The Department of State Revenue for the Mangystau Region explains to foreign-trade operators how customs control is carried out after goods have been released.
Release gives the right to use the goods under the declared customs procedure. It does not mean that verification of the declared data is finished. Customs authorities may still compare the declaration with documents, accounting records and actual transactions.
The legal basis is the Customs Code of the Eurasian Economic Union and the Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On Customs Regulation in the Republic of Kazakhstan”. Under Article 310 of the EAEU Customs Code, control after the circumstances that end customs supervision may be carried out within the period set by the member state: as a general rule up to three years, and a member may provide for up to five years. In Kazakhstan the period is linked to the limitation periods in Articles 89 and 143 of the Customs Regulation Code: generally three years; five years for persons subject to tax monitoring, subsoil users in the fuel and energy sector, authorized economic operators, and in specific cases expressly provided by Article 89 for goods released for domestic consumption.
The main form at this stage is the customs audit (Article 416). It is conducted after release and consists of comparing declaration data and submitted documents with accounting, reporting and other information obtained in the manner prescribed by law. An audit may be desk-based or on-site.
A desk audit (Article 417) is carried out at the customs authority, without a visit: declarations, commercial, transport and other documents, and information-system data are examined. An on-site audit (Article 418) is carried out at the location of a legal entity, the place of business of an individual entrepreneur, or the place where the activity is actually conducted.
Persons who may be audited include the declarant, the carrier, a person engaged in customs activities, an authorized economic operator, a person with rights in the goods after release, and a person who directly or indirectly took part in transactions with the goods.
Typical points of review are the EAEU HS code, customs value, country of origin, quantity and characteristics, compliance with the customs procedure, prohibitions and restrictions, and the correct calculation and payment of customs duties, taxes, and special, anti-dumping and countervailing duties.
Selection is risk-based. A bona fide operator should keep documents for the limitation period, answer requests on time, and not understate value or change the code or origin without supporting documents.
