CUSTOMS LOGISTICS: CONCEPTS, FUNCTIONS, FEATURES

Abstract

The article investigates the approaches to the definition of the term customs logistics. It is established that there is no generally accepted point of view on the content of the concept, its subject field among scientists and practitioners. Customs logistics is considered as a scientific direction, and as a practical activity, and as a functional area of logistics, and as part of the logistics chain, and as a set of logistics processes of participants in foreign economic activity. Given the complex structure and multiplicity of approaches to the interpretation of the term, and applying a systematic approach to disclose the content of customs logistics, it is proposed to understand customs logistics as a scientific and practical activity aimed at regulating customs goods and information and financial flows and protecting national interests, finding a balance of interests and ensuring the security and development of entities. The object-subject field of customs logistics is primarily export-import trade flows. They are accompanied by information flows: outgoing (from customs to the central authority), incoming (on the contrary), accompanying (documents for the goods). In this case, the implementation of foreign trade operations implies that the financial flow is divided into two parts: the first includes payments paid to the supplier for the goods (its feature is that it is governed by the laws of most states and international agreements); the second part includes customs duties, through which the state regulates the volume, range and direction of movement of export-import trade flows. Customs logistics integrates such important functions of customs activity, tariff-regulating, information-analytical, control-passing and financial-economic. The purpose of logistics of customs activity is first of all in the effective logistical organization of all types of the flows observed in customs business and their acceleration. This refers to commodity, information and financial flows, which together form an integrated commodity-information-financial flow, which has the duty to control such structures of the customs service as customs posts and customs, in particular when crossing this integrated flow of the customs border . The integrated nature of customs and logistics flows corresponds to the complex structure of customs logistics, which includes component, regional and functional structure.