IIAC, in cooperation with our partners, developed the project “Charter of Bona Fide Foreign Trade Operators” for the Public Council under the FCS of Russia, implemented it and supports users.

The main goal is the establishment by its participants of responsible forms of carrying out their economic activities, as well as interaction with partners, contractors and government bodies.

The signatories to this document strive to maximize the accuracy of the declaration, facilitate effective customs control, and minimize the number of violations of customs regulations.

We, Russian and foreign legal entities and individual entrepreneurs, engaged in foreign economic activity, and their unions (hereinafter, parties to the Charter),

• convinced that the support for equal and fair competitive opportunities in foreign trade activity is one the most important condition of economic development of the Russian Federation and improvement of living standards of its citizens,
• affirming our common interest in dynamic development of foreign economic activity based on its transparency for governmental authorities and compliance with the requirements of effective national and international legal regulations,
• seeking to promote the increase of investment attractiveness of Russian economy and increasing its competitiveness,
• determined to combine our efforts in combating corruption and abusive practice both on the part of unfaithful foreign trade operators, and officers of supervisory authorities,
• adopt this Charter of Bona Fide Foreign Trade Operators.

Article 1. The Charter’s initiators

The initiators of adoption of this Charter of Bona Fide Foreign Trade Operators (hereinafter, the Charter) are the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation, All Russia Public Organization “Delovaya Rossiya”, All-Russian Non-Governmental Organization of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises “OPORA RUSSIA”.

Article 2. Purpose of the Charter

Main purpose of the Charter is establishing faithful forms of foreign economic activities and cooperation with partners, contractors and governmental authorities by the parties to the Charter.

Article 3. Obligations of the parties to the Charter (Principles)

1. The parties to the Charter shall ensure faithful payment of all legally established duties, taxes and payments and shall refrain from providing to customs authorities any documents and information containing inaccurate particulars of declared goods. The parties to the Charter shall not take part in any export-import operations in order to evade customs duties, taxes and payments both independently, and in resale chains.
2. The parties to the Charter acknowledge that they fully respect intellectual property right and abide by effective legislation, and business practices protecting rightholders.
3. The parties to the Charter shall contribute to the formation of intolerance towards foreign trade operators which gain competitive advantages through evasion of customs duties, taxes and payments; consider such business practices when inappropriate acts of particular foreign trade operators create unequal conditions for other foreign trade operators unacceptable; take steps to eradicate them.
4. The parties to the Charter advocate for the exclusion of any forms of corruption and claim adherence to the provisions of Anti-Corruption Charter of Russian Business, adherence to anti-corruption regulations existing in Russian law.
5. The parties to the Charter shall, based on constructive and responsible interaction with supervisory authorities demonstrate a model of faithful partnership to other foreign trade operators.
6. The parties to the Charter shall make efforts to promote faithful business practices in foreign economic activity and actively work to include other foreign trade operators in this Charter.
7. The signatories hereof shall ensure declaration accuracy and shall encourage other foreign trade operators not being parties to this Charter to raise declaration accuracy, shall assist in effective customs control and shall seek to minimize violations of customs regulations until their complete exclusion.

Article 4. Self-regulation in mutual relations between the parties to the Charter

The parties to the Charter intends to use widely and to develop self-regulations of foreign trade operators based on common interest in improvement of business environment and its sustainable development.

Article 5. Information resources in foreign economic activity

The parties to the Charter acknowledge and value the importance of completeness, full disclosure and relevance of information for ensuring faithful business practices in foreign economic activity.

The parties to the charter undertake the obligation to fully assist in the formation and maintenance of information resources of the Russian FCS used for determination of customs value; development of the Foreign Economic Activity Commodity Classification and other information resources in the field of foreign economic activity.

Article 6. Accession to the Charter

The Charter is open to accession upon its publication on the official web-site of the Russian FCS in the section of the Public Council under the Russian FCS.

The Charter may be acceded by any Russian and foreign legal entity, individual entrepreneur, national, regional, sectoral and professional unions sharing and adhering to its principles and regulations.

The period of accession to the Charter is unlimited.

The register of parties to the Charter shall be kept by the Secretary of the Public Council under the Russian FCS.

For the purposes of successful implementation of the Charter, its initiators may approve the regulations on the conditions and procedure of implementation of the provisions of the Charter.

Article 7. Placement and keeping of the Charter’s documents 

The text of the Charter and the Register of parties to the Charter shall be posted on the official web-site of the Russian FCS in the section of the Public Council under the Russian FCS.

The original copy of the Charter in Russian and the Register of parties to the Charter shall be kept at the Secretariat of the Public Council under the Russian FCS.

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