vlad.tribnet.com / Issue #615 / Special reports / Reading article...

Vladivostok businessmen who import and trade used Japanese cars staged a protest on Tuesday against local customs officials who since April 1 have been issuing documentation for the imported vehicles with huge delays resulting in financial losses for the car dealers.

Having decorated their vehicles with orange ribbons and the slogan “Car dealers against bureaucracy”, the traders proceeded to the building of the Far Eastern Customs Department to show their dissatisfaction with the officials’ work.

Since April 1, two customs posts – Vladivostok Auto Transport and Vladivostok Central – were liquidated and a new customs post in Vladivostok Commercial Port was opened. The Far Eastern Customs officials intended to improve the work of the customs but the result turned out to be the opposite. Currently more than 9,000 vehicles imported from Japan are awaiting customs clearance in the port’s warehouse while the territory of the port is designed for only 6,500 vehicles.

“The customs workers are unable to cope with the amount of documentation and the computer programs in the new post give out errors,” head of trade union for Vladivostok car dealers Dmitry Penyaz said.

The customs clearance process is halted and results in losses for car dealers. According to traders, one day of the port’s warehouse service costs from 120 to 500 rubles ($20). Considering the fact that auto businessmen usually have about 10 vehicles arriving on each ferry, the loss for a day of delays may amount to 5,000 rubles. The delays have been taking place since April 1.

“The ferryboats packed with the cars keep arriving from Japan and have to stay in the port waiting for a few days to be unloaded. The timetables for their arrival and departure are ruined and both the dealers and customers awaiting their vehicles are angry with the reorganization,” one of the car traders commented.

The customs officials say that reorganization was compulsory because the ‘Vladivostok Auto Transport’ customs post was notorious for bribery schemes. However, no criminal cases against corrupt customs officers were launched. The Far Eastern Customs management reported that they appointed new people to the new post to stop the corruption. However, the fight against corruption, praiseworthy by nature, has halted the work of the port, the railway, the shipping companies and the car traders’ business.