A Year of Full Customs Control: Number of Violations Has Decreased, but Attempts to Evade Sanctions Continue

A Year of Full Customs Control: Number of Violations Has Decreased, but Attempts to Evade Sanctions Continue
Photo: Maksu- ja Tolliamet

Over the course of the year, customs officers have identified various sanctions-related violations. In international trade, the ETCB still encounters cases of submitting false information and manipulating commodity codes. The ETCB has prevented the departure of 192 cargo shipments across the eastern border.

Among private individuals crossing the border, the most common cases have involved attempts to transfer European Union banknotes. There have also been incidents where people tried to transport across the border goods either of dual use or that can be used in warfare, both indirectly and directly — such as drone components, firearm parts and accessories, bullets, spare parts for vehicles and machinery, radio receivers, underwater cameras and diving equipment, and much more.

Over the course of the year, more than 585,000 border crossings were recorded at the Narva, Luhamaa, and Koidula customs checkpoints, of which violations were detected in over 4,300 cases. Compared to the year before last, the number of detected violations has decreased by nearly one thousand.

Voldemar Linno, Head of the Customs Control Department at the ETCB, acknowledges that full customs control has nevertheless proven to be an effective deterrent measure. “Since border crossers are aware that all items they carry will undergo thorough inspection, this serves as an effective deterrent. People are getting used to the sanctions and are more familiar with the goods subject to them. The effects of the sanctions are also reflected in foreign trade statistics, where the export of certain product groups to Russia has significantly decreased or ceased altogether.”