Basic regulations governing foreign economic activity

“On the fundamentals of state regulation of foreign trade activities” Federal Law of December 8, 2003 N 164-FZ

Defines the basis of state regulation of foreign trade activities, the powers of the Russian Federation and constituent entities of the Russian Federation in the field of foreign trade activities in order to ensure favorable conditions for foreign trade activities, as well as protect the economic and political interests of the Russian Federation.

“Customs Code of the Customs Union” (annex to the Agreement on the Customs Code of the Customs Union, adopted by the Decision of the Interstate Council of the EurAsEC at the level of heads of state dated November 27, 2009 N 17)

Regulates relations regarding the movement of goods across the customs border of the Customs Union. Replaced the customs codes of the countries participating in the Customs Union.

“Tax Code of the Russian Federation (Part One)” dated July 31, 1998 N 146-FZ (as amended on August 3, 2018), “Tax Code of the Russian Federation (Part Two)” dated August 5, 2000 N 117-FZ (as amended on August 11, 2018) .2018).

Regulates the elimination of double taxation in relation to individuals (Art. 232) and organizations (Art. 311), tax rates (Art. 284), features of taxation of foreign organizations (Art. 306-309), determines the procedure for refunding export VAT (Art. 165, paragraph 3 of Article 172 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

“Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Offenses” dated December 30, 2001 N 195-FZ ed. dated 12/27/2018, as amended. from 01/18/2019)

Establishes administrative liability for violations in the field of currency legislation of the Russian Federation and acts of currency regulatory authorities (Article 15.25), as well as for offenses in the field of customs affairs (violation of customs rules) (Chapter 16).

“On Currency Regulation and Currency Control” Federal Law of December 10, 2003 N 173-FZ

Defines the principles of carrying out currency transactions in the Russian Federation, the powers and functions of currency regulation and currency control bodies, the rights and obligations of legal entities and individuals in relation to the possession, use and disposal of currency values, responsibility for violation of currency legislation.

“On customs regulation in the Russian Federation” Federal Law of November 27, 2010 N 311-FZ

Establishes the features of customs regulation in the Russian Federation in accordance with the provisions of the customs legislation of the Customs Union and contains provisions reflecting the reference norms of the Customs Code of the Customs Union (hereinafter referred to as the Customs Code of the Customs Union), according to which the regulation of a number of legal relations, or the establishment of additional conditions, requirements or features of regulatory legal regulation should be determined at the level of national legislation of the member states of the customs union.

“On special protective, anti-dumping and compensatory measures for the import of goods” Federal Law of December 8, 2003 N 165-FZ

The law is aimed at protecting the economic interests of Russian producers of goods in connection with increased imports, dumped imports or subsidized imports into the customs territory of the Russian Federation. It establishes the procedure for the introduction and application of special protective, anti-dumping and countervailing measures when importing goods.

“On technical regulation” Federal Law of December 27, 2002 N 184-FZ

Regulates relations arising during: development, adoption, application and implementation of mandatory requirements for products or related processes of design (including research), production, construction, installation, commissioning, operation, storage, transportation, sale and disposal.

“On Export Control” Federal Law of July 18, 1999 N 183-FZ

Establishes the principles of implementation of state policy, the legal basis for the activities of government bodies of the Russian Federation in the field of export control, and also determines the rights, duties and responsibilities of participants in foreign economic activity.

“On foreign investments in the Russian Federation” Federal Law of July 9, 1999 N 160-FZ

Determines the basic guarantees of the rights of foreign investors to investments and the income and profits received from them, the conditions for the business activities of foreign investors in Russia.

“On customs tariff” Law of the Russian Federation dated May 21, 1993 N 5003-1 (as amended on August 3, 2018)

Reveals the content of basic terms and definitions, such as customs duties. Establishes the right of the Government of the Russian Federation to set the rates of import and export customs duties, as well as the procedure for their calculation and calculation. With the entry into force of the Customs Code of the Customs Union, many provisions of the Law on Customs Tariffs have lost their force and are currently of only historical and analytical interest, but not practical. At the same time, the Law contains provisions that are not reflected in other regulatory legal acts of the federal and union customs legislation (possibly temporarily). For example, about special and temporary (seasonal) customs tariffs.

“On International Commercial Arbitration” Law of the Russian Federation dated July 7, 1993 N 5338-I (as amended on December 25, 2018)

Establishes provisions on arbitration contained in international treaties of the Russian Federation, as well as in the model law adopted in 1985 by the UN Commission on International Trade Law, approved by the UN General Assembly for possible use by states in their legislation.

“On the coordination of international and foreign economic relations of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation” Federal Law of January 4, 1999 No. 4-FZ.

Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated May 7, 2012 N 605 “On measures to implement the foreign policy of the Russian Federation.”

Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated August 19, 2015 N 424 “On the federal executive body authorized to carry out the functions provided for in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 4 of the Federal Law of January 4, 1999 N 4-FZ “On the coordination of international and foreign economic relations of subjects of the Russian Federation” Federation".

Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated 02/07/2003 N 79 “On approval of the Regulations on the preparation and signing of international intergovernmental acts that are not international treaties of the Russian Federation.”

“On the concept of development of state financial (guarantee) support for the export of industrial products in the Russian Federation.” (with amendments and additions) Order of the Government of the Russian Federation of October 14, 2003 No. 1493-r.

Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated December 17, 2016 No. 1388 “On the provision of subsidies from the federal budget to manufacturers of high-tech products to compensate for part of the costs associated with certification of products in foreign markets when implementing investment projects.”

Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of December 15, 2021 No. 1368 (as amended on December 2, 2017) “On providing subsidies to Russian manufacturers to finance part of the costs associated with registering intellectual property on foreign markets”

Article 4. Legal regulation of relations in the field of customs affairs

This is an old version of the document

1. Legal relations related to the movement of goods across the customs border of the Customs Union are regulated in accordance with the customs legislation of the Customs Union.

2. Officially published international treaties that make up the legal framework of the Customs Union, and decisions of the bodies of the Customs Union are directly effective in the Russian Federation, if they do not contain requirements for the publication of domestic acts for their application. In cases provided for by the customs legislation of the Customs Union, the Government of the Russian Federation has the right to determine the procedure for applying acts of the customs legislation of the Customs Union in the Russian Federation in accordance with this Federal Law.

3. Relations in the field of customs in the Russian Federation are regulated by the customs legislation of the Customs Union and the legislation of the Russian Federation on customs. The legislation of the Russian Federation on customs affairs consists of this Federal Law and other federal laws adopted in accordance with it. The procedure for the actual crossing of goods and vehicles into the State Border of the Russian Federation is regulated by the legislation of the Russian Federation on the State Border of the Russian Federation, and in the part not regulated by the legislation of the Russian Federation on the State Border of the Russian Federation - by the legislation of the Russian Federation on customs affairs.

4. Unless otherwise established by the customs legislation of the Customs Union, the legislation of the Russian Federation on customs affairs is applied to relations regarding the collection and payment of customs duties related to taxes to the extent not regulated by the legislation of the Russian Federation on taxes and fees.

5. The procedure for importing into the Russian Federation and exporting from the Russian Federation the currencies of the member states of the Customs Union, the currency of the Russian Federation, domestic securities, currency valuables and traveler's checks is regulated in accordance with the customs legislation of the Customs Union, the international treaty of the member states of the Customs Union, the currency legislation of the Russian Federation and this Federal Law.

6. Legal relations in the field of customs in the Russian Federation may also be regulated by decrees of the President of the Russian Federation.

7. On the basis of and in pursuance of federal laws in the field of customs in the Russian Federation, decrees of the President of the Russian Federation, the Government of the Russian Federation issues decrees and orders in the field of customs in the Russian Federation.

8. Federal executive authorities adopt normative legal acts on the subject of regulation of this Federal Law only in cases directly provided for by federal laws, acts of the President of the Russian Federation, and the Government of the Russian Federation.

9. Regulatory legal acts of federal executive authorities issued by them on the subject of regulation of this Federal Law may be appealed to the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation.

10. If the customs legislation of the Customs Union establishes rules other than those provided for by this Federal Law, the customs legislation of the Customs Union shall apply.

Customs regulation of services

Customs services are an important area of services serving the foreign trade activities of exporters and importers.
In addition, customs authorities provide services not only to subjects of foreign economic activity at a certain stage of a foreign trade transaction, but also to the state, performing a regulatory function, as well as the ability to protect the economy, public health and environmental protection. Customs processes carried out in various customs authorities are the product of the labor of customs personnel and in this sense have certain quality indicators. Poor performance of customs functions or customs services - violations of customs legislation, insufficient reliability of customs control, entry into the territory of Russia of harmful, dangerous and low-quality products and services, corruption of personnel, which together characterize the level of quality of customs activities - leads to serious negative consequences. For the state, this means loss of reputation of the customs system, risks of reducing the volume of customs payments, entry into the customs territory of the Russian Federation of smuggled, harmful, dangerous and low-quality goods and services, a decrease in the level of economic and environmental security of the country, and deterioration in the health of the nation. For a participant in foreign economic activity, these are losses from downtime, obstacles in the transition to more rational methods of organizing production, and increased risks in commercial activities.

Customs authorities need to further strengthen their position in the customs services market. To do this, it is necessary to improve and unify the regulatory framework. It is necessary to overcome the decrease in the efficiency of public administration and regulation of the customs sector, as well as the complication of decision-making procedures. The solution to this issue will be facilitated by the development and adoption of administrative regulations for the provision of FCS services.

Improving the quality of services provided by customs authorities will largely be facilitated by the introduction of an integrated control system at the Russian border, which will significantly simplify customs clearance procedures, reduce the financial costs of participants in foreign trade activities for undergoing customs procedures, and also increase the capacity of checkpoints.

The development and implementation of modern information customs technologies, including electronic declaration, customs audit methods, customs control after release (post-audit), protection of intellectual property rights, will make the system of organizing customs control and customs clearance equally transparent for both the state and and for foreign trade participants.

In my opinion, the global nature of the introduction of information technology in the process of economic cooperation and cross-border movement of goods requires national administrations to take adequate actions in the field of legal and administrative regulation, affecting two key areas:

organization of information exchange and standardization of data directly from customs services;
ensuring effective interaction between government services involved in the control of international trade and entrepreneurs on the basis of a developed system of information interaction, eliminating duplication and fragmentation of data.

Today, Russian customs authorities are in the stage of active institutional development, which is influenced by two important factors. The first is the upcoming accession of the Russian Federation to the World Trade Organization, within the framework of which Russian customs legislation and customs administration should be harmonized in accordance with generally recognized norms in the field of customs. It was these circumstances that necessitated the adoption in 2009 of a new Customs Code of the Russian Federation, which created the necessary prerequisites for the formation of a practically new legal framework for customs affairs and the organizational and legal framework for the activities of Russian customs authorities that meets international standards. The second important factor causing fundamental changes in the activities of customs authorities is the reform of the public administration system in accordance with the Concept of Administrative Reform in the Russian Federation approved by the Government of the Russian Federation.

In this regard, the compliance of Russian legislation with international norms and rules of customs clearance and trade interaction is of paramount importance in the context of the functioning of the Customs Union and the Common Economic Space, as well as the accession of the Russian Federation to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade of the WTO.