Federal Customs Service chairman Andrey Belyaninov intends to replace regional customs posts serving the Vyborg and Novorossiisk Ports with Central Energy Customs posts in July of this year, thus removing all customs operations connected with oil export from the control of regional customs.
The Neftegavan Sheskharis and Yuzhno-Ozereevsky customs points in Novorossiisk and the Primorsk Seaport customs point in Vyborg will be closed on July 3. Those point handle the main export flow of Russian oil. In 2005, mineral fuels made up79 percent of the export flow through Novorossiisk customs, with grain and steel making up the remainder.
The customs points will be replaced by the Southern, Northwestern and Moscow customs points of the Central Energy Customs. Since January of this year, the main location of declaration of oil and petroleum products exported by pipeline has been Central Energy Customs and its posts. Previously, oil companies could declare their exports and pay duties at the customs service where the company is registered. But that allowed companies to make declarations in advance, before raises in duties. Andrey Berkov, formerly employed by Zarubezhneft, was made head of Central Energy Customs to oversee the transition.
