Resolution No. 899 of the Customs Union Commission dated 09 December 2011 “On Introducing Mandatory Preliminary Notification about Goods Imported on to the Customer Territory of the Customs Union by Road” comes into effect on 17 June 2012.

According to the Resolution, the customs authorities are to be notified of forthcoming imports by road 2 hours before the goods cross the customs border. The pre-notification procedure is subject to the following conditions:

1. The notice may be filed by any interested party (approved economic operator, carrier, customs representative, importer, etc.), no matter where it is based, in Russia or elsewhere.

2. The notice must contain data about

• shipment stakeholders (forwarder, recipient, declarant, carrier),
• the goods (description, HS or CCFT code, quantity, weight, value),
• number of freight items,
• carrier vehicle,
• countries of dispatch and destination (including the ultimate destination point),
• time and place the goods are due and other information.

3. The data are to be filed electronically with the customs authorities of Russia, Belarus or Kazakhstan, depending on the country through which the goods are to be imported.

The preliminary notices for Russia are to be filed on the Internet portal http://edata.customs.ru/Pages/Default.aspx, for Kazakhstan on the website http://pi.customs.kz/ and for Belarus by connecting to the information system of the Belarus Customs Authorities (AS PI).

If the interested party fails to submit the preliminary information, it may notify the Customs within two hours of the goods crossing on to the territory of the Customs Union.

Preliminary information submitted via electronic channels also serves as an e-copy of the transit declaration.

The pre-notification process enables the customs authorities to analyse the data in advance with reference to the risk management system, so the Russian Customs Service expects it to improve handling capacity of entry points on the outer boundaries of the