Doing business in Russia is never easy as this article from the Moscow Times shows

Published: 9/9/1999

The English language daily in Moscow, the Moscow Times, published an article on the 7th of September 1999 that illustrates some of the problems confronting those endeavouring to tackle the inconsistencies of Russia's Byzantine bureaucracy. For foreigners, crossing Russia's borders can be like running the gauntlet,with new and daunting challenges rearing up when you least expect them. Fresh on the heels of last month's currency declaration debacle when Moscow's international airport customs traffic slowed to a snail's pace at the peak of tourist season - officials have thrown another spanner in the works. According to the Customs Service's recently revised declaration form, non-resident mobile phone holders must receive special permission to carry them into the country - or risk relinquishing them at the border for the length of their stay. Vladimir Yemelyanov, a spokesman for the State Customs Committee, confirmed that: "Non-residents must provide Gossvyaznadzor [or State Communications Inspectorate] authorization for the use of their phone in Russia, or leave their mobile phone in a temporary storage facility at customs". He added that: "To get their phones back for use in Russia they, or the companies inviting them, must receive the authorization. Otherwise they will have their phones returned only when they leave Russia". Yemelyanov did not know how the necessary Gossvyaznadzor authorization could be obtained. At Gossvyaznadzor, officials denied that such a requirement existed. I don't know why customs would demand Gossvyaznadzor authorizations," said Yulia Ustenko, an engineer with the communications inspectorate. According to Russian law, foreigners may freely carry mobile phones into the country, so long as they are then carried back out. Quoting governmental decree No. 643, passed in June 1994 and amended by subsequent decrees in August 1998 and February 1999, Ustenko said that mobile phones temporarily brought into Russia for use within an international roaming framework are imported on the understanding that they will leave the country with their owners and be listed in the customs declarations. Mikhail Umarov, a spokesman for Vimpelcom - Russia's largest mobile phone company in Russia in terms of sales - agreed. He added that the whole purpose of roaming means that a foreign telecommunication company has signed an agreement with a Russian partner already registered with the Gossvyaznadzor network. By working with these partners, foreign mobile phone users automatically receive all necessary authorisation for Russia. "We understand that the customs declaration is a kind of authorisation for mobile phones," Umarov said. "We advise our foreign partners to tell clients to declare their phones, and to keep the customs declarations with them while they are here and using their phones." With this lack of consensus on proper procedure, many mobile phone holders may opt simply to smuggle their phones into the country: a strategy that could leave them at the mercy of the customs officers on their way back out. Depending on variables as whimsical as the mood of a particular customs officer, a foreigner might find himself having to surrender his smuggled-in phone when leaving the country. But, according to some non-residents, even playing it straight has its risks. "The problem with the declaration is that customs officials are reluctant to stamp the side of the paper where you've declared your phone," said one high-ranking official working in Russia for the European Union, who requested anonymity. "They only stamp the declaration of money; any declaration of a phone is not confirmed. This issue is as clear as anything else in Russia ... it gives an opportunity to milk foreigners." Customs officials, meanwhile, have dismissed such concerns, insisting that the new provision has caused no problems to date - unlike last month's implementation of new hard currency laws, forbidding foreigners to leave the country with more money than when they entered. These new regulations caused mid-August traffic at Moscow's Sheremetyevo-2 international air terminal to come to a virtual standstill, with huge lines at customs points leading to flight delays and some travellers reportedly missing flights because of logjams. Even now, airline passengers are not warned in the customs zone that cash must be declared on entry if they plan to later take it out. Yemelyanov claimed that the introduction of revised declaration forms will make it easier to control airport traffic. "The new form is now the same for all the CIS states and will make it easier to control movement through the borders. It takes only about two minutes more to fill in than the previous one if there's nothing to declare." However, the new form still requires travelers to declare a bewildering array of items, such as medicine, jewellery, printed matter and other information materials, plants, animals, radioactive materials, along with the more standard cash, drugs, weapons and works of art. While declaring printed matter has long been a requirement, customs police do not usually raise a fuss over the latest Tom Clancy novel or glossy magazine. What does catch their eye, Yemelyanov said, is pornography and propaganda materials promoting fascism or racial or religious intolerance. He added that anyone taking prescription medicine should only be carrying enough for personal use, and that they should have their prescriptions with them when they leave the country.

Article ID: 846