Translated material
Planned confusion
Regional authorities and entrepreneurs do not like the Kaliningrad customs reform
In the Kaliningrad region, on April 1, 2008, customs began to work in a new way. As predicted by the Vremya Novostey newspaper , the reform of local customs brought many problems to the region.Considering that the region borders on all sides with foreign countries, it is quite understandable why the activities of customs authorities play a special role here. Their workload indicators are the highest in the Northwestern Federal District - in 2007, about 2 million vehicles and almost 6 million individuals were registered. Any change in the system quickly affects local business, and, alas, not always positively.
A month before April 1, regional authorities began to publicly express alarm about the upcoming changes. Governor of the Kaliningrad region Georgy Boos addressed the head of the Russian Presidential Administration Sergei Sobyanin with a letter - he asked Mr. Sobyanin to convene a meeting dedicated to reforming the Kaliningrad customs system.
Mr. Boos, telling reporters about this letter, said that the Federal Customs Service refuses to say how exactly it intends to change its Kaliningrad segment, and this, they say, will destabilize the situation in the region. He said that he also sent a letter to the head of the Federal Customs Service, Andrei Belyaninov, with a request to discuss plans for reforming customs with the regional authorities. “In a telephone conversation, Andrei Yuryevich said that this was their competence. Of course, but if a mistake is made, it will greatly affect the Kaliningrad region. Here you have to measure seven times!” - Mr. Boos said then. The governor never received an official response from the Federal Customs Service, so he turned to the head of the presidential administration. Whether Mr. Sobyanin held a meeting remains unknown. At least the regional administration did not report it.
Then April 1st came. As a result of the reorganization, the Kaliningrad, Bagrationovskaya and Neman customs houses became part of a single regional customs office. The Chernyakhovsky customs post was liquidated, the functions of which were transferred to Sovetsk. The maritime customs posts in the ports of Baltiysk, Svetly and Kaliningrad have been strengthened, and the staffing of the actively developing Khrabrovo Airport has increased by 30 people. The staffing level at the customs post in the village of Alexander Kosmodemyansky, which is “tied” to the Russian auto assembly giant Avtotor, has been increased. The remaining companies, of course, do not have a “personal” customs post, but instead they received a bunch of difficulties from April 1.
Entrepreneurs from Chernyakhovsk, who lost their customs post, were the first to draw attention to this. They even had to partially suspend their work, stopping sending goods to “big” Russia. The management of a local meat processing plant was forced to send workers home because they did not know when the situation would return to normal. They had to transport their goods to Sovetsk, and this is an additional hook for perishable goods. Many other local entrepreneurs have the same problems.
Driven to the brink, people turned to the media for help - local television talked about them. Perhaps it was thanks to this that the customs authorities made contact. The head of the regional customs, Alexander Chebaev, arrived in Chernyakhovsk, where he met with representatives of small and medium-sized businesses from other cities in the region - Ozersk, Nesterov, Gusev. Entrepreneurs asked him to do at least something to return the post to Chernyakhovsk and “win back” the reform by suspending the corresponding order of the Federal Customs Service of the Russian Federation. Mr. Chebaev replied that orders are not discussed, but his department is open to dialogue.
The head of the Kaliningrad customs also demonstrated his desire for communication during the round table, organized on the initiative of the regional Duma. There, Mr. Chebaev said that the goal of the reorganization of customs authorities is to optimize the structure, simplify the management vertical by eliminating intermediate links.
However, the customs management vertical in the region was at first very feverish after the reform. Some companies involved in the international transportation of goods were forced to completely switch to “big” Russia - in April, the activity of Kaliningrad organizations involved in import-export fell sharply. In addition, businesses complain about increased confusion in customs authorities, citing as an example the increasing frequency of computer failures - customs authorities have been abolished and reassigned, and changed bank and other details have been forgotten to be “entered” into the system. Another common complaint is that companies have to deliver their cargo, even if it is quite modest in size and value, with escort, which means additional costs and paperwork.
The reluctance of customs structures to consult with local authorities and carry out their reform, as Mr. Boos expected, gave rise to additional problems for the Kaliningrad authorities and business.