President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr Pikalyov, my best wishes to you and all Customs Service employees on the occasion of your professional holiday.
Head of the Federal Customs Service Valery Pikalyov: Thank you very much.
Vladimir Putin: How are you celebrating?
Valery Pikalyov: We are celebrating exclusively by carrying out our mission.
Mr President,
Thank you very much for your congratulations; it really means a lot to us. Today marks the 33rd anniversary of the Federal Customs Service in modern history, even though customs service in Russia dates back over 370 years. On this day in 1653, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich signed a decree that laid the groundwork for a single customs system in Russia.
Throughout history, the customs service has focused on fulfilling the country’s leadership directives and did so unwaveringly. Speaking of cargo turnover at checkpoints located in international transport and logistics corridors, the eastern direction and the North-South corridor show a steady growth in cargo volumes.
Regarding foreign trade, I would like to note that trade with the friendly countries is expanding which reflects stronger business ties and more stable economy regardless of the sanctions imposed on our country.
In the first nine months, the Russian Federal Customs Service transferred 5.84 trillion rubles to the budget, up 11.5 percent compared to the year before.
Vladimir Putin: What about the plan?
Valery Pikalyov: We have a drawdown if we look at the plan. We have seen returns on gas, petroleum, and petroleum products, as well as currency fluctuations. So, we are slightly below target. I think the final numbers will be around 96–97 percent.
In terms of other revenue sources, such as disposal fees, customs fees, and fines, we have seen significant growth, and we have transferred 516 billion rubles to the budget so far.
The risk mitigation system made it possible for us to levy extra customs duties in the amount of over 20 billion rubles, and post-clearance customs audits brought us more than 36 billion rubles.
Our law enforcement units have become more effective with as many as 16.5 tonnes of narcotic and potent controlled substances removed from trafficking operations.
Our goal is to establish an environment where customs activities are objective and transparent, hassle-free for compliant businesses, and eliminate any possibility of unlawful practices.
Mr President, your instruction to reduce the inspection time for freight vehicles at border checkpoints to 10 minutes serves as a performance benchmark for us. In my opinion, we maintain a constructive collaboration with the Ministry of Transport. We have already conducted visits to virtually all checkpoints in the Far East, including Zabaikalsk, Kraskino, Kani-Kurgan, and Pogranichny; in the North Caucasus – Tagirkent-Kazmalyar and Yarag-Kazmalyar; as well as nearly all checkpoints in the north-west and south of our country.
It is evident that the large-scale reconstruction of checkpoints necessitates both significant financial resources and time. However, we are already exploring internal reserves to expedite our customs control operations and are developing measures to reduce processing time in the near future, thereby achieving tangible results.
One such measure involves optimising control at checkpoints through the utilisation of modern technical means. Mr President, I previously reported to you our intention to launch a pilot project for an integrated information system at border checkpoints in October. We have successfully implemented this project at the Tagirkent-Kazmalyar MAC [multilateral automobile checkpoint] on the Russian-Azerbaijani border.
We have established two primary objectives. The first is to integrate data from all technical means and systems at the checkpoint into a unified information network. Secondly, we aim to provide dispatching, analytics, visualisation, and control over the movement of passengers, goods, and vehicles at border checkpoints.
Vladimir Putin: Have you launch operational testing of the advanced equipment?
Valery Pikalyov: Yes, we are conducting operational testing at two checkpoints: Zabaikalsk and Tagirkent-Kazmalyar. I will now provide you with an update.
Vladimir Putin: All right.
Valery Pikalyov: I would like to highlight that at the Tagirkent-Kazmalyar checkpoint, a high-capacity portal detection system is currently operating in a test mode. We view this as a promising development and are placing significant emphasis on this equipment. We envision such systems as the future foundation for achieving both high-speed control and enhanced security at the border.
To be continued.