Transportations are the union's; Responsibility is national
15.03.2010 (14:02)
How will the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan change the international rail transport? Is the interaction mechanism balanced well enough in this sector today? Vsevolod Titov, Deputy Director of RZD's Customs Centre, shares his opinion on these matters.
- Vsevolod Anatolievich, what are the expectations of RZD as a main participant in the foreign economic activity in connection with the creation of the Customs Union?
- First of all, the expectations are that there will be easier conditions for cargoes to cross internal borders between the Customs Union member states. After the Customs Code of the Customs Union (TK TS) comes into force on July 1st, control authorities (except border guards) will gradually finish their activities. It will facilitate border crossing by cargoes and passengers and make the delivery of goods to the countries of Central and South-East Asia faster.
Regarding the formation of the Union regulatory documentation, it is particularly important to simplify the procedure of customs clearance and customs control of cargoes transported in containers by rail. We say that container trains are such kind of international trains, which are not handled at the marshalling yards, and which never idle on routes waiting for more cargo. They provide extra safety for cargoes and the shortest delivery time.
It should be noted that RZD, together with Russia's state agencies, are constantly working to improve the order of customs clearance and customs control of goods transported in containers by rail. Thus, after Russia's FCS had few workshops with RZD's experts, it developed and submitted a joint Order for approval in the Transport Ministry of Russia. The draft document is titled "On Approval of Instruction on the Peculiarities of Customs Clearance and Customs Control of Cargoes Transported in Containers by Rail on the Territory of The Russian Federation". Signing of this order will allow railways and customs authorities to resolve few problematic issues and to increase container traffic. Work is also continuing to simplify customs clearance of Russian containers temporary exported from the customs territory of The Russian Federation.
- What risks may appear (or have already appeared) since the Union started its practical activities?
- Time for train handling or cargo delivery to the consignee will not be reduced if other than customs control is staying on railway crossings within the inner border of the Customs Union.
Customs Code of the Customs Union (TK TS) states that national rail carriers will have to follow the requirements established by the legislators from the union member states, which may be disadvantageous for them in such areas as temporary exportation of containers, conditions to open temporary storage warehouses (WTS) or to obtain permission for opening customs control zones, etc.
National rail carriers fulfil their functions in their states, and their actions are subject to their national transport, civil and administrative legislation. Article 224 of the TK TS states that the shortage of goods or the attached to them documents for the destination customs offices makes carriers liable under the laws of those union member states, whose customs authorities placed the cargo in the customs transit procedure. Thus, there is a risk for Russia's rail carriers to be liable according to the customs rules of the Republic of Belarus' or Kazakhstan's administrative legislation.
This raises a number of questions. For example, how will the national administrative law be applied regarding those who are not Customs Union's residents, but doing their business and breaking laws in another state? What will be the basis in national laws and regulations to bring such entities to responsibility? What is the procedure to bring a carrier to justice, and what is the procedure to appeal against the actions of customs authorities? So far, such a procedure has not been developed.
- Is RZD participating in discussions about the regulatory changes for the establishment of the common customs area?
- RZD's experts have participated in meetings in the FCS of Russia and the Ministry of Economic Development, devoted to the improvements in TK TS. However, it is not enough to have only this participation. A number of policy positions are still to be agreed. Moreover, according to the last paragraph of Section 3, Article 215 of the TK TS, the rules for customs transit of the goods transported by rail on the customs territory of the Union, are determined by the International Treaty of the Union member states. This document is now in the development stage.
- The mechanism of interaction between railways, border guards, customs and other services at the border stations has been established many years ago. How is it going to change when a single customs area is created?
- A single customs area will bring to the situation when regulatory organisations (except border guards) will be withdrawn from the Union's internal borders. It means that customs clearance procedures with transits and customs control of goods moving in the territory of the Union will be fulfilled at entry points located at its external borders. Thus, interaction with regulatory authorities on railway crossings at the external borders of Kazakhstan and Belarus will be implemented by national rail carriers. In this case, it is necessary to establish a constructive interaction between the railways of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus.
The 11th meeting of the Coordination Commission for the formation and operation of the integrated transport system of the Union, which took place on December 15th, 2009, in Moscow, considered the RZD's proposal on cooperation of railways in the Customs Union. This initiative was supported by the Commission, and the work on its implementation is currently in progress. For example, this year a question of interaction between railways of Russia and Belarus on providing customs services was discussed during the visit of RZD's delegation to Belarusian Railways on February 16-18.
Interviewed by Inga Dmitrieva
You can read the full interview in the RZD-Partner ¹ 6
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