Conference on Cooperation between Belarusian and Russian Customs Officers in the Sphere of High Information Technologies Took Place in Moscow

An international conference “Cooperation of Belarusian and Russian customs authorities in the sphere of high information technologies” took place in Moscow on October 23rd within the exhibition “Customs Service – 2008”.

An international conference “Cooperation of Belarusian and Russian customs authorities in the sphere of high information technologies” took place in Moscow on October 23^rd within the exhibition “Customs Service – 2008”.

The reason for holding the conference was the launch of the union programme “Implementation of information technologies in the sphere of common customs processes on the territories of the Union State member-countries” for the years 2008-2010 (approved by the resolution of the Union State Council of Ministers of January 26^th, 2008). Among others, the event was attended by the representatives of the Union State Customs Committee.

The participants of the meeting examined the results of the previous programme on informatization of the Union State customs service which was carried out over the years 2003-2005. Relying on these results they worked out basic subsystems of the first stage of Unified Automated Information System (UAIC USCC) which serve as an information and technical platform as well as have joined departmental integrated telecommunications systems of the Russian Federal Customs Service and Belarusian State Customs Committee on the basis of high speed digital channel of data transfer between Russian and Belarusian customs services (instead of modem long-distance telephony). Besides that, the participants fine-tuned the basic technological and engineering solutions for the key subsystems of UAIC USCC in terms of common customs processes in the Union State.

The main objective set by the new Union programme is to achieve a qualitatively new level of customs service organization on the territory of the Union State by creating and developing information technology which implements common customs processes within the Union State.

The participants of the conference mapped out a package of policy events which include the development activities aimed to design and upgrade automated subsystems and systems of software tools that are the part of UAIC USCC and concern such processes as: customs clearance of interim import on the territory of the Union State; placement of goods under tariff treatments; maintenance of reference data in the real-time status; customs clearance and customs control of goods and transport vehicles relocated within customs territories of the Union State taking into account national legislations; the process of monitoring relocation of Belarusian and Russian merchandise transported by land between Kaliningrad region and the rest of the Union State as well as maintenance of national risk management subsystems that are the part of UAIC USCC.

This year some of this programme’s activities have already been implemented. For instance, Union State Customs Committee board has worked out and approved the Procedure of coordination of activities aimed to implement the Programme, has organized a Russian-Belarusian Working Group (first deputies of the two heads of customs services were appointed its chairpersons) as well as issued the orders of the Russian Federal Customs Service and Belarusian State Customs Committee regulating the concerted implementation of the Programme’s activities in 2008.

The programme is planned to be realized within three years – from January 2008 till December 2010.