Text 3 Arrival

What is the usual procedure at the Customs?

If you don’t carry (1) ______, billions of Euros or weapons, you do not need to complete the ‘Customs and Currency Declaration Statement’ upon (2) ______ or departure. Just collect your luggage and simply go to the green (nothing to declare) (3) _______.

More important, however, is completion of the immigration card. If your airline does not distribute these, don’t worry, they can be found in the (4) ______.

If you are carrying (5) ______it is better to fill in the Customs (6) ______and have it stamped. In this case, take the red (to declare) queue. 

In general the rules are:

Cash: You can bring in up to US$3,000 in (7) ______without declaring it. If you have between US$3,000 and US$10,000, you will have to declare it.

Art: Anything resembling art should be cleared in advance (before the (8) ______at the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation). It’s illegal to take out icons or (9) ______which are more than 100 years old.

Exercise 10. Discuss the following:

Travellers should get certificate for all high-value items purchased in Russia. Any article having historical or cultural value to the Customs Service, such as: artwork, icons, samovars, rugs, military medals and antiques, must have a certificate. It is illegal to remove such items from Russia without this certificate.

Exercise 11. Answer the following questions:

1. What documents must support the high-value items carried?

2. What articles may have cultural value?

3. In what case can valuable items be exported from Russia?

Exercise 12.Try to formulate the Russian Customs regulations.

Exercise 13. Read the text below to give the English equivalents for:

главный элемент; контроль внешней торговли; поддержать отечественный бизнес; облагать пошлиной; тарифы; содействие национальной торговле; что-либо, произведенное за границей; основные источники денежных поступлений; отслеживать/проверять.

Text 4

A national Customs Service has many responsibilities. At its most basic level, its purpose is to regulate what comes into and goes out of a country. The foremost element of this regulation is controlling international trade. To support domestic businesses, governments impose tariffs, also called duty, on foreign goods coming into the country.

In addition to encouraging domestic trade, duty also gives the nation a “piece of the action” when somebody buys something produced overseas. Customs agencies are often major sources of revenue for the government. Customs agencies also monitor what is being exported from a country.

Exercise 14. Fill in the following gaps:

1. The purpose of the national Customs Service is __________.

2. To encourage domestic businesses the governments _________.

3. Customs are ________ for the federal budget.

4. International trade depends mostly on __________.

Exercise 15. Translate into Russian.

What is an Immigration Card?

Foreigners are obliged to fill in the immigration card which will be given to them when they enter Russia. The immigration card is not complicated. It is important to fill in the name of the inviting company (written in Russian on the visa) and the address of the inviting company.

The Customs official takes one part of this card at the passport control, and the other part should be kept till the moment of departure and should be handed over to immigration officials on the border when leaving the country. It’s important to have the immigration card for visa registration!

The student should bring the part of immigration card to the Institute (in case he/she got the invitation letter from the Institute) to register the visa.