Import and export provisions

The following constitute the provisions under which goods, materials, equipment and/or construction equipment shall be imported and exported in/from the RF for the Work (hereinafter referred to as “Russia Import/Export Items”) under this Contract. Such Russia Import/Export Items are exempt from RF Customs duties and taxes under the PSA. The following are special provisions for Russia Import/Export Items provided by Contractor pursuant to this Contract:

a) Contractor and its Sub-contractors shall obtain in a timely manner all necessary authorizations for the importation into, exportation from and use of Contractor provided Russia Import/Export Items, technology and personnel into the RF.

b) Contractor and its Sub-contractors shall be responsible for customs clearance of Russia Import Items, for executing a contract with a professional customs broker (i.e. undertaking Customs clearance, registering with the RF Customs), for complying with all procedures and requirements and the provision of information in the correct format and in a timely manner, designated by Customs and any other relevant authorities for the import and export of Russia Import Items into and from any Country including the Russian Federation.

c) Contractor shall provide Company, for Company’s approval, a list of the Russia Import/Export Items which Contractor proposes to import. Upon receipt of Company’s approval, Contractor shall file with the Customs authorities the necessary documentation for importation of such items. Contractor shall not present for importation into the RF any prohibited items and any contravention of same shall be Contractor’s sole responsibility. Contractor shall import any restricted items in accordance with RF legislation.

d) Contractor and its Sub-contractors shall agree with the RF Customs authorities a procedure and a format for accounting on the intended usage of imported and conditionally released Russia Import/Export Items. In addition Contractor and its Sub-contractors shall organize material control and traceability of all Russia Import/Export Items (including Company provided items) and such materials control shall be matched with import/export customs declaration number.

e) Contractor shall designate on the import documentation that the Russia Import/Export Items are for use with respect to Company's PSA and shall not use the Russia Import/Export Items for anything other than the Work undertaken pursuant to this Contract. No payment shall be due before such items have received all authorizations necessary for their import into the RF and use in the Work and are available for use in the Work.

f) With respect to Russia Import/Export Items which shall be incorporated into the Work and provided by Contractor, Contractor shall be responsible for properly preparing the documentation necessary for such importation. Contractor shall designate on the import documentation that Contractor is the Importer of Record (in invoices/packing lists) and Consignee (in transport documents). Contractor shall be designated as Consignee within box 8, the Importer of Record within box 9 and the Declaration within box 14 of a RF Customs Import declaration.

g) Contractor and its Sub-contractors shall be responsible for organizing receipt of Russia Import/Export Items from the RF Customs after their customs clearance, delivery and transportation to Company’s nominated onshore base at Contractor's expense. Risk of loss and responsibility for transportation shall remain with Contractor, except that risk of loss shall pass to Company when custody of the completed Work passes to Company.

h) With respect to Russia Import/Export Items which shall not be incorporated into the Work, Contractor shall designate on the import documentation that Contractor is the Importer of Record (in invoices/packing lists) and Consignee (in transport documents). Contractor shall be designated as Consignee within box 8, the Importer of Record within box 9 and the Declarant within box 14 of a RF Customs Import declaration. In addition, Contractor shall re-export non-incorporated items at the conclusion of their use in the Work and prepare all necessary accurate documentation required for re-export. In export customs declarations Contractor shall be designated as Shipper within box 2, Exporter of Record within box 9 and the Declarant within box 14 of a RF Customs Export declaration. Contractor shall be fully responsible for administration of all import and export arrangements and costs incurred therein. Upon their re-export, Contractor shall confirm to Company that all Russian Import/Export Items have indeed been re-exported. Risk of loss (including inability to re-export) and responsibility for transportation shall remain with Contractor.

i) Contractor shall be liable for any and all customs duties, taxes and fines or penalties payable on surplus equipment and materials which are not exported on completion of the Work.

j) Contractor shall be liable for any customs violations in respect to import and/or export of Contractor's equipment and materials under this Contract and in respect to their end use not being their originally intended use.

k) Contractor shall be responsible for all customs duties and taxes on equipment and materials intended to be imported by Contractor which are not destined solely for the Work. All such equipment and materials shall be consigned to Contractor and cleared at Contractor’s expense.

l) After finishing all Works pursuant to this Contract, Contractor and its Sub-Contractor shall report to the RF Customs authorities and Company on the intended usage of Russia Import/Export Items in accordance with the format established by the RF Customs authorities. In addition Contractor and its Sub-contractors shall complete customs control over provisionally released Russia Import/Export Items and such completion shall be confirmed by the RF Customs to Contractor or its Sub-contractors and Company. Contractor shall also present to Company a report on all Russia Import/Export Items that have been imported confirming their consumption, transfer to Company, re-export or free circulation with duty and tax payments.

 

15. Nominate the major export-import documents which are necessary for custom procedures. Describe them briefly on the basis of the following texts:

 

THE OCEAN BILL OF LADING

As we know, this document is issued when goods are sent by sea. There are normally three originals. A bill of lading serves a number of purposes:

• It is evidence that the shipping line has received the goods (it’s the shipping line’s receipt).
• It is evidence of the contract between the exporter (shipper) and the shipping line.
• It documents the shipping line’s promise to hand over the goods to the holder of the B/L at the port of destination.
• It is a document of title – evidence of ownership of the goods.

A bill of lading can be also negotiable, which means it can be transferred to a third party along with ownership of the goods, provided it is enclosed.

AIR WAYBILL

Unlike the bill of lading, the air waybill isn’t a document of title and can’t be negotiated. However, the exporter has a right of disposal to the goods, which means that on presenting his copy of the air waybill, he can stop the goods during their journey, have the goods delivered to a different consignee from the consignee mentioned on the air waybill, or have the consignment returned. This is useful if the exporter discovers after dispatching the goods that the consignee may not be able to pay for them.

INVOICES

The commercial invoice is the seller’s formed request for payment. Along with the transport document, it is probably the most important paper needed in an export transaction, as it is also an essential component of certain methods of payment (for example the letter of credit) and indispensable for customs purpose. Several copies are made. The commercial invoice serves the following purposes:

• It is a record of the transaction between the seller and the buyer, listing details of the goods, how much they cost and how they are to be transported.
• It is the basis on which the customs authorities assess how much duty or tax is to be paid.
• It is used to confirm the value of the goods for insurance purposes.

Customs invoice. Some countries may require the exporters to provide a customs invoice, a special invoice for the customs authorities of the importing countries. This invoice is very similar to the commercial invoice, but requires additional information such as the domestic value and export price of the goods. With this information, the customs authorities can decide whether the goods are admissible (whether they can be allowed into the country) and how much duty is to be paid. A custom invoice may be required in the following situations:

• Where the value of the consignment is relatively high.
• Where the specific types of goods are being imported.
• If the importer requires preferential treatment by the customs authorities, for example a lower rate of duty.

Consular invoice. Certain countries, notably those in South America, may insist on a consular invoice as evidence that the goods being imported are not over-priced. A consular invoice is issued as follows:

1. The exporter buys the relevant forms from the consulate of the importing country located in his own country.

2. The exporter fills out these forms. This is no easy task, as there may be up to 6 copies, and they all have to be perfect – if anything has been added or crossed out, the forms will be rejected.

3. The exporter takes a commercial invoice for the goods to be exported to Chamber of Commerce. Here the invoice is stamped on the reverse side to conform the origin of the goods (where they come from).

4. The exporter then takes all these forms – plus any others which may be required – back to the consulate.

5. Here the consular invoice is legalized by the consul. This means that the exporter has no swear to the accuracy of the documents.

CERTIFICATES

The certificate of origin is issued by the Chamber of Commerce as proof of where the goods were produced. There are two reasons why the certificate of origin might be necessary:

• When there is a trade agreement between the exporting and importing countries. In this case, if it can be proved that the goods were made in the exporting country, duty is charged at a lower rate or possibly not charged at all.
• For political reason, to prove that importers aren’t importing goods from countries with which trading relations are not desired.

The SGS certificate. “SGS” means the Société Générale de Surveillance (which maintains its world headquarters at 1 Place des Alpes, P.O. Box 2152, 1211 Geneva 1, Switzerland). Inspection of each Shipment by SGS shall be performed at the Port of Loading, at seller’s expense. SGS shall render a certificate to the parties as to the results of its inspection(s) specifying the quality and quantity of the goods. The results of the SGS inspection shall conclusively determine whether the goods meets the specifications, weight, and quantity described required, within the permissible variance of plus or minus five percent (+/-5%).

In order to get such certificate at the port of loading, SGS shall take a composite sample of the samples taken during loading of the goods into the vessel(s) and the composite sample shall be separated into four samples with (i) one sample to be sent to buyer, upon buyer’s written request (prior to loading); (ii) one sample to be maintained on the vessel(s); (iii) one sample to be maintained by SGS (the “reference sample”) for at least a three (3) month period; and (iv) one sample to be tested by the seller.

 

16. What are the basic provisions within the frameworks of Sakhalin oil and gas projects under which the goods, materials, equipment and/or construction equipment shall be imported and exported in/from the Russian Federation (“RF”)? What is the main official document which declares the necessity of exempting the Russian Import/Export Items from customs duties and taxes?

17. What are the main rights and liabilities of the exporter and the importer within the process of customs clearance of the goods, materials, and equipment for the purpose of its importing into the Russian Federation under the PSA requirements?

18. Describe the full set of documents necessary for custom clearance and duty and tax exemption for the customers, contractors and their subcontractors – the members of Sakhalin oil and gas projects. What are the main customs authority requirements to such documents? Hope the abstract from the current contract mentioned below will help you: