As of July 1, customs controls will be removed at 74 border crossings between Croatia and neighbouring European Union countries as Croatia will then become part of the customs union founded on free movement of passengers and goods throughout the entire territory of the Union, without customs formalities and tariffs between member states, a press conference at the Customs Administration heard on Friday.
Presenting the changes that are to take place, Director of the Customs Administration Zlatko Grabar explained complete freedom of movement will be established for all goods within the EU accompanied simply by an invoice or similar document.
Nothing significant will change in trading with third countries that are not members of the EU because Croatian legislation in that field has already been aligned with EU legal acquis, Grabar explained.
Passenger and goods traffic at the border to EU member states will be supervised only by the police while postal transport to EU member states will be free of any limits or levies.
Once again there will not be any significant changes in passenger and postal traffic to non EU member countries with the exception of raising some concessions in passenger transport and the allowable quantity of goods that are exempt of customs tariffs.
A special tax though will be imposed on vehicles brought in from the EU payable upon first registration in Croatia, which will be refundable when the vehicles is exported out of the country.
A specific situation will apply to the crossing at the Neum corridor where EU territory is disrupted, particularly with regard to goods transport.
Domestic products (Croatian and EU) up to a value of EUR 10,000 will only require a document identifying the status of the goods - such as an invoice. Goods over that value will succumb to current customs control. Products of animal origin will only be able to be transported through the corridor in vehicles that have been sealed by Customs while transport of live animals is totally forbidden with the exception of up to five pets and so all other live animal transport will only be possible via ferry.
One of the novelties being introduced is that goods being imported to Croatia from third countries can be processed through customs in any EU member state and vice versa in which case 75% of the tariff is paid into the EU and 25% to the national budget. This will lead to a contraction of budget revenue from customs tariffs in Croatia.
With these changes in the customs system the need for staff has been reduced however 300 officers have been transferred to other positions and another 200 will remain within the system Grabar said.
