Customs is a state body that ensures the procedure for the movement of goods and vehicles, things and other items across the border, the application of customs procedures and the collection of customs payments, performing customs control and customs clearance. Every person crossing the borders of states undergoes customs inspection.
Preparing for customs clearance
When traveling, business trips to other countries, the most important point is customs clearance. Before the trip, preferably six months in advance, you need to obtain a foreign passport. And if you already have it, then its validity period should not expire earlier than six months later. Then you need to carefully study the rules for passing customs, as well as the list of goods that are allowed to be transported across the border of a particular country. And of course, get a visa to enter the country you are going to visit.
To obtain a visa, you must contact the embassy of this country or a travel agency will make a visa for you. In the countries of the European Union, one visa is issued to visit all countries, in the United States there is a separate visa, with some countries we have a visa-free regime of visits.
In addition, you should find out at the tax office whether you have debts for taxes and fees, whether the bailiffs have any writs of execution, according to which you need to pay something. If you are a driver and have your own car, then you need to find out from the traffic police if you have unpaid fines for traffic violations. If the listed non-payments are found only at customs, then you will be removed from the flight.
Customs inspection process
Customs inspection begins with filling out a customs declaration sheet, which is the most important document for crossing the border. The main point in it is the column where you indicate the amount of money that you are carrying with you, you need to write down all, to the last detail, the currency that you are carrying with you. The declaration can be completed in advance, at home, by printing it from the website of the Federal Customs Service or other organizations.
With the completed declaration, you go down the corridor, with your belongings, to the customs officer. A customs officer can inspect your luggage, purse, wallet, but only upon obtaining permission from the head of customs, because this will already be a personal search. After that, you will be offered to show the hidden objects and money on your own. In order not to bring the matter to a complete inspection, you must give out everything that you forgot to indicate.
Green and red corridors of customs clearance
The simplified control system implies movement along the “green” and “red” corridors. Those whose luggage is deprived of goods to be declared are on the green line, passengers with goods and money to be declared on the red line.
Passengers of the green corridor pass customs very quickly, if they do not arouse suspicion among customs officers. Here, only goods that do not fall under the restrictions are inspected, namely:
- cash equivalent to USD 10 thousand;
- jewelry worth up to 25 thousand US dollars inclusive;
- jewelry previously imported from foreign countries, with the appropriate permits;
- other goods intended for personal use;
- cigarettes in an amount of no more than 200 pieces;
- alcohol with a volume of no more than 3 liters.
But each country may have any other additional import restrictions, which you can find out about on the websites of these countries or directly at customs.
Passengers of the red corridor will have to fill out a declaration for goods that are taxed and have import-export restrictions in value or quantity, which exceeds the above-described import norms.
