AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS AND GOVERNMENT OF GEORGIA

of November 16, 2017

About system of assistance to mutual trade *

The government of the Republic of Belarus and the Government of Georgia which are hereinafter referred to as by the Parties

in view of provisions of the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Belarus and the Government of Georgia about cooperation and mutual aid in customs affairs of April 23, 2015,

aiming to increase cooperation level for the purpose of protection of economic and public concerns of the states of the Parties,

recognizing need of increase in efficiency of customs control of the goods and vehicles moved between the states of the Parties

for the purpose of reducing terms of carrying out and creation of conditions for simplification of customs control of the goods and vehicles moved between the states of the Parties

for the purpose of ensuring development of system of assistance to mutual trade and its safety

agreed as follows:

General provisions

Article 1

The parties authorize customs authorities of the states of the Parties on implementation of this agreement:

in the Republic of Belarus - the State Customs Committee of the Republic of Belarus;

in Georgia - the Legal Entity of the Public Law - the Service of the income falling within the scope of board of the Ministry of Finance of Georgia.

The parties notify each other through diplomatic channels on change of authorized bodies.

Article 2

The system of assistance to mutual trade (further - SSVT) is based on exchange of important information on movement of goods and vehicles according to specifications of exchange of information.

Subject and scope

Article 3

1. The structure of the transmitted data is created according to the Appendix to this agreement which is its integral part.

2. Exchange of information will be performed concerning deliveries of participants of foreign economic activity to which SSVT is applied.

3. Customs authorities of the states of the Parties will be developed and will approve specifications of exchange of information within twelve months after the signature of this agreement.

4. SSVT will represent the widespread practice applied to all modes of transport and all types of goods.

5. SSVT will be applied by participants of foreign economic activity of the states of the Parties on voluntary basis.

6. Customs authorities of the states of the Parties will avoid contradictions concerning this agreement which can cause damage to voluntary nature of such regulation in relation to the participants of foreign economic activity who are not participating in SSVT.

7. SSVT shall be transparent, predictable and non-discriminatory. Practice of realization of SSVT shall not entail emergence of unfair competition.

Article 4

Participants of foreign economic activity to whom SSVT is applied according to national legal systems of the states of the Parties will get the following advantages:

a) priority procedure for registration at check points;

b) simplification of customs formalities where it is possible, including allocation of separate strips for the purpose of reducing time of registration;

c) non-use of customs examination at check points, except as specified availability of signs of customs offenses, smuggling, money laundering or implementation of examination based on risk management system.

Use of information and documents

Article 5

1. Customs authorities of the states of the Parties guarantee use of information obtained within this agreement for the purpose of making of customs transactions and carrying out customs control concerning the goods and vehicles moved between the states of the Parties.

2. Information obtained by customs authorities of the states of the Parties will be used only in the customs purposes and cannot be transferred to the third parties without written permission of customs authority of the state of the Party which provided information.

Article 6

Under the organization of electronic exchange of information about the goods and vehicles moved between the states of the Parties, customs authorities of the states of the Parties shall be guided by regulations, standards and recommendations of the United Nations, World Customs Organization, national legal systems of the Republic of Belarus and Georgia, to consider the international best practices on exchange of information.

Article 7

In case of violation of provisions of this agreement customs authorities of the states of the Parties shall take all necessary measures according to the national legal systems and inform each other on such violations, also as well as on distinctions and (or) falsification of the data on the goods and vehicles moved between the states of the Parties obtained in case of exchange of information.

Implementation

Article 8

Customs authorities of the states of the Parties determine the list of competent officials of the customs authorities authorized on implementation of direct contacts for the purpose of:

a) developments and approvals of specifications of exchange of information and technologies of processing and data transmission, and also requirements for information security;

b) settlements of the technical issues which arose during application of this agreement.

Article 9

1. Customs authorities of the states of the Parties for the purpose of development of the specifications of exchange of information provided by this agreement will organize carrying out and realization of pilot project lasting twelve months from signature date of this agreement which can be prolonged in the mutual written consent of customs authorities of the states of the Parties.

2. Within the first six months of pilot project customs authorities of the states of the Parties will approve:

a) specifications of exchange of information;

b) list, structure and format of transmitted data;

c) requirements for information security;

d) procedure for the organization of interaction between customs authorities of the states of the Parties within the SSVT procedure;

e) the list of customs authorities of the states of the Parties in which customs transactions concerning the goods and vehicles moved within SSVT are made.

3. Customs authorities of the states of the Parties in writing inform each other on readiness for carrying out pilot project and on the list of the customs authorities taking part in it.

4. In the next six months of the Party enable the practical realization of SSVT.

Other provisions

Article 10

This agreement is applied without damage to the rights and obligations of the Parties arising from other international treaties which participants are the Parties.

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