Limits of competence of a forensic commodity expert in determining the characteristics of goods in cases of customs rules violation

Abstract

Today, all goods, regardless of the country of origin, are subject to classification, that is, codes are determined for goods in accordance with the classification groupings specified in the UCC of the Economic and Monetary Union. Expertise on determining the conformity of the characteristics of goods according to the UCC FEA, regardless of the purpose of establishing the code, is only a means of establishing the circumstances of implementation, that is, the characteristics on which the definition of the goods code is based, but by its task it cannot support the adoption of a decision on the determination interpretation of the product code according to the UCC FEA. Understanding the correctness of drawing up an expert's opinion allows to avoid difficulties when conducting a forensic commodity examination.
 The classification of goods is carried out in accordance with the requirements of the UCC FEA and is a technique that allows to present the classified goods in the form of a group of signs (product code) established by this classifier. When conducting a forensic commodity expert examination, a commodity expert may not exceed his or her powers and go beyond his or her competence when answering questions about determining the characteristics of the object of research according to the code of the UCC FEA. In the course of a commodity examination, a commodity expert determines only the characteristics of the goods, and the UCC FEA code is not determined.
 The article clarifies the peculiarities of determining the UCC FEA code, explains from a practical point of view what is the work of a forensic expert in conducting this type of forensic commodity examination. The article provides recommendations for forensic institutions on how to resolve the issues raised by forensic commodity expertise and the correctness of drawing up an expert's opinion, since this allows avoiding difficulties in conducting forensic commodity expertise.