Customs fines and offences
According to the nature, severity, and public danger of the violations against the customs rules, both the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Republic of Azerbaijan (Chapter 37) and the Criminal Code provide for administrative sanctions and punitive measures against the guilty persons.
Penalties or punishments in the form of fines (hereinafter referred to as Customs fines) are often imposed on persons who violate the requirements of the customs legislation, as well as in practice. Below we will talk about the cases where customs fines can be applied. Of course, the more precise names of all sanctions for customs violations should be found in the relevant norms of these codes.
In general, it should be noted that the amount of the administrative fine calculated in manats and received from an individual for an administrative offense cannot exceed five thousand manats, and the amount of the administrative fine received from a legal entity cannot exceed fifty thousand manats.
In order to get an idea of the amount of Customs fines that can be imposed according to the Code of Administrative Offenses, some types of offenses for which Customs fines can be applied (along with their amount):
In the cases defined by the Customs Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan, for failure to submit a short import declaration in electronic form before the goods are brought to the customs territory, officials shall be fined one thousand manats, legal entities in the amount of one thousand five hundred manats;
In the amount from thirty percent to one hundred percent of their value for the transfer of goods intended for production or other commercial activity through the customs border of the Republic of Azerbaijan as goods not intended for production or commercial purposes;
In the amount of forty percent to one hundred percent of the value of those goods and vehicles for the importation of goods that require a license for importation without such a license;
For the transfer of goods and means of transport from the customs border of the Republic of Azerbaijan outside of customs control, that is, from a place other than the place specified by the relevant executive authority or for carrying out the customs clearance procedure at a time outside the specified time (if the amount is up to fifty thousand manats), from forty percent of the value of those goods and means of transport up to sixty percent;
Due to the transit of goods and means of transport through the customs border of the Republic of Azerbaijan, hidden from customs control, i.e. using secret storage places or other methods that make it difficult to detect the goods, or the transfer of goods of one type by disguising them into another form (if the amount is up to fifty thousand manats), those goods and means of transport in the amount from forty to sixty percent of its value;
Transfer of goods and means of transport through the customs border by fraudulent use of documents or means of identification, i.e. documents that reflect incorrect information for customs purposes, invalid documents, or documents or identification relating to other goods and means of transport to the relevant executive authority during the transfer in the amount of forty to sixty percent of the value of those goods and vehicles, etc., due to the presentation of vehicles, or the use of false identification means (if the amount is up to fifty thousand manats), etc.
Some of the other offenses for which customs fines may be imposed are:
Non-declaration or incorrect declaration of goods and vehicles;
Non-return of foreign currency funds from abroad;
Violation of customs control zone regime;
Failure to provide information to the relevant executive authority or providing distorted information while importing or transporting goods and vehicles;
Failure to take appropriate action in case of force majeure or accident;
Failure to deliver goods, means of transport or documents related to them to the relevant executive authority or delivery in violation of established routes and deadlines;
Violation of the procedure for passing vehicles through the customs border of the Republic of Azerbaijan;
Embarking on a ship and other floating means under customs control;
Violation of customs clearance procedure;
Conducting illegal transactions with goods or vehicles under customs control, including conditionally released goods;
Violation of customs security, etc.
According to the relevant norms of the Code of Administrative Offenses, Customs brokers (customs representative) are subject to customs fines. For example, the customs broker may use secrets or information protected by law for their own purposes or provide such information to third parties, except for cases provided by law, or other rules and conditions of acting as a customs broker (representative) determined by customs legislation.