International checkpoint "Zabaikalsk" - an eternal queue and possible prospects

Contacts and details

t/p MAPP Zabaikalsk on the map

Other posts and customs of Zabaikalsk and Transbaikal Territory

• Transbaikal customs post (10719030)
• Customs post of railway border crossing point Zabaikalsk (10719100)

See also: Zabaikalsk, Trans-Baikal Territory, Customs posts, Road posts, Airports, Seaports

Congestion, fights, queues: the situation is heating up at the checkpoint in Zabaikalsk

For several weeks now, hundreds of trucks have been stuck at the Russian-Chinese border at the Zabaikalsk-Manchuria checkpoint, unable to pick up cargo from the Chinese side. If last week it was said about 700 cars that were stuck at the border, then today, according to carriers, their number exceeded 1000 (as of 05.10). The situation is heating up; at the checkpoint there have already been several fights between drivers who are trying to get through the line faster and get on the list of customs officers. Representatives of carrier companies talk about this.

As the commercial director of Tanais JSC Ekaterina Barboshina notes, while the traffic police post was working at the checkpoint, it was calmer. It is possible to cross the border only after the car is included in a special list compiled by customs officers, but among the drivers there were those who wanted to skip the line. Law enforcement officers regulated the inclusion of drivers on these lists, reducing the intensity.

“After September 20, this post was simply removed, and the situation worsened sharply,” she emphasizes.
– If in the classic version, from 100 to 160 cars were included in the lists per day, then after the 20th no more than 40 cars per day passed through the border. Traffic was also difficult due to conflicts among drivers who simply blocked the road. History of the issue
Truck traffic jams on the border with China are growing in number

The border with China in Primorye cannot accommodate everyone who wants to leave

A large traffic jam of trucks has formed on the border of Belarus and the EU

According to the expert, the situation was further aggravated by the fact that at the end of the week the Chinese completely stopped submitting lists for cars to cross borders, since many loaded trailers had accumulated on their side. “For several days the traffic didn’t move at all,” continues Ekaterina Barboshina. — Enlightenments began only on Sunday, October 3. This was facilitated by the arrival of several riot police units, who again began to regulate the lists. Inclusion in the lists has started again, but it is going slowly.

According to the expert, misuse of lists, lack of order and control of agreements at the checkpoint became the causes of the jam.

Maxim Ignatov, head of the road transportation department from China at the international transport and logistics company, describes the situation in approximately the same way. According to him, there are now about 1,000 empty trucks in Zabaikalsk and at the entrances to it, waiting to enter China. On average, 60-80 empty cars enter the territory of the People's Republic of China per day.

“As a positive change, we note that since October 1, customs transit clearance at the Zabaikalsk international checkpoint has been carried out around the clock,” he notes. – It’s too early to talk about results; it will take time to track the effectiveness of the introduced changes over time.

The customs officers themselves pin their hopes on the 24-hour operation of the point, however, according to representatives of the department, carriers are independently aggravating the situation, and they call the main reason for the congestion at the border the adoption by the Chinese side of additional anti-Covid measures.

“Chita customs additionally organized the work of night shifts of the customs clearance and customs control department No. 1 of the customs post of the Zabaikalsk international border crossing point from 21.00 to 09.00. 30 officials from other divisions of the customs post were seconded to the cargo direction,” says the official statement of the press service of the Chita customs.

As the department notes, these measures should speed up customs operations at the checkpoint. At the same time, customs officials say that round-the-clock operation will not help solve the problem unless the carriers themselves begin to actively use the opportunity to submit transit declarations in order to release the truck from the territory of the checkpoint.

Let us remind you that at the Chinese-Russian checkpoint “Manchuria-Zabaikalsk” about 700 trucks were stuck in line. This figure was announced last week. LR

Customs broker services

• Personal customs clearance specialist;
• We prepare and execute the necessary documentation - declarations, applications, various permitting forms, documents, reporting;
• Recommendations on HS codes for goods;
• Preliminary calculation of customs value and amount of advance customs payments;
• Drawing up DT projects and related documents;
• Document flow with customs;
• Submission of information at the request of the Customs post of MAPPA of Zabaikalsk;
• Representation of the Customer's interests in the customs authorities of the Russian Federation;
• Organization, if necessary, of preliminary customs inspection of goods and vehicles before submitting the DT;
• Drawing up a declaration of intent under the seal of the customs representative;
• Consulting in the field of foreign economic activity (FEA);

More than 300 heavy trucks have been parked for five days at the international checkpoint in Zabaikalsk. Drivers are not given trailers.

Today, September 20, our regular reader called the editor of “Vechorka” and reported that more than 300 trucks were stuck at the multilateral automobile checkpoint on the border with China.

“I am involved in transportation and arrived at the checkpoint on the 15th, everything was fine, local traffic cops were on site. On September 16, I unfastened my trailer, which was loaded with vegetables. And now we’ve been standing for five days, they won’t give us the trailer, they won’t let us go anywhere. About 300 cars have already accumulated, we want to pick up our carts,” he said.

The driver also said that he was worried about the goods, which could go bad, and then he would have to pay millions for it.

“Vechorka” dossier:

Let us recall that at the end of August, the Association of International Road Carriers complained to the Commissioner for the Rights of Entrepreneurs of the Trans-Baikal Territory, Victoria Bessonova, about the conditions for allowing vehicles to cross the border with China at the International Checkpoint in Zabaikalsk.

As stated in the letter, the situation at the international checkpoint became more complicated in 2021 due to restrictive measures due to coronavirus introduced by the Chinese side.

“Currently, only cargo is exported from the PRC, and throughout the entire restrictive period, a limit has been set on the number of vehicles entering the territory of the PRC for cargo according to lists formed by the Chinese organization according to special paid quotas allocated by Chinese shippers. From May 31, 2021, the number of vehicles allowed to enter the territory of the PRC to supply empty semi-trailers for loading has been increased to 100 units. However, the Zabaikalsk international checkpoint provides daily passage of 60-80 vehicles with empty semi-trailers across the border,” the letter says.

It notes that due to the unbalanced operation of the Russian checkpoint, dozens of Russian vehicles included in the entry lists are not processed every day.

“The situation is aggravated by the fact that quotas for cars that did not manage to exit the Russian Federation at the checkpoint are canceled, and Russian carriers are forced to conduct difficult negotiations with Chinese partners to issue new quotas with financial losses for themselves,” noted the authors of the letter.

It is also noted that Trans-Baikal carriers, taking advantage of the “patronage of criminals,” do not respect the order of entry to the international checkpoint, which causes outrage among other carriers - according to the authors of the letter, this often causes conflicts and even fights.

Price

One consignment of goods is understood as a consignment of goods sent at a time to the consignee using one waybill in one vehicle within the framework of one foreign trade contract.

International checkpoint "Zabaikalsk" - an eternal queue and possible prospects

The automobile checkpoint on the Chinese-Russian border has been experiencing difficult times for several months.

The problem with queues at the highway checkpoint is not new; traffic jams in this area occur with enviable frequency, especially in the high season, and there is still no special parking lot that could help reduce traffic intensity.

The large accumulation of trucks at the checkpoint is due to the Chinese side strengthening anti-Covid measures, as well as carriers’ failure to comply with the procedure for importing goods. Let us remind you that from mid-August 2021, the TLT-Zabaikalsk warehouses were transferred to the Transbaikal customs post and now, in order to import goods from China into Russia, it is necessary to register customs transit and go through a certain procedure that requires compliance with certain conditions. In fact, the time spent processing data by all participants has increased, and there is no more capacity.

Globally, in order to increase the capacity of the Zabaikalsk international checkpoint and create the most comfortable necessary conditions for carriers, the Federal State Institution "Rosgranstroy" entered into a state contract for the development of a project for the reconstruction of the border crossing. The project should be ready by 2022, after which construction and installation work will begin. Construction is scheduled to be completed in 2024.

New buildings and structures should appear in the border crossing area. The transport roadway will also be increased and the number of lanes for traffic and passport control booths, which in turn will be equipped with modern equipment, will therefore be increased. But at the entrance to the checkpoint there will be specially equipped storage areas.

Let us remind you that, starting in September, traffic jams at the border began to “break records.” Drivers have to literally live in the car for several days, waiting for their turn.

And now they plan to start processing trucks at the Zabaikalsk automobile pass on the Chinese-Russian border in the evening and at night. This was reported earlier by the press service of Rosgranstroi. To organize this process, the Federal Customs Service even agreed to allocate several dozen employees. According to the department’s plans, this should speed up customs operations and the passage of all formalities by vehicles, which will stabilize the current situation with traffic jams at the border.

However, you should be prepared that during the peak season and winter the situation can only get worse. Therefore, you need to be prepared for significant delays at the border.

Logistics

Trucking of goods

Transportation crisis

Operating procedure

1. Request. You leave a request in any convenient way: by phone, email or through forms on the website.
2. Consultation with a specialist. We call you back and find out your task in the field of foreign economic activity and inform you of the price for customs clearance.
3. Signing the contract. Agreeing on the terms of cooperation and signing the contract.
4. Preparation of documents and certificates. Collection and preparation of the necessary permits for the import or export of your goods.
5. Customs clearance. Submitting a declaration, resolving disputes and attending inspections and inspections.

MAPP: the queue of trucks is growing, it is unknown who is creating the lists

The media and public pages on social networks have already publicized the appeals of carriers at the Zabaikalsk international checkpoint about the ongoing lawlessness. Truckers waiting in line at the border with China wrote that

Quote : “Banditry is flourishing at the Zabaikalsk international checkpoint. Two groups took over the traffic lanes. They pass without a queue (...) do not let anyone through, they themselves cross the border several times, thereby the queue does not move, but gets longer. They break windows, walk around with iron pipes, batons, and pistols so that no one can say anything against. The traffic police officers do not react in any way.”

After this statement, the press service of the regional Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that “information about the existence of criminal groups does not correspond to reality.” Today, even more shocking information is coming from the checkpoint - China no longer compiles lists for crossing the border, this was done by a certain Oleg Kazantsev, allegedly acting on the orders of the Ministry of Planning and Development of the Trans-Baikal Territory.

FAKE DOCUMENTS

The carriers' chat included 2 photographs of a letter from the Chinese side, which reads that, according to the decree of Manzhouli, it was decided that starting from November 29, 2021, the following rules will be introduced for incoming vehicles through a car pass:

— Starting from November 29, 2021, the management of lists for incoming vehicles at the Manzhouli point will be canceled and registration will be introduced. The information will be used by the Chinese Joint Inspection Department to facilitate inspection and speedy customs clearance, and unregistered Russian vehicles will be prohibited from entering China.

— Chinese companies must connect with the Russian side in advance, check their parking space and register vehicles, which will be provided with unhindered entry into China the next day.

— Chinese companies should contact the Russian side in advance to make sure there are no disruptions. If, due to failures, cars remain at the checkpoint and the adjacent control zone, the driver with the car will be disqualified for entry for 7 days.

Having seen the letter, the carriers were confused - the previous queue was actually canceled, and it was unknown who was creating the new one. But almost immediately a resolution came into the chat about Oleg Pavlovich Kazantsev taking over these responsibilities. The document with his signature indicates that his software development company is taking over the organization of foreign economic activity. The coordination body is located in the Svetlana cafe. Later, an announcement appeared on the door of the cafe-office, which indicated a list of documents required for the carrier to be included in the border crossing queue. This list is supposedly approved by the Ministry of Planning of the Western Territory. Then an agreement appeared between Metrolab LLC and the Manchurian International Trading Company, by which they endowed themselves with the right to compile and verify lists.

JACK OF ALL TRADES

Carriers have no trust in self-proclaimed curators. The queue that had been forming for a long time at the click of Kazantsev’s mouse changed, dozens of cars simply fell out of it. However, the starting positions were taken by carriers who had just arrived at the border. In addition, Oleg Pavlovich is listed as the founder of 14 organizations, 12 of which have been liquidated or are in the process of liquidation, including due to a tax claim. One of the root ones became the object of consideration of a criminal case in which Kazantsev was accused under the article of fraud. Today, December 1, another message arrived in the same chat, but in text format, stating that from today on, ASMAP (Association of International Auto Carriers) and FGKU Rosgranstroy will be involved in the formation of lists. Carriers must fill out an electronic form on the ASMAP website, after which the data will be transmitted electronically to the Federal State Institution "Rosgranstroy" to organize the arrival. At the moment, the application acceptance service is not available, and until its launch, arrivals are offered on a first-come, first-served basis.

WHAT IS THE GOVERNMENT DOING?

The decision sent to the carriers' chat should have been published on the Internet resources of executive authorities, including the Government of the Trans-Baikal Territory, today - December 1, 2021. However, this decision is not available on any of the sites, and it is impossible to reach the management. Regional Planning Minister Ilya Akishin has been meeting all day, as has his deputy Marina Stepanova, and they have no time to talk to journalists. The only thing that the ministry has done at the moment is to send a letter to the mayor of Manzhouli asking not to introduce new rules. While the regional authorities do not provide any information, complete chaos reigns in the checkpoint territory.

Tamara Wang-Fu-Li, Viktor Solovyov, ZabTV