To ensure compliance with customs legislation and to prevent fraud, the customs authority applies various customs control procedures and instruments.
Goods and means of transport shall be subject to selective customs control. Selectivity provides that the customs authority shall, based on the risk analysis, apply those forms of control that are deemed appropriate for ensuring compliance with the legislation.
Note: The customs authority is entitled, as the case may be, to apply all forms of customs control.
Thus, during the customs clearance process, the customs control shall be applied according to the risk degree assigned by ASYCUDA World Information System, which further leads to directing the customs declarations towards one of the customs control corridors (green, blue, yellow or red):
- the green corridor – allows to provide permission to release without carrying out the documentary and physical control;
- the blue corridor – allows to provide permission to release without carrying out the documentary and physical control, applying the principle of selectivity for the subsequent control by reverification of the customs declaration;
- the yellow corridor – carrying out the documentary control, without carrying out the physical control;
- the red corridor – carrying out the documentary and the physical control.
I. Documentary control
When carrying out the documentary control, the documents attached to the customs declaration are subject to verification (at least, the following mandatory documents: 1) invoice; 2) transport documents; 3) permissive acts required for permission of customs clearance). At the same time, additional documents confirming all the data indicated in the customs declaration and required for permission of customs clearance may be requested.
The documents attached to the customs declaration must be submitted to the customs authority in the original; in the case of the electronic declaration, the documents shall be scanned and attached to the customs declaration.
If the declarant holds the documents required for customs clearance completed in foreign languages, the customs authority may request the translation thereof.
The documentary control consists in verifying the followings: the correctness of completing the customs declaration in detail; the existence of the documents attached to the customs declaration in detail, according to the customs destination requested; the consistency of the data entered in the customs declaration and the data in the documents attached; the form of the documents attached.
II. Physical control
The physical control consists in verifying the goods and means of transport for the purpose of confirming the information about the nature, origin, status and quantity of the goods, the state of the seals, stamps and of other means of identification.
The physical control may be achieved by: identifying the goods, counting the places or packages, weighing, measuring, photographing, sampling, applying the special customs control equipment and other control tools for the purpose of confirming the data entered in the customs declaration and/or the accompanying documents thereto.
The customs authority may apply the following types of physical control of goods:
- partial (providing the verification of a part of the freight lot, in a volume sufficient to ensure compliance with the customs legislation);
- total (providing the verification of the entire freight lot). This is applied, in particular, in situations where there are solid indications of non-observance of the customs legislation in force or when the selectivity criterion expressly indicates to the necessity of checking the entire consignment, as well as in the situations where the risk analysis establishes that partial control will not be sufficient to ensure due compliance with the customs legislation;
- performed for the purpose of sampling for the expertise of goods.
The declarant and other holders of rights onto the goods and means of transport, as well as the representatives thereof shall assist in the control of the goods and means of transport and shall provide assistance to the customs authority in the conduct of the control activity.
The declarant or the representative thereof shall, at the request of the customs body, handle, unpack and repack the goods, without causing any damage thereto. The costs related to these operations shall be covered by the declarant.
In the event that the declarant fails to make himself/herself known within 10 days from the presentation of the goods, or the control cannot be postponed due to security reasons or due to other circumstances that do not support postponement, the customs shall carry out the control in the absence of the declarant, but in the presence of persons not interested in the control result.
Customs control implies the use of technical control means that do not present any danger to the health and life of humans, animals and plants and that do not cause damage to the goods and means of transport. The customs hold a kit of non-intrusive customs control equipment (scanners, located at road, air, and, in a near perspective, railway border posts).
The customs is also endowed with customs laboratories, including mobile laboratories used for the physical-chemical analysis of goods, which are required for checking the accuracy of the declaration of goods. The customs laboratory is accredited for several tests and is specialized in the fields of textiles, alcohol, petroleum products, food.
The customs control shall be carried out within 5 calendar days after the receipt of the declaration and of the information required for customs control or, in the event of the physical control, after the presentation thereof to the customs authority. For the goods necessary in case of natural calamities, catastrophe or accident, as well as in the case of live animals, perishable goods, radioactive substances, mass information materials, the duration of the customs control shall be limited to 3 days.
III. Subsequent control (post-clearance audit and reverification of customs declarations)
Subsequent control may be performed through post-clearance audit or reverification of customs declarations.
The main objectives of the subsequent control are as follows:
- to assist operators in overcoming system errors and any deficiencies in understanding the customs regulations;
- to check the correctness and completeness of the data entered in the customs declarations; to verify that the obligation to declare the goods or to provide information has been fully complied with; to verify that the regulations on customs procedures have been applied correctly;
- to identify errors, to detect violations of regulations or fraud.
a) Post-clearance audit
The post-clearance audit is a subsequent control of the goods, after customs clearance, which aims at verifying compliance with the legislation in force by the persons established in the Republic of Moldova at the time of moving the goods across the customs border of the Republic of Moldova and placing them under customs destination.
Subsequent control through post-clearance audit may be carried out as:
- general control – consists in checking all customs operations over a given time-period;
- partial control – consists in checking one or more customs operations over a given time-period;
- repeated control – applied if the results of the subsequent control are inconclusive, incomplete or unsatisfactory or if new circumstances of fraud have subsequently been detected.
1. Subjects of the post-clearance audit
Subjects of the post-clearance audit may be the persons who are, directly or indirectly, as a professional activity, involved in operations subject to post-clearance audit, or the persons who have the respective documents and data held for professional reasons, implicitly:
- any economic agent importing or exporting goods;
- customs brokers;
- warehouse managers;
- economic agents involved with customs procedures;
- any economic agent that does not carry out import/export operations directly, but has a direct or indirect connection with such transactions.
2. Post-crealance audit procedure
The post-clearance audit includes the following three basic stages:
I. Audit planning. The economic agents proposed for audit shall be selected based on the risk analysis, as well as other categories of information available. The customs bodies shall develop a control plan, which is subject to coordination with the State Fiscal Service. In the event that coincidences occur in terms of the person to be subject to audit, joint controls shall be carried out.
II. Prior information of the economic agent. The post-clearance audit shall be carried out based on a control order. The audited person shall be informed about the audit in writing, providing a 3-day prior notice before control initiation, except for unexpected checks. The control plan is published on the website of the Customs Service and may be accessed at https://customs.gov.md/ro/articles/controlul-ulterior. Prior notification is made in order not to disrupt the current activity of the economic agent and to enable the economic agent to provide the audit team with adequate workspace, financial and accounting records, other data directly or indirectly related with the import/export goods, storage areas of goods, thus ensuring the availability of dedicated staff.
III. Audit. The duration of the audit shall not exceed 2 months. This time-period may be extended by a further maximum period of 4 months if appropriately grounded and justified documentary.
The audit shall be carried out by an audit team designated for this purpose and shall be conducted at the premises of the company during the working hours of the customs body and of the person subject to control.
In the event that, during the audit process, the need occurs for establishing certain facts and circumstances based on documents or goods that are in the possession of a different person, with whom the audited person has or had economic and/or financial relationship, the customs authority shall be entitled, providing the issuance of a new control order, to carry out cross-checks.
The audit shall include:
- the control of documents (persons carrying out external economic transactions shall comply with the 5-year conservation term required for documents related to such transactions, for the purpose of subsequent control);
- verification of the accounting records;
- conduct of cross-checks (when necessary);
- physical verification of the goods that are the subject of controlled transactions.
In the event that violations of the legislation have been identified during the audit process, the customs authority shall, together with the audited person, conduct the examination thereof, prepare a report and inform the audited person about the legal consequences of violations.
The audited person has the right to submit additional information and documents to the customs body within 7 working days after the preparation of the report.
The results of the post-clearance audit shall be stipulated in the Post-Clearance Audit Act, which describes the violations of the legislation and/or the level of correctness of the customs obligation calculation and payment.
On the basis of this Act, the customs authorities shall undertake measures to calculate and collect the customs duties due.
The Regularization Decision, which represents a security, shall serve as proof of occurrence of customs obligation.
3. Rights and obligations of the person under control
The person under control shall have the following rights:
a) to request obtaining, during the subsequent control by post-clearance audit, of information on established facts and circumstances, in compliance with the legislation in force;
b) to benefit from fair and impartial attitude by the customs bodies during the subsequent control;
c) to submit to the customs body explanations on the object of subsequent control;
d) to challenge, in the manner established by the legislation, the decisions, actions or inactions of the customs bodies and of the customs officers;
e) to submit, in any form, to the customs body, the information, data, documents confirming the correctness of the calculation and payment of import rights;
f) to be informed, at least 3 working days prior the initiation of the subsequent control by post-clearance audit (except for unannounced post-clearance audit), through a post-clearance audit notice, in the template established by the Customs Service;
g) to benefit from other rights established by the legislation.
The person under control shall have the following obligations:
a) to keep accounting records and to ensure the integrity of these documents in accordance with the requirements set by the legislation;
b) to submit, at the first request, during the subsequent control process, to the customs officers, the goods acquired or held, the information, data, documents in any form, necessary for verification;
c) to provide to the customs officers, during the conduct of the post-clearance audit, free access to the headquarters, production areas, warehouses and other spaces, except those used exclusively as home and residence, for the purpose of inspection;
d) to ensure the integrity of the seals applied by the customs officers;
e) to assist in the conduct of the subsequent control, to sign the documents related to control results and, in case of disagreement, to submit, within 15 calendar days, arguments for the disagreement, attaching relevant documents thereto;
f) to ensure adequate conditions for the conduct of the post-clearance audit, to provide to customs officers an office and any assistance required;
g) to ensure the presence of qualified officers of the audited person for the purpose of assisting the customs officers in the conduct of the post-clearance audit.
b) Reverification of the customs declaration
Reverification of the customs declaration is a form of subsequent control, which is carried out at the customs office and implies the verification, after release of goods, of the correctness and completeness of the data provided in the customs declaration, as well as of the existence and conformity of the supporting documents attached thereto, which are required for placement of goods under certain customs destination, of other documents relating to the transactions under verification held by the customs authority, by a different body entitled with tax administration powers or by other institutions and persons.
Reverification shall be carried out according to the result of the risk analysis.
In the event of the detection of irregularities or violation of the customs/fiscal legislation, upon conclusion of the reverification of one or more customs declarations, the officers assigned to conduct the reverification shall prepare a presentation note, and afterwards, following approval, the report shall be drawn up of the reverification of the customs declarations, which shall be communicated to the customs payer.
In the event of the detection of errors and/or divergences between the data provided in the customs declarations and the data in the verified documents, which leads to the appearance, modification and/or cancellation of the customs obligation, the customs authority shall communicate the customs payer thereon by drawing up the report of reverification of the customs declarations.
In the event of the detection of customs violation that leads to a customs obligation, and of non-compliance with the legal requirements of the declarant, the customs authority shall prepare a regularization decision.
In cases of reverification of the customs declarations based on documents available to the customs body or received from other authorities or persons, in accordance with legal provisions, as well as in cases of refusal to sign the report of reverification of customs declarations, or if the person cannot be found, the report shall be signed only by the customs officer who carried out the verification of customs declarations. In these cases, the report of verification of the customs declarations shall be brought to the notice and, respectively, shall be communicated to the person whose declarations / declarations have been reverified, by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt.
Legislation:
Customs Code of the Republic of Moldova no. 1149/20/07/2000
