Customs Code of the European Union. Customs Code of the European Community. Authorized economic operator

Before dwelling on the main provisions of the current European codified customs act, it is necessary to focus on the concepts and categories used in it, as well as the concepts and categories that are of great importance to it.

tariff union- an association of states that have a common customs tariff for trade with third countries and eliminate import duties in mutual trade;

Free Trade Association - an organization that, in the absence of a common external customs tariff among member states, establishes a procedure for not imposing import duties in mutual trade of goods originating from member countries of the Association;

Customs Union- is a tariff union with a harmonized system of legal norms in the field of customs regulation, as well as in the field of other types of import taxation;

economic union- the union of states, together with the creation of the Customs Union, ensuring freedom of movement within the union of services, capital and labor.

Face- in the understanding of the Code, persons include: natural persons; legal entities; in cases stipulated by the current legislation, an association of persons capable of carrying out legally significant actions, but not having the status of a legal entity.

A person domiciled in the Community - and for individuals- any person permanently resident in the Community; b) for legal entities and associations - anyone having in the territory of the Community a registered office or central headquarters or a permanent business establishment.

Customs - authorities whose powers include, among other things, the application of customs rules (such an interpretation allows the immigration service, border authorities, etc. to be classified as customs authorities).

customs office- any establishment in which all or some of the formalities provided for by the customs regulations can be carried out.

Decision- an official act of the customs authorities on the application of customs rules provided for a particular situation; such an act creates legal consequences for one person or a number of persons directly identified or possessing certain characteristics.

Customs status- whether or not the goods belong to "Community goods".

Community Goods:

a) wholly produced in the customs territory of the Community, subject to the conditions of Art. 23 of the Code (see below) and not including goods imported from outside the customs territory of the Community;

b) imported from countries and territories outside the customs territory of the Community and released for free circulation in the Community;

c) produced in the customs territory of the Community from goods referred to in point 6 alone or from a combination of goods referred to in points a and b.

Article 23 of the Code details the concept of goods wholly produced in the customs territory of the Community.

Mineral products mined within the community;

Fruit products grown in the community;

Live animals within the Community;

Products derived from live animals reared in the Community;

Products produced in floating fish processing plants;

Products obtained from the seabed or shelf outside the territorial waters, provided that the Community member country producing them has the exclusive right to exploit this section of the seabed or shelf;

Industrial waste or garbage collected within the Community for processing into raw materials;

Goods produced in the Community exclusively from the products referred to in the preceding paragraphs or their derivatives, at any stage of production.

Goods without the status of Community goods- all goods that do not meet the definition of "Community goods". The Code also provides for the loss of the status of "Community goods" by goods when they are exported from the customs territory of the Community (with the exception of the customs procedure for internal transit).

Customs debt- the obligation of a person to pay an amount of import duty (customs debt on imports) or export duty (customs debt on exports) corresponding, in accordance with current Community rules, to the imported or exported goods. Article 20 of the Code clarifies that the amounts of customs duties are determined on the basis of the Common Customs Tariff of the European Community.

Import duties:customs duties and charges of a similar nature payable on the importation of goods; agricultural taxes and other import taxes levied in accordance with the general agricultural quota or by virtue of special agreements on certain goods resulting from the processing of agricultural products.

Export duties:

a) customs duties and fees of a similar nature, payable upon export of goods;

b) agricultural taxes and other export taxes collected in accordance with the common agricultural policy or by virtue of special agreements on certain goods produced as a result of the processing of agricultural products.

Debtor- a person liable to pay the customs debt.

Supervision of customs authorities- a set of actions of the customs authorities carried out in order to ensure the implementation of customs and other rules applicable to goods.

Control of customs authorities- the implementation by the customs authorities of special actions carried out in order to ensure the implementation of customs and other rules applicable to goods, namely: inspection of goods, checking the availability and correctness of filling out documents, checking accounting accounts and other records, screening Vehicle, inspection of luggage and personal belongings, submission of official requests, etc.

Customs regime:

1) placement of goods under one of the customs procedures;

2) placement of goods in a free zone or free warehouse;

3) re-export of goods from the customs territory of the Community;

4) destruction of goods;

5) refusal of goods.

Customs procedure:

1) release of goods for free circulation;

2) transit of goods;

3) placement of goods in a customs warehouse;

4) processing of goods within the customs territory;

5) processing under customs control;

6) temporary import;

7) processing of goods outside the customs territory;

8) export of goods,

Customs declaration- an act by which a person expresses in the prescribed form and procedure the intention to place goods under the chosen customs procedure; various shapes are allowed customs declaration.

Declarant- a person submitting a customs declaration on his own behalf, or a person on whose behalf a customs declaration is submitted.

Presentation of goods to customs- notification of the customs authorities in accordance with the established procedure of the arrival of goods to the customs office or to another place designated by the customs authorities.

Release of goods- an act of the customs authorities allowing the use of goods for purposes consistent with this customs procedure.

Authorized person- a person authorized by a special act to carry out any actions related to customs clearance.

Current provisions- the current norms of Community legislation and the national legislation of the Member States.

The Code does not interpret such widely used terms as "import", "export" and "re-export". It seems that the meaning of these terms is well known. So, import is understood as the importation of goods into the customs territory; export and re-export - the export of goods from the customs territory (for the difference between export and re-export, see the section on customs regimes and customs procedures).

On February 28, 1990, the Commission of the European Communities submitted a draft Community Customs Code. The Code was adopted on October 12, 1992 and entered into force on January 1, 1994; on July 2, 1993, Commission Regulation No. 2454/93 was adopted, called the Implementation Code, establishing the procedure for the entry into force of the Customs Code; it was supplemented by the Regulations of the Commission of December 21, 1994 and some acts of 1994.

Content and general characteristics Code. In accordance with the objectives of its creation, the Customs Code applies only to the Community's trade relations with third countries. The circulation of goods within the Community countries, since founding documents and principles common market» imply their release from customs control, is not included in the range of issues regulated by the Code.

By its very nature, the Code cannot regulate all customs and trade measures applied by the Community in relation to third countries. Since the purpose of the Code is to consolidate and systematize the general rules and customs control procedures for all goods, regardless of their nature, tariff policy measures that provide for different regulation for different goods are outside the scope of the Code. Combining EEC tariff regulation issues, the Community Integrated Customs Tariff, together with the Customs Code, constitute two cornerstones of EEC customs law applicable to trade with third countries.

The Code consists of 9 parts, uniting 257 articles. The structure of the legal norms contained in the Customs Code can be presented in the form of three main groups:

1) introductory section- parts I-III - contains provisions on the movement of goods across the borders of the Customs Union, the definition of the customs territory, the definition of customs duty and the factors on the basis of which it is charged; the Community customs tariff, the origin of the goods and their customs value;

2) the core of the Code- the provisions of Part IV "Customs regimes", including the rules for the application of customs procedures in relation to various economic goals; among the procedures provided for by the Code, the central place is occupied by the regulation of the procedure for the release of goods for free circulation, which is a priority from the point of view of the Treaty of Rome (Article 10)

3) the last part of the Code- parts V-IX - contains, among other things, the rules for the collection of duties, the occurrence (or return) of a customs debt; The most important from a practical point of view are the provisions on the procedure for filing appeals against the actions of the customs authorities. Finally, this part of the Code contains a list of acts of the Council that are replaced by the Code.

What were the goals of adopting the EU Customs Code?

1. Creation of a single legal document replacing the many acts adopted by the Community authorities in the field of customs regulation. In total, more than two dozen acts of the Council alone, put into effect over 22 years, have been replaced by the Code.

2. Achievement of integrity, clarity and certainty of the content. A simple reproduction of the norms of "sectoral" (that is, regulating certain narrow aspects) acts on customs law in a single document would not make sense without the development of a new approach to systematizing these norms. It is necessary to single out the most significant, fundamental additions, on the basis of which it is possible to consider the rest, more highly specialized rules.

Even at the stage of development of the draft Code, the Commission took the view that the Code, fixing a certain mandatory list of provisions, at the same time should not be overloaded. The task of the Code - the reproduction of legal norms in an understandable, readable and logical form - should not lead to an excessive glut of the text. The fulfillment of this task was largely facilitated by the division of legal norms into two parts: the Customs Code itself and the Regulation establishing the procedure for the entry into force of the Code (the already mentioned Implementation Code).

Scope of the Code. The Customs Code, with the conditions for its application adopted both at Community and national level, form the customs rules of the Union. EU customs regulations apply:

a) in the customs territory of the EU;

b) in trade between the Community and third countries;

in) to goods regulated by the EEC Treaty, the ECSC Treaty and the Euratom Treaty.

It is noteworthy that the Code does not contain definitions of the terms "trade" and "goods". Summarizing the definitions contained in other acts of the EU institutions (in particular, in the VAT Directive), the following definitions can be proposed: “trade between the Community and third countries” is any movement of goods from an EU member state to a non-EU member state, and vice versa ; "goods" means all tangible movable property, including electricity gas, heat, cooling, etc.

The Customs Code of the European Union came into force in October 2013. From May 1, 2016, its application begins throughout the customs territory of the EU.

Since the adoption of the Common Customs Code of the EU, the European Commission, together with the authorities of the participating countries, has been working on a plan for its implementation. The EU Customs Code provides for the progressive introduction across the EU of harmonized information exchange processes and common databases. This process should be fully completed by 2020.

In accordance with the plans of the European Commission, on December 31, 2020, the transition period should be fully completed, the appropriate IT infrastructure should be created, and the unified customs code should begin to operate in full.

What innovations does the EU customs code imply?

Authorized economic operator

First of all, the changes will concern the role of authorized economic operators. So for them it is supposed to simplify the procedure for providing customs guarantees, a centralized mechanism for customs clearance throughout the EU, and a simplification of the customs clearance procedure.

Similar benefits will be extended to traders who do not have the official status of an authorized economic operator, but meet the criteria applied to them, including tax transparency and the availability of the necessary competencies.

Customs fines

Another important change concerns the procedure for collecting customs fines. The procedure will be simplified and avoid other, non-financial, liability in the event that the reduction in the amount of customs payments occurred accidentally, unconsciously and did not have a significant amount.

Customs procedures

The introduction of a single EU customs code involves the modernization of the customs clearance system. The number of customs procedures in accordance with the new customs code will be reduced.

Rail transportation

The changes will also affect rail container traffic. The obsolete transit system with paper CIM waybills should be replaced by an electronic system. The introduction of such a system in 28 EU states, including the ATLAS system, is scheduled for 2019.

Customs warehouses

In accordance with the customs code of the European Union, temporary storage of goods is allowed only in authorized warehouses. customs authorities EU countries. To organize a customs warehouse, permission from the customs authorities and a deposit are required.

Electronic data interchange

The exchange of data between customs authorities and participants in foreign economic activity will be carried out exclusively in in electronic format. Data exchange systems (ATLAS) will be introduced into existing practice gradually.

doctor legal sciences, professor of the department international law Peoples' Friendship University of Russia

Annotation:

In this article, the author analyzes the organizational and legal basis for the functioning of the EU customs union and the modernized EU customs code. Since the creation of the European Economic Community in 1957. the customs union became the main goal of the next development of the integration process, since without a customs union it was impossible to form a common market, the creation of which was at that time the main task of the European Economic Community. The EU Customs Union was formed gradually as integration deepened, so all the difficulties in the development of the European integration process left their mark on the process of forming the customs union. In the process of research, the author notes that issues related to the decision-making mechanism in the field of customs cooperation are determined in the EU primary law acts, since the order of the ordinary legislative procedure is detailed in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The author also notes that a special position among the norms of the Modernized Customs Code of the EU is occupied by the norms aimed at regulating customs debt and guarantees. The provisions of the new Customs Code (Section 3 of the Modernized EU Customs Code) cover the following stages in the implementation of the freedom of movement of goods within the European Union. In conclusion, the author notes that all issues related to the customs policy of the European Union are regulated in the founding agreements, and the norms of the EU Customs Code only detail the provisions founding agreements. The author also concludes that the application of the Modernized Customs Code of the European Union outside the context of the founding treaties of the European Union is impossible.

Keywords:

customs union, modernized customs code, common customs tariff, customs territory, legal regulation, law, European Union.

Today, the EU customs union is the basis on which the four freedoms of the internal market of the European Union are implemented - freedom of movement, persons, goods, services and capital.

Thus, the customs union in the EU is the main element of integration in the economic sphere, which forms the basis for the functioning of the single internal market of the European Union.

The EU Customs Union is a tariff community that establishes a single customs tariff and harmonizes all taxes and fees levied on imports.

Let us consider the stages of the formation of the EU customs union, which are directly related to the gradual deepening of integration within the European Union.

The main component of the Customs Union is the Common Customs Tariff of the EU.

The EU common customs tariff was first introduced in 1958. It was fixed in the amount of the arithmetic average of the duties that were in force at that time, and acted on the basis of the nomenclature enshrined in the Brussels Convention of 1950 "On the nomenclature for the classification of goods in customs tariffs."

Consequently, a formal customs union within the European Communities was formed by the end of the 1960s, when all internal tariff barriers to the movement of goods were gradually abolished and the Common Customs Tariff was introduced.

Already since 1975. the revenue from the Common Customs Tariff goes to the European Economic Community and not to its member states.

The common customs tariff is also used by the EU to provide assistance to developing countries.

In 1987, the European Economic Community, as a single entity of international law, ratified international convention on the harmonized system for the description and coding of goods (HS). It entered into force in the European Economic Community in 1988. in the form of a combined nomenclature.

The combined nomenclature included:

· Nomenclature of the harmonized system of description and coding of goods;

Subheadings to this nomenclature;

· Preliminary provisions, i.e. additional sections, notes to subheadings.

In parallel with the introduction of the combined nomenclature, a information base data (TARIK) – EU integrated tariff. TARIQ is designed to show the special provisions that apply to the goods of each code of the Combined Nomenclature.

With regard to customs duties, the question of what tariff to levy on goods and whether to levy at all is decided on the basis of the concept of origin of goods.

The concept of origin of goods was formulated in Council Regulation No. 802/68. This concept was also important in order to prevent counterfeiting of goods due to the incorrect indication of the country of origin of the goods, both as a whole and goods purchased in the state where they were produced after significant processing of raw materials and semi-finished products originating from other countries.

For goods exported from the EU, the European Commission has adopted an exemplary certificate of origin: "Made in the EU".

The issues of determining the country of origin of goods were detailed in the EU Customs Code (1).

But, since the European Union is an integration community, a codified law is impossible in it. Therefore, the Code is the conditional name of a legal act adopted in the form of a regulation.

The application of the Code outside the context of the specified regulation is impossible.

Thus, since a codified law is not possible in an integration community, “code” is a conventional name for a collection of norms of regulations.

The measures listed above allowed the EU to pursue a common customs policy necessary for the creation of an internal market, and also facilitated the Union's common trade policy.

The EU customs union has both internal and external aspects. The elimination of barriers to trade between Member States is impossible without a common foreign customs policy.

The customs union is complemented by the freedom of movement of persons, services and capital.

Therefore, the customs territory of the EU is all territories where EU law applies.

The process of abolishing the customs procedure at the borders between the member states of the EEC began in 1968.

For the collection of statistical information after January 1, 1993. Intrastat (INTRASTAT) was created - Information system, which allows obtaining statistical information on the exchange of goods between Member States directly from enterprises.

In the EU, on the basis of the provisions of the founding treaties, the issues of customs regulation have passed into the exclusive competence of the Union (Article 3 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union). In this article, the customs union takes the first place, because. it is the main achievement of European integration on the way to the creation and functioning of a single internal market, as well as an economic and monetary union.

However, it should not be assumed that if the regulation of the Customs Union falls within the exclusive competence of the Union, then the Member States lose their sovereign competence in this area.

Despite the fact that the sphere of customs and foreign trade regulation falls within the exclusive competence of the Union, the Member States may issue their own regulatory legal acts in this area if they establish prohibitions and restrictions on the import and export of goods.

Outside the competence of the Union in the field of the EU customs union remains the system and structure of national customs authorities, legal status their employees, responsibility for crimes and violations in the customs sphere, etc.

Therefore, when any area of ​​cooperation is transferred to the exclusive competence of the Union, this does not mean the centralization of power.

The institutions of the Union issue only acts of secondary law. Therefore, even the Customs Code of the EU was created in the form of regulations, moreover, regulations of the Council. And the Council of the EU is an intergovernmental body.

The modern definition of the customs union as a regime economic integration can be found in the provisions of the GATT.

According to paragraph "a" of paragraph 8 of Article 24 of the GATT, a customs union is understood as the replacement of two or more territories by one customs territory as follows:

1. Duties and other trade restrictive measures shall be abolished in respect of substantially all trade between the constituent territories of the Customs Union, or at least in respect of practically all trade in goods originating from these territories.

2. The same duties and other trade control measures shall be applied by each member of the customs union in relation to trade with territories that are not members of the union.

In the modern law of the European Union, customs regulation is based on a whole set of norms and rules of the European Union, which constitute the so-called customs law of the European Union.

Consider the rules that form the customs law of the European Union:

In accordance with the already mentioned Art. 3 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the customs union belongs to one of the six areas of exclusive competence of the European Union.

Special provisions for the EU customs union are contained in section 2 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (Free Movement of Goods).

Art. 28 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union establishes that “the Union includes a customs union that extends to the entire turnover and involves the prohibition between Member States of customs duties on imports and exports and any equivalent fees, as well as the adoption of a common customs tariff in their relations with third countries."

Thus, the customs union, according to the sources of EU law in the current Lisbon edition, includes:

Prohibition between Member States of the European Union of customs duties on imports and exports or equivalent charges, including duties of a tax nature and any charges equivalent to them (Article 30 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union).

Extension of the Common Customs Tariff to the relations of the Member States of the European Union with third countries (Article 31 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union).

Trade in the European Union consists of products whose origin is, firstly, the EU Member States, and secondly, products from third countries that are in free circulation in the EU Member States (Article 28 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union).

In free circulation in any of the Member States of the European Union is recognized products from third countries, in respect of which import formalities have been carried out in the Member State of the EU, customs duties due and equivalent fees have been collected, and in relation to which no full or partial refund of the said fees and charges (art. 29 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union).

It should be noted that the above rule is the basic principle of the customs union in the EU.

The founding treaties of the European Union also define the criteria for the implementation by the European Commission of its powers to implement customs and tariff regulation. These criteria include:

· the need to develop trade between Member States and third countries;

· development of conditions for competition within the European Union in order to increase the competitiveness of enterprises;

· the need to supply the Union with raw materials and semi-finished products, while at the same time observing the condition that the terms of competition in relation to final products are not distorted between the Member States of the European Union;

· the need to avoid serious disturbances in the economic life of the Member States of the European Union, as well as to ensure the rational development of production and the growth of consumption in the territory of the European Union.

The criteria listed above are enshrined in Art. 32 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

The powers of the European Union to regulate the EU customs union are enshrined in Art. 33 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union). According to this article, the European Parliament and the Council of the EU, acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, take measures to strengthen the customs cooperation of the Member States with each other and with the European Commission. However, these measures are implemented only within the scope of the treaties.

At the level of acts of secondary law of the European Union, customs and tariff regulation is regulated by EU regulations. A certain collection of provisions of the regulations that create the legal framework for the functioning of the customs union in the European Union is the Modernized Customs Code of the European Union, approved by regulation (EU) - the European Parliament and Council No. 450/2008.

The modernized code was adopted as part of the ongoing work to improve the EU customs union, launched by the European Commission in the nineties of the twentieth century.

The new Modernized Code thus replaced the 1992 European Community Code.

The new regulation No. 450/2008 contains a preamble, 188 articles, united in nine sections.

If we talk about the novelties of regulation No. 450/2008, then the fundamental novelty of the so-called Modernized Customs Code of the European Union is that it creates a common electronic system of customs regulation between the Member States of the European Union.

Thus, the Modernized Customs Code of the European Union creates fundamentally new system customs regulation between EU member states, transferring the customs union to a fundamentally new legal framework.

The modernized customs code of the European Union is similar in its internal structure to the former EU Customs Code, which was adopted in 1992.

The new model customs code of the European Union contains, along with general provisions regarding the limits of application of customs legislation, special provisions that are aimed at regulating the most important institutions that form the EU Customs Union.

Thus, the Modernized Customs Code contains provisions on the Common Customs Tariff, establishes the grounds for applying import and export customs duties, regulates the issues of determining the place of origin of goods, as well as issues of customs value.

Thus, the Modernized Customs Code of the European Union includes specific issues that were originally agreed by the EU Member States in the founding treaties.

And today, the most important provisions that form the EU customs union are contained in the founding treaties of the European Union.

Thus, part three of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union contains the following sections: "Freedom of movement of goods", "Customs Union", "Customs cooperation", "Prohibition of quantitative restrictions between Member States".

In particular, Article 33 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union states that the European Parliament and the Council, deciding in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, take measures to strengthen customs cooperation between the Member States.

Thus, issues related to the decision-making mechanism in the field of customs cooperation are determined in the acts of the primary law of the EU, since the order of the ordinary legislative procedure is detailed in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The acts of primary law of the European Union also determine the customs policy of the European Union as a whole, and the Modernized Customs Code of the EU only specifies the norms of the founding treaties of the European Union.

A special position among the norms of the Modernized Customs Code of the EU is occupied by the norms aimed at regulating customs debt and guarantees. The provisions of the new Customs Code (Section 3 of the Modernized EU Customs Code) cover the following stages in the implementation of the freedom of movement of goods within the European Union:

Receipt of goods in the customs territory of the EU;

the customs status of goods;

placement of goods under the appropriate customs procedure;

sale of goods in free circulation;

the procedure for the release of goods from customs duties;

conditions for the release of goods from customs duties.

The status of the Special Committee of the Customs Code is defined in Section 9 of the Modernized Customs Code. However, as mentioned above, all issues related to the customs policy of the European Union are regulated in the constituent agreements, and the norms of the EU Customs Code only detail the provisions of the constituent agreements.

Thus, the application of the Modernized Customs Code of the European Union outside the context of the founding treaties of the European Union is impossible.

NOTE

(1) Since 2013, the Modernized Customs Code of the European Union, approved by Regulation (EU) - European Parliament and Council No. 450/2008, has replaced the former EU Customs Code.

LITERATURE:

Regulation (EC) No. 450/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the Community Customs Code (Modernised Customs Code) // OJ 2008 L 145\1.

En title:

European Union Customs Union And The Upgraded Customs Code Of The European Union

Annotation En:

In the present article the author analyzes the institutional framework of the Customs Union of the EU and the modernized Customs Code of the EU. Since the establishment of the European Economic Community in 1957 the Customs Union became the main aim of proximal development of the integration process, because without the customs union was not possible to form a common market, the establishment of which was at that time the main task of the European Economic Community. The EU Customs Union formed gradually with the deepening integration, so all the difficulties of the European integration process have left their imprint on the formation of the customs union. In the study author notes that issues related to the decision-making mechanism in the field of customs cooperation defined in acts of primary EU law, because the order of the ordinary legislative procedure prescribed in detail in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Author also notes that the special position among the rules to modernize the EU Customs Code occupies rules aimed at regulating the customs debt and guarantees. The provisions of the new Customs Code (Section 3 of the modernized Customs Code EU) cover the following stages of the free movement of goods within the European Union. In conclusion, author notes that all matters relating to customs policy of the European Union are regulated in the founding treaties and the rules of the Customs Code only detail the provisions of the EU founding treaties. The author also concludes that the application of the modernized Customs Code of the European Union outside the context of the founding treaties of the European Union is impossible.

En keywords:

Customs Union, upgraded customs code, blanket customs tariff, customs territory, legal regulation, law, European Union.

The European Union is the largest trading platform world, and the customs union is its cornerstone. In 2012, about 261 million declarations were registered with the customs authorities (more than 8 every second). total cost goods cleared through customs reached 3.5 trillion euros.

To maintain the single market in a stable state, it is absolutely necessary to establish and develop adequate customs procedures at the EU borders. Without this, the free circulation of goods within the Community will become impossible.

The single customs legislation of the EU regulates all aspects of trade policy, establishes security measures, regulates control procedures in the field of health protection and environment. In addition, it is responsible for the implementation of policy in the field of Agriculture, fisheries, protection of economic interests, as well as the application of certain measures of a foreign policy nature.

The Customs Code of the European Union (Union Customs Code, hereinafter - UCC) was published on October 10 as Regulation (EU) No 952/2013. Its appearance was the result of many years of EU efforts to modernize customs regulations. The purpose of its adoption is to simplify certain provisions of customs regulation, optimize the structure of the regulation, as well as update some articles, taking into account the development electronic systems exchange of information and related equipment. In addition, the UCC provides general criteria for persons wishing to act as customs representatives in another Member State, provides for the right to express their opinion when a decision is made by the customs authorities; and also contains new provisions on centralized customs clearance (including the possibility for an economic operator to submit customs declarations to the local customs authority, regardless of the place of entry of goods into the customs territory).

The Regulation enters into force on the twentieth day after its publication (October 30, 2013), but most of its articles will apply from June 1, 2016.

At its core, the UCC is a revised version of the 2008 Modernized Customs Code introduced by Regulation (EC) No 450/2008. The 2008 Code, in turn, was also aimed at replacing the earlier 1992 Customs Code, but implementing provisions for it were never prepared, despite the postponement of the deadline from June to November 2013. In addition, in connection with the entry into force of the Lisbon Agreement, which provides for a change in the system of delegated and implementing acts, it became clear that the Updated Customs Code requires revision.

Through the UCC, a much-needed reform is initiated, including the transition of customs authorities to paperless, fully electronic office work, as well as the simplification of customs procedures for trusted persons engaged in trading activities (authorized economic operators, authorized economic operators, hereinafter referred to as AEO ).

However, the UCC cannot act without adopting implementing provisions. According to information provided by the Commission, they are currently being prepared, but the final version will not be presented until the end of 2014 (and most likely in mid-2015). ultimate goal is the adoption of the implementing provisions by June 2016, when all provisions of the Code come into force. Until then, the Community Customs Code (Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92) and its implementing provisions (Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93) will remain in force.

And although the main part of the UCC articles will come into force only after the issuance of implementing provisions, economic operators should take into account some changes already now. Let's consider some of them:

• Warranty- UCC provides mandatory requirement guarantees for all entities wishing to use simplified customs procedures. This measure has a significant impact on business entities in terms of liquidity flow. The amount of the guarantee covers current and potential debts to ensure the best financial protection. However, it is also possible to conditionally cancel guarantee obligations in relation to companies that have the status of AEO (in the field of customs simplification or in all fields), or companies that meet the criteria for assigning such status. In this regard, the validity of obtaining an AEO certificate has finally reached a level that implies real benefits for EU economic operators. That is, that the maximum benefits and simplifications are offered specifically for accredited companies that are authorized economic operators.
• Centralized customs clearance (clearance)- This procedure allows AEO to declare goods in electronic form and pay customs duties at the place of establishment, regardless of the place of actual importation or exportation of goods at the border of the customs territory of the EU. Since the implementation of these provisions requires a fairly complex IT infrastructure, and since there are some difficulties regarding the payment of VAT and excises, the full implementation of this system is planned for final stage implementation of the provisions of the Code. Also, the gradual introduction of paperless office work in the framework of customs and trade, carried out on the basis of an electronic customs declaration, is aimed at simplifying the customs clearance procedure (should begin no later than December 31, 2020).
• Self-assessment of the amount of fees payable- This procedure provides simplified regimes for AEOs to allow them to record import/export information in their records instead of making and filing full import/export declarations.
• Sanctions- The UCC does not deal separately with the right of EU Member States to impose various sanctions for violation of the requirements of customs legislation. It should be noted that the European Commission has already announced that it will put forward separate proposals regarding the harmonization of sanctions before the end of this year.
• Tariff Information Decisions- The duration of binding tariff information rulings (BTIs) has been reduced from six to three years. Thus, it was aligned with the duration of the binding origin information rulings (BOIs). This has an indirect effect on the fact that economic operators relying on BTIs to establish tariff baselines will need to monitor changes more closely and enter them into the data management system.
• Grade- Two major valuation issues have not yet been adequately covered by the UCC. These issues relate to the regulation of the first sale (first sale) and the possibility of issuing new provisions regarding royalties (as a result of the introduction of more extensive taxation of them). The implementing provisions are expected to bring final clarity to these issues.
• Changes in the field of maritime transport- In 2013, the Commissioner for Taxation, Customs Union, Audit and Anti-Fraud, Algirdas Semeta, published a strategy called the Blue Belt. It aims to facilitate the customs procedure for ships by reducing bureaucratic formalities, eliminating delays in ports and increasing the specificity of this sector. For vessels carrying both EU goods and foreign goods periodically calling at ports in the customs territory of the EU and outside it, the Commission proposes a significant improvement in customs procedures through a system of separate marking of EU goods and foreign goods, which will not be subject to simplifications. For this, it is planned to create single system electronic declaration of goods. The details of this system will, again, be described in the implementing provisions.

Among other changes, it should be noted the need to obtain a permit for the operation of temporary storage facilities. It also provides for the unification of the procedure for processing in the customs territory of the EU and processing under customs control. The conditional duty exemption for processing in the customs territory of the EU is abolished.

The application of all these measures, according to the Commission, should provide economic operators with more legal certainty and make customs procedures clearer and clearer, including for the EU customs authorities themselves. The UCC also fills in some of the legal gaps noted by some EU Member States. On other issues, we should wait for new proposals from the Commission, the first of which we should see already this year.

Commissioner Algirdas Šemeta welcomed the Parliament's positive decision in adopting the UCC. “The Customs Union is the success story of the EU. For more than 40 years, he has been protecting our citizens and business representatives, contributing to the constant growth of trade volumes,” he said.

“The European Union Customs Code, adopted by the European Parliament, will ensure the continued productive work of Customs and even make it even more efficient, less costly and better responsive to the challenges modern economy”, - added Mr. Shemeta.

According to experts, the new UCC code, the appearance of which has been postponed several times, generally meets the expectations in the EU. However, the final conclusions about positive aspects and possible shortcomings can only be done after the Commission has published implementing provisions (

On February 28, 1990, the EU Commission submitted a draft EU Customs Code for consideration; on October 12, 1992, the Customs Code was adopted by Council Regulation No. 2913/92 and entered into force on January 1, 1994. Before the Customs Code came into force, Regulation No. 2454/93 was adopted

“On the Application of the Customs Code”, or as it is also called, the Implementation Code. The Implementation Code approved the procedure for entry into force, as well as the application of the norms of the Customs Code of the European Union.

The EU customs code owes its appearance to the member states, since at that time there was no need for national customs codes and charters and a customs code was required, which would be integrated in the EU member states.

The Customs Code made it possible to abandon a huge number of various directives and regulations that carried instructions on customs control issues. The customs codec was one directive and instruction, because the ongoing formation of a common market required the consolidation of all instructions. The Customs Code is binding and enforceable in all Member States, with the exception of rules that are stipulated in the Accession Treaties.

Although the EU TC and the Implementation Codec were able to replace a huge number of directives and regulations, they still could not replace two regulations, these are Regulation No. 2658/87 “On the Common Customs Tariff of the EU” and Regulation No. duties".

The legal basis for the adoption of the EU Customs Code is the EEC Treaty, or rather its Articles 26, 95, 133 and 135.

The EU customs code, like any other normative act requires reforms and changes, the last time such reforms affected the EU Customs Code in 2005, they affected the risk management system, authorized economic operators, etc.

The inexorable improvement of customs technology, as well as the ongoing growth international trade forced the EU Commission to radically change the existing Customs Code in order to comply with the realities of this time. As a result, the European Parliament decided to develop a Modernized Customs Code.

The first draft of the ITC was submitted for consideration on December 10, 2003, but the draft turned out to be raw and was sent for revision. Almost a year later, on November 11, 2004, taking into account and correcting all the comments, the draft was submitted again, but it suffered the fate of the first draft, it was sent for revision, and only on June 18, 2007 the final draft of the modernized customs code was approved and sent to the European Parliament. On April 23, 2008, the European Parliament adopted Regulation No. 450/2008 "On the approval of the Community Customs Code (updated version of the Customs Code)".

The preamble of the Modernized Customs Code speaks of the need to reflect in the customs legislation the new tasks of customs authorities, new roles and the current economic situation.

In its structure, the ITC is absolutely identical to the old TC, it also consists of nine parts, which includes chapters and sections, as well as 188 articles, which are the basic elements.

The modernized Customs Code consists of legal norms that can be divided into several groups:

general provisions;

provisions relating to customs control and regulation in the field of customs clearance;

provisions relating to tariff regulation and the area of ​​calculation and payment of customs duties.

In the first group, we will include the provisions of parts l, Vlll and lX of the Modernized Customs Code.

Part l consists of three chapters:

The first chapter talks about the goals and objectives of the adoption of the ITC, also lists all the customs territories of the EU. In this chapter, Art. 4, which presents 33 concepts and definitions;

in the second chapter of part l, the rights and obligations of persons in interaction with the customs authorities are indicated. The issues considered in this chapter relate to the implementation of customs operations by persons and the provision of information to the customs authorities. The second chapter establishes penalties for violation of customs legislation, and also regulates the procedure for appealing against the actions of customs authorities;

the third chapter of part l deals with the issues of currency conversion and calculation of terms.

Part Vlll of the ITC deals with goods leaving the customs territory of the Community.

This part consists of three chapters:

the first chapter indicates the obligation to file a preliminary declaration, measures establishing certain information, and also establishes customs control and export formalities;

chapter two is fully devoted to exports and re-exports;

the third chapter indicates the conditions under which exemption from payment of export customs duties is possible.

This group also includes the norms of part lX, which contains a list of EU regulatory legal acts that have become invalid with the adoption of the Customs Code, the norms on the Committee on the Customs Code, the norms on the entry into force of the Modernized Customs Code, as well as correlation tables that compare TK and MTK.

Norms belonging to the second group from customs clearance and customs control in the system of customs regulation make this group key. This group includes the positions of parts LV-Vll.

Part lV, which covers issues related to the arrival of goods in the customs territory of the EU, is divided into two chapters: the first chapter approves the procedure for submitting an import brief declaration, determines the circle of persons responsible for given provision, as well as the procedure for making additions and changes to this declaration;

the second chapter is fully devoted to the arrival of goods in the customs territory of the EU. This chapter also covers issues related to the presentation of goods to customs authorities, their unloading and inspection. In addition, this chapter contains a provision on the formalities to be carried out after the presentation of goods, as well as on goods placed under the transit procedure. Part V reflects general rules on the customs status, placement of goods under the customs regime, confirmation, release and disposal

goods. This part consists of four chapters:

the first chapter deals with the customs status of goods;

the second chapter talks about the placement of goods under the customs regime;

chapter three regulates the inspection and release of goods;

chapter four establishes the rules concerning the disposal of goods.

Chapter one of Part Vl of the modernized EU Customs Code, which belongs to the second group, reveals the rules on the release of goods for free circulation.

Part Vll is very important as it deals with special customs procedures, which, according to the Modernized EU Customs Code, include transit (external, internal and communal), storage, special use and processing (internal and external).

The third group includes the provisions of parts ll and ll of the Modernized EU Customs Code, as well as chapter two of part Vl.

Part ll deals with tariff regulation and is divided into three chapters:

the first chapter characterizes the Customs tariff of the European Community and the tariff classification of goods. This chapter defined the main structural elements of the EU Customs Tariff, which included the combined nomenclature of goods, customs duty rates, tariff preferences;

the second chapter contains provisions that define the country of origin of the goods for customs purposes. Selected preferential and non-preferential origin of goods;

the third chapter deals with the determination of the value of goods for customs purposes. This chapter defines the customs value of goods, reveals the basic principles on which the determination of the customs value is based, and provides methods for determining the customs value.

Part lll relating to the third group talks about customs debt and security, this part consists of four chapters:

chapter one speaks of the occurrence of customs debt;

chapter two talks about securing the payment of potential or substantial customs debts;

chapter three deals with the refund and payment of import and export customs duties;

chapter four talks about the repayment of customs debt.

Chapter 2 of Part Vl of the Modernized Customs Code refers to cases of exemption from import duties on re-imported goods and marine products.

The fundamental changes of the Modernized Customs Code from the Customs Code are as follows:

customs declarations and accompanying documents are submitted only in electronic form;

the exchange of information between customs authorities is carried out only in electronic form;

the concept of “Central Clearance” has been introduced, now an authorized customs operator has the opportunity to declare and pay duties electronically at his location and regardless of which EU Member State he has to move the goods through;

introduction of the concept of "One Window" and "One Stop".

In modern realities, the EU ITC has not stopped improving, and new edition The modernized Customs Code came into force on February 1, 2016. The main part of the code has remained the same.

The main key changes are as follows:

authorized economic operators are granted extended preferences;

the period of storage of customs documents for the purposes of customs inspection has been increased from three to ten years;

from 01.05.2016, all types of declarations will be submitted only in electronic form through the EDI system;

to prove the import or export of goods for tax office you need to have a declaration only in electronic form in XML format.

The Code combines about 75 regulations that were adopted from 1968 to 1992, it was also aimed at achieving clarity and uniformity in the interpretation of the provisions of EU law affecting trade with third countries.