Truckers in Oral Report Delays at Temporary Storage Warehouse

Trucks loaded with goods have been held at a temporary storage warehouse in Oral for three days,  Orda.kz reports.

Recently, a message circulated on WhatsApp claiming that "due to disagreements between Kazakhstan and Russia over the Customs Union agreement, the entry and exit of cargo through the Kazakh-Russian border crossing point has been temporarily suspended."

After this, heavy-duty trucks began to accumulate at a temporary storage warehouse in Oral.

Truckers carrying cargo from Russia to Kazakhstan say that since September 19, when passing through the "Syrym" checkpoint, employees of the West Kazakhstan Region Department of State Revenue have been directing them to a warehouse.

Drivers say they are left without clear explanations, told only that their trucks would be inspected, and are waiting in poor conditions without food and access to restrooms.

I'm traveling from Yegoryevsk (Russia) to Almaty. I'm carrying mineral wool. I arrived at the border on September 20th, passed through the Russian Mashtakovo checkpoint at 7 a.m., and crossed the Kazakh border at the Syrym checkpoint by 4 a.m. the next day. I submitted the documents to the tax office, providing documentation stating that the price of the cargo was neither inflated nor understated, as well as all tax payment information. Without any reason or explanation, I was sent to a temporary storage warehouse in Oral. There are now over 500 drivers there,
 said Andrey Toropchin, a truck driver from Talgar.

They stopped me with Russian cargo. The State Revenue Department officials are citing some order from September 15th. They can't explain what that order was,
 added Toropchin.

I'm transporting 25 million tenge worth of chocolate from Moscow to Qaraganda. My truck has a temperature control system, I was waiting in line, and then ran out of fuel. The refrigeration unit malfunctioned and now doesn't work at all. I explain to the tax officials at customs that my truck is faulty, but they immediately draw up a report stating that the vehicle is in good technical condition and send it to a temporary storage warehouse (TSW – editor's note). I ask them to explain why? They say 'RMS risk,' but they don't explain what that is. They drew up the report incorrectly, and what's more, they signed it for me. Any fruit can sit there for two or three hours and be fine. But chocolate can melt in half an hour. And I've been waiting since yesterday for them to inspect my cargo,
 said truck driver Akhmet.

The vehicle detention reports state the same reason for redirecting trucks: "risk of temporary storage." Drivers argue that this applies to any goods. 

The RMS (risk management system - Ed.) refers to the risk management system used by tax and customs authorities to detect potential violations.

There are no facilities, nowhere to wash, no bathroom. We're living on dry rations. We don't understand why they're searching us at the temporary storage warehouse, and why are they searching us at customs? If something's wrong, how were we given permission to leave the border crossing? Our documents are all in order, there's no reason to stop us here,
 said Toropchin.

Around midday on September 22, Zhunus Kunchayev, Deputy Head of the State Revenue Department for the West Kazakhstan Region, arrived at the warehouse.

He said six border posts in the region are operating normally, with officers working on inspections.

There are risky taxpayers who previously imported goods and failed to report them. There are also those who import goods and indicate understated prices. That's why we're currently investigating them. Everyone will be processed by this evening, and if there are no questions about unfulfilled notifications or understated amounts, they'll be released. If there's a stop, it means there are questions for you,
 said Kunchayev.

Original Author: Alina Pshenichnaya