The work has been carried out on the instructions of the chairman of Pridnestrovie's State Customs Committee (SCC). As a result, the cooperation of individual businessmen and customs authorities when clearing commercial batches has been simplified and enhanced.
The SCC press service notes that the optimisation of customs procedures for individual businessmen is of current importance, regarding difficult economic situation when the government has to give its firm support to this business sector. Besides, the analysis has shown the existing procedure of declaring commercial batches imported by individuals presents certain difficulties for businessmen (including extra time costs).
The crux of the revision consists in waiving the criterion of gross vehicle mass (2,700 kg) when determining the location of declaration of goods for individual entrepreneurs (border checkpoints or inland customs houses). This measure will enable the majority of conscientious individual businessmen (regardless of vehicle category) to pass customs clearance at customs checkpoints.
Secondly, cargoes to be declared and cleared are sent to an inland customs office on the basis of a fixed list of goods designed for manufacturing and commercial activity. It includes goods which are difficult to classify, identify, precisely quantity and whose customs value is hard to determine.
In compliance with new regulations the most part of goods on this list (coffee, confectionery, perfumery, soap, shoe creams, hygiene products, clothes, footwear, textile goods, dishware, kitchen appliances, hand tools, toys, games, sports equipment) are to be taken to inland customs houses only if they are transported by lorries.
In the event a commercial batch is transported by an individual in a regular bus or a car (not transformed into truck), it can be declared in a simplified order at a customs checkpoint using the Customs declaration form.
The goods on the list which are to be taken to inland customs houses (regardless of a vehicle category used for transportation) include motor vehicle parts, monothread (with cross-section dimension of more than 1 mm), bars, rods and shaped plastic sections with processed and non-processed surface only.
The SCC also recalls that goods transported by individuals for industrial, manufacturing and commercial purposes are subject to obligatory customs clearance at an inland customs house in compliance with the individual list (still valid and including, for example, ore, slag, ash, raw hides, precious metals, central heating boilers, gas generators, equipment for wine-making, pharmaceutical products and others).
When such goods are taken to inland customs houses with vehicle cargo areas being sealed, customs escort is not imposed. However, this regulation is excluded in cases where customs value of goods designed for manufacturing and commercial purposes exceeds the equivalent of $10,000. The new regulations come into effect on 1 May 2015.
