The delegation of the Federal Customs Service of Russia headed by First Deputy Head Ruslan Davydov took part in the business program of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum – 2024.
The first day of the business dialogue “Russia – China” was organized with the support of the Russian Export Center in cooperation with representatives of FESCO, Sovcomflot, Mirator, and RZD
On the first day there was a business dialogue “Russia – China”, organized with the support of the Russian Export Center together with representatives of the companies FESCO, Sovcomflot, Miratorg, Russian Railways, Delo. The participants discussed the main directions of development of trade and economic relations between Russia and China, as well as new supply chains and implementation of transport and logistics projects.
“We are targeting the development of trade and economic relations between Russia and China, as well as new supply chains and implementation of transport and logistics projects
“We aim to increase trade turnover, support Russian and Chinese companies, importers and exporters. Last year there was an unprecedented growth in bilateral trade – 23.5% in value terms. In the first 4 months of this year, the growth continues – by another 7% compared to last year. Cargo turnover is also growing at a good pace – this year we will be able to exceed 300 million tons,” – said Ruslan Davydov
He also outlined the main steps of the two countries to realize seamless movement of goods. This is facilitated by the Memorandum signed in 2023 between the FCS of Russia and the State Customs Service of China on cooperation in the field of intellectualization of activities, as well as the current agreement on mutual recognition of authorized economic operators (AEO), which allows to minimize control measures and speed up transportation. Ruslan Davydov urged businesses to make more active use of the institution of mutual recognition of AEOs
On the second day, the session “Stability, Predictability and Transparency of Doing Business” took place. Taking the floor, Ruslan Davydov noted that the turnaround of Russia’s foreign trade from the West to the East and the South has taken place.
“We see that Russia’s foreign trade is turning from the West to the East and the South
“We see that while trade with the U.S. and Europe has fallen by 80% or more, we have a serious growth in trade with China, Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. The balance of foreign trade remains positive,” he said
Customs authorities have implemented a number of simplifications to help businesses. For example, about 75% of foreign trade [by value] is carried out by companies that fall into the low-risk category. And control measures are applied to them five times less often. The frequency of inspections has been reduced to 0.5% of commodity shipments. In other words, only every two hundredth consignment is subject to serious control measures
Significant simplifications have also been introduced in law enforcement together with the Prosecutor’s Office
“First is the possibility of using a ‘warning’ as an administrative enforcement measure. Since last year, 27.5% of all AP cases end up with just a warning. As a rule, these are first offenses and not heavy administrative structures”, – said Ruslan Davydov
The possibility of issuing a fine for the same type of decisions once has also been introduced. This has reduced the administrative and financial burden on businesses
“In addition, we have agreed with the Prosecutor’s Office on the possibility of paying a half fine. It can be paid within 20 days of notification. Businesses have already saved 1.3 billion rubles on this over the past year,” Ruslan Davydov added
In conclusion, the First Deputy Head of the FCS of Russia spoke at the session “Sovereign Logistics of Russia. Let’s go!”
He reminded the participants that the speed of passing through checkpoints depends on three components: physical infrastructure, digitalization of all procedures and the use of modern technologies, as well as the interaction of all stakeholders at the border in a “one-stop-shop” format.
“We need to make sure that the border crossing points are as fast as possible
“We have infrastructure in air cargo terminals at the level of the world’s best practices. And there is a lot to work on in seaports. But we see how the port of Bronka, for example, is developing here in St. Petersburg. It was built not so long ago, and it is already an example of modern infrastructure. Vladivostok is also developing well. A promising port Sukhodol is planned there, in accordance with the world standards,” – he said
The most difficult situation today is with the infrastructure of road border crossing points. In this regard, fundamental attention is paid to the fulfillment of the task set by the President of the Russian Federation to ensure the passage of automobile checkpoints in 10 minutes. This issue is especially relevant for the Far East, where due to the turnaround of Russian foreign trade transportation has grown by 35% and is expected to grow further
Customs is acting with both modern digital methods and extensive methods. The Far East has already added more than 1,000 additional staffing levels.
Customs has already added more than 1,000 additional officers
When physical conditions for cargo throughput are realized at border crossing points, technology comes into play. Good practices include REC’s “one window” and FESCO’s creation of integrated information systems for cargo data processing
We are planning further digitalization of customs, TradeLens-like projects, and blockchain. These are the world’s best practices.