English for customs officers

secure the order of transporting commodities across the Customs border;

monitor the observation of bans and restrictions for the import of goods to the Republic of Belarus and their export from the Republic of Belarus in line with the legislation and (or) international agreements of the Republic of Belarus;

protect intellectual property rights within their terms of reference;

counteract smuggling and other crimes, administrative violations, suppress illegal traffic of drugs, weapons, cultural values, radioactive substances, endangered species of animals and plants, items of intellectual property and other goods via the Customs border; assist the fight against international terrorism and restrain illegal interference in the international civil aviation in the airports of the Republic of Belarus;

exercise tax, currency, export and other types of control within their terms of reference and in accordance with the legislation;

keep Customs statistics of the foreign trade of the Republic of Belarus as well as special Customs statistics;

provide information and consultations on the issues related to the Customs regulation and other issues within their terms of reference; provide state organizations, companies and individuals with Customs information;

train, retrain and enhance qualifications of the Customs executive officials;

conduct research in the Customs sector.

Today, the role of Customs in revenue collection and social protection is extremely important but this has to be balanced with the role of Customs in trade facilitation. Trade facilitation is one of the key factors of economic development of all nations and world welfare. Trade facilitation is of significant importance because it is all about reducing time in international trade.

Despite a variety of political and administrative pressures and challenges the Belarusian Customs Service faces today, it does its best to maintain the appropriate balance between facilitating legitimate trade and travel while ensuring compliance with the laws and regulations it enforces and to demonstrate that these laws and regulations are applied fairly, efficiently and effectively.

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EXERCISES

I. What are the synonyms from the text of the following words/phrases?

II. The words effective and efficient are similar in meanings but are sometimes confused. Some theory and practical material below will help you to use them correctly and avoid costly misunderstandings.

1.Advertising on commercial TV is the most effective method of test-marketing a household product.

2.We have a very efficient distribution network.

In 1. the meaning is that TV advertising has the most «impact».

In 2. we learn that the network is highly-organized and functions well.

The nouns are effect, effectiveness and efficiency.

If something has become effective it has come into force:

eg. The new rate f interest becomes effective as from 31 December.

A

Complete the grid below. Put a tick (V) if the word on the left can be used with the word in the top column.

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B

Complete the sentences.

1.The measures taken to cut unemployment have been … as there is now less than 5 % of the population out of work.

2.Miss Chen is the most … documentalist we've ever had; she's worked out a marvelous classification system.

3.Revised catalogue prices are … as from April 1st.

4.Direct mail shots are seldom …; most finish in the wastepaper basket.

III. Match left to the right to make a word/phrase combination taken from the text.

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IV. Read short descriptions of the functions carried out by the Belarusian Customs Service. Write A–D in the right box.

1.To compile and supply trade statistics of the right quality to a timetable which meets the needs of users with the minimum inconvenience to businesses.

2.To protect society by the enforcement of prohibitions and restrictions on the international movement of goods while minimizing the impact of illicit trade and international travel.

3.To collect the due amount of tax and duty at the right time.

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Administration of the Republic of Belarus will count on international cooperation to achieve these goals so far the Administration has received a lot of assistance and the State Customs Committee of the Republic of Belarus expresses its appreciation for the assistance already provided by the European Community and the following Customs Administrations Belgium France Germany Italy the Netherlands Russia United Kingdom and United States.

VI. Speculate about the following.

1.Customs Services play a key role in achieving national objectives in the areas of revenue collection, trade and industry policy and community protection.

2.The direction and the shape of a Customs Service is decided by its

staff.

3.Customs organization must pay little attention to offering a service to the trade or the public.

4.Customs organization must work only in the interests of government.

5.Society expects Government, through Customs, to provide protection at coasts and borders against traffic in illegal or restricted goods, such as drugs, firearms, heritage items, endangered species, pornography, etc.

6.Customs is a statement of a nation's sovereignty. Customs doesn't need to be invented or re-invented. It has existed for many centuries. Through partnership between Customs, business and government, there is a better prospect of delivering successful government policies. Business and trade leaders can benefit by a better understanding of Customs.

FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITIES

I. Read the following text.

NORTH – WESTERN CUSTOMS

Russia's Customs Service is a very effective organization. In the past years the North-Western Customs Administration has established an optimal Customs infrastructure, but that does not mean changes will not

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be introduced to it. The Head of the North-Western Customs Administration of the Russian Federation has pointed out: «We strive to promote and facilitate the economic development of the region through its international trade connections».

A large amount of freight crosses the border on trains. Customs registration is carried out at 10 railway stations. The largest trainhandling Customs offices are Vyborgskaya and Sebezhskaya. To better co-ordinate its activities the Administration has signed an agreement to co-operate with the Oktyabrskaya Railway.

«As part of the agreement we will participate with the Railway in the construction of new Customs points. Our organization has had experience in such projects – we have carried out the federal government's programme to set up Customs checkpoints at the borders with the Baltic States. In order to facilitate the flow of freight, to have effective Customs control, and to reduce the amount of lost freight, we have introduced up-to-date Customs technology. In co-operation with Finnish Customs we will transmit and receive preliminary electronic information in order to speed up the Customs process. We have access to fibre optics communications, which were introduced as part of the «Russian Customs in the 21st Century» project. We have complete information about freight, its transfer and its storage».

St. Petersburg has become one of the first cities in Russia with a unified network of freight transport services. Agencies provide a full package of services to Russian and foreign freight shippers. Clients are now able to have their freight registered, expedited and passed through Customs. All they have to do is fax their order. The all-embracing service also takes care of everything between the train and warehouse.

Individuals are not subject to any Customs duties if the value of the items they are bringing with them doesn't exceed 200 dollars (US). Permanent residents of the Russian Federation, who travel abroad and spend over 6 uninterrupted months in a foreign country, are permitted to bring in goods valued up to 5,000 dollars. Individuals may leave the country without having to pay any duties if the value of the goods doesn't exceed the value of 50 months' worth of minimum wage. Also exempt from Customs duties are individuals who temporarily enter or leave the country with goods not intended for productive or commercial purposes - items, that is, which are intended for their personal use.

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II. According to the text, are the following statements true or false? If they are false, give the correct statement.

1.A large amount of freight crosses the border on trains.

2.New Customs checkpoints have been set up at the borders with the Baltic States.

3.The North-Western Customs Administration works in coordination with Finnish Customs.

4.Unfortunately the information about freight, its transfer and its storage is not complete.

5.St. Petersburg has a unified network of freight transport services.

6.Agencies provide some services to Russian and foreign freight shippers.

7.The all-embracing service takes care of everything between the train and warehouse.

8.Individuals are not subject to Customs duties if the value of the items they are bringing with them doesn't exceed 300 dollars (US).

9.All permanent residents of the Russian Federation are permitted to bring in goods valued up to 5000 dollars (US).

10.Individuals don't have to pay any duties if the value of the goods doesn't exceed the value of 15 months' worth of minimum wage.

III. Look through the text again to answer the following questions.

1.What proves that changes will now be introduced by the NorthWestern Customs Administration?

2.What has been done to better coordinate the activity of the largest train-handling Customs offices?

3.Why is the introduction of up-to-date Customs technology so important?

4.What services have been introduced in St. Petersburg?

5.When are individuals not subject to any Customs duties?

6.Who is permitted to bring in goods valued up to 5,000 dollars (US)?

IV. Fill in the gaps with the English equivalents of the words in brackets.

The Russian Customs has exhausted conservative methods of borders infrastructure (1. развитие) and is actively introducing new technologies

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aimed at controlling export operations (2. грузовые перевозки). Northwest Customs Administration (NCA) was founded in 1990 and was the first out of seven (3. региональный) Customs branches in the newly re-established Russia. Nowadays NCA consists of 23 Customs branches with 144 (4. таможенный пункт) covering the territory of over 1600 square kilometers. The following 71 stations currently (5. обслуживает) the borders of the Northwest: automobile, railway, air, river and sea Customs stations. The three primary objectives of the country's Customs system are to (6. способствовать, содействовать) foreign trade development, to increase (7. эффективность) of Customs control and to encourage monetary flow of Customs duties into the (8. федеральный бюджет). The Customs are introducing new advanced (9. технологии) for the new infrastructure to be capable of meeting high quality performance standards and promoting the country's economic interests in (10. внешняя торговля).

NCA is actively utilizing IT-technologies, electronic approval and preliminary information in order to expedite the process of Customs clearing and increase quality control, thus promoting further integration of the Russian Customs system into the information space of the EU.

to exhaust – исчерпать

to expedite [ˈekspɪdaɪt] – ускорить, ускорять V. Punctuate the followingtext.

ANTI-DRUG ALLIANCE

The staff of Minsk National Airport has joined the fight against drug smuggling sealing an alliance with Customs the airport authorities joined the battle against drugs formally recognizing the need for close cooperation between the two organizations a considerable amount of time and resources have to be devoted to this work in order to keep abreast of current requirements Minsk National Airport is the main air gateway to the Republic of Belarus and occupies an advantageous geographical location as it is situated at the intersection of the biggest main lines connecting the Western Europe with the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) the airport is a member of Airports Council International and the Airport Association of CIS Civil Aviation more flights and a greater number of passengers require increased vigilance by all parties

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