Azernews.Az

BAKU – The Azerbaijani parliament adopted a new draft of the customs code in the first reading on Tuesday.

The new customs code meets the world standards, head of the Parliamentary Committee on Economic Policy Ziyad Samadzade said.

"The code provides for applying the information and communication technologies in the customs system. It will allow countries seekng to cooperate with Azerbaijan to improve the quantity and speed of document circulation. This will help to increase the trade turnover," Samadzade said.

MP Ali Masimli said that establishing a new customs code is an important requirement of time.

"Adopting the new customs code is important from the standpoint of Azerbaijan's fulfillment of obligations taken for joining the WTO. The document was drafted in a more extended form and in accordance with international standards compared to the previous code," Masimli said.

The existing customs code was adopted in 1997.

Adopting the new customs code will create favorable conditions for strengthening technical bases of the customs system and customs infrastructure. It will also accelerate Azerbaijan's accession to the WTO and fully apply automatic control in the customs system. Moreover, it will increase the efficiency of customs control, improve and develop the customs tariff policy, increase the role of customs in ensuring the economic security of the country and strengthen the fight against crimes in the area of customs.