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Primorye’s customs system is trying to rid itself of bureaucratic hassles that keep it from serving customers efficiently, said OGAT general director Anatoly Shemchuk on September 15. OGAT is the krai’s largest customs-bonded trucker, with over 300 trucks and 400 employees.

Shemchuk’s comments came after customs agreed to set up a base of operations at the OGAT base where importers and exporters can now fulfil all of their customs requirements. Previously, customers had to visit a number of different offices around Vladivostok to complete the customs process, which requires inspection, confirmation of international contracts of sale, and verification of delivery arrangements. When importing medical supplies or hazardous materials, importers must often send samples off to Moscow for laboratory testing, which can take weeks.

Now, all cargo arriving by truck into Vladivostok goes to the OGAT base, where customs has an inspection yard, and an entire floor of new offices. The move has reduced the customs clearance process to two days from an average fifteen days, Shemchuk said.

Andrew Wilson, who is on the board of directors of Links 2, Ltd, a customs-bonded warehouse located at OGAT, said that delays don’t always mean that customs is at fault. “There is a procedure, and the procedure is clear,” he said. “I very strongly believe that in most cases where there are customs delays, the cause of the delay has been the shipper’s failure provide complete, accurate documentation.”

So the move will not only take pressure off of customs, but also send importers the message that things are getting easier in Russia, and that customs will now be able to streamline declaration as procedures become more developed. “This represents a consolidation step for customs because it has made a decision to work with a progressive company like OGAT,” he said.

“The service that OGAT provides and we provide are services that will help shippers avoid these kinds of delays,” he said.

OGAT was a Soviet-run company privatized after the fall of communism. The company now delivers cargo throughout the krai and to China, Shemchuk said.