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19.08.2016

Plans to sign draft agreement on EEU Customs Code in December

MINSK (BelTA) – A draft agreement on the Customs Code of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) is expected to be signed at a session of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in December this year, the press service of Belarus' State Customs Committee said.

The draft agreement on the EEU Customs Code was submitted for domestic legal procedures in the EEU member states in August. The governments of the member states were instructed to ensure that the domestic harmonization of the draft agreement should be complete by 20 September as the document is scheduled for signing at a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in December 2016.

Unlike the current customs legislation, the draft Customs Code is a comprehensive, codified international treaty. When working on the draft, the experts reviewed the international treaties governing customs matters, considered the existing procedures and methods of performing customs operations, and changed the approaches to the use of information technology in customs operations. “We can say that the draft Customs Code of the Eurasian Economic Union is fully based on electronic document circulation in customs matters: electronic declaration, automated registration of a customs declaration, automatic release of goods, and application of an one-stop shop principle,” the press service noted.

A separate chapter in the draft Customs Code is dedicated to the institute of authorized economic operators. Establishing this institute in the EEU member states will cardinally change the relationship between the customs authorities and representatives of the business communities who will receive this status.

The draft agreement clarifies the terms of reference of the Eurasian Economic Commission in matters of customs regulation, which was necessary in view of the entry into force of the Eurasian Economic Union Treaty. The draft expands the terms of reference of the Commission as compared to the powers it has under the current Customs Code of the Customs Union. This will help ensure flexible customs regulation in the Eurasian Economic Union.