Update to the contribution to the progress report on the process of accession of the republic of macedonia to the european union



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3.29CUSTOMS UNION



Legislation

With aim to further trade facilitation and reduction of the costs for the business community, Amendments to the Trade Law were adopted (Official Gazette of RM no.88/2008). The Amendments stipulate abolishment of the mandatory presentation of a Certificate of Conformity for import customs clearance of goods, that the goods have been inspected and that the accompanying technical documentation has been recorded by the Standardisation Institute of the Republic of Macedonia. The Amendments to the Trade Law also stipulate that when importing retail goods, they do not have to be accompanied by an appropriate declaration and instructions for use attached on their original package, in order to be customs cleared. The Amendments allow the customs authorities to approve the import of such goods without the previous presentation of a Report, issued by the State Market Inspectorate. The Inspectorate itself shall carry out controls after the release of the goods for free circulation/sale, i.e. in the internal market. These Amendments to the Trade Law provide for reduction of the time necessary for import customs clearance of the goods, as well as reduction of the costs for the business community.


The Law Amending the Law on Technological Industrial Development Zones was enacted on 18 July 2008. The text of the Law addresses the EC comments and is an important step towards achieving alignment with the acquis in this area. The provisions are aligned with the Guidelines on National Regional Aid for 2007-2013 (2006/C 54/08)  OJ 54/13 and 52004XC1001(01) and the Communication from the Commission – Community guidelines on State aid for rescuing and restructuring firms in difficulty   OJ 244 (01.10.2004). The comments relating taxation and customs are also addressed in the Law. The Law was sent to the EC.
The Customs Administration is responsible for the supervision of the import/export of effective foreign and domestic currencies, cheques and monetary gold in/from the Republic of Macedonia, being imported or exported by residents/non-residents, or sent by post. In July, Amendments to the Law on Foreign Exchange Operations were adopted, which refer to the amount of the fines imposed for a committed foreign currency offence, the supervising customs office, the competent customs office for customs offence procedures and sanctions, as well as the time bar for offence procedures. For the offences quoted in Article 56-a, paragraph 1, item 22 and item 28, the procedures are carried out and the sanctions are imposed by the Customs Administration, i.e. the Commission on Offence Procedures and Sanctions.
In accordance with the obligations from the National Programme for adoption of the acquis communautaire and to the end of further harmonisation of the national legislation with the legislation of the European Union, the Government of the Republic of Macedonia adopted a Regulation amending the Regulation on the Application of the European Commission’s Regulations on the Classification of certain goods in the Combined Nomenclature. The amendments ensure the legal grounds for uniform application of the Combined Nomenclature.
To the end of further harmonisation with the Law on Prevention of Money Laundering and Other Criminal Proceeds and Terrorism Financing, the Government of the Republic of Macedonia, in June 2008 adopted a Decision amending the Decision on the manner and amount of effective foreign currencies and cheques which can be brought in or taken out from the Republic of Macedonia. The Amendments regulate the conditions under which residents and non-residents can bring in or take out effective foreign currencies and cheques. In particular, the amendments stipulate that residents and non-residents can bring in or take out effective foreign currencies and cheques in the amount of EUR 10,000, instead of EUR 2,000, an amount applicable to date. With the amendments, i.e. the increase of the amount, cases of offences committed due to the insufficient awareness of the non-residents entering in or exiting from the Republic of Macedonia and which are not cases of deliberate illegal economic activities or money laundering shall be avoided.
On grounds of the Amendments of the Excise Law (Official Gazette of RM no.88/2008), the Customs Administration adopted Amendments to the Guidelines on the Application of the Excise Law in the Customs Operations. The Amendments of the Excise Law stipulate relief from excise duty on passenger cars provided they are received as a gift from foreign donors and are intended for the use by state authorities, municipalities, the city of Skopje and public institutions, as well as passenger cars with hybrid power (combination of gas engine and electromotor).

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In order to ensure appropriate and uniform application of the customs tariff, proper calculation and collection of customs debt, as well as equal conditions for competitiveness of the participants in the customs procedures, the Customs Administration adopted Guidelines on classification of computer equipment from Chapter 84 and Chapter 85 of the Customs Tariff.


To the end of facilitation and simplification of the customs procedures, the Customs Administration initiated a procedure for elimination of administrative taxes for submission of Single Administrative Document (SAD) and Movement Certificate EUR.1.
A Rulebook amending the Rulebook on the type and amount of customs fees for services rendered in the customs procedure was adopted (Official Gazette of RM no.107/08) thus abolishing the fees payable for customs escort of vehicles and storage of goods in warehouses of the Customs Administration The implementation of the Amendments, which will start as from 1st January 2009, will significantly contribute to reduction of the costs paid by the transporters and importers for certain excise goods requiring customs escort, since from 01st January 2009 these fees will no longer be charged.
On its session held on 31st July 2008, the Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia adopted the Law on Ratification of the Recommendation of the Customs Cooperation Council Concerning the Amendments to the Convention Establishing the Customs Cooperation Council.
The Amendments to the Law on the Customs Administration, published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia no. 103/08 of 19th August 2008, enable the Customs Administration to assume the responsibility to administrate, manage and maintain the facilities of the road Border Crossings. This act represents the beginning of the reforms of the Public Enterprise for Management of Housing and Business Premises of the Republic of Macedonia, and at the same time allows for reduction of the costs and expenses and providing more favourable conditions for the economic operators and passengers. The Minister of Finance has already passed the Amendments to the Rulebook establishing the amounts of the fees for rendered services and the basic amount of the rent paid for the leased business and advertising areas located at the road Border Crossings, rent being collected by the Customs Administration. The fees for services rendered at Terminals are by 33% less compared to the ones previously charged. Further reduction of these fees (and their complete abolition) is planned in the future. The Rulebook envisages charging of only one kind of fee of MKD 1000 for entrance of vehicles and their use of terminal services where customs formalities are performed. Until now, fees were charged for several types of different services (vehicle weighing, parking and utilization of public facilities), the total amount of which was approximately MKD 2000. This Regulation provides for equal treatment of the national and foreign vehicles, for which the clients used to pay different fees. The management and maintenance of the Border Crossings by the Customs Administration shall provide higher quality of the rendered services, in conformity with the users’ requirements.
On 20th September 2008 at the BCP Tabanovce, the Customs Administration of the Republic of Macedonia officially assumed the responsibility for management of the Border Crossing Points of the Republic of Macedonia from the Public Enterprise for Management of Housing and Business Premisses (PE-MHBP).
To the end of uniform application of the activities and procedures applied by the customs officials during the customs formalities, during this period, the Customs Administration adopted the following Rulebooks:

  • Rulebook on operation and actions to be taken in case of detected increased level of Ion (radioactive) radiation, produced in order to provide the customs officers with guidelines to undertake appropriate actions upon detection of radioactive sources and to properly use the radiation detection devices.

  • Rulebook on production and implementation of Financial Plan, Investment Plan and Procurement Plan of the Customs Administration, regulating the organisation, powers, procedures, documents and information on the production of the Financial Plan, Investment Plan and the Procurement Plan of the Customs Administration, as well as their forms, content and manners for monitoring of their realisation.

  • Rulebook on Procurement by the Customs Administration, regulating the manner and procedures of procurement of goods, services and civil works, awarding Public Procurement Contracts, management of documents in relation to procurement, their receipt, registration, keeping and use by the organizational units of the Customs Administration.

  • Rulebook on the Manner and Conditions for access to the Information-Communication System of the Customs Administration, prescribing the manner, procedures, responsibilities for holding user’s access and the level of priveledges in the Information and Communication System of the Customs Administration (MAKCIS), the manner of its use, the accuracy and confidentiality of the information.

  • Rulebook on business trips realised for the needs of the Customs Administration prescribing the procedures to authorise such business trips (participation at meetings, study visits, seminars, courses and symposiums) and reimbursement of travel costs daily allowances and other expenditures incurred during the business trips.

Administrative Capacity Building



Following the completion of the tender procedure and the signing of the Contract, in relation to the allocation of funds under the CARDS Programme 2005, equipment for the customs laboratory was delivered in July and it was installed at the Institute for Chemistry within the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics in Skopje. Having in mind the complexity of the work of such a modern laboratory, the new customs laboratory is being founded by establishing business and technical co-operation between the Customs Administration and the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics – Chemistry Institute. The Agreement on cooperation between the Customs Administration and the Chemistry Institute was signed.
Following the installation of the equipment for the Customs Laboratory, training on the use of this equipment was organised and started at the end of August. Pursuant the signed Agreement on operational and technical cooperation, the Customs Laboratory shall function in the premises of the Institute of Chemistry - University “Ss. Cyril and Metodius”. The analyses will be done by a Joint Experts Team of researchers from the Institute of Chemistry and the staff of the Customs Administration’s Laboratory Unit. Through research programmes, carried by the Experts Team, the Customs laboratory shall strive to meet the highest EU standards. International accreditation of the laboratory is also planned
The functioning of the Customs Laboratory is of great significance for the appropriate determination of goods in tariff headings, accurate calculation of customs duties and detection of goods prohibited for import.
The Customs Laboratory, was officially put in use on 18th September 2008
Within the Project on Support of the Modernisation of the Customs Service, financed under the European Union’s CARDS Programme, following the completion of the tender procedure for procurement by the European Commission, the ICT equipment for the Customs Administration was delivered. The installation of the equipment will strengthen the administrative capacity, especially in the area of fight against smuggling, combating corruption, training, revenue collection and facilitation of the customs procedures and reducing the costs of the business community. The equipment will also enable the implementation of the initiated activities and electronic data exchange.
On 19th September 2008, the Customs administration promoted and presented its newly-established Centralised Video monitoring System. The expected advantages from using such a system are extraordinary, particularly in terms of reduction and prevention of corruption, monitoring the professional conduct of the customs officials, preventive acting in the fight against organized crime, prevention of smuggling and illegal importation of goods.
The Automatic Number Plate Recognition System, which is planned to be installed in the second phase of the implementation of this system, shall be installed at all Border Crossing Points and inland Customs Offices and it will enable monitoring of eg. the type of vehicle, the time of entrance, the place of entrance in /exit from the country, and for the freight motor vehicles the terminal where they stayed. All data from the Automatic Number Plate Recognition System shall be kept on a central server at the Customs Administration, accompanied by a photograph of the vehicle and archived for further needs of the CARM.
With purpose for greater efficiency and unification and simplification of the document management system, as well as reduction of costs and greater transparency, following the completed public procurement procedure, the Customs Administration signed a contract for procurement of fully operational Integrated Information System. The system will provide fast flow of information and documents which will advance the functioning and decision making through submission of correct and real-time information.

Human Resources Development and Integrity



The Customs Administration adopted Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the customs officials, regulating the mentioned issues in the Customs Administration, in accordance with the legal and sub-legal acts, as well as the other regulations adopted on legal basis and the ratified international Agreements.
The Customs Administration continues with the realisation of the Training Programme based on the Strategy for general and vocational training of the customs officials, and during June, July and August, 2008, 28 training sessions were organised and attended by 492 customs officials.
During this period (June, July and August 2008), the inspectors of the Internal Investigation Department conducted 36 internal investigations in the organizational units of the Customs Administration. The investigations were conducted on grounds of different findings and acquired information. These resulted in 22 cases of Official Information drafted and 11 Official Notes8 prepared. Within the same period the Department for Internal Inspection conducted 8 controls in several organizational Units of the Customs Administration and prepared 10 Reports. The joint activities undertaken by mixed teams of the Internal Inspection Department and the Internal Investigation Department resulted in 4 cases of official information prepared.
22 disciplinary procedures were realised against 19 customs officials within the same period. 8 of these cases resulted in disciplinary procedure – dismissal from work and in 9 cases the customs officials were fined.
On ground of the reasonable doubt about existence of conflict of interest concerning one customs official, the Customs Administration proceeded to disciplinary procedure, the conflict of interest was confirmed and the customs official was dismissed.
In June 2008, the Internal Audit Department carried out two audits: an Audit on the regularity of the procedure for public procurement of shoes in the Customs Administration, which resulted in 3 findings and 4 recommendations for further proceeding given, and an Audit of the regularity of the Rulebook on the Use of Official Mobile Telephones, which resulted in 3 findings and 5 recommendations for further proceeding given. In August, the Internal Audit Department carried out an audit on the compliance with the Instructions on utilisation of the official vehicles of the Customs Administration. The results showed seven cases of violation for which 13 recommendations were given.
Within the Project on Assessment of Good Governance Potential in Macedonia, run by the Foundation Open Society Institute Macedonia (FOSIM), on 03rd July 2008, the Customs Administration was officially awarded a Certificates of Recognition on grounds of the selection of institutions which most successfully implement the Good Governance process, made on 27th March. The selection criteria included assessment of the level of professionalism, efficiency, administration skills and training, employment in the administration, rule of law, transparency, accountability, public procurement, financial management and control. The selection was made by Commission of 5 members. The Customs Administration was chosen best in the category of state administration bodies.
In August, the Customs Administration passed a Decision on Adoption of an Action Plan for Prevention of Corruption at the Customs Administration. The aim of the Action Plan is enhancement of the system for undertaking preventive actions and repression of corruption within the Customs Administration. It has been drawn up in conformity with the Recommendations given in 2007 in the National Programme on Prevention and Repression of Corruption, the legal provisions and regulations applicable in the Customs Administration, as well as the responsibilities and principles arising from the international conventions.
Transparency

The Customs Administration continued collecting information on various irregularities through the customs hotline 197. During this period (June, July and August 2008), there were total of 28.194 calls on the customs hotline, 22 of which required urgent action by the Customs Offices (class A) and 22 calls required further investigation by other units within the Control and Investigations Department before taking any action (class B), 59 calls referred to information on corruptive and unprofessional conduct of customs officials and liability actions have been undertaken upon them (class J).


A total of 314 Requests demanding assistance, control of persons/vehicles on entrance or exit, have been sent to the Border Police, 249 of which were responded to. 21 requests for verification of personal information have been sent to the Call Centre for Emergency Situations within the Public Security Bureau of the Ministry of Interior, all of which were appropriately responded to.
In the same period, 216 information were published on the MCA’s official web-site in Macedonian, English and Albanian language. Notifications are continuously published on the intranet portal for the customs officials.
As from July 2008, the Customs Administration of the Republic of Macedonia started publishing a monthly newsletter “Customs”, which contains novelties in the customs operations and information and data of interest for the wider trade and business community. The purpose of the “Customs” newsletter is to enhance the efficiency and transparency of the Customs work, to inform the business community on the ongoing and planned activities in the area of customs operations, as well as to publish information of interest to all the employees of the Customs Administration of the Republic of Macedonia. Scholars, representatives of Chambers of Commerce, trade and business community, as well as representatives of domestic and foreign commercial branches in the Republic of Macedonia attended the promotion of the newsletter.
Revenues collection

Within these eight months of 2008 (January – August), the Customs Administration has collected a total of MKD 33.844 million (about EUR 554.8 million) of total revenues from import duties, being by 33% more compared to the same period in 2007, when a total of MKD 25.406 million (about EUR 416.5 million) were collected. Of the total revenues collected within January-August 2008, MKD 4.272 million (about EUR 70 million) were collected as customs duties, being 12% more than the amount collected within the same period in 2007. MKD 28.784 million (about EUR 471.9 million) were collected as VAT, being by 38 % more, compared to the same period last year. Of the total revenues collected, MKD 608 million (about EUR 9.9 million) was collected as excise duties, being by 1% more compared to the same period in 2007. With regard to the compensations, a total of MKD 180 million (about EUR 3 million) was collected, which is by 78% more, compared to the amount collected within the same period in 2007.


Prevention of illicit import, export and transit of goods

In its activities for prevention of illegal trade, the CARM closely cooperates with the Border Police, the Ministry of Interior, the Financial Police, the Directorate for Prevention of Money Laundering, the Public Revenue Office, the Veterinary Directorate, the Food Directorate and the Directorate for Radiation Safety.


One of the key priorities of the Customs Administration is the prevention of illegal trade and protection of the citizens and the environment. To this end, on grounds of intelligence based information and risk analysis, several investigations were conducted in companies. The Customs Administration is increasingly focused on post-clearance audits of companies, thus enabling faster movement of shipments and shorter time for regular customs clearance through creation and use of risk profiles and selectivity criteria.
During June and July 2008 the Macedonian Customs Administration detected five cases of considerably higher level of radiation than the normal, coming from freight motor vehicles loaded with scrap metal. The radiation was detected by the panel radiation detection devices installed at the Border Posts and the radiation detection pagers, carried by the customs officials. In all four cases, the Customs Administration closely co-operated with the Directorate for Radiation Safety and none of the shipments were allowed entrance into the Republic of Macedonia. All shipments were returned to the country of departure.
On grounds of intelligence information and risk analysis, during this period (June, July, August 2008), the Special Mobile Units of the Customs Administration controlled 1052 trucks, 124 buses and 1507 automobiles, or a total of 2675 vehicles. The controls conducted at the borders and on the territory of the Republic of Macedonia, resulted in detection and seizure of different goods: excise goods, textile products, as well as counterfeit goods, bearing marks of several protected trademarks. Meanwhile, the controls conducted by the customs officials of the Border and Inland Customs Offices prevented several attempts of smuggling and these actions resulted in seizures of:


  • 4 kg and 850 grams of heroin (narcotic drug),

  • Weapons: 1 gun and about 13.500 pieces of ammunition,

  • Excise goods: About 85 thousand pieces of cigarettes, 60 litters alcohol, and 800 litres of oil derivate – euro-diesel,

  • About 8 thousand pieces of textiles and clothing and 38 fur coats,

  • About 12.3 thousand pieces of footwear,

  • About 25.6 tons of peach compote,

  • 26 icons and 22 objects of archaeological and ethnological value from 19th and 20th century,

  • Foreign currencies: EUR 200 thousand in different currencies,

  • 7.800 pieces of technical goods ( technical appliances, products of iron, tools and spare parts),

  • 23,300 kg of food products

  • 5,325 pieces of medical material,

For the detected attempts for illicit traffic of goods and other illegal activities, a total of 564 requests for initiation of offence proceedings were submitted to the Commission on Customs Offence Procedures and Sanctions, within the Customs Administration, out of which: 50 requests for bringing offence charges, submitted by the Ministry of Interior in relation to vehicles, 51 requests for initiation of offence proceedings on grounds of Reports on committed customs offences, submitted by the Control and Investigation Sector, and 373 requests for initiation of offence proceedings on grounds of Customs Offence Reports, submitted by the Customs Offices, and the rest of 90 are returned cases by the Basic Courts, which have been proclaimed as no longer competent. During June, July and August 2008, the Commission on Customs Offence Procedures and Sanctions has finalized a total of 336 cases in regular and urgent procedures and imposed fines in the amount of MKD 18.5 million (about EUR 302 thousand) and confiscated the goods, subject to the offences as well as three freight motor vehicle.


During June, July and August 2008, the Customs Administration issued 1132 summon tickets for payment of fines, i.e. imposed mandatory fines to the perpetrators of customs offences in a total amount of about MKD 20 million (about EUR 329 thousand).
In the same period, the Customs Administration passed 205 Decisions on additional collection of outstanding customs debt in total amount of MKD 9.1 million (about EUR 151 thousand).
Within this period, the Customs Administration to the Public Prosecutor submitted 36 requests for initiation of criminal proceedings against 49 natural and 14 legal entities.
IPR Protection

During June, July and August 2008, the Customs Administration prevented 44 attempts for violation of intellectual property rights and impounded 493,864 pieces of different goods. ````````````````````````. Pursuant the Law on Protection of Intellectual Property Rights, the Customs Administration acted ex officio in 36 cases.

The majority of the impounded goods consist of:


  • 119,650 pieces of light bulbs

  • 38,000 pieces of irremovable razors with plastic control handles

  • 18,000 kg of washing powder

  • 26 thousand pieces of textile articles and clothing (T-shirts, jeans, tops etc.)

  • 13 thousand pieces of sports equipment (trainers, sports bags)

  • 9,450 litres of alcohol

  • 9,000 pieces of batteries

  • 4,000 pieces of perfumes

  • 112.800 pieces of sanitary towels;

  • 147.734 pieces of CDs and video tapes;

  • pieces of cosmetic products;

  • About 10 thousand pieces of other goods.

During June, July and August 2008, 33 new requests for customs measures for protection of trademarks were accepted, pursuant the Law on Customs Measures for Protection of Intellectual Property Rights.


During this period, the Customs Administration carried out destruction of 19, 386 pieces of counterfeit goods which, following the completion of the procedures conducted pursuant the Law on Customs Measures for Protection of Intellectual Property Rights, were confirmed to be counterfeits, violating the intellectual property rights.
The annual World Customs Organisation – Customs and IPR Report 2007 places Macedonia on the 10th position on a global level, according to number of seizure cases involving goods violating intellectual property rights by country. Namely in 2007 the Customs Administration made 193 seizures of goods infringing intellectual property rights.
Inter-Institutional and International Cooperation and Projects

On 19 June the third donor coordination meeting in the area of customs operation was held. The current and the potential donors supporting the reforms in the Customs Administration and the European integration process attended the meeting. The Director of the CA presented the achieved results, the ongoing and planned projects, as well as the need of foreign assistance for implementation of the reforms for modernization of the customs operation through the further harmonization of the legislation, use of best practices, full computerization and paperless customs environment.


On 12-13 June the fourth meeting of the Steering Committee of the Bilateral Twinning between the Netherlands Tax and Customs Administration and the Macedonian Customs Administration was held. Realized activities and achievements of the CA were presented, and future activities of the CA planned for the period July – December 2008 were discussed. In the past six months, special attention was given to the projects for strengthening the control and audit function of the customs in the companies, further implementation of the simplified customs procedures, improvement of the administrative capacity for implementation of the customs value and origin rules.
A delegation of the Customs Administration of the Republic of Macedonia took part in the work of the Customs Co-operation Council (World Customs Organisation) at its 111th/112th Session, held within 26th – 28th June 2008 in Brussels, Belgium. Among other issues at the session, the Council adopted a document for further development of the Customs operations “Customs in 21st Century”.
In relation to the implementation of the Single Window/One Stop Shop Project, the Customs Administration, in co-operation with USAID developed an electronic application which allows the economic operators facilitated process for issuance of licenses for import/export and allocation of quotas, i.e. a possibility to carry out the procedures electronically. The technical assistance provided through the USAID Projects for e-Government and business environment will allow the Macedonian companies, involved in the external trade a possibility for electronic application and granting of the licenses for import, export and transit from all fifteen institutions, authorized to issue these licenses. Besides the licenses and quotas, the system will provide the possibility for electronic lodging and processing of the customs declarations for transit. Furthermore, the system facilitates the access to information and data, their use, thus speeding up and simplifying the flow of information and data between the public and private sector. This concept contributes to the reduction of trade barriers and positively affects the work of the economic operators. The system is available on www.exim.gov.mk. After completing the test phase of the system, it is expected that it will be fully operational and implemented in autumn this year.
In co-operation with consultants provided through the European Agency for Reconstruction, the Customs Administration produced the Technical Specifications for a Customs Declarations Processing System (CDPS), which covers the modules for transit control, import and export of goods. A constituent part of the system is also the Tariff Information Processing sub-System, within the CDPS.
Within Phase 4 of the Pilot Project for Cross Border Trade Facilitation between the Republic of Macedonia, the Republic of Bulgaria and the Republic of Serbia, a live demonstration on the IT technology and software in real-time electronic data exchange was performed. The demonstration showed how Customs, Border Police and other institutions responsible for border controls can receive electronic documents and data from companies, exchange this data among themselves as well as with the border agencies of the neighbouring countries involved in this Project. In its next Phase, the Project will give recommendations on how to speed up the procedures for import, export and transit among the involved countries, which will at the same time, enable more efficient cooperation in the region through electronic data exchange on shipments and use of this data exchange for risk analysis and intelligence purposes.
The aim of the Second Trade and Transport Facilitation in South-East Europe Project (TTFSE II) is to facilitate the movement of goods between the Republic of Macedonia and the countries of South-East Europe through the removal of certain bottlenecks in the infrastructure of the border zones and improvement of the efficiency and quality of the road and railway services along trans-European Corridor X on the territory of the Republic of Macedonia. The Project is financed by a World Bank loan of EUR 15 million and EUR 3.3 million participation of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia. The following Project components are being realised in the Customs Administration: 1) Upgrading and Modernisation of the Border Crossing Blace for light vehicles, busses and pedestrians and 2) Introduction of Railways Communication System (realised in co-operation with Macedonia Railways). Following the official approval by the World Bank, during July 2008 a Tender was opened for Selection of a Supervision Firm for Construction of Civil Works at the Border Crossing Blace – passenger terminal.
On its session held on 1st August 2008, the Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia, adopted the Law on Ratification of the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Macedonia and the Government of the Slovak Republic on Cooperation and Mutual Assistance in Customs Matters.
The Agreement’s aim is to enhance the cooperation between the two Customs Services and it establishes the legal basis for joint cooperation in the areas of: trade and transport facilitation and development, exchange of professional, scientific and technical assistance and introduction of higher level of standards concerning customs operations, as well as prevention and hampering trans-border crime and customs fraud.
A representative of the Customs Administration attended the regular meeting of the e-Customs Working Group of the Convention on a Common Transit Procedure, held on 16th – 17th June in Brussels in relation to the planned upgrades of the NCTS system. Within the same period, there was a meeting with DG TAXUD representatives in order to coordinate the activities of the Customs Administration in terms of its ICT System upgrading in accordance with the European Union’s requirements.
The Customs Administration participated at the one-day international operation for fight against trade in drugs – Drug Stop, organised by the World Customs Organisation. Representatives of the Customs Administration took part at the meeting of the SECI Centre Working Group on fight against illegal trade in drugs.
In order to further enhance the co-operation with the business community, the Customs Administration signed an Annex to the Memorandum on Co-operation concluded with the company Japan Tobacco International. The Annex stipulates continuation of the co-operation for another year.
Within the period of 25th May -19th July 2008 representatives of the Customs Administration of the Republic of Macedonia attended eight-week training, organised by the International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) in Budapest, Hungary. The objective of the training was gaining new knowledge in the area of identification of drugs, security during controls and search of passengers, vehicles and premises, fight against corruption and organised crime, money laundering, international terrorism and computer crime. The Director of the International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) pointed out that the Republic of Macedonia has great professionals and trained customs officials, and this year’s reward for best student was won by a representative of the Customs Administration.
In cooperation with the US Embassy, a representative of the Customs Administration participated at training on exchange of experiences with the US Customs in the area of Export Control and Border Security in Washington DC, within the 26th July - 3rd August 2008.
In accordance with the Agreement on long-term co-operation between the Customs Administration and the Faculty of Tourism and Catering in Ohrid, summer practice courses were organised during August. The seminars were attended by regular students involved in the Customs and Forwarding Programme. The summer courses were successfully completed by a total of 39 regular students, who attended the courses in 14 different Customs Offices for customs clearance of goods.
Data on 16 seizures made by the Customs Administration of the Republic of Macedonia were reported to the World Customs Organisation CEN database.


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