Open-type customs warehouses which were launched by an ASEZ Zabaikalye resident upon the agreement with the Russian Far East and Arctic Development Corporation (FEDC) have proved that they are in high demand in the border area. In the course of 2 months, the Continent Plus company has taken in more than 300 units of heavy machinery for temporary storage, including airport ramps and buses while marking 8 industrial goods batches in the customs warehouse.
Until then, there were no warehouses of this type in Zabaikalsky Krai where the proximity of border provides incentives for business development. The investment project of the ASEZ resident that was meant to arrange open warehouses with an area of 120,000 sq. m. has a special role to play in supporting Russia’s foreign trade with China and developing the region’s economy. The company’s clients that take interest in cooperation with various Chinese suppliers have now an opportunity to store cargo under the supervision for up to 3 years. During that time, a person engaged in foreign trade may run all the operations required and even sell the good without taking it beyond the warehouse located not far from Zabaykalsk station, in close proximity to the Russian-Chinese border railway checkpoint. No customs duties, fees, or taxes are due to be paid.
“As per the Customs Code of the EAEU, we are now included in the register of warehouse owners. This means that businesses in Zabaikalsky Krai will be able to keep their losses to the minimum while shipping goods for a long time, or shipping goods with a short life. This will also allow to slash customs clearing costs. We have arranged all that is needed for warehousing in full compliance with the requirements of sanitary authorities and ensured problem-free and smooth operations. For now, the warehouse load is low, about 20% of the total capacity. With sanctions looming, we expect and are ready for an increase in cargo volumes. Chinese market for goods has always been in high demand in Russia, and with Western companies gone, we expect a new trade boom. Another batch of 20 40-foot containers with 600,000 pairs of shoes made in China is just about to arrive. We are now holding talks with potential clients. There are companies that are considering long-term storage of large container batches and specialized construction machinery”, said Valery Petrov, CEO of Continent Plus LLC.
Besides temporary storage, the investor provides marking services, a mandatory requirement for goods imported to Russia since 2021. At the same time, an importer may mark its goods only at customs warehouses. Circulation of unmarked goods is punishable by a fine up to 100,000 rubles, with the unmarked goods due to be confiscated.
“Marking of goods may prove rewarding not only for the state authorities, but also for the customer. We act as mediators and prepare goods for sale. Moreover, despite a stronger dollar which the yuan is aligned with, the cost of this service remained the same”, added the project supervisor.
According the FEDC, to date, the number of projects underway at ASEZ Zabaikalye has reached 38. The total amount of announced investments have exceeded 202 billion rubles with more than 10,000 people getting jobs at new production facilities. As a matter of fact, residents have invested 92.3 billion rubles and employed 2,800 locals. Seven projects have been successfully implemented and are now running operational activities.