Monitoring of the Federal Legislation dated 6.10.2006

Letter of the Federal Customs Service No. 01-06/30987 of September 6, 2006 on the Methodology Recommendations

To improve the efficiency of organisation of work of the customs bodies to reveal violations of the currency legislation of the Russian Federation when fulfilling the functions of agents of currency control, works out the methodology recommendations on the recording and processing of information for the purpose of revealing of violations of the acts of the currency legislation of the Russian Federation and acts of the bodies of currency regulation.

The recommendations specify the procedure of collection, preparation, processing of information and conveying it to the customs bodies of various level, as well as the procedure of keeping of the index of documents of currency control containing information on violations of the currency legislation.

When the customs bodies fill out electronic copies of documents of currency control, they use information on the customs registration and the cost of commodities moved across the customs border of the Russian Federation and information on currency operations between residents and non-residents. The results of analysis of the mentioned information are used to send information on suggested violations of the currency legislation on the monthly basis to the customs offices as orders to check observation of the currency legislation.

The mentioned orders are used by the currency control divisions of the customs body to arrange a check to reveal violations in the sphere of currency legislation. An act of the check is drawn up as a result of the check and a card of the act of check is created. If sufficient information is found showing available violations of the currency legislation of the Russian Federation, officials of the customs bodies initiate the case of administrative violation and create a card of the case of administrative violation. Information on the results of the carried out checks received from the customs bodies is used by the Department of Currency Control of the Federal Customs Service of Russia to generate the summary statistical reports on the currency control implemented by the customs bodies.

Letter of the Federal Customs Service No. 05-11/30866 of September 5, 2006 on the Labelling of Alcoholic Products <br>

Explains individual issues pertaining to the labelling and storage of alcoholic products imported to the territory of the Russian Federation.

According to the Federal Law on the state regulation of production and circulation of ethyl alcohol, alcoholic and alcohol-containing products, excise duty stamps are purchased only by organisations importing alcoholic products. The handing out of excise duty stamps to other parities is possible only on condition of introduction of appropriate changes in the Law.

Decision of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 398 of June 29, 2006 defining the procedure of labelling of alcoholic products requires that the given products be placed in warehouses of owners possessing licensees for the purchase, storage and supplies of alcoholic products or a license for the storage of alcoholic products. The places of location of such warehouses on the territory of the Russian Federation have no restrictions. The owner of the warehouse may include any organisation possessing the above licenses. The transfer of commodities in the property of the organisation storing it is not necessary.

The labelling of alcoholic products may only be done by the organisation importing alcoholic products. Meanwhile, the work is carried out at present to introduce amendments to the above Federal Law to solve the problem of purchase of excise duty stamps by organisations possessing alcoholic products rather than importing it to the Russian Federation.

Letter of the Federal Customs Service No. 18-12/30307 of August 30, 2006 on the Liability of Motor Carriers under Part 3 of Article 16.1 of the Code of Administrative Violations of Russia <br>

Explains individual issues of the liability of motor carriers for reporting incorrect information to the customs body on the number of cargo pieces, their labelling, name, weight and/or volume of commodities arriving to the customs territory of the Russian Federation or leaving it, or for obtaining a permission for the internal customs transit or the termination of it, or for placing commodities in the temporary-storage warehouse by providing faked documents and, similarly, use for these purposes of a faked means of identification or an authentic means of identification pertaining to other commodities and/or transport vehicles (under Part 3 of Article 16.1 of the Code of Administrative Violations of the Russian Federation).

According to the explanations, calling the carrier to account for administrative liability for reporting incorrect information on the qualitative characteristics of the commodity, including those revealed at declaring, if the declared information on the name of commodity, its weight and/or volume, quantity and labelling of cargo pieces is correct, is not legal.

To solve the issue of the carrier liability, the customs body must take account of the actual opportunities with the carrier to implement the right to check the correctness of information on the commodity. If such opportunity is not available (for example, if the cargo is received in containers sealed by the consignor), the carrier must include appropriate clauses in the transportation documents.

Such clauses must be regarded by the customs bodies as a risk of declaring of incorrect information on the commodity moved across the customs border. Availability of such clauses together with other proof may serve as evidence of absence of carrier fault and, therefore, absence of reasons to call him to account.

In such cases, the customs body must take measures to identify the commodity and provide for its preservation by sending them according to established procedure to the customs body of destination for further registration, which does not exclude opportunities of checking of moved commodities in the framework of the customs control.