TAdviser Interview: Ruslan Davydov, the first deputy administrator of FCS – about digital development of customs

Ruslan Davydov: 2020 – it is final year of the Comprehensive program on development of customs administration. We announced the Program on board of FCS of Russia in May, 2017, then received all necessary approvals, including from the President of Russia, and since 2018 officially we execute it. But, as well as any large-scale project, our program it is based on that work which we conducted, in fact, since 2008.

In September, 2008 on the Internet the first electronic declaration on the Kashirsky customs post then we made the decision that such technology needs to be extended to all customs posts was submitted. By 2014 we made electronic declaring obligatory.

What does declaring now – according to the present Comprehensive program – differ from electronic declaring of a sample of 2014 in? Became effective the law that the documents received by the customs applicant in other bodies should not be required repeatedly at customs. For this purpose we created archive of legally significant documents and organized information exchange with 34 partner departments.

Ruslan Davydov: Yes, with the majority through SIEI. For this purpose 81 information software tools and 2 thousand data transmission channels work for us. As a result of 35 million messages passes daily. Our main partner is Federal Accreditation Service, to it there are more than 80% of interaction.

Ruslan Davydov: Yes. export does not have Software special difficulties. In any country export takes place in the simplified mode. Each country wants to develop the export and to trade outside. And with import – it is more difficult, both a fiscal component, and a product code, bans and restrictions, smuggling here. Therefore when importing, of course, the volume of checks much more, more volume, mnogogranny, than when exporting.

Therefore in the Comprehensive program we solve two problems. First, each electronic declaration requires processing in this connection long paper "tail" tries to keep step with it. We seriously squeezed this "tail" and reduced. Now on paper there are only those documents according to which there are relevant requirements of international treaties. For example, certificates on providing preferences. The least developed countries which are in the free trade zone with us can have the special forms of paper certificates, and we can do nothing with it. Such documents are checked, scanned and further move in our electronic system for use, declaring, calculation of payments.

The second task is an automation of procedures. Submission of the electronic declaration is only a first step. After that legally significant actions which should be automated begin. Top of all this is the automatic release. This technology is applied practically in all developed customs administrations and the actual production volume they have even more, than at us. But we set an ambitious goal: We want to produce 80% of the declarations submitted participants of foreign trade activities with the low level of risk automatically.

Ruslan Davydov: Yes.

Ruslan Davydov: About 10.5 thousand organizations from 110 thousand participants of foreign trade activities belong to the low level. These are about 10%. In volume of declaring it is about 67% of all declarations submitted in 2019 for goods.

Ruslan Davydov: Here we reached some kind of limit. For example, there are companies which give from one to five declarations a year, and it is too small information volume for carrying out analytics. Therefore it is difficult to refer them to low risk: we just do not know, such customs applicant is inclined to violations or is not inclined. At the same time elements of artificial intelligence which are involved in our analytics require Big Data.

Ruslan Davydov: Start of the Centers of electronic declaring and electronic customs is another component of our Comprehensive program. For today 12 such centers work full-scale, 4 more are going to start.

In what task? We had about 660 places of a customs clearance. These are the centers where declarations where advance payments lie get. A system was arranged quite difficult and, besides, created certain advantages to some customs applicants. These centers, as a rule, were located on the temporary storage warehouses belonging to business. These posts had powers and on verification of declarations, and on check of goods. So there was a fight of warehouses – who will have a post, that will get certain advantages. These are corruption risks when the customs officer sits on a temporary storage warehouse which owner is the commercial structure.

Ruslan Davydov: Of course. At least, for this purpose there are physical conditions – you physically there are and can communicate. In the centers of electronic declaring it is excluded. They are located in the fenced state territory. And the input is resolved only the staff of customs, inspectors, functional departments who should be there.

Ruslan Davydov: Yes, goods, both went, and go, on those trade ways which developed in hundreds and in thousands of years. In ports, on roads, at the airports we have posts of the actual control, and declarations move on technology of remote release – when she moves to one place, and the goods physically are in another. In 2020 we will finally complete scheduling and we synchronize these processes on time.

The declaration should get to the system of customs authorities and be dispatched depending on category of goods. The first category – all this that is connected with oil, energy carriers, coal. These goods are made out in the Center of Electronic Declaring (CED) of the Central power customs. The second category is those goods which are subject to taxation by an excise – cars, alcohol, cigarettes, precious metal. Their registration happens in TsEDe of the Central excise customs. The third category – by the form transport on border. There is sea customs which is responsible for declaring of all "sea" loads. There is the Moscow aviation customs. Historically 86% of air freights arrive in Moscow, it gives the grounds to concentrate a design here. Other categories – by the form, to the place of tax accounting of the participant of foreign trade activities. If you the participant of foreign trade activities, let us assume, of the Moscow region, then your declaration is readdressed in the Moscow TsED.

For what it is made? For observance of digital procedures of traceability and marking together with the Federal Tax Service that to carry out joint inspections in the place of tax registration of the participant to have an opportunity to combine our efforts and resources.

Reform is directed both to automation, and to a certain concentration of declaring, and to structural changes. And posts of the actual control are where goods. Electronic customs or the center of electronic declaring check the declaration by means of risk management system with elements of artificial intelligence, selects subject to control, and there where the goods are physically, on the Internet the command flies at whom to check weight from whom to request documents on cost at whom to carry out examination.

Ruslan Davydov: Yes, autorelease. We aim at that all control actions were performed only within risk management system. And we approached an indicator in 90%. Even if any violations come to light in the course of the actual control, they should be made out by a risk profile, be documented. It is important also for reasons of fight against corruption to exclude any actions of the inspector.

We have the central resource of participants of foreign trade activities, the electronic file. There records about all participants of foreign trade activities which since 2013 submitted at least one declaration lie.

Ruslan Davydov: Not only. Risks are calculated also by the subject principle concerning participants of foreign trade activities, and concerning consignments. Subject to our control is goods. And the subject – the supplier – we control before release and after release of goods. According to the recommendation of World Customs Organization, control after release can be carried out within 3 years. It is a control system and audit not only participants of foreign trade activities, but also our own actions. Somewhere, maybe, the automatic algorithm did not work. Somewhere our client, the checked person, spotted at us an algorithm and under this algorithm was constructed. Now there are so much analysts, it is so much IT companies which use artificial intelligence too. And in them the former customs officers who can tell about our methods of work also work. Therefore the automated system should have the compensatory and guaranteeing mechanisms after release.

Control after release is quite accurate own separate vertical which has a right to audit actions in the past. Often flaws successfully come to light, and then corrective action moves already on an input of a system of automated management.

Ruslan Davydov: So far it is the concept which we developed and sent to Ministry of Transport which is responsible for arrangement of check points. In the concept it is about all organization of work, beginning from entrance of the vehicle if it is the automobile check point, and finishing it with departure. All technology transactions are painted. Except customs, it both Rospotrebnadzor, and Rosselkhoznadzor, and border control, and transport control. All these departments have certain powers. We suggest to implement so-called "one window" within such check point. Besides, it is work of inspection and customs complexes, not intrusive control using scanning of persons, loads, vehicles.

By the way, scanning yields enormous results in detection of drugs. And examination speed considerably increases.

Rather strongly in a question of creation of intellectual check points our colleagues from China promoted, having implemented equipping and automation of all procedures for model of public and private partnership with Huawei. Also in France there are such points.

Ruslan Davydov: In principle, nobody objects to this model. A question in sufficiency of means. The cost of equipment of the automobile check point – from one billion rubles.

In the "International Cooperation and Export" national project there is a project Logistics trade of "international". There money for check points is put (2.85 billion rubles on start of the integrated system of the check point through border on export-oriented check points; 30.437 billion rubles on construction (upgrade) of check points).

Ruslan Davydov: Only automobile 172. At us the biggest country on the area in the world. Money is put, but it is necessary not just to agree with the point of view of customs, it is necessary and to implement this project physically.

Ruslan Davydov: A certain lag from the diagram which is put in the national project already arises in connection with long design. We hope that building will begin in 2020. It is necessary to create 5-6 check points a year to start at least 30 priority.

The second important subject is sea check points. They are in seaports with private owners. Here too everything moves ahead quite slowly. There are outstanding world examples. For example, seaport in Rotterdam: in the last ten years washed the island there, "rolled up" it in concrete, then on this concrete there were modern cranes, control systems, sensors in a roadbed, robots, pilotless transport. One section of this port processes more container loads, than all ports of Russia combined.

Our ports belonging to private owners "are very slowly shaken" using such technologies. Therefore also rates for processing of loads are slightly higher.

Ruslan Davydov: Really, if look at the diagram of decrease in time and terms of release, approximately also, but load of computing powers and the needs for computing powers in the opposite direction changes.

FCS has four-level structure: central office, regional governments on eight federal districts, customs and customs posts. All infrastructure which is vertically integrated it reaches all customs posts. And everywhere there are servers. In recent years we were engaged in centralization, increased fault tolerance of the central link and all network.

The decision on construction of DPC in Tver was made, including, by an example of the Federal Tax Service which made the DPCs earlier. The real need for server capacities at us is slightly lower: in a year about 90 thousand legal entities are registered on average, but our declarations it is much more complex and requirements to one object of informatization are much higher. In 2023 we should construct our DPC and start.

Ruslan Davydov: The server hardware on places anyway should remain to provide verifiability of data online while the machine comes to border. Own technical support service of FCS also works round the clock. If there is a serious stop (during the work in mode 24 on 7), it can lead to considerable finance and time costs for business. Including therefore own DPC, but not leased is necessary for us. That we could take quickly measures if it is necessary.

Colleagues from FTS carried out krash-testing of the centers: "pulled down" a system and looked, for what is the time they will be able "to lift" it. "Lifted" in 20 minutes. We had two-three such cases for the last three years. To me information on emergency situations is flown down; all of them are considered, divided into crucial and noncritical. I can tell that in December, 2019 in comparison with January, 2019 we reduced quantity of such situations practically by two orders.

Ruslan Davydov: We updated all server hardware, within several years changed workstations, made reservation of communication channels, everywhere, where it is possible. There are even ordinary situations when, for example, dig a ditch and chop a cable therefore the check point remains without communication. For us this situation critical. Provide that you arrived in the airport at night and you should be passed. To you it is not important at all that someone sleeps there. In the same way on the check point which should work round the clock.

Ruslan Davydov: In structure of FCS of Russia there is a Head department of information technologies which is engaged in development of the automated information system of customs (AISC). It is our own development, in difference, let us assume, from Kazakhstan where boxed solutions of the American production were purchased. We, naturally, cannot apply the American solutions therefore we develop the.

Also there is the Central information and technical customs authority which is engaged in support of software tools. In it there is also a service of the round-the-clock technical support. The IT vertical is quite big: about 2.2 thousand IT specialists of different level.