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When U.S. Ambassador James Collins addressed the American business community on Sakhalin recently, he faced a group of enterprises with capitalization ranging from a paltry $15,000 to multiple billions of dollars in the island's huge oil projects. Despite the wide financial scope, though, there was one question that captivated everyone present: How is the island's customs authority going to handle the flood of oil-related project cargo expected to arrive this summer?

In fairness to the Sakhalin Customs Authority, most of the problem originates in Moscow. More than a year after customs ratified a new law providing for a system of customs brokers, the law has yet to be put into effect. Under the new law, customs brokers would have the authority to clear cargo and pay customs duties on behalf of Russian importers. The system currently in place is outdated and inefficient. As a result, under the current law, importers remain responsible for their own customs clearance and the payment of all duties and taxes.

The State Customs Committee long ago realized the need for brokers, and if it had the final word, the law would have gone into effect more than a year ago. At the moment, though, the Ministry of Justice is reviewing the law, another delay in seemingly endless mire of bureaucracy. What's worse, in anticipation of the new law, customs decreed that as of Jan. 1, 1997, it would grant no new customs declaration licenses. So, for over a year now, no new licenses have been added to the federal registry.

Together with the cargo boom coming to Sakhalin, this stifling situation threatens to back up the ports and severely constrict the flow of cargo traffic. Sakhalin customs is doing all it can to maximize efficiency, recently announcing a restructuring, which will take effect April 25. The new structure should eliminate conflict between customs posts, since Sakhalin customs will control all imports at its Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk headquarters. On the practical side, though, the move will create its own transitional confusion, as customs officials and importers adjust to new procedures. The transition will take place just as this year's cargo season peaks, timing which has the major importers on the island just a tad concerned.

Ambassador Collins, not surprisingly, did not have any suggestions for how to deal with these problems. However, he did offer the assistance of the Embassy's Foreign Commercial Service and the American Chamber of Commerce in Moscow. Both of these entities have made some headway in working with the State Customs Committee, which acknowledges the numerous concerns of the international business community. Sakhalin, of course, is a long way from Moscow, but at least American businesses now have the telephone numbers of a sympathetic ear or two in the country's capital. Whether this will help them wade through this summer's bottlenecks still remains to be seen.

Andrew Wilson is the general director of Links Sakhalin, Ltd., and the president of Global Inroads, Inc. He has been living and working in the Russian Far East for six years.