One-stop office principle will be implemented at international auto border crossing points within a month, says Customs Service director

Only two authorities will work at Moldova’s ten international auto border crossing points within a month – the Customs Service and the Border Guard Service, the director general of the Customs Service Viorel Melnic announced at a news conference, Info-Prim Neo reports. According to Melnic, the Customs Service is finishing the implementation of the one-stop office principle at border. Under this principle, the two authorities will take over the duties of the other border control services: the reorganized Moldova’s Road Traffic Agency, the State Phytosanitary Quarantine Service, and the ecological inspection posts. Melnic said that a number of important amendments to the customs legislation came into force on July 4. They essentially simplify the clearance procedure. Earlier, the legislation required that all the excised goods be cleared at the border. Now this procedure can be carried out at an internal customs post indicated by the economic entity. There are only two exceptions – for strong alcoholic beverages and for cigarettes, the official said. According to Melnic, the restriction to store the excised goods in deposits, under temporary import regime or active authorization regime, was lifted. For example, the golden ingots can be placed under active authorization regime (processing). This way, they will be brought into the country without paying import duties and will be then used to make jewels for the home market or for export. In another development, Viorel Melnic said that about 100 minibuses carrying parcels from the people working abroad come to Moldova every day. Earlier, the unaccompanied baggage was cleared at the border and import duties were paid on them. The legislative amendments now allow clearing the baggage inside the country. If a minibus transporting goods to Balti comes through the Leuseni customs post, it is registered as transit transport and can be cleared in Balti in the presence of the persons for which the goods are designed. A lot of problems are thus avoided, the director of the Customs Service said. The legislative amendments also modify the notion of authorized economic entity. After certain instruction, the economic entities can cross the border with the loaded truck and go directly home, where they can follow the clearance procedure. All these amendments were stipulated in the EU-Moldova Plan of Action. Their implementation together with the development of the risk management system and the promotion of the principles of transparency and integration in the customs will enable to come closer to the European standards, Viorel Melnic added.