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The procedure of customs clearance in the Republic of Moldova

The actions that will be taken regarding the export from the Republic of Moldova involve a series of customs measures that do not necessarily involve the interaction with the customs authorities. In order to be able to export, it is not enough just to present the exported item in the established form at customs, it is also necessary to prepare a set of necessary documents (obligatory or optional) in accordance with the requirements of the existing regulations, market or importer.

1. Procedures before customs clearance - a process that involves the preparation of commercial, transport documents, as well as obtaining various permits, certificates, licenses, etc. (at the competent authorities) as well as the preparation of commercial and transport documents.

In the first part of the process, the potential exporter must identify the external market and the potential business partners. You can take advantage of numerous market studies conducted by different national and international organizations. Than follows the proposal formulation and its presentation to the importer, who, as a rule, in the Republic of Moldova are agricultural enterprises and commercial companies, peasant farms and trading companies.

1.1 The sale-purchase contract - is the final stage of the process of determining an external partner (buyer), establishing relationships, negotiation regarding the conditions regarding the goods (characteristics, packages, etc.), the delivery conditions (the Incoterms rules), the terms and methods of payment and also other conditions, as necessary. The contract is presented in original, legalized and stamped by the parties, as well as a copy of the contract, required for the domestic customs.

1.2 Commercial invoice (invoice) - document referring to the specific delivery of goods based on a sale-purchase contract, which usually includes data on the goods delivered (description, quantity, price and other relevant details). Here you can also mention, the goods invoice (packing list) - more detailed specifications than in the invoice about a certain goods, without financial data, only the name, the quantity and the location.

1.3 Transport contract - operations directly related to the determination of the delivery method, usually negotiated with the importer. In case the delivery is on the exporter's responsibility, the latter must find the transport directly or through the forwarding company and agree on the transport details based on a transport contract based on general rules.

2. Internal procedures for exportBefore the actual customs procedures, a series of permits are prepared based on current legislation, which the exporter submits to the customs authorities. Some of them are obligatory, others - optional.

These documents usually include
2.1 Certificate of origin - a document confirming the country of origin of the product, very important in the case of the preferential treatment desired in the importing country, as well as the reduction or exemption of taxes.
The form of the certificates of origin differs depending on the country of destination:
- EUR.1 - The movement certificate - confirmation document that univocally confirms the country of origin of goods exported to EU countries under the Association Agreement between the Republic of Moldova, on the one hand, and the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community and their Member States, on the other hand.

The movement certificate EUR.1 is a package of three forms: a) the original of the movement certificate EUR.1; b) copy of the movement certificate EUR.1; c) the application form for the movement certificate EUR.1.

The movement certificate EUR.1 represents a form in English that is completed by the exporter or his representative in print (in capital letters, using printing devices), or manually (in capital letters, using ink), as required by the certificate forms.

- EUR.1 - Certificate for the transport of goods - for the export of goods from the Republic of Moldova to the Member States of the free trade regime established under the Central Trade Exchange Agreement (CEFTA).

Certificate EUR 1 of transport of goods is a package consisting of three forms: a) the original of the certificate of transportation of goods EUR 1; b) copy of the transport certificate EUR.1; c) the application form for the transport certificate EUR.1.

Forms of certificate for transportation of goods EUR1 and of the application for the transport certificate EUR.1 are forms in English that are completed by the exporter or his representative in printed form (in capital letters, using printing devices), or manually (in capital letters, using ink), as required by the certificate forms.
The certificate on transport EUR1 it is certified and issued only if the goods intended for export can be considered, in accordance with the European Free Trade Agreement, originating products that meet the established criteria of origin. The certificate on transport EUR1 is issued for goods coming out of the Republic of Moldova, provided that they are transported directly to one of the countries participating in the Central Europe Free Trade Agreement.

- Form A - Certificate of origin Form A - confirmatory document that unequivocally confirms the country of origin of the goods exported to non-EU countries and offers the Republic of Moldova a common system of preferences.
The Certificate of Origin of Form A is a set of forms in English, which are completed by the exporter or by the representative in printed form (in capital letters, using printing devices) or manually (in capital letters, using ink), according to the requirements from the fields of the certificate forms. The certificate of origin of Form A is a set of three forms, the first of which is the original of the certificate of origin of Form A and two copies thereof.
The certificate of origin of Formal A is certified and issued only when the product is included in the category that enjoys the preferential regime in accordance with the general system of preferences and is exported to the state that offers to the Republic of Moldova the corresponding preferential system, according to the criteria of origin established by the regulations of the mentioned countries.
The certificate of origin of Form A is issued exclusively for goods coming out of the Republic of Moldova, provided that the direct transportation to the states that offers the Republic of Moldova a common system of preferences.
- Form CT-1 - Certificate of origin of goods of Form CT-1 - Form CT-1 - Certificate of origin of goods Form CT-1 - confirming document that unequivocally confirms the country of origin of the goods based on the criteria of origin established in accordance with the Rules for determining the country of origin of the goods (approved by the Decision of the Council of Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) of November 20, 2009), as well as in accordance with the Rules for determining the country of origin of goods based on bilateral free trade agreements.

 The certificate of origin of the goods Form CT-1 represents a package consisting of at least three forms: a) the original form of the certificate of origin of the goods Form CT-1; b) copies (two copies) of the certificate of origin of the goods; c) the original of the supplementary form to the certificate of origin, if necessary based on the variety of tariff positions for export goods and two copies.
Forms of the certificate of origin of the goods of Form CT-1 represents forms in Russian, which are completed by the exporter or his representative in printed form (in capital letters, using printing devices), or manually (in capital letters, using ink), in compliance with the requirements in the fields of the certificate forms.

Certification of the certificates of origin of the goods is carried out within 3 working days from the date of the cumulative fulfillment of the following conditions: registration of the application-declaration, submission of forms of certificates of origin completed by the exporter, presentation of the goods and documents (including those additionally requested) to the customs authorities where the export of goods is made.

Certified certificates of origin of the goods are issued (presented to the exporter) in the case of the export of goods to which they refer. After certifying the certificates of origin of the goods, an authorized customs agent completes point 9 of the request-declaration, signs it and stamps it. Afterwards, the exporter (or his representative) completes point 10 of the request-declaration and signs it and stamps it in the original (no stamp is required in the case of the natural person), which confirms the issuing by the customs authority of an original certificate of origin of the goods and the receipt of this by the exporter.

- Form C - a confirming document confirming the country of origin of the goods without granting preferences. The non-preferential rules of origin include all the rules of origin used in the non-preferential instruments of commercial policy, regarding the application: the most favored nation regime; anti-dumping and countervailing duties; protection measures; the rules governing the origin marking and the quantitative restrictions or discriminatory tariff quotas applied in accordance with the provisions of the WTO agreements. They also contain rules of origin used for public procurement and trade statistics.

The certificate of origin can be issued by Customs and costs 6 euros. The Chamber of Commerce and Industry issues non-preferential certificates of origin (general form "C").

2.2 Certificate of conformity - designed to certify the products offered for export, as well as to respect the technical standards or standards, of the standards of harmless use of objects and technologies with a high degree of risk prescribed by a certain standard (SM, ISO, GOST) . The main competent authority is the MOLDAC National Accreditation Center. The certification authority itself must be accepted by the importing country. The journal of accredited authorities assessing compliance is maintained by MOLDAC [1].

The conformity assessment of the products from the Republic of Moldova is carried out in accordance with Law no. 235 of 12/01/2011 regarding accreditation measures and conformity assessment.
2.3 Sanitary certificate - is obtained to confirm the adequacy of the products for human consumption.
The document is issued by the National Agency for Food Safety [2] through its territorial representations. The activities are regulated by Law no. 119 of 22.06.2004 about phytosanitary means and fertilizers This certificate has become mandatory for goods exported to the Russian Federation.
  The compulsory certificate of harmlessness of the plant products exported to the Russian Federation was introduced after the signing of the Memorandum on the safety of food products of vegetable origin, provided by the Republic of Moldova to the Russian Federation (regarding the content of pesticides, nitrates and nitrates).

2.4 Phytosanitary / veterinary certificate - document confirming the conformity of the products with the requirements of harmlessness from the sanitary or veterinary point of view, depending on the characteristics of the product or the packaging. The phytosanitary certificate is issued by the territorial divisions of the phytosanitary control authority - the National Agency for Food Safety [3].

The scope of application is regulated by Law no. 228 of 23.09. 2010 on plant protection and phytosanitary quarantine published in the Official Gazette no. 241-246 of December 10, 2010 [4]. Plants, plant products, products related to the quarantine plant protection regime and intended for export and / or re-export shall be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate. To prevent the occurrence and spread of pests, the export or re-export of certain plants, plant products and related products covered by the quarantine plant protection regime is allowed only when the phytosanitary inspection is carried out at the place of production or, in the case of re-export, at the place of production. storage.
It is forbidden to request additional declarations if the plants and / or plant products are accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate.
In order to obtain a phytosanitary certificate, the exporter shall submit, at least 24 hours before forwarding, to the unit of the phytosanitary control authority:
a) request for the issue of the phytosanitary certificate;
b) certificate regarding the use of plant protection products, at the request of the importing country;
c) the phytosanitary certificate of the country of origin;
d) quarantine expertise of plants and plant products subject to the phytosanitary quarantine regime and subject to export, issued by a legal person authorized by the central management body in the field of agriculture;
e) copy of the sale-purchase contract or other civil legal document, based on which the export or re-export of plants, plant products and related products that are subject to the quarantine plant protection regime; f) a copy of the tax invoice or the invoice for the delivery of goods.

The validity period of the phytosanitary certificate is 14 days from the date of issue. The phytosanitary certificate may not be issued more than 14 days before the date on which the plants, plant products and accompanying products covered by the phytosanitary quarantine leave the exporting country.
The phytosanitary certificate is issued up to 5 days from the date of submission of the application for its issuance.
The phytosanitary certificate is drawn up in the state language and at least in an international language, if necessary, in the official language of the country of destination and is completed, except for the stamp and signature either in capital letters or typed by printing devices.
The botanical name of the plants is indicated in Latin. Unauthorized changes or corrections will invalidate the certificate. If the phytosanitary certificate does not have sufficient space for additional declarations, they can be noted on the reverse.

2.5 License - a document certifying compliance with the license conditions for a certain type of activity. The license is presented to the customs authority only for the goods whose export is licensed in accordance with Law no. 451-XV of 30.07.2001 regarding the authorization of certain types of activities. Currently, no license is required for the export of agricultural products. However, from 01.01.2015, the international road transport of goods was regulated by licensing. Therefore, exporters should be careful when entering into contracts with local carriers to ensure transport of goods.
The number of authorization documents may be bigger or smaller, depending on the characteristics of the product and the requirements of the recipient.


3. Customs procedures

3.1 Customs operations - actions directly related to the procedures for placing the goods under a specific customs regime and terminating it.

- Preparation of the customs declaration - the customs declaration can be completed by the independent exporter or with the help of an authorized customs broker.
The customs declaration is transmitted to the customs authorities, together with documents confirming the data entered in the declaration, but at least three of the following documents are required:
b) transport documents;
c) the necessary authorizations for customs clearance
Customs control is based on a risk analysis. When carrying out the documentary control (the yellow corridor of the customs inspection), the physical control (the red corridor of the customs inspection) or the subsequent control (the blue corridor of the inspection), besides the mentioned documents, documents confirming all the data specified in the customs declaration are presented.
The export declaration can be made exclusively in electronic format, by sending the customs declaration and the documents accompanying the digital signature through the Asycuda World customs information system or by submitting these documents on paper.
The exporter may choose a customs point for the declaration of exports, including the submission of a customs declaration directly at the border crossing point. At the same time, it is possible to request a customs check in other places outside the customs authority's territory beyond normal working hours.
Authorized economic agents (holders of the AEA certificate) can benefit from a number of export benefits, including customs clearance and border crossing in priority mode.
3.2 Operations after customs clearance - refers to operations during export, and provide:
- Transportation tracking - Important in terms of the risk of non-delivery, damage or irreparable loss of the goods. Risk insurance is an optional element, depending on the desire of the carrier.
- Confirmation of delivery is an important element in the implementation of the transport contract, confirming the transfer of risks from one person to another, depending on the selected delivery conditions.
Receipt of goods - represents a legal act of acceptance of the goods according to the contractual conditions and is usually stamped by the recipient on the appropriate copy of the CMR form and / or other agreed methods.
- Payment - receipt of the financial means for the goods delivered in the case specified in the contract. Proper preparation of bank documents to receive a possible VAT refund or reporting on the return of financial means.
- Transaction evaluation - represents the synthetic analysis of the actions taken and the costs (estimated and real) for the export and the final financial result.

 

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