State Revenue Committee Addresses Publications Regarding Crimea Bridge Explosion

The State Revenue Committee has issued a statement regarding certain publications related to the explosion on the Crimea Bridge.

"We present below a detailed description of the process of importing relevant products by 'Gu Ar Ji Group' LLC and subsequently transporting them to the Russian Federation via a transit declaration."

It should be noted that on September 26, 2022, a transportation document (CMR) was completed for a truck covered with a tent, which was sent from the Bulgarian company 'BALTEX CAPITAL S.A.' to 'Gu Ar Ji Group' LLC (N sectors 06962573) at the Georgian port of Poti. The truck, containing 22 packages weighing 22,770 kg, entered the territory of Armenia on September 27, 2022, at 14:53. The driver of the truck was Arthur Terzhanian, a citizen of Armenia and Georgia.

On September 27, at 15:00, the truck was weighed at the Bagratashen customs checkpoint and subsequently underwent an X-ray examination. The X-ray examination revealed no risk factors. Afterward, at 16:53, the goods were declared by 'Gu Ar Ji Group' LLC under transit declaration number 05100033/270922/0049515, in accordance with the transport document and the import invoice details.

For further processing, the Ararat customs department and the temporary storage facility of 'Alliance Terminal' LLC were selected. When leaving the customs zone, the 'Border Cross' system recorded a corresponding 'exit' note at 17:00. The vehicle reached the 'Alliance Terminal' LLC's temporary storage facility at 22:46 after 5 hours and 46 minutes.

On September 28, 2022, at 9:43, the transit declaration 05100033/270922/0049515 was marked as 'completed' in the temporary storage facility of 'Alliance Terminal' LLC. Afterward, the customs value was adjusted, and on September 29, at 16:12, after the declarant presented the cargo documents to the customs authority, the inspection of the cargo was carried out in the temporary storage facility of 'Alliance Terminal' LLC.

Specifically, without unloading the goods from the truck, the layer thickness of one of the polyethylene construction film rolls was checked (to verify the correct classification of the goods according to the HS Code). No issues related to incorrect classification of HS Code were discovered, and at 16:40 the customs authority released the goods. At this stage, the questioned products obtained EAEU product status and were handed over to the declarant, but the truck did not leave the 'Alliance Terminal' LLC's warehouse.

On September 30, 2022, at 10:24, the same declarant presented and registered a transit declaration 05100010/300922/0017152 for the same goods from Armenia to the Russian Federation, with 'Gu Ar Ji Group' LLC completing the transit declaration (recipient: Russian 'Лидер' LLC). A straightforward process in accordance with EAEU legislation took place.

The goods were transported to the Russian Federation using the same Georgian vehicle, driven by the same person. The transit declaration received a 'yellow channel' intermediate status since the HS code of the products is included in the list of dual-use controlled goods. The customs authority also checked the availability of necessary documents regarding whether the goods were dual-use or not.

For the mentioned polyethylene construction film, an expert conclusion issued on September 30, 2022, by 'ARMEXPERTIZA' LLC confirmed that this product does not constitute a dual-use item. After confirming this, the transit declaration attained an approved status at 16:16 on September 30, 2022.

It should be noted that during the entire period of customs control over the goods in the temporary storage facility of 'Alliance Terminal' LLC, the truck transporting these goods was within the view of the camera's objective. The truck was neither unloaded, transshipped, nor reloaded with other goods until the full completion of the customs procedures for importing to Armenia and transporting to Russia.

The vehicle arrived at the Bagratashen customs checkpoint at approximately 00:15 on October 1, 2022. Around 00:30, it underwent another X-ray examination, confirming the same results obtained from the initial examination at the time of importing into Armenia. After the X-ray inspection, at 00:38, it received the status of 'exit from the customs authority' at Bagratashen customs checkpoint.

The transit declaration obtained 'completed' status at the Upper Lars customs point on October 5, 2022. Therefore, all processes regarding the entry, customs control, X-ray inspection, customs clearance, documentation, and export of the cargo into the Republic of Armenia occurred properly and legally, with no risk factors identified during the physical examination or X-ray inspections at the time of entry and exit from Armenia. Copies of all documents supporting these facts, as well as images from the X-ray inspection device and movements recorded by surveillance cameras in customs control areas, have been preserved.