Legal support to a shipping company on various customs issues

Our lawyers provided legal support to a shipping company on various customs issues regarding sea vessels that are used for international and domestic shipments crossing the customs border. The work included the following:

• obtained confirmation from the Russian Federal Customs Service that the legal position we developed regarding the customs clearance of sea vessels was lawful. The sea vessels were imported under bareboat charter contracts to be used for international and domestic shipments subject to exemptions from customs duties and taxes. Our lawyers also provided follow-up legal support;
• developed the conditions for the customs clearance of fuel as supplies with an exemption from export customs duties;
• analysed the possibility of clearing re-exports with a customs authority other than that with which the vessel was initially cleared when imported.

The advice was unique in that customs legislation establishes special legal regulation with respect to vehicles used in international shipments. Where certain requirements are met, the corresponding laws provide for simplified customs procedures and customs duties exemptions. However, there are numerous gaps in the legal regulation, and for this reason carriers face considerable difficulties in meeting the requirements entitling them to apply the above simplified procedures and benefits in different situations. Not only did our advice help the client to ensure that all the customs requirements had been complied with, but also enabled it to take advantage of customs benefits while avoiding the risks of breaching the law.