Peculiarities of the Grounds and Procedures for Issuance, Modification and Revocation of Customs Rulings under the Law of Kazakhstan

Abstract

Having studied the experience of Kazakhstan of legal regulation of key aspects of issuance, modification and revocation of customs rulings, the author infers that the peculiarity of rules and regulations of substantial and procedural aspects related to customs rulings under the law of Kazakhstan reveals itself in the following fundamental principles as well as in these regulatory and administrative practices: 1) the possibility of making advance rulings regarding the classification and origin of goods, as well as regarding the application of methods of customs valuation with specification at the sublegal regulatory level of the range of contracts and transactions, the value within framework of which can be certified or be adjusted by the customs authorities in advance; 2) the clear legislative aspiration towards ensuring the utmost facilitation to trading activities (in particular, by eliminating excessive formalism when assessing contractual documents and by fairly taking into account the individual situation of enterprises and individuals engaging in customs procedures) with proper enforcement of security and fiscal goals by customs authorities; 3) a set of detailed rules for collection and examination of evidence by customs authorities within the framework of the administrative appeal procedure, which includes, among other things, sending requests for information and documents necessary for making a lawful and well-founded decision, as well as the possibility of arrangement of an unscheduled on-site inspection for clarification of the authenticity of documents that persons did not submit during the implementation of customs control measures against them, but submitted during the administrative appeal of the relevant decisions; 4) inadmissibility of evidence that was not submitted without a good reason by a business entity or a natural person during the conduct of customs control measures and administrative appeals; 5) taking into account the recommendations and explanations given by the World Customs Organization when interpreting the provisions of customs law.