On the ratification of the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Government of the Republic of Turkey on Cooperation and Mutual Administrative Assistance in Customs Matters

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On the ratification of the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Government of the Republic of Turkey on Cooperation and Mutual Administrative Assistance in Customs Matters

Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated July 9, 2004 No. 582

To ratify the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Government of the Republic of Turkey on Cooperation and Mutual Administrative Assistance in Customs Matters, signed in Ankara on May 22, 2003.

President of the Republic of Kazakhstan

Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Government of the Republic of Turkey on Cooperation and Mutual Administrative Assistance in Customs Matters

(Bulletin of International Treaties of the Republic of Kazakhstan, 2009, No. 2, art. 10) (Entered into force on March 1, 2009)

The Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Government of the Republic of Turkey, hereinafter referred to as the Parties, taking into account the importance of ensuring accurate calculation of customs duties, taxes and other customs duties levied on import and export, as well as proper implementation of prohibition, restriction and control measures; taking into account that violations of customs legislation harm economic, tax, public, cultural interests, public health, and trade interests; Considering that the illegal movement of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursors, dangerous goods, endangered species of flora and fauna and toxic waste across borders pose a threat to society; recognizing the need for international cooperation in the field of the application and enforcement of customs legislation; Convinced that efforts to prevent violations of customs legislation and to ensure the accurate calculation and collection of customs duties, taxes and other payments can become more effective through the cooperation of the customs administrations of the Parties; taking into account the relevant documents of the Customs Cooperation Council, now known as the World Customs Organization, in particular, Recommendations on Mutual Administrative Assistance from December 5, 1953; Taking into account the international conventions on prohibitions, restrictions and special methods of control in respect of certain goods, agreed on the following:

Section I Definitions

Article 1

For the purposes of this Agreement, the following concepts apply: 1. "Customs Administration": in the Republic of Kazakhstan - the Customs Control Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan; in the Republic of Turkey - the Customs Service under the Prime Minister; 2. "Customs legislation" - a set of regulatory legal acts applied by customs administrations concerning import, export, transit and movement goods, including regulations and legal acts related to prohibition, restriction and control measures; 3. "Customs duties and taxes" - customs duties and taxes, as well as all other duties, taxes, fees or other charges levied on or in connection with the import or export of goods, with the exception of fees and charges, the amount of which is limited by the approximate cost of services rendered; 4. "Customs offense" - any violation of customs legislation, or an attempt to violate it; 5. "Customs claims" - any amount of duties, fees and taxes to which this Agreement applies, increases in their amount, surcharges, overdue payments, interest and expenses related to the said duties and taxes that cannot be collected in the state of one of the Parties; 6. "Person" - any natural or legal person person; 7. "Information about persons" - any data concerning a specific or identifiable person; 8. "Information" means any information, documents, reports, certified copies thereof, or other communications transmitted in any form, including information on electronic media; 9. "Narcotic drugs" - any natural or synthetic substances listed in List 1 and List 2 of the "Unified United Nations Convention on Narcotic Drugs", 1961; 10. "Psychotropic substances" - substances listed in Schedules 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the United Nations Convention on Psychotropic Substances, 1971; 11. "Precursors" are controlled chemicals used in the production of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances listed in Schedules 1 and 2 of the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, 1988; 12. "Requesting Administration" is the customs administration that requests assistance; 13. "The "Requested administration" is the customs administration from which assistance is requested.

Section II Scope of the agreement

Article 2

1. The Parties, through their customs administrations, in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, shall provide each other with administrative assistance for the proper application of customs legislation, as well as for the prevention, investigation and suppression of violations of customs legislation, including the collection of customs claims. 2. Assistance under this Agreement is provided by both Parties in accordance with the national laws of their States within the competence and available capabilities of their customs administrations.

Section III Scope of assistance

Article 3

1. Customs administrations shall transmit to each other, upon request or on their own initiative, information that may help in ensuring the proper application of customs legislation, as well as in the prevention, investigation and suppression of customs offenses, including the collection of customs claims. 2. Each customs administration, when conducting investigations at the request of another customs administration, acts in accordance with the legislation of its State.

Article 4

1. Upon request, the requested administration provides the necessary information on customs legislation and procedures applicable in the State of the Party and related to investigations related to customs offenses. 2. Each customs administration, on its own initiative, transmits any available information regarding: 1) new methods of combating customs offenses, the effectiveness of which has been confirmed; 2) new trends, means or methods of committing customs offenses.

Article 5

The customs administrations of the Parties may provide each other with technical assistance in the field of customs, including: 1) exchange of customs officers on a mutually beneficial basis in order to familiarize themselves with the technologies used by both customs services; 2) training and assistance in improving the special skills of customs officers; 3) exchange of information and experience in the use of technical controls and detection; 4) exchange of experts on customs issues; 5) exchange of professional, scientific and technical data related to customs legislation and procedures.

Section IV Special cases of mutual administrative assistance

Article 6

Upon request, the requested administration shall provide the requesting administration with the following information: 1) whether the goods imported into the customs territory of the State of the requesting Party are lawfully exported from the customs territory of the State of the requested Party; 2) whether the goods exported from the customs territory of the State of the requesting Party are lawfully imported into the customs territory of the State of the requested Party; 3) on the customs regime under which the goods legally imported into the customs territory of the requested Party's State were placed.

Article 7

1. Upon request, the requested administration shall carry out special monitoring of: 1) movements, in particular, entries into and exits from the customs territory of the State of the requested party, of persons known or suspected by the requesting administration of committing violations of customs legislation; 2) movements and storage of goods determined by the requesting administration as causing suspicion of illegal movement into the customs territory States of the requesting Party; 3) vehicles in respect of which the requesting administration has information that they are being used for the purpose of violating customs legislation in the customs territory of the requesting Party's State. 2. Customs administrations may permit, in accordance with the national legislation of their States, by mutual agreement and agreement, and under their control, the import, export or transit through the customs territory of their States of goods involved in illicit trafficking in order to prevent such illegal movement. If the requested administration is not competent to grant appropriate permits, it takes measures to ensure cooperation with the competent authorities or may refer the case to the appropriate authority.

Article 8

1. Customs administrations shall provide each other, upon request or on their own initiative, with information on actions that have been committed or are being prepared that violate or may violate customs legislation. Such information includes information about the illegal trafficking of: 1) weapons, ammunition, explosives and nuclear materials; 2) art objects of significant, historical, cultural or archaeological value to one of the Parties.; 3) narcotic, psychotropic substances and precursors, as well as substances that pose a danger to the environment and public health; 4) intellectual property objects; 5) endangered species of animals and plants, their parts and derivatives. 2. In special cases, when significant damage may be caused to the economy, public health and safety, as well as other vital interests of the State of one of the Parties, the customs administration of the other Party, if possible, immediately provides information on its own initiative.

Article 9

Customs administrations shall assist each other in collecting customs claims in accordance with the national laws of their States.

Section V Information

Article 10

1. Original documents may be requested only in cases where the provision of certified copies is not sufficient. Originals received from the requested Customs administration must be returned as soon as possible. 2. Any information exchanged under this Agreement shall be accompanied by all relevant information on its interpretation and use.

Section VI Experts

Article 11

Upon request, the requested Administration may authorize its officials to appear as experts in cases of customs violations before a court or tribunal in the territory of the requesting State.

Section VII Transmission of the request

Article 12

1. Requests for assistance made on the basis of this Agreement must be submitted in writing directly to the customs administration of the other Party and accompanied by all necessary documents, in particular copies of documents provided to the requested administration during export and import procedures. If circumstances so require, the request can be sent by e-mail. Such a request must be confirmed in writing within one month. 2. Requests made on the basis of paragraph 1 of this Article should include the following information: 1) the name of the requesting authority; 2) the purpose and reason for the request; 3) a brief description of the case, a list of regulations, as well as the type of investigation; 4) the names and addresses of the persons being investigated, if known. 3. The request of any of the customs administrations to carry out a certain procedure shall be satisfied in accordance with the national legislation of the State of the requested Party. 4. Information provided under this Agreement is transmitted only to officials designated for this purpose by each Customs administration. The list of such officials is transmitted to the customs administration of the other Party. 5. Requests are provided in English.

Section VIII Execution of requests

Article 13

If the requested Administration does not have the requested information, it will make requests to obtain such information in accordance with the national legislation of its State. These requests include obtaining all information and documents related to the customs violation.

Article 14

1. Upon written request, officials appointed by the requesting administration, with the permission of the requested administration and subject to conditions that it may impose, may, for the purpose of investigating a customs offense: 1) verify documents, records and other necessary data related to the customs violation with documents, records and other relevant data at the offices of the requested administration; 2) receive copies of documents, records, and other important information related to a customs offense; 3) be present as experts or witnesses during the investigation conducted by the requested administration in the customs territory of the requested Party's State. 2. When, in the cases provided for in Article 11 or paragraph 1 of this Article, officials of the requesting administration are present in the territory of the other Party, they must be able to provide proof of their official authority at any time. 3. During their stay, they must be provided with the same protection that is provided for Customs officials of the other Party in accordance with its national legislation, and be responsible for violations that they may commit.

Section IX Confidentiality of information

Article 15

1. Any information obtained in accordance with this Agreement should be used only for the purposes of this Agreement and only by customs administrations, except in cases where the customs administration that provided such information has clearly confirmed the possibility of its use for other purposes or by other law enforcement agencies. Such use is subject to any restrictions set by the Customs administration that provided the information. 2. The information and documents provided upon request are used solely for the purpose of fulfilling this Agreement and may not be shared with anyone, or used for other purposes and made public without the written consent of the customs authority that provided this information. 3. Any such information, if provided for by the legislation of the Party that provided the information, may be used in criminal proceedings only after obtaining permission from the customs authority that provided such information and documents. 4. Any information obtained in accordance with this Agreement is protected and confidential, which applies to the same information in accordance with the legislation of the other Party. 5. The transfer of data on individuals on the basis of this Agreement is carried out in accordance with the national legislation of the States of the Parties.

Section X Exceptions

Article 16

1. If the requested Customs administration considers that providing assistance may harm the sovereignty, security or other important national interests of the State, or may violate industrial, commercial or professional secrets, or contradict national legislation, it may refuse assistance in whole or in part, or certain conditions may be imposed upon its implementation. 2. The execution of the request may be postponed by the requested Administration on the grounds that it may interfere with an ongoing investigation, trial or prosecution. In such a case, the requested Administration shall consult with the requesting Administration on the terms and conditions for fulfilling the request, which may be required by the requested Administration. 3. If assistance is refused or postponed, the reason for the refusal or postponement is indicated.

Section XI Expenses

Article 17

The Customs administrations shall not reimburse the costs associated with the implementation of this Agreement.

Section XII Implementation of the Agreement

Article 18

1. Customs administrations will take measures to ensure that persons responsible for the investigation and suppression of customs offences, if necessary, establish and maintain direct and direct contacts with each other. 2. The Customs administrations shall coordinate further actions under this Agreement necessary for the implementation of this Agreement. 3. The Customs administrations shall seek to resolve by mutual agreement any problems arising from the interpretation or application of this Agreement. 4. Any disputes between the Parties regarding the interpretation and application of this Agreement will be resolved through mutual consultations and negotiations.

Section XIII Application

Article 19

This Agreement applies to the territories of the Parties.

Entry into force and termination

Article 20

This Agreement shall enter into force on the 1st day of the 2nd month after the Parties have notified each other in writing through diplomatic channels of the completion of the internal procedures necessary for its entry into force.

Article 21

1. This Agreement is concluded for an indefinite period, and either Party may terminate the Agreement at any time through diplomatic channels. 2. This Agreement shall terminate upon the expiration of three months from the date of notification of termination to the other Party. The activities carried out during the termination of this Agreement must nevertheless be carried out in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement.

Article 22

Upon request or upon the expiration of five years from the date of entry into force of this Agreement, the Parties shall hold meetings for the purpose of reviewing this Agreement, or send each other a written notification that there is no need for revision.

In witness whereof, the undersigned, being duly authorized, have signed this Agreement.

Done in Ankara on May 22, 2003, in two originals, each in the Kazakh, Turkish, Russian and English languages, all texts being equally authentic. In case of disagreement in the interpretation of the provisions of this Agreement, the Parties will refer to the English text.

For the Government For the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan of the Republic of Turkey

RCPI's note: the following text is in English (see the paper version).

President

Republic of Kazakhstan

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