Azerbaijan, Baku, Sept. 19 / Trend A. Akhundov /
A new Customs Code will come into force in January 2012. It is one of the first documents of its kind in Azerbaijan, corresponding to not only European but international standards, chairman of the State Customs Committee Aydin Aliyev told media.
"This was confirmed by the international financial organizations that participated in the preparation of the Code," Aliyev said.
He said that one of the major innovations of the document is the beginning of independent economic operators' activity.
"These companies will be able to carry out customs registration," he said. "It is a more modern form than the customs brokers' method. The article was prepared on the basis of European experience."
Independent economic operators will be able to carry on their businesses on the basis of a license issued by the State Customs Committee.
He said that another important innovation is the introduction of electronic declaration and the use of electronic signatures and other innovations.
The existing Customs Code was adopted in 1997.
Adopting the new Customs Code will create favorable conditions for strengthening the material and technical basis of the customs system, creating a customs infrastructure in accordance with modern requirements, increasing state budget revenues, widespread use of the measures for tariff and non-tariff regulation of export-import operations, accelerating Azerbaijan's membership in the WTO, full use of automatic management in the customs system, increasing the efficiency of customs control, improving and developing the customs tariff policy, increasing the role of customs in ensuring the economic security of the country, strengthening the fight against offences in the area of customs, increasing the role of customs in socio-economic life, bringing the tools of customs regulations into conformity with the international means and standards, simplifying the rules of registration of export-import operations in trade and economic relations, and other measures.