The President of Azerbaijan has approved amendments to the Customs Code.
The amendments aim to precisely define the entities responsible for debt payment. According to the Code, it is the duty of the declarant, who declares goods and vehicles, to pay customs duties. However, under the Code, customs debt could be paid by any interested person. This necessitated clarification.
The editorial office reports that these words were stated by Vüqar Bayramov, a Member of Parliament.
He stated that, taking into account that as a result of the approval of the customs declaration, the person making the declaration is obliged to pay customs duties, and if this payment is not made, a customs debt arises, as well as the fact that in international practice, legal regulation is carried out with an expression that implies responsibility, such as "any responsible person," rather than being vague like "any interested person," it was deemed necessary to make appropriate amendments to the Code.
"Thus, the amendment stipulates that customs debt is not paid by any interested person, but rather by the person indebted for the calculated customs duties, or, when security is provided using methods stipulated in this Code—namely, pledge, bank guarantee, transfer of the payable amount to the customs authority's deposit account, insurance contracts, third-party guarantee, or advance payments—by the persons liable under that security," the MP noted.
V. Bayramov said that with the new amendments, the process of paying customs debt for customs duties, penalties, and interest calculated by customs authorities will be regulated to be paid by the indebted person, and compliance with customs and tax legislation by individuals will be ensured: "Overall, with the new amendments, it will no longer be possible to pay someone else's customs debt. These rules will apply to individuals engaged in entrepreneurial activity. Payment rules for other individuals remain as before."