Issue6, July 2008
MOLDOVA 10-year-old school boys help the border guards to detain an offender It has already become an old good tradition for the personnel of the Border Guard Service of the Republic of Moldova to meet with students from the schools of the border regions. The kids often visit the border guard stations where they get to learn about the work of the border guards and to familiarise with the state border. In the framework of a Year of Youth in the Republic of Moldova, the Border Guard Service has planed many patriotic education events for the youth to promote the service on the border. A recent case which occurred on the segment of the Moldovan-Ukrainian border near the town of Sait showed the gain from working with the youth. An attempt to illegally cross the border by a national of Moldova, fleeing from prosecution for committing a number of offences, was prevented. Two local boys came to the border guard station. They went on an excursion to the station some time ago, that’s why it all was familiar to them. The boys, making no disguise of their emotions, told the border guards that they just played soccer with a stranger who wondered about the border patrolling - if they have a dog and if they are carrying weapons. The boys remembered border guards telling them at the excursion to be vigilant and careful with strangers. That’s why they immediately decided to inform the border guard station. The mobile group quickly detained the "curious soccer player". He turned out to be a 30-yearold resident of the village of Zaim in Causani region. The detainee had numerous convictions recorded against him and served a sentence of imprisonment several times. Presently, he was wanted by the lawenforcement agencies of Moldova on suspicion of committing a number of offences. The detainee was handed over to the Causani district police commissariat for further examination. The boys who helped the border guards to catch the offender were justly rewarded on behalf of management of the Border Guard Service. Commodity classification in the Republic of Moldova amended Starting with July 2008 the Customs authorities of the Republic of Moldova and companies are obliged to follow the amended commodity classification when declaring goods. In order to adjust to the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, Moldova reviewed and amended the national commodity classification. Consequently, relevant amendments were also introduced into the customs tariff of the Republic of Moldova related to the code of goods and the rates of import duties on some types of products. The change is driven by the review of the global harmonized system taking place every 5-6 years within the World Customs Organisation. You can find the new classification and tariff on the official website of the Customs Service of Moldova at www.customs.gov.md
Exemptions from the free trade regime between Moldova and Ukraine The Government of the Republic of Moldova approved the draft Protocol on exemption of some categories of goods from the free trade regime. The Protocol envisages that customs duties will be imposed on some groups of goods imported from Ukraine into the Republic of Moldova, and from Moldova to Ukrainian. The following Moldovan goods imported into Ukraine shall be exempted from the free trade regime: cane or beet-root sugar and other types of sugar (chemically pure, syrups, artificial honey and other), seeds, fruits and planting spores, waste and ferrous scrap metal and ingots for re-casting. Ukraine will exempt from the list of its goods exported into Moldova all kinds of sugar, confectionery, different kinds of spirits, liquors and other alcoholic drinks. The new agreement on free trade between the two countries was introduced after Ukraine joined the World Trade Organization.
Issue6, July 2008
UKRAINE The upper limit of the “green corridor” in Ukraine raised up to 10,000 euros The National Bank of Ukraine supported the initiative of Valeriy Khoroshkovskiy, the Head of the State Customs Service of Ukraine, to increase the threshold of currency declaration to 10,000 euros. The corresponding resolution of the National Bank of Ukraine was registered on 11.06.08 with the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine. This decision will take effect in 45 days. The nationals of Ukraine will be able to bring into Ukraine and to bring out of the country the currency in cash in the amount of up to 10,000 euros without declaring it in writing. It should be noted that up to now the only legal way to bring in such an amount of cash was by obligatory declaration it in writing. This is the rule of the so called “red corridor”. Harmonization of standards regarding carrying currency by persons is a significant step forward in Ukraine’s integration into the European Union. Additional information about the rules for carrying currency and goods across the state border can be found here: www.customs.gov.ua In the height of the vacation season the Border Guard Service of Ukraine assists the law-abiding citizens in crossing the border As it has been forecasted the number of persons and vehicles crossing the Ukrainian-Moldovan border has increased considerably with the beginning of the tourist season. In the first six months of 2008 almost 6 mln. persons (in 2007- 5.17 mln. persons) and about 1.1 mln. vehicles (in 2007 – 990,000) crossed the border in accordance with established procedure. In this connection the personnel of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine work diligently so that the law-abiding citizens going to rest by the sea or on business trips etc. do not feel any inconveniences. However, since the beginning of the year the border control agencies on the Ukrainian-Moldovan border did not admit across the border over 7580 persons for a number of reasons, out of them 2900 persons turned out to be potential illegal migrants. Besides, on the border with Moldova the border agency seized the smuggled goods to the amount of UAH 9.3 mln.; 25 items of weapon and over 3,040 cartridges; and about 22 kg of drugs.
EUBAM The EU, Moldovan and Ukrainian officials satisfied with cooperation on the Moldovan-Ukrainian border The 10th Advisory Board Meeting of the EU Border Assistance Mission to Moldova and Ukraine convened in Odesa on 27 June and praised the progress of the Mission and partner services towards attaining European standards in border management and highlighted remaining challenges in fighting smuggling activities and corruption. The Advisory Board meets every three months to review progress in the cooperation between the Mission and the partner services of Moldova and Ukraine. The Board includes high-level representatives of Moldovan and Ukrainian Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Customs and Border Guards authorities, the European Commission, UN Development Programme (UNDP), the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), and others. The Mission presented a report of the Joint Border Control Operation FOCUS 2 which took place on 7-23 April. The joint operation resulted in hundreds of detentions of illegal activities including smuggling, illegal migration, and customs fraud. During the period of time, 174 seizures of goods were made amounting to EUR 409,000. Several migration channels and modus operandi were identified during the operation. The FOCUS 2 operation was implemented by the partner services and law enforcement agencies of Moldova and Ukraine and the EUBAM together with the EU law enforcement agencies. At the same time, the Advisory Board highlighted remaining challenges of fighting smuggling activities and illegal migration along the Moldovan-Ukrainian border. The Advisory Board acknowledged the evident challenge of tackling corruption in both countries and expressed its support for the enhanced anti-corruption measures initiated by the border and law enforcement agencies of Ukraine and Moldova.