Kazakh businessmen suffer losses as a result of the actions of the Russian customs authorities

NCE RK "Atameken" recently often draws attention to the difficulties with the delivery of goods to Kazakhstan, which are in transit through the territory of the Russian Federation.

Kazakhstan due to its geographical position depends on transit through the territory of the Russian Federation in view of the fact that it is the optimal way to deliver goods to Kazakhstan from the countries of the European Union. Well-established scheme of delivery of goods and long existing routes, until recently, worked smoothly and allowed entrepreneurs at all levels, from the importer to the carrier to plan business processes and to build effective supply chains.

However, the sanctions policy of the Russian Federation imposed a serious damage on the foreign economic activities of Kazakh entrepreneurs. The first "alarm" was related to the actions of the Russian FCS action against Kazakhstani carriers, from September of this year all shipments within the scope of the sanctions list are subject to 100% customs inspection throughout the entire journey on the territory of the Russian Federation. Kazakh carriers, who deliver goods, which fall in the sanctioned list by the Russian standards, in transit through the territory of the Russian Federation to Kazakhstan undergo the following mandatory procedures:

• 100% full customs inspection of cargo at the external border of the EAEU;

• Establishment of the route by the customs authorities at the external border of the Russian Federation with the obligatory registration in all indicated customs bodies of the Russian Federation on the route to Kazakhstan (the minimum is one, but usually - two);

• 100% customs inspection of sealed cargo on the territory of the Russian Federation with seals put by the customs authorities of the Russian Federation at the external border.

We must understand that the Russian legislation provides for liability for a carrier’s failure to comply with the route, so Kazakh carriers deliver loads in Kazakhstan, not on the basis of economic benefits, but are guided by the further opportunity to carry out cargo transportation a on the territory of the EAEU in principle.

Kazakh businessmen, considering the whole range of difficulties encountered during the transit of goods by vehicles, use railway transport to the extent possible, in hope that the same measures of customs control on behalf of the Russian Federation will not apply to this form of transport.

But it turns out that no one can give guarantees of timely delivery of sanctioned goods to Kazakhstan by any form of transport.

And it doesn’t matter what kind of transport was used for delivery of goods to Kazakhstan and what documents were provided.

A very interesting situation occurred with the delivery of products that are subject to veterinary control. In August of this year NCE RK "Atameken" already gave an explanation of the ban on imports of Norwegian fish with an indication of the regulatory framework , governing the introduction of unilateral measures in respect of controlled products.

We must understand that some of the rules of supranational law allow us to extend restrictive measures on the import of the controlled product of one of the Member States on all Member States of the EAEU. In practice, our entrepreneurs personally convinced that this mechanism works very well.

This week NCE RK "Atameken" received complaints of domestic entrepreneurs (IE Tarasov, LLP "Proedvans"), who were trying to deliver to Kazakhstan herring, sprat, fresh frozen, made at the Baltic enterprises. Despite having all the necessary certificates and permits from the Committee of veterinary control and supervision of the Ministry of Agriculture of Kazakhstan, the products, intended for Kazakhstan at the crossing of the external border of the EAEU at the railway customs checkpoint of the Russian Federation, were not allowed to be imported into the territory of the EAEU.

All attempts that have been made by the competent authorities of Kazakhstan, represented by the Ministry of Agriculture, have not solved the problem: the wagon of LLP "Proedvans" was returned back to Latvia, and the container of frozen anchovies of IE “Tarasov” from November 2 of this year stays idle at the railway station Rezekne in Latvia. We can only guess what losses suffered our businesses and what other costs they can await.

It is impossible to solve problems that arise in transit of veterinary products at the customs posts on the external border of the Russian Federation that operate in accordance with the order of the Rosselkhoznadzor, and when we address to the Rosselkhoznadzor they say that they didn’t introduce any prohibitions and restrictions on the import of goods to Kazakhstan.

Our entrepreneurs have been victims of lack of communication, not only in terms of cooperation on these issues between the competent authorities of Kazakhstan and Russia in the veterinary field, but also inefficient interaction between the Russian FCS and Rosselkhoznadzor.