Custom Service

The Ministry of Education

Of the Russian Federation

Tula State University

Foreign Languages Department

 

                      

Customs Service

 

 

 

 

 

Written by the

                                                                                 student of group 730412

     Tsetskhladze A.R.                                                                        

                                                                                           Chected by

      Larkina N.I.

 

                                                                

 

 

 

                                                 Tula 2012

 

 Contents

Introduction………………………………………………………………………3                                                                             

Chapter I - What is customs

   1 Red and Green Channels…………………………………………………………………………..4

     2 Privatization of customs…………………………………………………………………………..5

       3 Summary of basic custom rules……………………………………………………………….6

 

Chapter II - World Customs Organization

1 History………………………………………………………………………………………………………….8

2 Instruments…………………………………………………………………………………………………9

Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………………………….10

The list of Literature……………………………………………………………………………………11

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Introduction

 

Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting and safeguarding customs duties and for controlling the flow of goods including animals, personal effects and hazardous items in and out of a country. Depending on local legislation and regulations, the import or export of some goods may be restricted or forbidden, and the customs agency enforces these rules. The customs may be different from the immigration authority, which monitors persons who leave or enter the country, checking for appropriate documentation, apprehending people wanted by international arrest warrants, and impeding the entry of others deemed dangerous to the country.

A customs duty is a tariff or tax on the export of goods. In the Kingdom of England, customs duties were typically part of the customary revenue of the king, and therefore did not need parliamentary consent to be levied, unlike excise duty, land tax, or other forms of taxes.

Commercial goods not yet cleared through customs are held in a customs area, often called a bonded store, until processed. All authorized ports are recognized customs area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Red and Green Channels

 

Customs procedures for arriving passengers at many international airports, and some road crossings, are separated into Red and Green Channels. Passengers with goods to declare (carrying items above the permitted customs limits and/or carrying prohibited items) should go through the Red Channel. Passengers with nothing to declare (carrying goods within the customs limits only and not carrying prohibited items) can go through the Green Channel. Passengers going through the Green Channel are only subject to spot checks and save time. But, if a passenger going through the Green Channel is found to have goods above the customs limits on them or carrying prohibited items, they may be prosecuted for making a false declaration to customs, by virtue of having gone through the Green Channel.

Canada and the United States do not operate a red and green channel system.

Airports within the EU also have a Blue Channel. As the EU is a customs union, travelers between EU countries do not have to pay customs duties. VAT and Excise duties may be applicable if the goods are subsequently sold, but these are collected when the goods are sold, not at the border. Passengers arriving from other EU countries should go through the Blue Channel, where they may still be subject to checks for prohibited or restricted goods. In addition, limitations exist on various tobacco products being imported from certain newly-joined EU member states and use of the Blue Channel if those limitations are being exceeded would be inappropriate. Luggage tickets for checked in luggage within the EU are green-edged so they may be identified. UK policy is that entry into a particular Channel constitutes a legal declaration.

 

 

 

 

 

Privatization of customs

 

Customs is an important part of the government involved in one of the three basic functions of a government, namely, administration, maintenance of law, order and justice and collection of revenue. However, in a bid to mitigate corruption, many countries have partly privatized its Customs. This has occurred by way of engagement of Pre-shipment Inspection Agencies who examine the cargo and verify the declared value before importation is effected and the nation Customs is obliged to accept the report of the agency for the purpose of assessment of leviable duties and taxes at the port of entry. While engaging a pre-shipment inspection agency may appear justified in a country with an inexperienced or inadequate Customs establishment, the measure has not really been able to plug the loophole and protect revenue. It has been found that evasion of Customs duty escalated when pre-shipment agencies took over. It has also been alleged that such involvement of such agencies has been causing delays in the shipment process. Privatization of Customs has been viewed as a fatal remedy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summary of basic custom rules

 

Canada

No customs for mailed goods below $20 CAD.

No customs for gifts below $60 CAD.

Personal exemption amount is given to all household or personal use items imported from another country. The amount depends on the time spent outside of Canada and only accounts for Federal taxes and duties (provincial taxes may still apply). They cannot be combined with another person nor by multiplying them (i.e. 21 days outside of Canada does not equal to $2250 exemption)

24 hours or less = $0 CAD

24–47 hours = $50 CAD

48–7 days = $400 CAD

7 days or more = $750 CAD

Immigrants, in general, have a one time unlimited import allowance. However, certain articles are restricted from importation (i.e. vehicles not meeting Canadian safety standards, firearms, etc)

EU

Germany

Mail limit 22 EUR for commercial goods.

 

Romania

Customs may be very strict, especially for mailed goods (from outside the EU). No known lower limit. Taxes may be stiff. There may be an outgoing custom tax too.

Slovakia

Up to 22€ there is no taxes (it's free). From 22€ up to 150€, there is need to pay VAT (DPH in slovak) which is 19%. From 150€ there is need to pay VAT and customs. Customs may be from 0 to 10% and amount depends on type of imported good.

 

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is a free port and generally do not impose duties on imported or exported goods, with the exception of liquors, tobacco, methyl alcohol and hydrocarbon oil. Residents leaving the territory with a valid Hong Kong Identity Card for 24 hours or more may import up to 1 litre of alcohol and 60 cigarettes or 15 cigars.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter II - World Customs Organization

 

The World Customs Organization (WCO) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. With its worldwide membership, the WCO is recognized as the voice of the global customs community. It is particularly noted for its work in areas covering the development of international conventions, instruments, and tools on topics such as commodity classification, valuation, rules of origin, collection of customs revenue, supply chain security, international trade facilitation, customs enforcement activities, combating counterfeiting in support of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), integrity promotion, and delivering sustainable capacity building to assist with customs reforms and modernization. The WCO maintains the international Harmonized System (HS) goods nomenclature, and administers the technical aspects of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreements on Customs Valuation and Rules of Origin.

 

History

In 1947, thirteen European countries established a Study Group to examine customs issues identified by the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). This work led to the adoption in 1950 of the Convention Establishing the Customs Co-operation Council (CCC), which was signed in Brussels. On January 26, 1953 the CCC’s inaugural session took place with the participation of 17 founding members. WCO membership subsequently expanded to cover all regions of the globe. In 1994, the organization adopted its current name, the World Customs Organization. Today, WCO members are responsible for customs controls on more than 98% of all international trade.

The WCO is internationally acknowledged as the global centre of customs expertise and plays a leading role in the discussion, development, promotion and implementation of modern customs systems and procedures. It is responsive to the needs of its members and its strategic environment, and its instruments and best-practice approaches are recognized as the basis for sound customs administration throughout the world.

The WCO’s primary objective is to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of member customs administrations, thereby assisting them to contribute successfully to national development goals, particularly revenue collection, national security, trade facilitation, community protection, and collection of trade statistics.

 

Instruments

In order to achieve its objectives, the WCO has adopted a number of customs instruments, including but not limited to the following:

The International Convention on the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS Convention) was adopted in 1983 and came into force in 1988. The HS multipurpose goods nomenclature is used as the basis for customs tariffs and for the compilation of international trade statistics. It comprises about 5000 commodity groups, each identified by a six digit code arranged in a legal and logical structure with well-defined rules to achieve uniform classification. The HS is also used for many other purposes involving trade policy, rules of origin, monitoring of controlled goods, internal taxes, freight tariffs, transport statistics, quota controls, price monitoring, compilation of national accounts, and economic research and analysis.

The International Convention on the Simplification and Harmonization of Customs procedures (revised Kyoto Convention or RKC) was originally adopted in 1974 and was subsequently revised in 1999; the revised Kyoto Convention came into force in 2006. The RKC comprises several key governing principles: transparency and predictability of customs controls; standardization and simplification of the goods declaration and supporting documents; simplified procedures for authorized persons; maximum use of information technology; minimum necessary customs control to ensure compliance with regulations; use of risk management and audit based controls; coordinated interventions with other border agencies; and a partnership with the trade. It promotes trade facilitation and effective controls through its legal provisions that detail the application of simple yet efficient procedures and also contains new and obligatory rules for its application. The WCO revised Kyoto Convention is sometimes confused with the Kyoto Protocol, which is a protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC or FCCC).

Conclusion

 

In conclusion it should be noticed that customs is a highly complicated and highly developed institution. It plays an important role in the system of international relations. Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting and safeguarding customs duties and for controlling the flow of goods including animals, personal effects and hazardous items in and out of a country. Customs is an important part of the government involved in one of the three basic functions of a government, namely, administration, maintenance of law, order and justice and collection of revenue. This system faces many problems but it is constantly developing seeking new opportunities for better service.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The list of Literature

1. Агабекян И.П. Английский для средних специальных заведений. Серия «Учебники и учебные пособия». Ростов н/Д: «Феникс», 2006.
2. Агабекян И.П., Коваленко П.И. Английский для технических вузов. Серия «Высшее образование». – Ростов н/Д: «Феникс», 2008.
3. Ажищев Н.И., Суэта Ф.С. Профессия – строитель: Сборник текстов на английском языке с упражнениями: Учеб. пособие для техникумов. – 2-е изд., - М.: Высш. шк., 2006.
4. Английский язык для студентов технических вузов: основной курс. В 2 ч.: учебное пособие / С.А. Хоменко; под общей ред. Хоменко С.А., Скалабан В.Ф. – 2-е изд., испр. – Мн.: Высш. шк., 2006.
5. Богацкий И.С., Дюканова Н.М. Бизнес-курс английского языка. Словарь-справочник. Под общей ред. Богацкого И.С. – 3-е изд., испр. – Киев: «Логос», 2007.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summary

 

Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting and safeguarding customs duties and for controlling the flow of goods including animals, personal effects and hazardous items in and out of a country. Depending on local legislation and regulations, the import or export of some goods may be restricted or forbidden, and the customs agency enforces these rules. The customs may be different from the immigration authority, which monitors persons who leave or enter the country, checking for appropriate documentation, apprehending people wanted by international arrest warrants, and impeding the entry of others deemed dangerous to the country.

A customs duty is a tariff or tax on the export of goods. In the Kingdom of England, customs duties were typically part of the customary revenue of the king, and therefore did not need parliamentary consent to be levied, unlike excise duty, land tax, or other forms of taxes.

Commercial goods not yet cleared through customs are held in a customs area, often called a bonded store, until processed. All authorized ports are recognized customs area.

Customs is an important part of the government involved in one of the three basic functions of a government, namely, administration, maintenance of law, order and justice and collection of revenue. However, in a bid to mitigate corruption, many countries have partly privatized its Customs. This has occurred by way of engagement of Pre-shipment Inspection Agencies who examine the cargo and verify the declared value before importation is effected and the nation Customs is obliged to accept the report of the agency for the purpose of assessment of viable duties and taxes at the port of entry. While engaging a pre-shipment inspection agency may appear justified in a country with an inexperienced or inadequate Customs establishment, the measure has not really been able to plug the loophole and protect revenue. It has been found that evasion of Customs duty escalated when pre-shipment agencies took over. It has also been alleged that such involvement of such agencies has been causing delays in the shipment process. Privatization of Customs has been viewed as a fatal remedy.