State Customs Committee is always open to dialogue with business representatives

On May 31, a meeting was held between the officials of the State Customs Committee and members of the U.S.-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce.

Discussions were held on raising awareness among entrepreneurs of the innovations in the customs system, customs-business relations, strengthening of mutual dialogue, facilitation of customs procedures and trade, proposals of business representatives were heard. 

The meeting was attended by chairman of the State Customs Committee, customs service Colonel-General Safar Mehdiyev, deputy chairmen of the Committee, heads of relevant structures, AmCham Azerbaijan President Nargiz Nasrullayeva and members of the Chamber.

AmCham Azerbaijan President Nargiz Nasrullayeva expressed satisfaction with the relations with the customs bodies, said productive discussions were held during the meetings with heads of two bodies. 

Chairman of the State Customs Committee Safar Mehdiyev spoke about the importance of the reforms carried out in the customs system over the recent years under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev, said thanks to the innovations, Azerbaijan’s customs bodies had been modernized turning into a reliable and influential member of the world customs community. It was said that thanks to the attention and care of the head of state, Azerbaijan’s customs provided with material-technical basis and qualified staff was one of the world’s leading customs authorities.

The chairman of the Committee underlined that one of the main goals of the reforms was to simplify customs processes and facilitate trade by accelerating border-crossing processes. For this purpose, as a result of construction and reconstruction work carried out on the ground, as well as the use of modern technical surveillance means, the capacity of customs checkpoints has increased several times. Before the reforms, 150-170 trucks passed through customs checkpoints per day, but now this number has reached 600. Safar Mehdiyev said that this number would grow in the near future thanks to the newly-built customs checkpoints and reconstruction work.

Emphasizing that the "Green Corridor" gating system launched since 2019 was highly appreciated by business representatives, the chairman of the Committee noted that 41% of import and export operations amounted to entrepreneurs who have the right to use this system. It was also noted that the new projects to be implemented in the near future would create additional opportunities for entrepreneurs to further facilitate trade and simplify customs procedures. 

The chairman of the committee said that as a result of the reforms, the customs authorities were completely operating on the basis of paperless technologies, the declaration process was fully in electronic format, and entrepreneurs had the opportunity to carry out customs operations from any place with Internet access. It was underlined that the mobile version of some customs operations had already been launched and work was underway to further expand mobile solutions.

Safar Mehdiyev said that the results achieved in the fight against smuggling, especially in the field of illicit drug trafficking, were highly appreciated by the World Customs Organization, relevant UN agencies and developed countries. The chairman of the committee stressed that the fact that State Customs Committee chaired the WCO European Region for two years and was represented in the WCO Policy Commission was the result of President Ilham Aliyev's purposeful policy and reforms in the customs system.

Speaking about the importance of the meeting, Safar Mehdiyev said the State Customs Committee was always open to dialogue with business representatives, the views expressed during the meetings, seminars and conferences played an important role in establishing effective activity of customs authorities.

At the end of the meeting, the members of the Chamber made proposals and questions interesting entrepreneurs were answered.

Press and Public Affairs Department of the State Customs Committee