Customs clearance of goods in Russia is a labor-intensive process that requires detailed knowledge of the legislation. Since some legal entities are forced to constantly deal with customs clearance, in some cases it is more profitable to use the services of a broker. Thanks to this, the time spent on paperwork will be reduced, tax and customs legislation will be observed, and the need for a person’s personal presence when filling out forms will be eliminated.
Who is a customs broker/representative?
Customs broker is an outdated common name for companies that carry out customs clearance of the customer’s cargo and represent it in various control and supervision authorities.
Customs representative is a modern, generally accepted term denoting a company that, in addition to customs clearance, provides a wide range of services: assistance in certification of goods, outsourcing of foreign trade activities and other services that are necessary for the import/export of goods.
The customs code still contains the term “customs broker”, which is equivalent to “customs representative”:
A customs broker (representative) is an intermediary who carries out customs operations on behalf and on behalf of the declarant or another person who is granted the right to carry out customs operations in accordance with the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.
Definition from the “Customs Code of the Eurasian Economic Union”
Advantages of contacting a customs representative
Customs brokerage services are a kind of qualified and personal consultant on all customs issues.
Therefore, cooperation with a licensed customs broker provides participants in foreign trade activities with the following advantages:
- maximum reduction of the time required for customs clearance;
- legal legitimacy of the actions taken;
- resolving all the complexities of the customs clearance procedure for cargo;
- ensuring accurate calculations of taxes and duties;
- tracking of cargo throughout its movement;
- qualified completion of documentation;
- clearance of goods in accordance with customs regimes;
- participation in all forms and types of customs control;
- selection of effective and optimal product design schemes;
- the presence of professional connections to quickly achieve mutual understanding on emerging issues;
- financial guarantees in case of poor performance of assigned tasks;
- significant savings in customer time.
In general, every professional customs representative is able to efficiently, quickly and efficiently handle customs operations, becoming a reliable partner for the customer and saving him money, time and nerves.
Stages of work of a customs representative
For customs clearance of cargo, the customs representative must:
- Select HS codes for all goods in delivery, calculate customs duties and fees
- Fill out customs declarations for these goods
- Ensure that the importer pays customs duties and taxes
- Provide completed customs declarations to customs in electronic form, having previously certified them with an electronic digital signature (EDS) of the importer or customs representative. Notify the importer about the release of the goods and, if there are customs comments on the goods (an inspection or other procedure has been assigned), inform the cargo owner and suggest possible further actions and solutions
Types of digital signature for certification and filing of customs declarations
To certify the declaration, the customs representative can use:
1) Electronic digital signature of the importer. Issuing an electronic digital signature is simple. You can make an urgent digital signature or a regular one. You can find out about the timing and cost of digital signature in our article, electronic signature for customs clearance.
2) The customs representative’s own digital signature In order for a company providing customs clearance services to be able to use such digital signature, it will need to obtain a license from the Federal Customs Service of Russia for bank collateral of at least 20 million rubles (Federal Law dated November 27, 2010 N 311-FZ, as amended by 07/29/2017: “On customs regulation in the Russian Federation” Article 61. Conditions for including a legal entity in the register of customs representatives).
Customs broker - who is he?
A customs broker (customs representative) is a legal entity that provides professional services for customs clearance of cargo and goods. The task of a customs broker is to help the owner or recipient of the cargo with customs clearance.
Benefits of working with a broker
All goods transported across the customs border are subject to mandatory customs clearance; this process is also called “customs clearance”. Clearance is carried out by submitting a customs declaration to the customs authority.
Individuals submit a declaration on paper, legal entities – electronically.
The advantage of an electronic customs declaration is that it can be submitted to the customs authority remotely in real time, without a mandatory visit to customs and waiting for an appointment with an inspector. However, there are also disadvantages, namely the need to purchase:
- special expensive software licensed in the Russian Federal Customs Service system;
- a special electronic key - an electronic digital signature (EDS) for remote confirmation of the legal significance of the submitted customs declaration.
Based on this, the advantages of working with a customs broker are the following factors:
- the competence of customs broker specialists in performing various types of transactions of goods of individuals and legal entities in customs;
- legal entities are freed from the need to purchase expensive software;
- legal responsibility for customs operations is transferred to the customs representative, who has professionally trained specialists in the field of customs on his staff;
- the property of the represented persons (owners and recipients of the cargo) is protected by a civil liability risk insurance agreement;
- there is a bank guarantee to ensure the payment of customs duties in the amount of at least 1 million euros (intended for the payment of customs duties and taxes);
- the ability to pay customs duties for the client using the “Round” system and a customs card;
- the shortest possible time for transactions at customs.
How to distinguish a “white” - official customs broker from a fly-by-night company?
An official customs broker carries out customs operations on behalf of the client behind his digital signature and bears full legal responsibility for his actions, a “gray” broker only for the client’s digital signature, and responsibility for all actions and errors committed by him lies with the owner of the digital signature. An official broker is included in the Register of Customs Representatives, has a bank guarantee in the amount of 1 million euros and carries out transactions on the basis of a brokerage agreement, and a “gray” broker - on the basis of oral agreements or a consulting agreement.
More complete information about the rights and obligations of owners of cargo and goods can be found by reading the provisions of Chapter 3 of the Customs Code of the Customs Union.
Cost of customs broker services
Services for customs clearance of cargo and goods are complex, and their cost depends on many factors. It may vary depending on the type of cargo being processed, the place of registration, the inclusion or absence of temporary storage warehouse services, and the category of foreign trade participant. Prices for customs brokerage services for individuals can vary from 500 to 20,000 rubles, for legal entities. persons - from 500 to 30,000 rubles.
Where to find a customs broker?
The main source of information is the official one. The Federal Customs Service of Russia quarterly updates and publishes the Register of Customs Representatives - this is an up-to-date list of all legal customs brokers who have a valid license from the Federal Customs Service of Russia.
Additional sources of information:
- so-called “word of mouth”, that is, recommendations from family members, friends, relatives, neighbors, colleagues, business partners, etc.;
- World Wide Web – search and analysis of thematic sites and forums on the Internet.
Our recommendations
When searching for a reliable customs broker, we advise you to rely on all sources of information, primarily official ones. We recommend paying attention to the services of the company “Universal Cargo Solutions”, which is one of the market leaders, because it provides: comprehensive services for customs clearance of any cargo and goods, including food, vegetables, fruits and other perishable goods, as well as cars, jewelry, alcohol and tobacco products; carries out cargo clearance at any customs offices of the Russian Federation; provides services to individuals and legal entities; works seven days a week; solves non-standard problems of any degree of complexity; works in all customs procedures (release for domestic consumption, export, customs transit, processing outside the customs territory, etc.); offers low cost customs brokerage services.
We hope that our advice will help you, and you will find a reliable partner who will take on all the responsibilities for customs clearance of your goods.
We wish you success in your foreign trade activities!
What is a broker's seal?
Before electronic declaration was introduced everywhere, declarations were submitted in paper form. When submitting declarations, the customs representative/broker used his own seal – the broker’s seal.
Broker's seal is also an outdated term. Nowadays, the “broker’s seal” means working under the digital signature of a customs representative.
Currently, all goods imported by legal entities are declared ONLY in electronic form and certified with the digital signature of the customs representative or the digital signature of the importer.
Customs clearance for the importer. All possible types.
There are 3 possible options:
Registration without the services of a customs representative: with the importer’s regular declarant under the importer’s own digital signature
In this case, customs clearance and responsibility for its correctness - everything lies entirely with the importer. This is carried out by a full-time declarant or the importing company’s own foreign trade department.
The advantage of this approach is that you do not need to pay for the services of a customs representative.
2. Registration with the customs representative under the importer’s digital signature
When registering under the importer's digital signature, responsibility for customs clearance also lies entirely with the importer. In this case, the customs representative takes upon himself the correct filling of the customs declaration and the preparation of documents in electronic form.
The advantage of this option: the extensive experience of the customs representative significantly speeds up the process of customs clearance of goods.
3. Registration with the customs representative under his own digital signature
The customs representative assumes full responsibility for the goods declared under his digital signature.
If he declares in bad faith, he receives penalties from the Federal Customs Service of Russia, which, if he repeatedly violates customs legislation, can lead to deprivation of his license and exclusion from the register of customs representatives of the Federal Customs Service of the Russian Federation.
If the importer provided false information for declaration, then after fulfilling the penalty obligations to the Federal Customs Service of the Russian Federation, the customs representative may oblige the importer to compensate for all costs and expenses incurred.
Advantages of this method of customs clearance: the importer’s digital signature is not required; the entire customs clearance procedure is undertaken by the customs representative. But there is a condition: the importer needs to establish himself with the customs representative as a bona fide market participant.
Who is a customs broker and how does he help?
A customs representative is a legal or natural person who acts as an intermediary between customs government agencies and entrepreneurs; he represents the interests of his client who ordered customs clearance services. RTL company cooperates with various legal entities:
• IP;
• LLC, JSC, etc.
Also, a customs broker can be entrusted with all logistics concerns, import/export registration, planning of foreign trade transactions and legal support of foreign trade activities. The customs representative must certainly have a certificate issued by the FCS (Federal Customs Service).
