Meeting with Federal Customs Service Head Valery Pikalev

Meeting with Federal Customs Service Head Valery Pikalev

This year, the Federal Customs Service marks its 35th anniversary. In his presentation, the agency’s head talked about the digital transition in customs operations, efforts to introduce domestic software solutions, and streamline the processing of electronic declarations as a way to address corruption-related risks. The service launched a system for confirming the expected delivery of goods (SPOT System): based on QR codes, it provides for increasing the volume of declared shipments and accelerating their clearance at the border. There is also a continued effort to upgrade border checkpoints. President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr Pikalev, good afternoon. How are revenue collections progressing? Are you meeting your targets? Head of the Federal Customs Service Valery Pikalev: Mr President, the Federal Customs Service collected over 99 percent of its projected revenue for 2025. This year, on October 25, the Service will celebrate its 35th anniversary. We will certainly do everything in our power to fulfil all the tasks entrusted to us. I would also like to thank you for supporting our initiative to develop a new information system for the customs authorities. We are now implementing a comprehensive programme to digitalise the Federal Customs Service. This will not only streamline and speed up customs procedures but ultimately allow us to switch entirely to Russian-made software. We are implementing your instruction to reduce the time freight vehicles spend at border crossings to 10 minutes. To achieve this, we are introducing state-of-the-art infrastructure solutions and have developed entirely new technologies that allow vehicles to pass through road border crossings with virtually no delays. Vladimir Putin: So, this also reduces the risk of corruption? Valery Pikalev: Exactly, Mr President. The automation of these procedures significantly reduces corruption risks. One example is the modernised Pogranichny multilateral road border crossing in the Trans-Baikal Territory, which opened on June 29. Mr President, you pay close attention to the operation of border crossings, including the difficulties faced by passengers, drivers and our officials. You also instructed us to establish an operational task force to develop border infrastructure along the border with the Republic of Belarus. We have already made considerable progress in this area. With your permission, I will report on the specific measures we have planned to implement your instruction a little later. Vladimir Putin: Of course. What is the situation in the Khabarovsk Territory? Valery Pikalev: Mr President, infrastructure projects are underway there. We are modernising border crossings in accordance with our plan and expect to complete all the projects currently under way by the end of 2030. Vladimir Putin: Are you working with the Ministry of Transport on this? Valery Pikalev: Yes. The Ministry of Transport is the lead agency, and we are providing all the necessary assistance. The Ministry of Transport is responsible for most of the infrastructure work. We are also working together to develop new technologies and establish an integrated border crossing system. This will bring together all the data required by the Federal Customs Service, the Border Service and other regulatory agencies operating at these crossings. Vladimir Putin: I will discuss this further with the Minister of Transport, but let me say this now: 2030 is too far off. We need to speed things up. Traffic volumes there are considerable. Valery Pikalev: Absolutely, Mr President. With your permission, I will return to this a bit later. I have some specific proposals. Vladimir Putin: Very well. Please go ahead. Valery Pikalev: Apart from creating worthy conditions for foreign economic operators and officials of oversight agencies during border crossing, we have modified the procedure for distributing declarations for goods. Earlier, economic operators were de facto affiliated with electronic declarations centres and inspectors who issued these declarations. In May this year, we eliminated this link, and this allowed us to evenly distribute loads between electronic declaration centres across the country, thus considerably reducing corruption risks and eliminating relations between foreign economic operators and our officials. In effect, the automatic distribution of declarations allows us to resolve these issues. Now, the Russian economy is subjected to unprecedented sanctions pressure from unfriendly countries. We are aware of the problems facing foreign economic operators. We have suggested an entirely new customs monitoring model with a minimal number of oversight measures and a reduction of procedural timeframes. Besides, foreign economic operators can independently eliminate discrepancies and incorrect data they have exposed. So, foreign economic operators are now able to quickly and voluntarily eliminate these discrepancies using our information. Additionally, with your support, reputable organisations involved in the customs monitoring process are entitled to a three-month VAT deferral when importing goods. I believe that this also considerably simplifies the work of foreign economic operators. In 2025, as per your instruction, we implemented large-scale economic measures to bring businesses out of the shadows. This primarily concerns grey imports. Following random checks of lorries arriving from countries of the Eurasian Economic Union, we found out that numerous vehicles were carrying goods in line with grey schemes and almost without documents. We did our best to prevent this from happening in the future. Your decision allowed businesses to declare goods which were imported with violations, for legally selling them on the Russian market. As per your instruction, the Law on the National System for Confirming Expected Deliveries of Goods (the SPOT system) was passed for continuing systemic efforts to prevent imports of “grey” goods to Russia. This law vests the Russian Federal Customs Service with the status of an oversight agency. Apart from obtaining additional revenues in the form of indirect taxes, we set ourselves the task to prevent officials implementing the law on the SPOT system from creating obstacles or any additional barriers for the movement of vehicles across the Russian border. I would like to note that, every day, I receive reports from motor vehicle crossings, stationary checkpoints and my colleagues, heads of customs agencies in countries of the Eurasian Economic Union. All of them confirm that we are accomplishing this task, and that no additional barriers for vehicles crossing our border are created. Vladimir Putin: Is the system of QR codes working? No problems or queues exist? Valery Pikalev: Yes, Mr President, not a single case has been reported. To be continued.