The State Duma has adopted in the third reading a law amending the Federal Law “On customs regulation in the Russian Federation and on amendments to certain legislative acts of the Russian Federation”. The law has been sent to the Federation Council for consideration.

If the law is adopted, it will be enshrined that after receiving the act of customs audit, the audited person shall have the right to familiarize himself/herself with the materials of customs audit that do not contain information constituting state secrets, commercial, tax, banking secrets of third parties and other secrets (secrets) protected by law, as well as personal data. At the same time, in cases stipulated by the legislation, it is possible to familiarize the audited person with the materials of the customs audit containing the above-mentioned information.

The customs authority shall be obliged to provide the person under audit (his/her representative) with the opportunity to familiarize with the materials of the customs audit on the territory of the customs authority not later than 5 working days from the day of submission by such person of an application drawn up in an arbitrary form. Familiarization of the representative of the person under audit with the materials of the customs audit may be possible on the basis of a notarized power of attorney (a copy thereof), which shall directly stipulate the right of the representative of the person under audit to familiarize himself/herself with the materials of the customs audit.

Familiarization with the materials of a customs audit will be possible by visual inspection, making extracts, making copies using technical means intended for copying or photographing.

Currently, the law on customs regulation does not provide for such a possibility.

The results of familiarization will be recorded in the act of familiarization with the materials of the customs audit, the form of which will be approved by the Federal Customs Service of Russia. In addition, the rule on the need to obtain permission from the head of the customs authority or his deputy to familiarize oneself with the materials of the audit will be excluded.

It is also proposed to suspend until January 1, 2027 the effect of paragraph 2 of part 6 of Article 102 of the law on customs regulation, according to which the temporary periodic customs declaration of goods does not apply if on the date of filing a temporary declaration of goods declarant carries out foreign economic activity for less than one year, during which the import of goods into the Russian Federation (export of goods from the Russian Federation) carried out by the declarant less than twelve times.

The amendments, if adopted, will enter into force thirty days after publication.

Draft Federal Law N 462657-8