OREANDA-NEWS. July 14, 2010. As it was informed by Tudor Balitchi, Customs Service Director General, at press conference on the results of Service’s activity for the first 6 months of 2010, the VAT proceeds for imported goods, the share of which is about 70% of total accrued rights to import, amounted to 3 billion 59.2 million leis, increasing by 22.9% (618.3 million leis) as compared to the same period of 2009.

The excises income amounted to 713.5 million leis, increasing by 139.4 million leis as compared to the same period of 2009. According to Balitchi, the index increase is due to the growth of excises rate for some categories of goods, and also to the growth of import volume of some excisable goods. At the same time, the excises proceeds were influenced by the reduction of imports of fuel – by 15.7% (by 22.9 thousand tones), alcohol drinks – by 10% (by 23.4 thousand leis), etc.

The volume of collected customs duties amounted in the first 6 months of 2010 to 345.9 million leis, increasing by 53.5 million leis as compared to the same period of 2009. The customs procedures income amounted to 109.4 million leis, increasing by 22.3 million leis. The other special duties, collected by customs authorities, amounted to 21.4 million leis against 0.56 million leis collected in the same period of 2009.

Such considerable growth was provoked particularly by the increase of import of sugar and sugar products by 3.3 times that resulted in the increase of received special tax by 20.84 million leis. The Customs Service’s Director General emphasized that the index positive dynamics is due to many factors, including the consolidation of customs’ administrative ability for correct evaluation of customs cost of risk goods.

Tudor Balitchi also said that, in spite of critics of some officials and economic agents, the customs authorities can make use of statistical information on minimal or maximum prices, when checking the cost of imported goods, in strict accordance with practice of other countries. The approximate prices and other similar information, analyzed taking into account the conditions of each transaction and customs declaration, allow the customs officers to make the well-grounded decisions on correctness or understatement of declared cost.

Besides, Tudor Balitchi said about the implementation from 2010 of customs clearance procedures for risk goods, consumer goods, and household appliances at special customs stations that reduced the losses when collecting the payments to the budget and also prevents the attempts of customs value understatement.