From March 30th until September 1st, 2015, the Varshavsky Most international border checkpoint is trialling preliminary e-declaration. If the previously entered data is correct, the registration procedure of goods for personal use will take no more than 15 minutes. The press office for Brest Customs notes that since the launch of the experiment, the number of e-declarations from citizens at this section of the border has increased 50-fold.
At the Varshavsky Most border checkpoint
A lane on either side of the road has been specially allocated in the system of ‘red channels’ for those who decide to inform the customs employees before entry about imported or exported goods. Advisors recommend that travellers send the preliminary information not later than two hours before their arrival at the border, ensuring the inspectors won’t have to fill in data from the passenger’s declaration on the computer; they will simply need to check the information received.
The customs.gov.by portal, placed on the official site of the State Customs Committee, can be used to notify the Brest Customs about goods subject to written declaration. However, the press group underlines that electronic data should comply with the information filled in on the usual form for passenger customs declarations, approved by the decision of the Customs Union’s Committee. Incorrectly filled-in declarations won’t be accepted for registration.
Electronic declarations can be completed in either Russian or English. Moreover, an application for faster customs clearance can be filled in directly on the way using a notebook, a tablet or a mobile phone that has Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox Internet browsers. The devices should function on the Android and iOS platforms.
The Varshavsky Most post wasn’t chosen accidentally for the experiment. This border checkpoint sees a large volume of passenger traffic, with over 4,000 crossing the checkpoint daily in both directions. If the experiment is launched on a permanent basis, this will significantly accelerate the border crossing procedure.
By Alexandra Chernova
