In Nizhny Novgorod, meetings of the heads of customs services of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) took place on September 27. The first event was the 47th meeting of the Joint Collegium of Customs Services of the EAEU member states, chaired by the head of the Federal Customs Service of Russia, Valery Pikalev. The expansion of the list of high-taxable goods, on which customs services work to unify risk indicators and update existing profiles, was given special attention. These goods account for over 85% of customs payments within the Union. A total of 23 issues were discussed at the meeting. Participants discussed the classification of certain goods in accordance with the unified Goods Nomenclature for Foreign Economic Activity of the EAEU. Another significant topic of discussion was the implementation and application of an integrated risk management system within the National Single Window in Armenia’s foreign trade sphere. At the initiative of the Kazakh side, the next meeting of the Joint Collegium of the EAEU member states will be held in Kazakhstan in November of this year.
The 79th meeting of the Council of Heads of Customs Services of the CIS member states also took place, with Valery Pikalev being elected as its chairman for one year. «For me, this is a great honor and a great responsibility. I promise to make every effort to achieve practical results in our joint work. I am confident in our close cooperation, assistance, and support in solving the tasks in the interests of our countries,» said the head of the Federal Customs Service of Russia. The result of many years of work by experts was the signing of two agreements. The first is the Agreement on the procedure for affixing customs stamps and seals by the customs authorities of the CIS member states on transport and commercial documents. It will contribute to the effectiveness of combating violations of customs rules and smuggling by preventing the substitution of transport documents. The Agreement on the training of personnel for the customs services of the CIS member states in higher education programs and additional professional programs was also approved. A total of 11 issues were considered, including the approval of the Work Plan for 2025 and the agreement on the implementation of the second stage of the Strategy for the Economic Development of the CIS until 2030. Decisions were also made to establish a working group on the classification and origin of goods and to exchange experience in the functioning of waiting zones and regulation of the order of entry of vehicles into checkpoints. The next meeting of the Council of Heads of Customs Services of the CIS will take place in Kyrgyzstan in 2025.