22 AOUT 2006. - An Act to approve the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Customs Matters between the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium and the Government of the Russian Federation, signed in Brussels on 2 October 2001 (1) (2)

ALBERT II, King of the Belgians,
To all, present and to come, Hi.
The Chambers adopted and We sanction the following:
Article 1^er. This Act regulates a matter referred to in Article 77 of the Constution.
Art. 2. The Convention on Administrative Mutual Assistance in Customs Matters between the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium and the Government of the Russian Federation, signed in Brussels on 2 October 2001, will be fully effective.
Promulgation of this law, let us order that it be clothed with the seal of the State and published by the Belgian Monitor.
Given at Châteauneuf-de-Grasse, August 22, 2006.
ALBERT
By the King:
Minister of Foreign Affairs, K. DE GUCHT
Minister of Finance,
D. REYNDERS
Seal of the state seal:
The Minister of Justice,
Ms. L. ONKELINX
____
Notes
(1) Session 2005-2006.
Senate:
Documents. - Bill tabled on 12 April 2006, No. 3-1655/1. - Report, number 3-1655/2.
Annales parliamentarians. - Discussion, meeting of June 15, 2006. - Vote, meeting of 15 June 2006.
Chamber:
Documents. - Project transmitted by the Senate, No. 51-2560/1. - Text adopted in plenary and subject to Royal Assent, No. 51-2560/2.
Annales parliamentarians. - Discussion, meeting of 13 July 2006. - Vote, meeting of 13 July 2006.
(2) This Convention comes into force on 1^er December 2006.

Convention on Mutual Customs Assistance between the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium and the Government of the Russian Federation
The Government of the Kingdom of Belgium
and
The Government of the Russian Federation,
the Parties,
Considering that infringements of customs legislation affect the economic, fiscal, social, cultural and commercial interests of their respective states;
Considering that it is essential to ensure the correct application of control, restriction and prohibition measures, and assessment for the accurate collection of customs duties and other taxes due to the export and import of goods;
Considering that illicit trafficking in sensitive goods constitutes a serious threat to public health and society;
Convinced that the fight against violations of customs legislation and that the exact assessment for the collection of customs duties and other taxes due to the import and export of goods will be made more effective by close cooperation between customs authorities;
Having regard to the Customs Cooperation Council Recommendation on Administrative Mutual Assistance of 5 December 1953;
The following agreed:
Definition of terms
Article 1^er
For the purposes of this Convention, the following means:
1. "Custom Legislation": all of the legislative and regulatory provisions that Customs authorities are responsible for applying to the import, export and transit of goods, that these provisions relate to customs duties or any other duties or taxes collected by Customs authorities, or to prohibition, restriction and control measures for the export or import of goods.
2. “Custom Authorities”:
For the Kingdom of Belgium: Customs Administration and Access - Ministry of Finance;
For the Russian Federation: State Customs Committee of the Russian Federation.
3. “Custom infringement”: any violation or attempted violation of customs legislation in both states;
4. "Person": any natural or legal person.
5. "Information": any data, document, report, certified copy of the data or any other communication.
6. "Information": the information processed or analyzed to provide details regarding a customs offence.
7. "Applicant Authority": Customs administration that makes an application for assistance.
8. "Required Authority": the customs administration to which a request for assistance is addressed.
Scope of assistance
Article 2
1. Customs authorities provide mutual assistance under the conditions laid down in this Convention to ensure that customs legislation is properly applied and, in particular, to prevent, detect and investigate violations of this legislation.
2. The assistance provided for in this Convention also includes, if the request is made, any information that would ensure the accurate collection of customs duties and other taxes by Customs authorities.
3. The assistance provided in paragraph 2 of this article does not apply to the collection by one of the customs authorities, customs duties, taxes, taxes, fines and other amounts on behalf of the other customs authority.
4. This Convention does not apply to information and documents collected under powers exercised at the request of the judicial authorities, unless the authorities agree.
5. The assistance provided on the basis of this Convention shall be carried out in accordance with the legal and administrative provisions in force on the territory of the State of the required authority and within the limits of its competence and available resources.
Communication of information
Article 3
1. On request or on their own initiative if they feel it appropriate, Customs authorities shall communicate the information to each other with a view to:
(a) ensure the customs authorities' perception of customs duties as well as the correct assessment of the customs value of the goods and their tariff classification;
(b) verify the regularity of the export from the territory of the requested State of goods imported into the territory of the requesting State;
(c) to verify the regularity of the importation, in the territory of the requested State, of goods exported from the territory of the requesting State, and to provide information on the customs regime under which these goods were placed.
2. Where the requested authority does not have the requested information, it shall take steps to obtain that information.
3. In the event that the enforcement of the application does not fall within the jurisdiction of the requested authority, the requested authority shall forthwith transmit it to the competent authority and immediately notify the requesting authority of that fact.
Special assistance cases
Article 4
1. Upon request or on its own initiative if it considers it appropriate, the Customs authority shall provide all information on the applicable customs laws and procedures in its territory that may be useful to investigations involving a customs offence.
2. Each Customs authority shall, upon request or on its own initiative, communicate all the information available to it on the following matters:
(a) new techniques to combat customs fraud that have been proven to be effective;
(b) new means or methods used to commit violations of customs legislation;
(c) movements of art and antiquity objects with a high historical value for one of the Parties;
(d) movements of goods highly taxed or subject to quantitative restrictions.
3. Customs authorities mutually assist in the investigation of offences relating to State-owned cultural property of one of the Parties.
Special monitoring
Article 5
Upon request and in accordance with national legislation, the requested authority shall provide information and information and shall exercise special monitoring on:
(a) persons on whom the requesting authority has reason to believe that they commit or have committed customs offences;
(b) the goods designated by the requesting authority as being trafficked or suspected of being irregular, to or from its territory;
(c) the means of transportation that are reasonably believed to have been, are or may be used to commit customs offences.
Form and Substance of requests for assistance
Article 6
1. Requests made under this Convention shall be submitted in writing. The documents necessary for the execution of these requests must be attached. Where the urgency of the situation requires it, requests submitted verbally may be accepted, but must be immediately confirmed in writing.
2. Requests referred to in paragraph 1^er of this section shall include the following information:
(a) the name of the requesting authority submitting the application;
(b) the measure required;
(c) the object and purpose of the application;
(d) legislation, rules and other relevant legal elements;
(e) as accurate and complete guidance as possible on individuals or legal persons who are investigated, if known;
(f) a summary of the relevant facts.
Derogations to the obligation to provide assistance
Article 7
1. Customs authorities may refuse to lend all or part of the assistance provided for in this Convention in the event that it is likely to infringe on sovereignty, security, public order or other essential national interests or involve a breach of an industrial, commercial or professional secret.
2. If the requesting authority seeks assistance that it could not provide if requested by the requested authority, it shall report the fact in the statement of its application. It is then up to the required authority to decide how it must respond to this request.
3. If the assistance is denied, the decision and the reasons that explain it must be notified promptly in writing to the requesting authority.
Investigations
Article 8
1. In order to facilitate the prevention and search for offences in the territory of its State, each Customs authority shall, at the request of the other Customs authority, carry out investigations relating to transactions presenting or appearing to be fraudulent in respect of the customs legislation in force in the territory of the requesting State and shall carry out such investigations under the same conditions as if it acted on its own behalf or at the request of other authorities of its State.
2. The required authority may authorize agents of the requesting authority to be present during the investigations. In this case, these officers will not be armed or coated with their uniform.
Establishment of direct relations
Article 9
Customs authorities may establish direct relations between their agencies responsible for preventing, investigating or prosecuting customs offences in order to exchange information and/or information. In this case, they exchange lists of specially designated officers for this purpose.
Confidentiality
Article 10
1. The information, information and documents obtained by Customs authorities pursuant to this Convention shall enjoy the same guarantees in terms of confidentiality as those granted by the law applied by that Customs authority to the same information.
2. The information obtained pursuant to this Convention shall be used only for the purposes provided by this Convention. Any different use of the said information is only possible if the Customs authority which provided it expressly and in writing has consented to it.
Use of information and documents
Article 11
1. Customs authorities may disclose, as evidence, in their records, their reports and testimonies as well as in proceedings and proceedings before the courts, information and documents collected under the conditions laid down in this Convention.
2. The extent of the probative force attributed to this information and documents is determined by the legislation in force on the territory of the requesting authority State.
Experts and witnesses
Article 12
1. An officer of a required authority may, at the request of the requesting authority, be authorized to appear as an expert or witness in the course of judicial or administrative proceedings in the areas of this Convention, by the jurisdiction of the State of the other Party and to produce records, documents or other data, or copies of such certified data, which may be deemed necessary for the proceedings.
2. These officers file within the limits set by the authorization on the findings made by them during the performance of their duties and within the limits of their competence.
3. The application must state precisely in which case and in what capacity the agent will be questioned.
4. The travel expenses and the travel costs of experts and witnesses are borne by the requesting Party.
Other costs
Article 13
1. Customs authorities shall waive any claim relating to reimbursements for costs arising from the application of this Convention, except where applicable, in respect of compensation to experts and witnesses, as well as to interpreters and translators who do not depend on public services. The costs will be incurred as such only with the prior agreement of the requesting State.
2. If high and unforeseen costs are to or should be incurred in response to the application, Customs authorities will negotiate the conditions under which the application will be met, as well as the manner in which the costs will be borne.
Territorial application of the Convention
Article 14
1. This Convention applies to the customs territories of the Russian Federation and the Kingdom of Belgium as defined by their respective legislation.
2. Taking into account the fact that the Kingdom of Belgium is a member of the European Union, any information of community interest regarding infringements of customs legislation, which would be communicated by the customs authorities of the Russian Federation to the customs authorities of the Kingdom of Belgium, if necessary, will be transmitted by the latter to the European Commission with prior notification to the customs authorities of the Russian Federation.
3. Taking into account the fact that the Russian Federation is a member of the Community of Independent States, any community-based information concerning infringements of customs legislation, which would be communicated by the customs authorities of the Kingdom of Belgium to the customs authorities of the Russian Federation, if necessary, will be transmitted by the latter to the respective bodies of the Community of Independent States with prior notification to the customs authorities of the Kingdom of Belgium.
Implementation of the Convention
Article 16
1. The modalities and concrete measures for the implementation of this Convention may, if necessary, be established in writing and in consultation between Customs authorities.
2. In order to facilitate the implementation of this Convention, Customs authorities may jointly and in writing define technical assistance parameters.
3. Customs authorities shall endeavour to resolve in concert any dispute that may be raised by the interpretation or application of this Convention.
Entry into force and denunciation
Article 17
1. This Convention comes into force on the first day of the third month following the date of receipt of the last notification transmitted by diplomatic means of the fulfilment by each of the Parties of the required internal procedures with regard to its entry into force.
2. This Convention shall be concluded for an unlimited period of time. Each of the two Parties may denounce it at any time by written notification from the diplomatic channel to the other Party. The denunciation takes effect six months after the notification date.
Done in Brussels on 2 October 2001, in duplicate, in French and Russian languages, both texts being equally authentic.