU;
• in other cases determined by the Commission and the legislation of the Member States on customs regulation in cases provided for by the Commission.

Otherwise, only electronic declaration is used.

The EAEU Customs Code provides for the possibility of using a written form of customs declaration even if the customs authority does not have the opportunity to ensure that the declarant carries out the customs declaration in electronic form due to a malfunction of the information systems used by customs authorities caused by technical failures, disruptions in the operation of communications (telecommunication networks and the Internet), and power outages. We would like to note that, according to the provisions of the old code, a technical failure in the customs system was not grounds for filing a declaration in writing. In this regard, the declarant is forced to wait for the technical problems to be resolved, since the Customs Code of the Customs Union was not allowed to submit the same declaration in writing.

Declaration of goods is now carried out without submitting supporting documents

The EAEU Customs Code significantly simplifies the procedure for declaring goods, repealing the rule established by the CU Customs Code that the submission of a customs declaration must be accompanied by the submission to the customs authority of documents on the basis of which the customs declaration is filled out. The new code establishes a rule according to which documents confirming the information declared in the electronic customs declaration are not presented to the customs authority when submitting it.

But nevertheless, documents confirming the information declared in the customs declaration must be with the declarant at the time of filing the customs declaration, except for the cases specified in the code.

Declaration and release of goods is carried out automatically without human intervention

Previously, customs operations, according to the provisions of the Customs Code of the Customs Union, were carried out by officials. That is, to place the goods under customs procedure and only a living person - an official - could release it onto the domestic market or export it or refuse registration. The EAEU Customs Code established the possibility of performing customs operations related to registration of declarations and release of goods, automatic information systems customs authorities.

The time for registering declarations and terms for releasing goods has been reduced

According to the old code, registration of a declaration by the customs authority after submission by the declarant or refusal to register it was carried out within no more than two hours from the moment of its submission. The new code reduces this procedure to one hour of working time.

The production time for goods has also been significantly reduced. According to the old code, the release of goods had to be completed by the customs authority no later than one working day following the day of registration of the customs declaration. The EAEU Labor Code reduces this period by six times. Now the release of goods must be made within four hours from the moment of registration of the customs declaration. However, this rule applies if documents for customs and other types of control were not requested or the declarant applied to the customs authority with a reasoned request to change (add) the information declared in the customs declaration. If any documents are requested, then the release date will be, as in the old code, no later than one day. At the same time, the new code will retain the previous rule that in certain cases the release period can be extended to ten working days.

Changes (additions) to the customs declaration can now be made by the declarant before the release of goods

According to the provisions of the EAEU Customs Code, the condition for making changes to the declaration, if they do not affect the decision on the release of goods or the revision of the amount of customs duties, which was present in the CU Customs Code, is excluded. Instead, it is indicated that the information in the declaration can be changed (added) before the release of goods, if by the time of receipt of the declarant’s application the customs authority has not requested documents and (or) information as part of the verification of documents before the release of goods. Consequently, under the new legislation, the declarant will be able to make changes to the declaration regarding the customs value of goods, provided that the customs authority has not requested documents confirming the declared customs value of the goods.

Deferment of payment of customs duties is granted for a period of no more than one month

General conditions for granting deferment or installment payment customs duties, taxes were established by the Customs Code of the Customs Union, and the grounds, conditions and procedure for changing the deadlines for paying customs duties were determined by an international agreement of the member states of the Customs Union.

The new code introduces provisions on the timing and grounds for granting deferment or installment payment of import customs duties. Deferment of payment of import customs duties with payment of interest for deferment of payment of import customs duties is granted for a period of no more than one month from the day following the day of release of goods in accordance with the customs procedure for release for domestic consumption. In some cases, you can use a deferment of up to six months - in cases of circumstances force majeure, delays to the payer of import customs duties in financing from the federal (republican, state) budget or payment for a government order completed by this person, delivery within the framework of international agreements or support for agricultural activities.

Forms have been changed and customs control measures have been clearly defined

Previously, customs control had 12 types, depending on the form in which it was carried out. Now there are eight forms of customs control:

• receiving explanations;
• verification of customs and other documents and (or) information;
• customs inspection;
• customs inspection;
• personal customs inspection;
• customs inspection of premises and territories;
• customs inspection (desk customs inspection, scheduled on-site customs inspection, unscheduled on-site customs inspection, counter unscheduled on-site customs inspection).

But as a plus to the forms of customs control, measures have appeared to ensure the implementation of customs control, which partly consist of the former forms and methods of customs control. There are exactly thirteen of them named:

1. Conduct an oral survey.
2. Request, demand and receive documents and (or) information necessary for customs control.
3. Appoint a customs examination, take samples and (or) samples of goods.
4. Identify goods, documents, vehicles, premises and other places.
5. Use technical means customs control, other technical means, watercraft and aircraft of customs authorities.
6. Use customs escort.
7. Establish a route for transporting goods.
8. Keep records of goods under customs control and customs operations performed with them.
9. Engage a specialist.
10. Involve specialists and experts from other government bodies.
11. Require cargo and other operations to be carried out.
12. Carry out customs surveillance.
13. Check the availability of a goods accounting system and the maintenance of goods records.

The fourteenth measure is established by the national legislation of the Member States on customs regulation as other measures ensuring customs control.

The new code regulates all 17 customs procedures

The Customs Code of the Customs Union regulated fourteen customs procedures:

1) release for domestic consumption;

2) export;

3) customs transit;

4) customs warehouse;

5) processing in the customs territory;

6) processing outside the customs territory;

7) processing for domestic consumption;

8) temporary import (admission);

9) temporary export;

10) re-import;

11) re-export;

12) duty-free trade;

13) destruction;

14) refusal in favor of the state.

In addition to those mentioned, the old code had other procedures, the operation of which was regulated by separate regulations. Thus, international agreements regulated a free customs zone and a free warehouse, and our national legislation regulated a special customs procedure in which certain categories of goods were imported or exported from the territory of Russia without paying customs duties, taxes and without applying prohibitions and restrictions.

The new code now contains and regulates all 17 customs procedures. The content of the section devoted to customs procedures has also significantly increased, and it now has 18 chapters.

The new EAEU Labor Code clarifies which goods this procedure applies to: Union goods or foreign goods. The Code specifies the procedures by which each customs procedure can be completed or suspended.

All customs procedures have the same structure in the code:

Conditions for placing goods under customs procedures;

Conditions for the use of goods in accordance with each customs procedure. Cases of suspension, renewal, termination and termination of customs procedures are separated.

In addition to the fact that the procedures themselves have become more detailed, innovations have appeared in them.

Thus, for goods imported under the temporary import procedure, the list of cases when the use of such goods without permission from customs authorities has been expanded. Previously, it was possible to transfer temporarily imported goods into the possession and use of another person for repair, maintenance, or with the permission of the customs authority. Now it is allowed for the declarant to transfer temporarily imported reusable containers into the possession and use of other persons without the permission of the customs authority; temporarily imported goods for the purpose of their Maintenance, repair (except for major repairs, modernization), storage, transportation (transportation); temporarily imported goods for the purpose of testing, research, testing, inspection, experiments or experiments; temporarily imported goods for other purposes in cases determined by the Commission and (or) provided for by international treaties of the Member States with a third party. There is also a condition that in other cases, the transfer by the declarant of temporarily imported goods into the possession and use of other persons is permitted with the permission of the customs authority or in cases, procedures and terms determined by the Commission, after notification of the customs authority.

The rule according to which temporarily imported goods with full conditional exemption from customs duties and taxes are used only within the territory of the Union state where these goods are placed under the customs procedure of temporary import has been abolished.

The provisions for the activities of persons in the field of customs have been systematized

The new code devotes an entire section to activities in the field of customs. Each type of activity is given a separate chapter:

Chapter 54. General provisions on activities in the field of customs affairs.

Chapter 55. Customs representative.

Chapter 56. Customs carrier.

Chapter 57. Owner of a temporary storage warehouse.

Chapter 58. Owner of a customs warehouse.

Chapter 59. Owner of a free warehouse.

Chapter 60. Duty Free Shop Owner.

Chapter 61. Authorized economic operator.

These chapters provide in-depth rules regarding general provisions on the activities of persons in the field of customs affairs. At the same time, the list is already existing species activity we added the type of activity “Owner of a free warehouse”. Previously, it was regulated by a separate agreement between countries.

Customs control procedures for AEOs have been significantly simplified

According to the EAEU Labor Code, an authorized economic operator (AEO) is entity of a member state of the EAEU, recognized by the customs authority as an authorized economic operator and included in the register of authorized economic operators. As we see, the status can only be obtained by a legal entity of a member state of the EAEU; previously, the company could be a non-resident.

The essence of creating the AEO institution is to provide a certain category of persons who enjoy the trust of customs authorities with the opportunity to use special simplifications: to carry out temporary storage, as well as customs operations related to the release of goods in their premises, in open areas and other territories; release of goods before filing a customs declaration and other special simplifications.

Additional privileges of an AEO include the following provisions:

- The higher the type of AEO certificate, the greater the simplification of control procedures.

Features of individual customs operations and customs control depend on the type of certificate of the authorized economic operator. Each certificate has a different list of special simplifications for AEO activities. A certificate of the first type provides nine advantages, a certificate of the second type - ten, a certificate of the third type entitles the AEO to use special simplifications provided for certificates of the first and second types.

- The presence of a certificate confirms the low level of risk and simplifies customs control.

The possibility of deferred determination of customs value is provided.

Shortened deadlines have been set customs clearance. Thus, in particular, it is possible to release goods within 4 hours from the moment of registration of the customs declaration.

At the same time, we note that according to the draft decision of the Council of the Eurasian Economic Commission "", the following limits are expected to be established in relation to goods for personal use, for example, sent by international mail to the customs territory of the EAEU.

As follows from , in 2018, goods whose value does not exceed the equivalent of 1,000 euros and (or) the gross weight of international postal items does not exceed 31 kg within 1 year will not be subject to duty. calendar month to one individual. In 2019, the cost threshold for duty-free import is planned to be reduced to 500 euros. If these values ​​are exceeded, you will have to pay a customs duty of 30% of the cost, but not less than 4 euros per 1 kg of weight in terms of excess of cost and (or) weight standards. And starting from 2020, the duty will have to be paid if the cost of international postal item exceeds the equivalent of 200 euros and/or its gross weight exceeds 31 kg. Please note: we will now be talking about each international postal item, and not about the total cost (weight) of such items per month. The duty will be 15% of the cost, but not less than 2 euros per 1 kg of gross weight of an international postal item in terms of excess of cost and (or) weight standards.

Agreement on the Customs Code of the Eurasian Economic Union (EurAsEC). In other words, the document now has legal force. It will come into force after receipt of notifications of ratification by other EurAsEC participants (Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia). This is expected to happen in early January 2018, reports MIR 24 correspondent Maxim Dragnev.

All customs points will now operate according to the same rules - this applies to both payments and interaction with government agencies. Residents of the EurAsEC countries will certainly feel the changes themselves - they will go through customs faster. The delivery of goods and cargo will also speed up.

The agreement provides for the transfer of all customs procedures to electronic format and electronic declaration. According to the developers, this will eliminate the human factor.

“The new customs code contains a number of innovations, including those related to the simplification of customs procedures. Maximum transfer of customs operations into electronic form, use of a one-window mechanism when working with documents, reduction of time limits for the release of goods, provision of deferments in the payment of customs duties, and others,” said Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Budget and Financial Markets Mukharbiy Ulbashev.

The document was ratified unanimously. The only question that arose regarding the initiative was how the EurAsEC would combat attempts to import some prohibited goods through third countries. Deputy Head of the Ministry of Finance Ilya Trunin assured that the integration association has the appropriate tools.

On January 1, 2018, the Customs Code of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) comes into force. The adoption of the document was repeatedly postponed due to coordination of the positions of the member countries of the association. Chairman of the Association of Customs Representatives of Belarus Sergei Borisyuk told Eurasia.Expert about what will change after the Code comes into force and about the participation of the business community in its preparation.

- Sergey Valerievich, what functions does the Association of Customs Representatives of Belarus perform?

The Association of Customs Representatives of the Republic of Belarus was founded in 2011 in order to promote the consolidation of participants in foreign economic activity, including those providing services in the field of customs.

One of priority tasks The Association is responsible for protecting, coordinating and representing the professional interests of the business community in customs and other government agencies of the Republic of Belarus, as well as foreign, international government and public organizations.

Today we can say with complete confidence that the Association is an institution capable of providing the necessary support to its participants, both in matters of analysis problem situations issues arising in their activities, and offering optimal solutions, as well as in matters of providing free expert legal assistance on the application of customs legislation.

Chairman of the Association of Customs Representatives of Belarus Sergei Borisyuk.

- What questions do your participants usually have?

Among the most significant issues received by the Association, which required not only a detailed analysis of the legislation, but also assistance in preparing documents for appeal to various authorities, one can highlight issues related to insurance of the activities of customs representatives, declaration of goods when they are placed under the customs procedure of customs transit , as well as those relating to the joint responsibility of customs representatives when identifying facts of violation of customs legislation after the release of goods.

Considering that the Association’s Expert Club includes practitioners who have worked in the customs authorities of Belarus for a long period, including more than 20 years, as well as experts from other EAEU member states, you can be confident in the quality of the consideration of emerging issues.

- Who can join the Association, are there any requirements for participants in foreign economic activity?

The Association has a wide scope of activities and currently unites participants, including the largest transport and logistics companies in the country, authorized economic operators, customs representatives, owners of temporary storage warehouses, customs warehouses, customs carriers, as well as companies carrying out other activities related to the organization , representation and support of business in the customs field. There are no special requirements for participants in foreign economic activity; we are open to cooperation.

- From January 1, 2018, the new Customs Code of the EAEU will come into force. How was the code prepared? What difficulties did those who took part in its creation face?

the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan and Russian Federation in 2010, the first stage of the formation of the Customs Union was completed, the cornerstone of which was the Customs Code of the Customs Union.

The transition to a higher level of integration required the creation of a new global document providing for the optimization of customs operations and further liberalization customs rules and codification of international agreements separately operating within the Union.

Work on amendments to the Customs Code of the Customs Union, and then the development of a draft Customs Code of the Eurasian Economic Union, took several years. The number of EAEU member countries increased, opinions varied, and previously agreed upon approaches were repeatedly revised.

Work on the preparation of the Code was carried out by the Working Group on Improving Customs Legislation at the site of the Eurasian Economic Commission, which included representatives of the EEC, government bodies of the member states and the business community of the Union.

Representatives of the Association took an active part in the development of the EAEU Customs Code and various acts regulating customs legal relations at the supranational level.

- What are the most important changes, in your opinion, will the new code bring?

- Optimization of the mechanism for carrying out customs operations due to their informatization and automation, the use of the “single window” mechanism, shifting the emphasis of control to the stage after the release of goods, the possibility of applying the notification principle in the “business-customs” relationship, as well as a number of other innovations of the Code have been voiced more than once .

But how effective their application will be is difficult to answer, because the work to bring both the Union Acts and national legislations designed to ensure the implementation of these norms into compliance with the Code has not yet been completed.

By the way, in the text of the EAEU Customs Code, mention of national legislation appears about 1000 times! Also, one should not forget about law enforcement practice, which may differ in two customs offices, not to mention customs services member states of the Union.

In my opinion, in a state where, by analogy with the practice of the Eurasian Economic Commission, business representatives take part in the development of acts at the national level, a high-quality document will be prepared that meets the interests of the state and business. At the same time, the participation of representatives of the business community is mandatory, both when discussing the concept and when preparing the regulatory legal act itself.

If we talk about the practical advantages of the Code for business, it is a real reduction in the time required to complete certain customs operations.

For example, according to the current version of the Code, the release of goods must be completed no later than 1 business day following the day of registration of the declaration for goods. That is, essentially, 2 days. The new Code stipulates that the release of goods must be completed within 4 hours from the moment of registration of the customs declaration.

It is clear that these deadlines may be extended. But the list of extension cases is strictly limited.

- What changes should authorized economic operators expect?

The activities of the authorized economic operator (AEO) will undergo major changes.

The first innovation is the issuance of certificates of inclusion in the register of authorized economic operators of three types. Depending on the type of AEO certificate, the conditions for inclusion in the AEO register differ, and a different set of special simplifications is provided.

Secondly, 12 conditions for inclusion in the AEO register have been defined. Moreover, each type of certificate will have its own specific list of such conditions.

And thirdly, the main thing for business, for the sake of which it was all done. Now, according to the current Customs Code of the Customs Union, AEOs have only 4 simplifications. This is the temporary storage of goods in the territories of the AEO, the release of goods before filing a customs declaration, the conduct of customs operations related to the release of goods in the territories of the AEO, and other simplifications determined by the customs legislation of the Union. In the new Code, the list of simplifications provided by AEOs has been expanded to 17 special simplifications, which are arranged by type of certificate and relate to customs operations.

It should be noted that the simplifications laid down in the Code for Belarusian business are not new. In general, they differ slightly from those currently used in Belarus.

Another important point is that the conditions for obtaining AEO status in the EAEU are maximally harmonized with the conditions for obtaining such status in the states that are part of the EU. This circumstance allows us to hope for the appearance in the near future of documents defining the basis for mutual recognition of authorized economic operators by the customs administrations of the EU and EAEU countries. The benefits are obvious.

- If issues arise that are not regulated by the EAEU Customs Code, how will such issues be resolved?

Legislation cannot be so perfect that its application will always be problem-free. It regulates social relations, which are constantly changing under the influence of economics, politics, technical progress. But this does not mean at all that the problems that arise when applying legal norms are insoluble.

The Code contains provisions stipulating that if there are issues not regulated by the customs legislation of the Union, they are regulated at the level of national legislation.

In addition, questions regarding tax legislation, administrative and criminal liability, legal proceedings, appeals against actions and inactions of officials are regulated only by national legislation.

Also, member states of the Union are given the right to optimize the conditions for carrying out customs operations. For example, the terms of customs operations provided for by the Customs Code of the EAEU may be reduced, additional conditions in a number of customs operations or various technological aspects in the activities of customs authorities are identified.

- How does business interact with customs authorities during rule-making activities?

Representatives of the business community take part in the work on draft regulatory legal acts only at the stage of their approval. At the same time, I would like to note that the time allotted for the approval of projects is not sufficient to form a high-quality position of the business community. Such a position must be consolidated, that is, agreed upon with all participants of the Association and justified. In general, this work requires at least 2 weeks. In practice, this period is much shorter.

Serious and global documents require careful study and analysis, as well as the participation of representatives of the business community throughout the entire process of working on a regulatory legal act. The sooner this work begins, the better a position can be formed that takes into account the interests of business and the state.

Practitioners, like no one else, understand what exactly needs to be changed in existing regulations to eliminate existing barriers and improve business efficiency. That is why, in order to optimize the interaction of Belarusian business circles in the customs field, a Committee on Legal Relations in the Field of Customs was created within the Union of Non-Profit Organizations “Confederation of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (Employers)”.

Only by improving cooperation between government agencies and the business community can achieve a constructive dialogue, eliminate conflicts and gaps in legislation as much as possible, and bring law enforcement practice closer to international standards.

Interviewed by Yulia Ruleva