THE CUSTOMS CODE OF THE REPUBLIC OF TAJIKISTAN

SECTION I. GENERAL PROVISIONS
________________________________________________________________

C H A P T E R 3 ACTIVITIES IN THE AREA OF CUSTOMS

Article 17
Activities in the Area of Customs

The activities of legal entities in the capacity of customs carriers, owners of temporary storage warehouses, owners of customs warehouses, duty free shops and of the customs brokers (representatives) shall be allowed provided that they have been included in the Register of the customs carriers, the Register of owners of temporary storage warehouses, the Register of owners of customs warehouses or the Register of customs brokers (representatives) respectively (hereinafter in this Chapter referred to as Registers of persons carrying out activities in the area of customs).

Article 18
Registers of Persons Carrying out Activities in the Area of Customs

1. Registers of persons carrying out activities in the area of customs shall be maintained by the authorized body on customs affairs in compliance with the procedure established thereof.
2. The authorized body on customs affairs shall be obliged to ensure regular (no less than once in every three months) promulgation in their official publications of the registers of persons carrying out activities in the area of customs.

Article 19
Inclusion of Legal Entities in the Registers of Persons Carrying out Activities in the Area of Customs

1. Legal entities shall be included in the registers of persons carrying out activities in the
area of customs in compliance with the terms established by this Code. No payment shall be made for inclusion to these registers.
2. A legal entity shall apply to the customs bodies with a written application for inclusion in
one of the registers of persons carrying out activities in the area of customs. The application shall contain data as stipulated by this Code and also this legal entity shall present documents confirming the information stated in the application according to a list of confirmation documents established by this Code.
3. Documents envisaged by Paragraph 2 of this Article may be presented in the
original or photocopies certified in compliance with the established procedure.
Upon completion of considering the application the customs body shall be obliged to return to the applicant at the request the original documents which had been presented to the customs bodies.
The customs body shall review an application within a period of time not exceeding 30 days from the date the application was received. The customs body shall forward to the authorized body on customs affairs the opinion to make a decision on the inclusion of the applicant in the relevant register thereupon. The decision on inclusion of the applicant in the relevant register shall be registered by way of issuance to the applicant of a certificate of inclusion in the specified register. The applicant shall be entitled to undertake the relevant activities in the area of customs from the date on receiving the certificate.
The customs body shall have the right to refuse to include the applicant into the relevant register only in case an applicant fails to comply with terms set forth for the inclusion in the relevant register by this Code. A decision on refusal shall be brought to the applicant's attention in written form immediately thereupon.
5. The customs body that considers an application, shall be entitled to request the third parties, and also state bodies, for the documents confirming the information given by the applicant. The said parties shall be obliged to provide the requested documents within 10 days after the receipt of this request.

Article 20
A Certificate of Inclusion in One of the Registers of Persons Carrying out Activities in the Area of Customs

1. A certificate of inclusion in one of the registers of persons carrying out activity in the sphere of customs (hereinafter referred to as 'the certificate') shall be issued in compliance with the format established by the authorized body on customs affairs. The certificate shall contain information as stipulated by this Code. The certificate shall not be transferred to another person.
2. A legal entity (its assignee) included in one of the registers of persons carrying out activities in the area of customs shall be obliged to inform the customs bodies in writing about a change of information and data presented in its application as stipulated by Paragraph 2 of Article 19 of this Code or in accompanying documents attached to the application within five days from the date the relevant changes occurred or from the date when the entity came to know about these changes.
The customs body within five working days shall review the compliance of the newly submitted information with the conditions set forth for the inclusion of a legal entity in the relevant register and in case of change of the information that is to be indicated in a certificate the customs body shall consider issuance of a new certificate in compliance with the procedure established by Paragraph 4 of Article 19 of this Code.
3. A certificate may be revoked by the customs body only in cases stipulated by Articles 98, 113, 145, 231 and paragraph 4 of Article 263 of this Code.
The customs body shall bring the decision to revoke a certificate to the attention of a legal entity with regard to which such a decision was made, in written form stating well-reasoned grounds for this decision not later than the day following the day when this decision was made. The said decision shall be handed in to the head or another authorized representative of the legal entity on conditions of a written receipt from them or using a different form confirming the fact and the date of receipt of this decision by them. If the said persons evade receiving this decision, then the decision shall be sent to them by registered mail.
A decision to revoke a certificate shall come into effect upon expiry of 15 days from the date when such a decision was made.
The format of the decision to revoke a certificate shall be approved by the authorized body on customs affairs.
4. Revocation of a certificate shall entail expulsion of the legal entity carrying out activities in the area of customs from the relevant register.
5. An application for inclusion in the relevant register after revocation of a certificate may be submitted when the reasons which caused the revocation have been eliminated, and in case the certificate was revoked based on repeated bringing of the legal entity to administrative responsibility - upon expiry of the time limit within which the person is deemed to be under the administrative reprimand (punishment).

Article 21
Expulsion of a Legal Entity from the Register of Persons Carrying Out Activities in the Area of Customs

1. A legal entity shall be subject to expulsion from the registers of persons carrying out activities in the area of customs based on the following:
1) by the mentioned entity's own wish - from the day following the day when the customs bodies received the application of the entity in written form for exclusion from the relevant register
2) upon expiry of the validity term of the certificate established by Paragraph 2 of Article 996, Paragraph 3 of Article 111 and Paragraph 2 of Article 142, part 3 of Article 263 of this Code - from the day following the day when the validity term of the certificate has expired
3) when making a decision on revocation of a certificate - from the date when such a decision comes into effect
4) in case of liquidation of the legal entity - from the day following the day when the record was made by the registration bodies in the Single State Register of Legal Entities stating that this legal entity is in the process of liquidation in compliance with legislation of the Republic of Tajikistan
5) in case of cessation of activity of a legal entity as a result of reorganization, except in case of its transformation - from the day following the day when reorganization of the legal entity is considered to be completed in compliance with legislation of the Republic of Tajikistan
2. Expulsion of a legal entity from the registers of persons carrying out activities in the sphere of customs shall not exempt this legal entity (its assignee) from the obligation to complete customs operations with regard to transportation or storage of goods placed under the customs control or to perform other actions with regard of which the obligation arose prior to the expulsion of the legal entity from the relevant register in compliance with the procedure established by this Code.