The Federal Law clarifies certain provisions of the Russian Federation’s legislation on customs regulation, including those defining the powers of customs authorities to stop motor vehicles, as well as the rules governing the storage of such vehicles and the goods they carry.
The Federal Law establishes that motor vehicles transporting goods, which are stopped by customs officials for the purpose of verifying compliance with international treaties and/or legislative acts in the field of customs regulation and Russian legislation, and subsequently placed in storage, may remain in storage facilities until such vehicles and goods are transferred into federal ownership.
In addition, the Federal Law provides that where signs of violations of Russian legislation are identified in respect of motor vehicles and goods placed in storage, and such violations do not fall within the competence of customs authorities, the relevant information shall be forwarded by customs authorities to the appropriate federal executive bodies responsible for those matters. In such cases, the motor vehicles and goods are to be returned to the legal entities and individuals who placed them in storage.