Key concepts of the Customs Code in 8 points: from declarant to customs value

When the broker says "the declarant doesn't need you there", "the goods have been released" or "the consignment will be split", the accountant should know which document and which date stand behind these words. The definitions below are from the Customs Code, and the comments are from an accounting point of view.

Key rules

• Declarant: a person who declares goods in their own name or in whose name a declaration is made (Article 15). A customs broker, in turn, is a legal entity of Uzbekistan that performs clearance operations on the instructions of the declarant or authorized person, in their name, on the basis of a contract (Article 15). Conclusion: even if a broker does the work, the declarant remains the company itself
• Authorized person: the owner of the goods or a person who, under the law, has authority in respect of the goods, or a person acting on behalf of the owner under a contract or power of attorney (Article 7)
• Customs control: a set of measures taken by customs authorities to ensure compliance with the law and international treaties. Customs clearance: a set of customs operations performed by officials to ensure that control (Article 21)
• Cargo customs declaration: a document submitted to customs by the declarant or broker, containing accurate information about goods being placed under a particular procedure. It is in electronic or paper form (Article 258). Conclusion: the CCD is one of the main primary documents for receiving goods
• Customs procedure: a set of rules that determines what status goods crossing the border have from the customs point of view (whether they stay in the country, come in temporarily or pass in transit) (Article 15). The Code has 16 procedures (Article 25)
• Release of goods: the action that completes clearance and signifies that permission has been given to use and dispose of the goods in accordance with the conditions of the procedure (Article 15). Conclusion: from this moment the goods may be used within the conditions of the chosen procedure; if the procedure is 40, they may also be sold
• Consignment of goods: goods, or part of them, arriving at the address of one consignee under one transport document (Article 15). Accompanying documents consist of two groups (Article 9): commercial documents (invoice, shipping and packing lists, other documents confirming that a transaction was concluded) and transport documents (bill of lading, waybill or another document confirming the existence of a contract of carriage and travelling with the cargo)
• Customs value: the value of goods determined by one of the established methods and used to calculate customs payments (Article 301). Foreign goods released for free circulation, in turn, acquire the status of goods of Uzbekistan (Article 13)

Example: the path of one import

"Kamalak Qog'oz" LLC (compiled by the author) imported paper rolls. The 18 rolls that arrived under one waybill are one consignment. The company is the declarant, and the CCD was completed by a broker under a contract. During customs clearance the customs value of the goods was declared. Duty and VAT were calculated from this value: the VAT base is the sum of customs value, duty and excise tax (Article 322). Because the procedure was 40, after release the rolls acquired the status of goods of Uzbekistan and could be issued to the workshop. The accountant collected the CCD, invoice and waybill in one folder for the receipt.