RF Constitutional Court to clarify liability for violations of customs rules

ST. PETERSBURG, July 13 (Itar-Tass) -- The Russian Constitutional
Court on Tuesday will pass a judgement related to liability for breaking
customs rules.
Under the current law, a citizen may be brought to administrative of
criminal liability for importing undeclared goods, depending on their cost.
The Constitutional Court has received six complaints from various
Russian regions saying that under the current law illegally imported goods
might be estimated incorrectly. The cost of goods is often calculated
based on the prices in this or that region, not taking into account their
actual price in the country of origin.
Moreover, the current law allows to open administrative proceedings in
cases of violations of the customs rules even after the regular period of
limitation expires in cases of earlier criminal cases.
Representatives of both chambers of the national parliament, the State
Duma and the Council of Federation, in the Constitutional Court, say the
law corresponds to the Constitution. According to Elena Vinogradov, the
upper chamber representatives, any goods are to be declared, and if the
estimation mechanism is changed, it "might lead to chaos."
Meanwhile, Viktor Karpor, a Justice Ministry representative, says that
smuggled goods should be estimated based on the actual deal sum.
-0-ras