Declaration of perfumery and cosmetic products on the territory of the customs union becomes a difficult task for foreign manufacturers. In particular, it is a question of import of samples to the territory of the Russian Federation.

Just a few months ago, it was possible to use any samples on the hands for declaration purposes. However, everything has changed since at the end of February the official Recommendations of the Federal Customs Service and Federal Service for Accreditation on the import of goods as samples and samples were published.

According to the Recommendations, “samples transported for personal use in accompanied or unaccompanied baggage, by international mail or by other means, are intended exclusively for personal, family, household and other non-business needs of individuals”. For samples intended for research and testing of products for the purpose of certification, customs declaration is required.

It is worth noting that the Recommendations are informative and are not a legal act. However, practice shows that compliance with them becomes mandatory.

It is still possible to certify imported perfumery and cosmetic products without providing officially imported samples, but the applicant faces problems when importing the goods after receipt of the declaration.

Thus, there are increasingly cases where the applicant receives letters from the Federal Customs Service requesting to provide along with a declaration of conformity:

– Copies of test reports on the basis of which the declaration of conformity was issued

– Copies of customs declarations for samples and samples of products.

For non-compliance with prohibitions and (or) restrictions on the import of goods, the applicant will be punished in the form of an administrative fine. For legal entities it ranges from 50 000 rubles. to 300 000 rubles. with or without confiscation of goods that were objects of administrative offense or confiscation of objects of administrative offence.

In what case can the FCS request additional information, in particular on the import of samples?

According to Article 325 of the Customs Code of the EAEU, the customs authority has the right to request additional documents and (or) information in cases where:

• submission of the customs declaration is not accompanied by the submission of documents confirming the information, including the observance of the prohibitions and restrictions declared in the customs declaration;
• documents submitted during the submission of the customs declaration do not contain the necessary information or do not properly confirm compliance with the prohibitions and restrictions;
• the customs authority revealed signs of non-compliance with the right of the EAEU and the legislation of the Russian Federation in the field of customs regulation, including unreliability of the information contained in such documents.

The requested documents and/or information may include:

• documents confirming compliance with prohibitions and restrictions (declaration of conformity, certificate of conformity) (Article 7 of the Customs Code of the EAEU);
• documents confirming the import into the Russian Federation of samples and samples of products for the purpose of research and testing (declaration of goods, declaration, register of express goods, act of sampling and samples) (Article 104 of the TC of the EAEU);
• documents confirming the civil law relations between the applicant and the accredited institution (a copy of the agreement with the accredited institution for the provision of conformity assessment services and (or) a letter from such Accredited person) (Regulations on the procedure of importation);
• documents confirming the conduct of research and testing of samples of imported products (test reports, inspection control acts) (Decision of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission on 25.12.2012 № 293 “On uniform forms of certificate of conformity and declaration of conformity with requirements of technical regulations of the Eurasian Economic Union and rules of their registration”; 27.12.2002 № 184-FZ “On technical regulation”)

References:

1. РЕКОМЕНДАЦИИ ФТС РОССИИ И РОСАККРЕДИТАЦИИ О ПОРЯДКЕ СОВЕРШЕНИЯ ТАМОЖЕННЫХ ОПЕРАЦИЙ, СВЯЗАННЫХ С ВВОЗОМ В РОССИЙСКУЮ ФЕДЕРАЦИЮ ТОВАРОВ В КАЧЕСТВЕ ПРОБ И ОБРАЗЦОВ ДЛЯ ЦЕЛЕЙ ПРОВЕДЕНИЯ ИССЛЕДОВАНИЙ И ИСПЫТАНИЙ ПРОДУКЦИИ (27 февраля 2019 года)
2. «Кодекс Российской Федерации об административных правонарушениях» от 30.12.2001 N 195-ФЗ (ред. от 01.05.2019) (с изм. и доп., вступ. в силу с 12.05.2019) Ст. 16.2.
3. “Таможенный кодекс Евразийского экономического союза” (приложение N 1 к Договору о Таможенном кодексе Евразийского экономического союза)