Turkmenistan on August 9 of this year approved a new Procedure for customs clearance of sea vessels that carry out international transportation, as well as goods and vehicles transported by them.
This Procedure regulates the general rules for the arrival and departure of sea vessels engaged in international transportation, for the import and customs clearance of goods and vehicles by these vessels at the customs border of Turkmenistan.
Goods and vehicles transported across the customs border of Turkmenistan are subject to customs clearance and customs control in the manner and under the conditions provided for by the Customs Code of Turkmenistan and in accordance with the rules established by the new Procedure.
In order to speed up customs control and customs clearance, the port’s administration is obliged to inform the customs authorities in advance in electronic form about ships and goods transported by them. The information is provided by the carrier or its agent (sea agent), a sea broker.
Customs inspection, verification of documents and information, as well as customs clearance of a sea vessel are carried out within the period established by the State Port Control.
The goods can be checked only in the customs control zones.
Citizens on board, including crew members, passengers, drivers, are authorized to enter through special checkpoints on the territory of the port. Customs control and customs clearance of goods (baggage) of citizens is carried out in accordance with the rules established by the customs legislation of Turkmenistan on the movement of goods across the customs border by individuals.
The captain of a vessel arriving at the customs border of Turkmenistan must provide the following documents for customs control:
Documents for arrival:
- main declaration;
- cargo declaration;
- list of crew members;
- document on ship's food supplies (a document showing the composition and quantity of food products intended for consumption by crew members on board the ship);
- a list of valuables of crew members or a separate customs passenger declaration for each crew member in the order and form established by the service;
- information about passengers.
Shipping (cargo) documents issued by state control bodies at the port (foreign) of departure are:
- bill of lading (or a document certifying the acceptance of the cargo for carriage);
- cargo manifest;
- commercial documents: invoices( invoices), specifications, shipping and packing lists and other documents;
- customs documents – documents issued at the port of departure and transit (if there are such documents).
After the documents are submitted, a customs inspection of the vessel is carried out, as well as verification of documents and information.
Upon completion of the customs inspection of the vessel and completion of the verification of documents and information, the arrival of the vessel and customs clearance of the cargo can be carried out.
