Russia, Azerbaijan switching to electronic certificates of origin of goods

Work on creating electronic systems for certification of goods origin between Azerbaijan and Russia has reached the final stage, the representative of the Federal Customs Service (FCS) of Russia in Azerbaijan, Ruslan Shtyka, said at the international round table in Baku "Formation of the transport framework of Eurasia and the significant role of Azerbaijan in this process," Report informs.

"This will allow the customs authorities of the two countries to verify the authenticity of CT-1 form certificates and the accuracy of the information contained in them electronically - without the need for their submission on paper by participants in foreign economic activity.

"The CT-1 form certificate is a key document in mutual trade, confirming the right to apply preferences within the free trade regime. It is widely used in customs clearance both in Russia and in Azerbaijan," noted Shtyka.

According to him, to simplify procedures, the parties signed an intergovernmental protocol, according to which Azerbaijani CT-1 certificates will be transferred to the Russian side electronically through the State Agency for Antimonopoly Control and Market Supervision.

"In the future, this data will come directly from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which will allow for automated verification. We receive not just a scanned copy, but data from the primary source, which the system can compare and, conditionally speaking, issue a 'green checkmark' to the inspector," he explained.

Shtyka added that the technical conditions of the project have already been signed, and now the date of the official launch of the system is being coordinated. After the introduction of electronic verification, the Russian side will abandon the requirement for paper CT-1 certificates or minimize such cases in the event of technical failures, he said.