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Customs being modernized in framework of GUAM

9 July 2015 14:53 (UTC+04:00)
Customs being modernized in framework of GUAM

By Vusala Abbasova

The improvement of custom services has been discussed during the 22nd meeting of the GUAM Trade and Transport Facilitation (TTF) Project Steering Committee this week.

The Azerbaijani Customs Service achieved great progress in this sphere over recent years, Aydin Aliyev, the Chairman of the Azerbaijani State Customs Committee, said at the session.

"Today, we put into operation, centers, which corresponded to the highest standards and equipped with the latest technology," Aliyev noted.

The eight centers placed at checkpoints in Azerbaijan are currently in operation, scanning large trucks full of shipments, as two more scanning centers will be operational soon.

Such technology will ensure the safe transportation of goods, as well as will solve the problem of long truck queues at the checkpoints.

Moreover, Aliyev touched the issue of e-government development, which plays significant role in business promotion.

"We already cooperate with 14 government organizations within a framework of the e-government to provide electronic services," Aliyev stressed under the meeting.

In total, the chairman says that over 433,000 electronic requests for various customs services have been registered. There were about 105,000 electronic requests to clear goods at customs in Azerbaijan during the first half of 2015.

A protocol on the “mutual recognition of individual results of goods and vehicles customs control in carrying out of customs procedures,” governing the recognition of customs laws across member states’ borders had also been discussed under the meeting.

The protocol will create favorable conditions to facilitate trade and will accelerate and simplify customs procedures.

The GUAM Steering Committee members stressed the importance of the protocol, by which the GUAM member states (Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Moldova) will track cargo moving across members’ borders, with the relevant documents that apply to the customs legislations of the GUAM member states.

In turn, member states will recognize and apply the relevant customs laws in each of the four countries.

The protocol will be submitted for final approval after a round of amendments and improvements.

Following the meeting, the sides signed a protocol on the preliminary exchange of information regarding goods across borders on a regular basis, in order for member states to prepare for the new legislation. The information will be transferred electronically and signatories hope that it will significantly enhance security and facilitate commerce.

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