Financial control in the customs sphere: concepts, subjects, tools

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of financial control in the customs sphere. The author analyzes the existing theoretical and regulatory approaches to the definition of “control” and “financial control”. The author offers her own definition of “financial control in the customs sphere”, which should be understood as a system of measures and actions carried out or provided by authorized entities to verify the status of compliance with legislation in the customs sphere and the level of performance of tasks, management decisions and functions. It is noted that at the legislative level it is proposed to systematize the subjects of the State financial control, based on the type of financial control and functional purpose, by distinguishing: 1) entities authorized to exercise external financial control (which include the President of Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and relevant councils, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, the Accounting Chamber); 2) entities authorized to exercise internal financial control (which include the State Control and Audit Service of Ukraine, local administrations and executive bodies of relevant councils); 3) entities with specific internal financial control functions (which include the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine, State Customs Service of Ukraine, State Tax Service of Ukraine, State Treasury of Ukraine, State Commission on Securities and Stock Market, State Property Fund of Ukraine, Bankruptcy Agency); 4) entities authorized to exercise internal (departmental) control (which include control services that are independent structural units (departments, headquarters, offices, divisions, branches, sectors, groups) within central executive authorities). The role of some of the entities authorized to exercise financial control over the customs sphere, in particular, the Accounting Chamber, the Temporary Investigation Commission of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine, and the State Customs Service of Ukraine, is clarified. The author analyzes practical examples and regulatory frameworks. The author emphasizes the need to adopt a special law that would comprehensively regulate control and inspection activities. The tools related to data that can be used in the customs sphere (including for financial control) are systematized into three groups: 1) statistics services (e.g., BI system, VIN or EUR1 verification service); registers (e.g., Register of Intellectual Property Objects, Register of Customs Brokers); 3) reference books and classifiers (e.g., classifier of transport types, classifier of the State Customs Service, Classifier of budget revenues). The author points out the need for further transformation of the tools related to data that can be used in the customs sphere into a Single Customs Information Resource, which would provide for the possibility of registration in the office, and easy search for the necessary data, with systematization by various search criteria, and the provision of podcasts on how to use it. This, in turn, would help to improve financial control in the customs sphere.