Filenews 31 January 2022
Penalties are being increased for violations of customs legislation, many of which concern the movement of goods from the occupied to the free areas. The issue was discussed today by the Finance Committee of the House, but the amount of the increases in penalties has not yet been put on the table.
In his statements, The Deputy President of the Committee Chryssis Pantelidis said that they discussed the principle of the bill for the amendment of the Customs Code Law with the ultimate goal of harmonization with the EU Regulation 952 of 2013 and the increase of penalties for violations of customs legislation.
As he said, on the face of it, the Commission considers the increase in such penalties to be positive, with which the business operators also agree, as they consider that this increase will contribute to the fight against the illegalities that unfortunately occur in the movement of goods from the occupied areas to the free areas, in violation of the Green Line Regulation, causing unfair competition to the detriment of businesses that legally operate in the free areas.
"The strict and faithful implementation of the Green Line regulation is the responsibility of the state and the Government must take care of this," he added.
In response to a question, Mr. Pantelidis said that the level of penalties has not yet been discussed, adding however that the Department of Customs estimates that the penalties will be such as to be a deterrent for such violations.
In relation to the labelling of the Green Line regulations, he said that it was not a customs flag but members of the Commission as they consider that this is the biggest problem that exists at the moment.
Mr. Pantelidis then referred to the discussion on the principle of amending bills of indirect support as well as tax and procedural facilities to businesses on issues that had arisen due to the coronavirus and the restrictive measures imposed in 2020 and 2021.
The Deputy President of the Committee said that the budgets of two semi-state organizations, the Cyprus Organization for the Management of Petroleum Stocks and the Wildlife Hunting and Management Fund, were still discussed.
Mr. Pantelidis noted the huge delay observed in the already late submission of the budgets of semi-state organizations, and reiterated that for any possible problems arising from this delay, the Parliament is not to blame.
