Customs clearance of a product is more expensive than a product – you suspect that intermediaries use the situation

It is impossible to clear

Julius, from Vilnius, said he ordered a package from China, which was worth a little more than 20 euros, and was subject to customs duties. Although FedEx took care of the shipment itself, the reader said they had received information from the customs broker, UAB Translaineris.

They, he explained, offered him a parcel dispatch service that would have cost him almost 30 euros, but the man assured him that he had rejected the offer and asked him to send him all the documents related to his package.

“The first thing I didn’t like was that my personal data was in UAB Translaineris. Representatives of this company told me that FedEx passed the data to them because they signed a contract. But the point is that I did not give them my consent to transfer my personal data, since I have the right to dispatch the merchandise myself. But, of course, hardly anyone does that, because it is practically impossible ”, the reader alluded to another problem.

Julius said it took him a month and a half to clean the goods himself.

“When you fill out the customs clearance, you need energy data, for example the data of the shipment vehicle, etc. But when I did everything, I got tired, it turned out that UAB Translaineris did not send me all the information that I had to send.

The general problem is that there is an organized crime with the state message for customs clearance. It is practically impossible to dispatch the goods for the person himself.

It only took me a week to connect to the necessary portals to begin the authorization process. A Windows XP operating system was necessary, not to mention all the other things, ”he said.

Although Julius asked almost 30 euros for the service, he himself said that he had only paid a few euros for the service.

“The state itself creates the conditions for companies to plunder the population.

Even a car for a technical inspection costs 14 Eur, when you need elevators, equipment, etc., and here, to clear yourself, you need a computer as old as possible and that is another question of whether you will be successful. Just to enter the special portal, the instructions are 18 pages … I spent a week just for that, “added the angry man, adding that the state, by not creating a system to clear the merchandise for the population itself, Allows parasitizing companies to legally extort money from the population.

STT: Intermediaries Can Make Unreasonable Profits

Already in November 2019, the Special Investigation Service (STT) of the Republic of Lithuania carried out an anti-corruption assessment of the process of declaring postal items from natural persons at customs. According to Renata Keblienė, head of the communications department, it was established that customs do not create clear and practical conditions for people to declare themselves the goods received by postal shipments electronically.

“This allows customs agents to unreasonably benefit from the obligation imposed by the state and make the process of declaring postal shipments non-transparent,” the STT representative reported.

According to her, to date, the Customs Department has not yet taken into account the suggestions made at the conclusion of the anti-corruption translation.

“The institutions usually take into account most of the proposals presented by STT”, commented the specialist.

The new system – in July

The drafting requested the Customs Department of the Republic of Lithuania a complicated independent customs clearance of the goods. Henrika Rukšėnienė, an advisor to its communications department, agreed that only a very small percentage of the population shipped goods on their own, but warned that the situation should improve soon.

“As of July 1, third-country downloads purchased from an online store while the European Union protects its market will be taxed at 1 cent (now € 22) and a more consumer-friendly declaration tool will be available” , said. This means that the tool for declaring goods carried in shipments of up to 1000 EUR will be simplified. It will be for individuals.

“But before this project went into effect, customs clients had to follow a certain path to improve e-literacy, just like customs. In addition, he had to receive funding for the project, give a certain priority among other priorities, etc. ”Explained H. Rukšėnienė.

The specialist said that before the new system goes into operation, residents will be able to dispatch merchandise as before, but according to him, this will require certain logins and codes.

“If a person refuses the services of an express carrier (customs broker) or AB Lietuvos Paštas and wishes to submit the import declaration himself, he must conclude an agreement with the territorial customs.

After signing the contract, the person receives the login details from the Customs Declaration Processing System (MDAS). The person must also register with the Registry of Customs Debtors and receive a personal identification number (EORI). After concluding the contract, electronic declarations must be completed using the MDAS Entrepreneur Portal, which said it was necessary to be able to dispatch the goods themselves.

It is true that residents can choose which companies to use the services of a customs broker.

“Individuals who have difficulty submitting a declaration by themselves electronically can use the services of other customs brokers in addition to express senders who have the status of customs representatives (customs brokers).

In accordance with article 24, paragraph 3, of the Customs Law of the Republic of Lithuania, natural persons, having informed the postal operator or carrier of express shipments in advance, can declare shipments sent or received by them or by naming to another customs representative. ”Said H. Rukšėnienė.

FedEx: the company acts as a business partner

The editorial board sent a comment to UAB Translaineris, but received no response from the company.

Regarding the status of Julius’ personal data transferred to the company by customs agents, FedEx representatives agreed to comment, who immediately responded that they could not disclose any information related to specific company shipments and their senders and recipients.

“Customs clearance of goods is one of the areas where FedEx works with select business partners to help us and our customers address customs compliance issues.

The services provided by our business partners also include informing the recipients of the items on our behalf by sending them messages.

Based on the information provided in the FedEx Privacy Policy, our business partners, acting as data processors and fulfilling their obligations to business partners under data processing agreements, communicate with recipients to inform them of shipments received and the need to complete customs formalities when necessary.

Upon receiving such information, the recipients of the shipment are and have the right to freely decide on the customs clearance of the shipments, even if they wish to use a customs broker for that purpose ”, was expressed in the responses received.

Lawyer: No possible personal data breach

The law firm Žiemelis, Valys, Rugys and Partners Lawyer and partner Karolis Rugys, when asked if FedEx could transfer the reader’s personal data to another company in this case, said that this type of legal relationship is governed by the General Regulation of Data Protection, which came into force in 2018 May 25

As stated, the provisions of said regulation establish that personal data is any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person.

“It should also be mentioned that any operation or sequence of operations on personal data or personal data sets, such as collection, drafting, classification, systematization, storage, adaptation or modification, recovery, access, use, will be considered data processing by automated means or not automated., disclosure by transfer, distribution or otherwise made available, as well as the collection or merger with other data, restriction, deletion or destruction.

It should be noted that, according to the aforementioned General Data Protection Regulation, it is established that the right to the protection of personal data is not absolute; it must be evaluated in the light of its public purpose and compatible with other fundamental rights, in accordance with the principle of proportionality. It should also be assessed whether economic and commercial activities and other activities were carried out during the disclosure of the data, ”said K. Rugys.

According to the lawyer, in this specific case, the data is considered to have been processed because it was disclosed during the transfer.

“Without knowing the exact facts, it is not possible to speak exactly exactly in a particular case, because it is not clear what agreements were made and what consents were given at the time of sending the shipment, ordering courier services, etc.

Consents for the use, processing and use of third parties may have been granted with the help of third parties to fulfill contractual obligations, since in this case the customs clearance of the merchandise by customs intermediaries is required.

On the basis of the aforementioned agreements, the data transfer could be allowed when the shipment reaches the Republic of Lithuania ”, said K. Rugys, adding that the fact that such data transfer does not constitute a violation is confirmed by the Article. 6 of the General Data Protection Regulation. provisions.

They provide that the processing is legal when the processing is necessary for the performance of a contract in which the interested party is a party or to act at the request of the interested party before the conclusion of the contract; The processing is also necessary for the legitimate interests of the controller or a third party, unless the interests or fundamental rights and freedoms of the interested party that are necessary to guarantee the protection of personal data take priority, in particular when the interested party be a boy, ‘he said.

However, according to the lawyer, although in this case a possible infringement of the processing of personal data cannot be identified, a breach of the duty of information can be suspected.

«The General Data Protection Regulation establishes that when personal data is not obtained from the interested party, the data controller will provide the data subject with the identity and contact details of the data controller and, where appropriate, the representative of the controller; the contact details of the data protection officer, if applicable; the purposes of the processing for which the personal data is intended to be processed, as well as the legal basis for the processing; the relevant categories of personal data and other information provided for in article 14 of the General Data Protection Regulation ”, said K. Rugys.