Chapter 10. DOMESTIC CUSTOMS TRANSIT
Article 79. Domestic Customs Transit
1. Domestic customs transit constitutes a customs procedure whereby foreign goods are transported inside the customs territory of the Russian Federation exempt from customs duties and taxes and free from any economic restrictions of prohibitions stipulated by the Federal Law of the Russian Federation on the State Regulation of Foreign Trade Activities.
2. Domestic customs transit shall apply to the instances of haulage of merchandise from the place of its entry to the place of location of the customs office of its destination (Article 92), from the place where the imported merchandise was declared to the customs authorities to the place of its exportation from the customs territory of the Russian Federation; during its transit between temporary-storage warehouses, bonded warehouses, as well as in other cases when merchandise transits through the customs territory of the Russian Federation without guarantees of payment of customs duties and taxes.
2. The merchandise unloading and transhipment areas constitute a customs control zone. Such areas should be set up and equipped so as to ensure safety of merchandise and preclude any access to them of the persons who are not involved in the cargo-handling operations.
3. The provisions of this Chapter shall not apply to the goods transported by air provided the aircraft carrying them during its regular international flight performs an intermediate or emergency (technical) landing without unloading of any portions goods or to the commodities transported through pipelines or electric power lines.
4. Transportation of goods and commodities in accordance with the provisions of the domestic customs transit procedure may be effected by any carrier including a customs carrier.
Article 80. Permission for Domestic Customs Transit
1. Domestic customs transit requires written permission issued by the customs office in whose region haulage of merchandise stipulated by the domestic customs transit procedures is initiated (customs point of departure).
2. The permission for the domestic customs transit is issued:
- to the carrier;
- the forwarder provided the latter is a Russian person,
- to the persons specified in Item 6 herein.
3. The permission for domestic customs transit shall be issued provided the following preconditions are observed:
(1) the goods are not prohibited for importation to the customs territory of the Russian Federation by law of the Russian Federation ;
(2) the imported goods have been subjected to border control and other kinds of state control at the point of their entry if said goods are liable for such control in accordance with law of the Russian Federation at the point of their entry;
(3) the goods have all requisite permits and/or licenses if their transit through the customs territory of the Russian Federation is only permitted when said permits and/or licenses are available;
(4) the goods have been recorded in respective transit declaration (Article 81) and thereby declared to the customs authorities;
(5) the goods are properly identified (Article 83);
(6) the means of transport are properly equipped for the goods to be transported with requisite seals and stamps affixed (Article 86);
(7) all requisite measures required by the customs legislation of the Russian Federation have been observed.
4. The permission for domestic customs transit shall be issued following presentation of goods to the customs point of departure without any delay as soon as said customs office has verified the observance of all the preconditions stipulated by Item 3 herein, but not later than in three days from the date when the transit declaration was accepted (Article 81). The transit declaration shall be accepted by customs authorities on the date of its submission provided it meets all the laid requirements.
Upon the issuance of the permission for transit, the customs point of departure shall establish the time terms for the domestic customs transit (Article 82) and designate the place of the goods destination (Article 85).
5. The Federal Customs Authority has the right to make decisions denying domestic customs transit to the carrier or forwarder responsible for repeated violations of his (or her) obligations predicated on haulage of goods subject to the domestic customs transit procedure which facts have been established by the effective resolutions on administrative penalties applied to the cases of administrative offences in the field of the customs system if at least one of such penalties has not been executed, or in case said carrier or forwarder has not fulfilled his (or her) obligations with regard to disbursement of customs duties and taxes as per Article 90 of this Customs Code. Such a resolution shall be rescinded within five days following the payment of an administrative fine, as well as the customs duties and taxes as per Article 90 of this Customs Code of which fact the carrier or forwarder concerned shall be notified in writing within the established time terms.
6. In the process of haulage of goods subject to domestic customs transit to the place of their destination (Article 85), which is not a location of a customs office, a permission to the domestic transit shall only be issued to a person who will be responsible for the storage of and other operations with goods at the place of their destination in accordance with the provisions of this Customs Code. In this case, said person shall fulfil the duties and bear the responsibilities of a forwarder, as is specified in this Chapter, with consideration of the provisions stipulated by Item 5 in Article 92 of this Customs Code.
7. In case the permission for the domestic customs transit cannot be issued due to non-observance of the provisions stipulated by Items 1 through 3 herein, the customs authorities have the right to permit delivery of said goods to the temporary storage warehouse or to other places constituting customs control zones provided the goods are hauled in a means of transport in attendance of a customs escort.
Note:
1. For the purpose of application of this Article of the Customs Code, a means of transport shall be defined as a transport vehicle used for hauling merchandise within the customs territory of the Russian Federation.
2. For the purpose of application of this Article of the Customs Code, a forwarder shall be defined as a person acting pursuant to his (or her) contract with a forwarding company in accordance with civil law of the Russian Federation.
Article 81. Transit Declaration
1. The customs authorities shall accept as a customs declaration any commercial, shipment documents, waybills, and/or customs documents containing the information as stipulated by Item 2 herein.
2. In order to obtain permission for domestic customs transit the carrier (forwarder) shall be obliged to present to the customs authorities the following information:
(1) the name and the location of the goods dispatcher (recipient) in accordance with the available waybill;
(2) the goods’ country of departure (country of destination);
(3) the name and the location of the goods carrier or of the goods forwarder if permission for domestic customs transit is issued to the goods forwarder;
(4) a description of the means of transport used for hauling goods through the customs territory of the Russian Federation, as well as information on the driver if haulage of said goods is effected by a motor vehicle;
(5) categories, names or descriptions, quantities, prices of goods as stated in the commercial and shipment documents (waybills), their weight or volume, the goods codes stipulated by the Harmonised Commodity Description and Coding System or the Nomenclature of Goods subject to Foreign Trade specifying at least four initial digits;
(6) the overall quantity of freight cases;
(7) the goods point of destination;
(8) any scheduled transhipment of goods or other goods-handling operations en route to the destination;
(9) the scheduled time terms of the goods delivery (Article 82);
(10) the goods route to destination if said goods are to be transported along a designated route (Item 3 of Article 86).
3. The Federal Customs Authority has the right to oblige a list of required information as per Item 2 herein with consideration of the specific persons responsible for the transit of goods and means of transport, the specific kinds of goods, as well as proceeding from carrier means of transport.
4. In case the documents submitted as is required by of Item 1 herein do not contain all the information specified in Item 2 herein, the required details should be supplemented in writing to the transit declaration. The format of the transit declaration and its filling procedures are established by the Federal Customs Authority.
5. The customs authorities have no right to demand that a carrier or forwarder submit any information other than that specified in Item 2 herein.
6. A customs officer, who resolves to accept the documents presented as per Item 1 herein as a transit declaration, shall place a special mark on said documents as is prescribed by the Federal Customs Authority.
7. A transit declaration may also be presented as an electronic document. The order of presentation of the electronic version of a transit declaration and its use in the process of domestic customs transit are determined by the Federal Customs Authority in accordance with this Customs Code.
8. In the instances stipulated by the international treaties to which the Russian Federation is party, accepted as a declaration for domestic customs transit shall be the documents formalised pursuant to the international treaties to which the Russian Federation is party.
Article 82. Time Terms for Domestic Customs Transit
1. The time limit for domestic customs transit may not exceed the length calculated on the basis of one month corresponding to the distance of 2000 kilometres with regard to the haulage of goods by a motor-, rail- or water transport; in case merchandise is transported by air, the time limit may not exceed three days from the date of issuance of permission for domestic customs transit.
2. In instances of issuance of permission for domestic customs transit the time limit for the domestic customs transit shall be determined by the customs point of departure as per Item 1 herein proceeding from the carrier’s (forwarder’s) request, the regular time standards established for merchandise haulage, the type, and specific features of the carrier vehicle, its route, and other conditions of transit.
3. Upon a motivated request of the interested party, the customs authorities may extend the initially established time limit of domestic transit determined in compliance with the requirements of Item 1 herein. In case the carrier cannot accomplish the delivery of goods subject to the domestic customs transit procedure within the initially prescribed time limit as a result of an accident or force majeure, the time limit for the domestic customs transit may be extended by a written resolution to that effect issued by the customs authorities to exceed the time limit prescribed by the provisions of Item 1 herein.
Article 83. Identification of Goods and Documents Thereto
1. The customs authorities at the point of departure shall undertake to identify the goods subject to the domestic customs transit procedure with a view to enabling the customs authorities at the point of their destination (Item 1 of Article 92) to detect signs of annexation of goods, signs of insertion of goods into means of transport, or signs of perpetration of other actions with the goods subject to the domestic customs transit procedure in the process of their haulage.
2. The customs authorities at the goods point of departure have the right to use the following facilities for ensuring identification of goods:
- customs seals and stamps which are affixed to a means of transport, a container or a removable truck body;
- application of alphanumeric codes or other forms of marking, use of other identification symbols; affixation of seals and stamps to specific freight cases;
- stamping;
- taking of samples and specimens;
- drawings made by customs officers, sketches and plans of merchandise made to scale; the goods’ photographic images, video recordings, illustrations;
- other means ensuring identification of merchandise including customs seals affixed at the customs point of departure.
- the merchandise dispatcher’s seals.
3. Identification of goods shall be effected by affixation of customs seals and stamps to a means of transport, a container or a to truck removable body as per Article 84 of this Customs Code.
In other instances, identification of goods shall be effected with the use of other facilities, as specified in Item 2 herein.
4. The customs authorities rely on customs seals and other identification facilities applied by customs authorities of foreign countries, except the following instances:
- the customs authorities deem the customs seals and other identification facilities insufficient or unreliable hence not meeting the criteria specified in Item 1 of Article 84 of this Customs Code;
- officers at the customs point of departure subject merchandise to customs inspection.
5. The customs authorities shall perform identification of the waybills and/or of the other commercial documents available with the carrier, which may be used for customs clearance purposes.
Identification of said documents may be effected through application by the customs authorities of the following methods and facilities:
- affixation of seals or application of rubber-stamps to said waybills and commercial documents;
- application of special stickers and/or of special protection facilities.
- placement of the documents requisite for customs clearance purposes into the cargo compartments of means of transport, containers or removable truck bodies subject to customs seals and stamps;
- placement of the documents requisite for customs clearance purposes into sealed safe-packages.
Article 84. Equipment of Means of transport, Containers and Removable Truck Bodies for Haulage of Merchandise under Customs Seals and Stamps
1. Means of transport, containers or removable truck bodies may be authorised for haulage of merchandise under customs seals and stamps provided said customs seals and stamps used may be are affixed directly to the means of transport, containers or removable truck bodies that are designed and constructed so as to ensure that:
(1) customs seals and stamps may be affixed by a simple and reliable method;
(2) no merchandise may be extracted from or placed into the sealed section of the cargo compartment of a means of transport without evident signs of penetration into the cargo compartment of a means of transport or causing damage to customs seals and/or stamps;
(3) the means of transport and its cargo compartments do not have any hidden places where merchandise could be concealed;
(4) all the places where the goods are accommodated are easily accessible for customs inspections.
2. The requirements laid to means of transport, containers or removable truck bodies set forth by Item 1 herein shall be regarded as fulfilled if the means of transport, containers, or removable truck bodies concerned meet the technical requirements stipulated by the Federal Customs Authority.
3. A decision with regard to authorising a means of transport, container, or a removable truck body to perform haulage of merchandise under customs seals and stamps is made by the customs point of departure if said means of transport, containers or removable truck bodies had not been previously authorised for haulage of merchandise under customs seals and stamps.
Said decision is passed by customs authorities at the point of departure on the day when an interested person applies for it.
4. Compliance of a means of transport, container, or removable truck body to the requirements laid in Items 1 and 2 herein may be confirmed well in advance by a certificate authorising said means of transport, container, or removable truck body to haul merchandise under customs seals and stamps.
A certificate authorising said means of transport, container or removable truck body to haul merchandise under customs seals and stamps may be issued:
- in individual cases;
- with regard to the type of design (series) of means of transport, container or removable truck body.
A certificate authorising said means of transport, container, or removable truck body to haul merchandise under customs seals and stamps is issued by the customs authorities upon a request made by an interested person not later than in five days following the date of acceptance of said request by the customs authorities. This certificate shall remain in force until the design of a means of transport, container, or removable truck body is modified.
The certificate authorising said means of transport, container or removable truck body to haul merchandise under customs seals and stamps shall remain in force in the event of the right of ownership of said means of transport, container, or removable truck body being passed over to another person.
The form of the certificate authorising said means of transport, container, or removable truck body to haul merchandise under customs seals and stamps and its issuance procedures are set forth by the Federal Customs Authority.
5. Customs authorities shall not demand that authorisation to a means of transport, container or removable truck body to perform haulage of merchandise under customs seals and stamps be issued in advance except the following situations:
- goods are transported by a customs carrier (Article 11);
- the preliminary authorisation means of transport, container, or removable truck body is stipulated by the international treaties to which the Russian Federation is party.
Article 85. Place of Destination of Merchandise subject to Domestic Customs Transit Procedure
1. The place of destination of merchandise subject to the domestic customs transit procedure shall be determined by the customs authorities at the point of departure based on the information designating the place of destination stated in bills of lading, waybills, and other shipment documents. The merchandise place of destination shall be a customs control zone situated in the area of responsibility of said customs point of destination (Item 1 Article 92).
Note: merchandise transported from its point of entry (Article 69) shall be delivered to the place of location of the customs office (Article 405).
2. In case the point of destination has been changed in accordance with the applicable statutes of the Russian Federation on haulage of goods subject to the domestic customs transit procedure, the carrier has the right to apply to the customs authorities with a request to change the merchandise place of destination.
Note: the carrier may apply to any customs office en route with a request to change the merchandise point of destination submitting the request per se compiled optionally, the documents confirming the change of the merchandise point of destination, as well as the documents stipulated by Item 3 of Article 92 of this Customs Code.
A resolution with regard to the change of the merchandise point of destination shall be passed by the customs office concerned not later than on the day following the date of acceptance of the request and the documents specified in the first paragraph herein. Said resolution shall be formalised by way of completion of the domestic customs transit procedure with regard to the merchandise whose point of destination has been changed and issuance of a new permissions for the domestic customs transit (Article 80). The new resolution on the domestic customs transit is issued on the day of passage of the resolution authorising the merchandise point of destination.
Article 86. Measures for Effecting Observance of Statutes of Customs Legislation of the Russian Federation with regard to Domestic Customs Transit
1. The customs authorities at the point of departure have the right to apply the following (one of the following) measures for effecting the observance of the statutes of the customs legislation of the Russian Federation with regard to domestic customs transit:
(1) guarantee of payment of customs duties applicable to the importation of foreign goods in the amounts corresponding to the sum of the customs import duties and taxes, which would be levied to the goods in case of their release for free circulation. If information pertaining to the goods presented for the purpose of subjecting them to the domestic customs transit procedure is insufficient for calculating the amounts of customs duties and taxes, the amount of dutiable payments should be determined in accordance with Article 338 of this Customs Code;
(2) customs escort (Article 87);
(3) designation of routes as stipulated in Item 3 herein.
2. The customs authorities shall not demand that the measures necessitating the observance of the statutes of the customs legislation of the Russian Federation, as per Item 1 herein, be applied to then situations when haulage of goods is effected by the customs carrier.
3. In the instances stipulated by federal law of Russian Federation, the Government of the Russian Federation has the right to designate routes of haulage of specific kinds of merchandise subject to the domestic customs transit procedure. In other instances special routes for the haulage of specific kinds of merchandise are assigned based on the existing record of frequent violations of the customs legislation of the Russian Federation associated with conveyance of such goods across the customs border of the Russian Federation, or special restrictions and prohibitions are introduced pursuant to the Federal Law of the Russian Federation on the State Regulation of Foreign Trade Activities. In this instance, the route of merchandise haulage shall be declared by the carrier. The route declared by the carrier shall remain mandatory during transit of said goods. The route thus designated may only be changed upon a written permission issued by the customs authorities concerned.
Article 87. Customs Escort
1. The customs escort is defined as an escort of means of transport carrying merchandise subject to the domestic customs transit procedure by an authorised customs officer for insuring the observance of the statutes of the customs legislation of the Russian Federation pertaining to domestic customs transit.
2. Customs authorities have the right to pass a resolution with regard to customs escort in the following instances:
(1) non-payment of customs duties and taxes stipulated by Article 31 of this Customs Code;
(2) when haulage of specific kinds of goods is predicated on the risk analysis and risk management system stipulated by this Customs Code;
(3) failure by the carrier, at least once within a year from the date of his (or her) application for domestic customs transit, to deliver goods to the point of their destination, which fact is confirmed by an enforced ruling on administrative penalty with regard to an administrative offence in the field of customs system;
(4) re-exportation of merchandise delivered to the Russian Federation by mistake or of the goods whose importation to the Russian Federation is prohibited in case the place of the actual crossing by said goods of the customs border of the Russian Federation during their exportation does not coincide with the location of said goods;
(5) haulage of the goods as is specified in Items 6) and 7) of Article 80 of this Customs Code;
3. The expenses associated with a customs escort shall be reimbursed in the form of customs duties levied in accordance with the Russian legislation on taxes and duties.
Article 88. Obligations of Carrier pursuant to Domestic Customs Transit
The carrier performing haulage of goods subject to domestic customs transit shall be obliged to:
(1) deliver the goods and the documents thereto within the time interval prescribed by the customs authorities at the point of departure to the point of destination following the assigned routes if the latter has been designated;
(2) ensure safety of the goods, customs seals and stamps or other identification facilities if applied;
(3) not to allow goods transhipment, unloading, loading or any other cargo-handling operations without the permission of the customs authorities, except transhipment of goods to another means of transport in the instance specified by Item 1 of Article 89 of this Customs Code.
Article 89. Transhipment, Unloading, Loading and Other Cargo-Handling Operations
1. Transhipment, unloading, loading, and other cargo-handling operations with merchandise whose haulage is performed in accordance with domestic customs transit procedure may only be authorised by the customs point of departure (Item 1 Article 80) or the customs authorities in whose region said cargo-handling operations are carried out. If transhipment of merchandise from one means of transport to another cannot be performed without damaging customs seals and stamps, such transhipment may only be permitted upon a preliminary notification of the customs authorities concerned.
2. The customs authorities may withhold permission for cargo-handling operations if such operations are likely to result in loss of goods or change of their properties.
Article 90. Responsibility of Carrier and Forwarder pursuant to Domestic Customs Transit
1. In instances when foreign goods have not been delivered to the customs point of destination (Item 1 of Article 92), their carrier or forwarder, if permission for domestic customs transit was issued to the goods forwarder, shall be obliged to pay the requisite import customs duties and taxes in accordance with this Customs Code.
If the carrier conveyed the goods to their recipient or any other person without permission of customs authorities, the person who has acquired title over said goods shall be responsible for disbursement of all requisite customs duties and taxes once it has been established that said person was aware or was supposed to be aware that he was receiving said goods in breach of the customs legislation of the Russian Federation.
2. The goods carrier or forwarder shall not be responsible for the disbursement of customs duties and taxes in case the goods have been destroyed, damaged or irretrievably lost due to an accident, force majeure, or as a result of their natural diminution under normal conditions of haulage (shipment).
The Customs authorities have no right to oblige the carrier or forwarder to pay customs duties and taxes on the grounds that haulage of goods was not carried out along the designated route or the time limit assigned for the domestic customs transit of goods was breached provided all the other terms and requirements stipulated by this Chapter have been fulfilled.
3. In case of re-loading of goods subject to domestic customs transit from one means of transport to another, all responsibility for the disbursement of customs duties and taxes shall be borne by the carrier (forwarder) who was issued permission for domestic customs transit.
4. In cases of goods subject to domestic customs transit by rails, responsibility for the disbursement of customs duties and taxes shall be borne by the railway authorities who have lost said goods or released them without the permission of the customs authorities. The customs authorities shall place their demand for disbursement of such customs duties and taxes to the railway terminals of destination. The provisions of this Item shall not apply to those instances when permission for domestic customs transit is issued to a forwarder or to the instances when shipment of goods is effected through a direct combined haulage provided permission for domestic customs transit was issued to the carrier of another means of transport.
Article 91. Measures Taken in Case of Accident, Force Majeure or other Circumstances
1. In case of accident, force majeure or other circumstances obstructing the haulage of goods subject to domestic customs transit, their carrier shall be obliged to take measures stipulated by Article 70 of this Customs Code.
2. The customs authorities shall not be liable for indemnifying the expenses incurred by the carrier due to the fulfilment of said measures.
Article 92. Completion of Domestic Customs Transit
1. The customs authorities at the point of destination where the domestic customs transit procedure is completed (the customs point of destination) shall formalise the completion of the domestic customs transit procedure within the shortest possible time, but not later than within 24 hours from the check-in time of the means of transport provided the inspection of documents and identification of goods conducted by said customs authorities have not revealed any breaches of the customs legislation of the Russian Federation, by way of issuance to the goods carrier of a certificate to the effect that the domestic customs transit procedures has been completed, which certificate is compiled based on the format established by the Federal Customs Authority.
2. The customs authorities at the point of destination shall be obliged to register the check-in time of the means of transport at the place of goods’ destination within two hours from the moment of acceptance from the carrier of the waybills and other shipment documents, as stipulated in Item 3 herein; and issue a written statement to the carrier confirming the arrival of said means of transport, which statement is compiled based on the format established by the Federal Customs Authority.
3. With a view to completing the domestic customs transit procedures, the carrier should present to the customs authorities at the point of destination the goods, the transit declaration (Article 81), and the other documents pertaining to the goods within one hour from the arrival of the means of transport at the point of destination; or within one hour from the time the customs office opens for work if the carrier arrives at the customs point of destination beyond its working hours. In the instance when goods are hauled by railway, the time limit for the presentation of said documents to the customs authorities at the point of destination may not exceed twelve hours.
4. At the customs point of destination, the means of transport shall stay inside the customs control zone until the domestic customs transit procedures is completed.
Placement of means of transport inside the customs control zone is permitted at any time without restrictions.
4. At the customs point of destination, the means of transport shall stay inside the customs control zone until the domestic customs transit procedures is completed.
Placement of means of transport inside the customs control zone is permitted at any time without restrictions.
5. In instances of delivery of goods to the place which is not equipped with a customs office (Item 6 of Article 80), the domestic customs transit procedure may be completed without presentation of merchandise to the customs point of destination.
The person authorised to carry out the domestic customs transit procedure shall be obliged to accept merchandise for storage, preclude any actions that may change the condition of merchandise or damage its packing, use and dispose of the merchandise until or unless customs authorities have certified the merchandise delivery to a temporary storage warehouse, a bonded warehouse or any other place designated as the place of merchandise delivery in accordance with the rules set forth by this Chapter.
Note: all the goods ought to be placed in a separate room or at a fenced-in lot and provided with plates containing information enabling their identification.
The domestic customs transit procedure will be completed after, in addition to the documents specified in Item 3 herein, the carrier has presented to the customs point of destination the documents certifying acceptance of said goods which certificates ought to be submitted to the customs authorities within 24 hours following the arrival of the means of transport at the place of goods destination. The customs office will take up to three days from the date of submission of the above documents to certify the delivery of merchandise based on the form and the order established by the Federal Customs Authority.
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