The Supreme Audit Institutions of Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan held an annual joint session of the boards (councils and authorized persons) following the 2022 audit of the EAEU member states’ compliance with the procedure for crediting and distributing import customs duties and transferring the same to the budgets of these states.

The control engagement was coordinated by the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation.

Opening the session, Ms. Galina Izotova, Acting Chair of the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation, emphasized the importance of the EAEU for the development of its member states: “The Eurasian Economic Union plays a crucial role in the cooperation of our countries and helps us establish conditions for the stable development and modernization of our economies. Leveraging every opportunity emerging for us is paramount today,” said Galina Izotova.

She also highlighted the role of SAIs in ensuring the effectiveness of integration within the EAEU: 

We have conducted 11 joint audits of import customs duties. Importantly, our joint audit efforts continue to improve. The regulatory framework is gradually developing. In 2023, the Joint Control Engagements Agreement took effect. The agreement has determined the uniform procedure for conducting audits, recording their results, generating a summary report as well as the mechanisms for eliminating revealed violations and implementing our proposals. All this makes our contribution to the EAEU development even more valuable and relevant,

 said Galina Izotova.     

The 2022 audit showed that the authorized agencies of the EAEU member states generally ensured compliance with the import customs duties distribution procedure.

The total sum of the import customs duties credited to the parties’ budgets in 2022 amounted to $10.3 billion.

Import customs duties credited to the unified account were distributed by the member states’ authorized agencies in compliance with the standards established by the Protocol. Several defects revealed during the audit did not affect the compliance with the prescribed procedure for distributing the customs duties,

noted Andrey Baturkin, Board member of the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation.

During the session, the parties signed a summary report and approved a uniform report on the results of the joint control engagement.

Summing up, Galina Izotova once again highlighted the advanced cooperation between SAIs within external audits conducted in the EAEU bodies. “I am hopeful that we will see the upward trend persist. Every new meeting is a step towards integration and cooperation in the Eurasian region,

Galina Izotova concluded.

In 2024, the joint control engagement will be coordinated by the Audit Chamber of the Republic of Armenia.