Foreign economic activity of enterprises- This sphere economic activity related to international industrial and scientific-technical cooperation, export and import of products, the enterprise’s entry into the foreign market.
To carry out foreign economic relations the following is required:
state registration of an enterprise at the location of the enterprise (approval constituent documents: charter and agreement, as well as obtaining a certificate of state registration);
register with the tax office at the place of registration;
receive a seal or stamp in the prescribed manner;
register in the state register of the Republic of Belarus;
open ruble and foreign currency accounts in any joint-stock commercial bank of the Republic of Belarus.
Definition economic feasibility the proposed commercial transaction involves compliance with the following basic provisions:
export-import operation based on the principles full self-sufficiency (including foreign exchange), self-financing, that is, the basic principles of full self-financing;
volume of the proposed transaction is established based on the resources available to the enterprise: material, currency, intellectual;
a commercial transaction must be preceded by thorough marketing, feasibility study , numerous options for possible commercial transactions must be calculated and considered;
organization of a commercial transaction must be conducted in compliance with regulatory legal acts (international, CIS; laws, decrees, resolutions of relevant bodies of the Republic of Belarus; bilateral state agreements);
a mandatory condition of any transaction must be full knowledge of the taxation system, currency conversion system, level of world and domestic prices, as well as having some experience in foreign economic transactions;
faces, directly carrying out commercial transactions with foreign partners, must speak a foreign language (preferably English), know the generally accepted rules of negotiations.
In the Republic of Belarus higher authorities Department of Foreign Economic Activity are:
President of the Republic of Belarus;
Council of the Republic of Belarus;
House of Representatives of the Republic of Belarus;
Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus.
Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus- the highest executive and administrative body of power in the republic.
First complex act of the Republic of Belarus regulating foreign economic activity was the Law of the Republic of Belarus “On the fundamentals of foreign economic activity of the Republic of Belarus”, adopted October 25, 1990. On June 15, 2005, the Law of the Republic of Belarus dated November 25, 2004 “On state regulation of foreign trade activities” came into force.
State regulation of foreign trade activities in the Republic of Belarus carried out :
President of the Republic of Belarus;
National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus;
Government of the Republic of Belarus;
other authorized state bodies of the Republic of Belarus
in accordance with:
other acts of legislation of the Republic of Belarus;
norms of international law in force for the Republic of Belarus.
Coordination of the work of government bodies Republic of Belarus according to:
development proposals for the formation of the state foreign trade policy of the Republic of Belarus;
regulation foreign trade activities of its participants;
conclusion international treaties of the Republic of Belarus in the field of foreign trade activities
carried out by the Government of the Republic of Belarus And authorized state body within their competence , unless otherwise established by the President of the Republic of Belarus.
The main method of regulation foreign trade goods used to protect the internal market of the Republic of Belarus are customs tariff regulation.
In order to improve foreign trade activities, Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus dated March 27, 2008 No. 178 “On the procedure for conducting and monitoring foreign trade operations” was adopted.
Measures to protect the economic interests of the Republic of Belarus when carrying out foreign trade in goods are also defined in the Law of the Republic of Belarus dated November 25, 2004 “On measures to protect the economic interests of the Republic of Belarus when carrying out foreign trade in goods.”
One of the fundamental international documents regulating foreign economic activity is UN Convention of 11 April 1980 on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods - an international document that eliminates discrepancies in national laws governing the international purchase and sale of goods.
Provisions of the Convention regulate:
conclusion of an international purchase and sale agreement;
rights and obligations of the parties to the contract;
liability of the parties to the transaction for non-fulfillment or improper fulfillment of obligations under the contract.
Provisions of the Convention do not affect the content of the contract and the issue of ownership of the goods sold (on the territory of the Republic of Belarus the Convention has been in force since November 1, 1990).
General sections of the contract, as a rule, are:
dispute resolution;
other terms of the contract.
legal entities;
subject of contract;
delivery time;
price and total contract amount;
quantity;
basic terms of delivery;
product quality;
payment terms;
packaging and labeling;
delivery and acceptance;
insurance;
claims;
Force Majeure;
In some cases individual sections of the contract are combined . This depends on the level of detail in the contractual relations of the partners.
document title designation "Contract";
dates of signing;
legal address;
position and surname of the manager signing the contract.
definitions of the parties, that is, the name of the company;
organizations;
location;
The contract begins with:
Contract text should start with preamble, which indicates full legal name of the parties entering into the contract, with a mandatory indication of which party is: the seller - buyer (exporter- importer, licensor- licensee, customer- executor, lessee- lessor, guarantor- agent, etc.).
This section usually defines type of transaction (purchase and sale, rent, barter, transfer of know-how, etc.). Indicated:
Name of product;
characteristic;
range.
If a number of different goods are supplied, they are listed in specifications, which is an integral part of the contract, about which a corresponding clause is made.
Delivery time- This the moment when the seller is obliged to transfer the goods to the buyer . In the contract, it is usually established by defining the calendar day of delivery, defining the period during which the goods must be delivered (within, no later than, quarterly, etc.).
Delivery date called date of delivery of the goods to the buyer. It can be considered:
date of the transport document of the organization that accepted the goods for transportation;
date of receipt from the freight forwarding company;
date of the warehouse certificate (if the buyer was late in providing the tonnage and the seller exercised the right to deliver the goods to the warehouse);
date of signing the acceptance certificate.
According to international trade rules, the term "immediately" means delivery of goods on any day within no more than two weeks.
In connection with the introduction of licensing and quotas for a number of goods, the following reservation is valid: “... the goods are delivered as soon as they are ready for shipment and after receiving an export license from the relevant authorities.”
The date of delivery is considered to be the date of the bill of lading. Early and partial deliveries, transshipment in transit and loading on deck are permitted. In the case of a letter of credit form of payment, the above condition must be included in the text of the letter of credit.
Contracts usually state price per unit quantity of goods and indicates total contract amount.
Contract prices expressed in specific currencies (price currency). However, another currency (payment currency) can be selected for payment under the contract. It should be borne in mind that all payments by Belarusian organizations for foreign trade transactions are carried out in foreign currencies.
International settlements are usually carried out in convertible and hard currencies.
Basic delivery conditions- This a set of trade customs during purchase and sale that determine the obligations of counterparties for the delivery of goods and establish the moment of transfer of ownership of the goods from the seller to the buyer, as well as the moment of transfer of the risk of accidental damage or loss of the goods, unless otherwise specified in the contract. In other words, the basic conditions determine what costs the parties bear in transporting goods from the exporter to the importer. Basic conditions for the supply of goods are carried out in accordance with "Incoterms-2000".
There are various ways to determine quality By:
description;
preliminary inspection;
yield of the finished product;
fair average quality;
way "telkel"(verbatim "just the way it is").
standard;
technical specifications;
specifications specified in the contract;
Every contract must contain sellers' warranties regarding the physical properties, technical characteristics of the goods and their quality . Also defined responsibility of sellers for compliance with guaranteed indicators.
Buyer to whom goods of inadequate quality were sold, if their defects were not specified in the contract, maybe by choice present the following requirements:
replacement of goods with the same or similar goods of appropriate quality;
reduce the price to the buyer in proportion to the quality of the product;
the seller will eliminate the defects free of charge;
eliminate the defects on your own at your own expense, and then demand reimbursement of these costs from the seller;
terminate the contract with compensation for losses.
When determining payment terms, they are guided by the publication International Chamber of Commerce:
"Uniform Rules for Collection";
"Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits".
The most profitable form of payment for a Belarusian exporter is irrevocable documentary letter of credit, representing a firm payment obligation of the bank that opened it (the issuing bank) in favor of the exporter, separate from the foreign trade contract on which it is based.
Another form of payment that is beneficial for the Belarusian importer is collection with payment after receipt of documents by the importer's bank.
Type of packaging determined by basic delivery conditions. Yes, when FOB, CIF and other conditions providing for the transportation of goods by sea, The seller is obliged to provide sea packaging of the cargo ; under other basic conditions - land . Special packaging requirements are set out in contracts.
Cargo marking carried out in accordance with generally accepted international standards and special requirements of customers.
It should be borne in mind that due to established international trade practices the seller must ship the goods in packaging used for export of goods in his country , unless the contract specifically stipulates special instructions regarding packaging.
Applying a warning mark for payment is recognized as the seller’s obligation, regardless of the presence of instructions about this in the contract.
Change-acceptance The contract must necessarily stipulate a number of conditions for delivery -acceptance:
type of delivery - acceptance. It may be preliminary or final;
place of delivery - acceptance. Usually specified in the contract (enterprise, warehouse, port, station);
deadline for delivery and acceptance. Acceptance deadlines for quality and quantity usually do not coincide. The buyer must check the quantity immediately upon receipt of the goods, the quality is checked over a longer period;
quantity check. The buyer is not obliged to accept the goods in more or less quantities compared to the terms of the contract. He can pay for the quantity of goods stipulated by the contract, refusing to pay for the excess. Quantity verification to determine the payment amount is made on the shipped or unloaded weight;
quality acceptance. It is carried out either on the basis of a document confirming the compliance of the delivered goods with the terms of the contract, or through analysis, comparison with samples, inspection, etc. Usually, the contract stipulates the limits of deviations in the quality of the product from the contract within which the buyer is still obliged to accept it;
delivery and acceptance method. Typically, either a sampling method or a method of checking the entire quantity of goods is used.
During the execution of sales contracts, insurance of goods against transport risks. Typically, cargo is insured in favor of buyers or recipients of goods for 110% of its value. The contract specifies the types of insurance or lists the risks against which the goods must be insured.
Claims, presented by the buyer to the seller in connection with the non-compliance of the quality or quantity of the goods with the terms of the contract, can be presented only on those issues that were not the subject of acceptance of the goods, or if the documents presented by the seller do not correspond to the actual data. It should be kept in mind that filing a complaint cannot serve as a basis for the buyer to refuse the delivery , and from the delivery of subsequent batches of goods. The seller has the right to check the validity of the complaint by examining the goods, consider it and communicate his decision to fixed time. In the absence of his response on the merits, the claim is considered recognized by the seller and the buyer has the right to apply to arbitration (arbitration costs at the expense of the seller).
All foreign trade contracts contain statement of circumstances force majeure , or force majeure. It allows the deadline for fulfilling obligations to be postponed or generally releases the parties from them in the event of the impact of circumstances beyond the will of the parties. Typically, the seller tries to include as many specific force majeure circumstances in the contract as possible. The contract also establishes a period after which the parties have the right to refuse to fulfill their obligations.
In most cases, contracts provide financial liability of the parties for non-fulfillment or improper fulfillment of obligations. Such financial liability may be provided as in the shape of payment of a fine , so compensation for losses . The buyer is usually fined for violating payment obligations.
Contracts may provide compensation for material damage caused by violation of contractual obligations. Losses mean:
property damage;
lost profits.
In some contracts, the parties stipulate deadline for late delivery, after which the buyer has the right to refuse to fulfill the contract, collecting either a fine or damages from the supplier.
Typically, the parties seek to resolve their differences by negotiations. However, contracts always provide that if the parties are unable to resolve differences through negotiations, then disagreements are referred to arbitration, the decisions of which are final and not subject to appeal.
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- Selection of promising markets according to the customs code of the Commodity Nomenclature of Foreign Economic Activity.
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What is foreign economic activity?
Foreign economic activities of an enterprise () are internal and external business processes that realize the development opportunities of an enterprise by introducing products (goods, services) to foreign markets.
The economy is becoming global and information-based, and in order to be successful in the current conditions, a business owner needs
- Foreign trade strategy for the global development of your enterprise.
- Infrastructure that will allow you to quickly identify markets, find partners, build logistics, and support the transaction.
- Create trade finance instruments.
Essence, types and development factors foreign trade activities
- foreign trade - the exchange of goods in material form and services related to the implementation of trade turnover;
- technical and economic cooperation - assistance in the field of industrial and civil construction and the provision of engineering and technical services;
- scientific and technical cooperation - exchange of achievements of science and technology and joint implementation of scientific and technical work;
- export of capital abroad for the purpose of obtaining business profits, as well as participation in operations on foreign stock and foreign exchange markets.
Directions for the development of foreign trade activities
The main directions of foreign economic activity in today's services market can be considered foreign trade activities (export, import), production cooperation (subcontracting, technology transfer), as well as investment cooperation (direct and technological investments) and various financial transactions (trade finance).
Foreign trade activity is determined by the global international division of labor, when some countries, due to their raw materials and industrial specifics, produce much cheaper and higher quality goods than others. The demand for these goods is pushing enterprises to further optimize and expand their production.
Production cooperation is one of the most important conditions for the global international division of labor and consists in the division production functions between enterprises of different countries and regions. This type of cooperation, when production functions are divided between enterprises taking into account their industrial and technological capabilities, invariably leads to optimization of production as a whole and reduction in the cost of manufactured goods.
24.01.2012
Foreign economic activity. General issues.
Foreign economic activity
Foreign economic activity (FEA) - one of the areas of economic activity of the state, enterprises, firms, closely related to foreign trade, export and import of goods, foreign loans and investments, and the implementation of joint projects with other countries.
Subjects of foreign economic activity are government bodies regulating it, as well as Russian and foreign individuals and legal entities who have the right to carry out entrepreneurial, including foreign economic, activities.
Subjects of foreign economic activity are also enterprises engaged in intermediary activities. Moreover, the same enterprise can enter foreign markets both independently and through intermediaries. Such intermediaries can directly connect clients with each other by searching for the most profitable partners in foreign trade operations, enter into foreign trade contracts in accordance with the commission agreement, act on their own behalf and at their own expense, engaging in export-import operations and other foreign trade activities.
Types of foreign economic activity
The following types of foreign economic activity are distinguished:
- foreign trade activities;
- international division of labor;
- production cooperation;
- international investment cooperation;
- currency and financial and credit operations;
1. Trade in finished products. There are export, import, re-export and counter transactions.
Export - this is the export of goods from the customs territory of the country abroad without the obligation to re-import them and the possible provision by foreign persons of services and rights to the results of intellectual property.
Import - purchasing goods from a foreign seller, importing them into the customs territory of the buyer’s country.
Re-export - purchasing a product from a foreign seller, importing it into the territory of the buyer’s country, reselling this product in its original form abroad to a foreign buyer.
2. Sale of products in disassembled form. Its imports are usually subject to reduced customs duties.
3. Countertrade, barter transactions. Countertrade transactions are transactions in which one party supplies goods, services, or technologies to a second party, and in response, the first party purchases an agreed volume of goods, services, or technologies from the second party. An example of counter transactions is barter cooperation based on the exchange of goods, formalized in a single contract.
4. Trade in licenses. We are talking about granting, under certain conditions, the rights to the subject to use inventions, know-how, etc. for a certain period for an appropriate remuneration. If technical innovations are not protected by a patent, then we are talking about a non-patent license.
5. Provision of engineering services. Engineering - engineering consulting services or related work that is of a research, design, or calculation and analytical nature. Engineering creates objects and thinks through their operation, based on scientific knowledge.
6. Rental of machinery and equipment. Rent - this is the property lease of buildings, structures, machinery and equipment, land for any period with mandatory rent.
There are 3 types of rentals:
- Long-term (license). More than 1 year;
- Mid-term (hiring). From several months to 1 year;
- Short-term (rating). From several days to 1 month.
7. Leasing. Leasing can be operational or financial. Operating leasing - This is a form of lease that is provided for a short period and involves some depreciation of equipment. After the lease expires, either a new contract is concluded or the equipment is returned to the lessor.
financial leasing - long-term lease of machinery and equipment (from 5 to 20 years), which involves either full depreciation or a significant part of it. After the end of the lease period, the equipment is transferred to the lessee.
8. Clearing is a system of non-cash payments for goods, services, securities, based on the mutual offset of counterclaims and obligations.
There are 2 types of trades:
- open (everyone can participate);
- closed (certain suppliers and contractors participate).
10. International exchanges.
They come in 2 types:
- public, where transactions can be made by exchange members and willing Entrepreneurs;
- private, where transactions can only be made by exchange members.
Private international exchanges are organized in the form joint stock companies and closely held corporations.
There are 2 types of transactions carried out on such exchanges:
1). For real goods (called “spot”). If such a transaction is concluded with the delivery of goods for a long time, then such a transaction is called a forward.
2). Urgent or futures. A futures transaction involves a sum of money for a commodity or stock after a certain period of time after the transaction is concluded at a price established in the contract. The main purpose of such a transaction is:
Obtaining the difference in prices that arose by the liquidation period.
11. There are two types of auctions: public (the buyer is known), silent (unknown).
International division of labor - specialization of countries in production certain types goods for the production of which the country has cheaper resources and preferable conditions in comparison with other countries. With such specialization, the needs of countries are satisfied not only by their own production, but also through international trade.
The international division of labor is based on differences between countries in natural and climatic conditions, geographical location, raw materials and energy sources.
Types of international division of labor:
- General international division of labor - sectoral specialization of countries;
- Private MRI - subject specialization (on types of products);
- Single MRI - technological specialization (on individual parts, assemblies and components).
The specific specialization of a country in certain goods and services is determined by a combination of national and international factors in the global division of labor.
Factors of the international division of labor:
- Scientific and technical progress;
- Ecological problems;
- Demand on the world market;
- The country's position in the world economy;
- Structure of national production;
- Level of scientific and technological development;
- Features of historical development.
International cooperation includes the following areas of cooperation:
1). Production and technological cooperation, which includes:
- transfer of licenses and ownership rights;
- development and approval of design documentation, technological processes, technical level and quality of products, construction and installation works, modernization of cooperating enterprises;
- improvement of production management, standardization, unification, certification, distribution of production programs.
2). Trade and economic processes associated with the sale of cooperative products.
3). After-sales service of equipment.
4). Coordination of the actions of partners within the framework of industrial cooperation is achieved by:
- mutual planning of export and import-substituting products;
- forecasting and joint conduct of scientific developments, providing them with the necessary equipment, devices and materials;
- organizing the personnel training process.
5). International cooperation is developing in various forms.
- cooperation implemented through an agreement and not accompanied by the creation of any organizational structures;
- cooperation implemented through international business associations.
Suppliers can manufacture cooperative products from their own materials or from customer materials, but suppliers are responsible both for the quality of the materials used and for the timing of the contract.
Industrial cooperation is typical for homogeneous spheres of production and circulation, for scientific, technical, investment and service areas, for example, for the manufacturing industry.
International investment cooperation - one of the forms of interaction with foreign partners. The goal is to expand the base for the development and production of export products, systematically update them based on competitiveness criteria and facilitate the processes of their sale on the foreign market. Such problems can be solved, for example, by organizing joint production.
Joint entrepreneurship is possible primarily on the basis of the exchange of technologies, services with the subsequent distribution of programs for production and sales, as well as in the form of the formation and operation of concessions, consortia, joint-stock companies, international non-governmental organizations, etc. There are three types of investments:
- real (long-term investments in material production sectors);
- financial (international lending and financial activities, including transactions with securities);
- intellectual (training of specialists in courses, transfer of experience, licenses and know-how, joint scientific developments, etc.).
Of all forms of foreign economic activity, the most complex and responsible form is direct investment. When investing capital directly, the investor is exposed to great risk. Foreign funds can be attracted in various forms. These types include:
- trade loans received from international financial organizations (IMF, WB, EBRD), loans from foreign governments guaranteed by the Government of the Russian Federation;
- portfolio investments, i.e. investments in securities;
- direct investment through concessions and production sharing agreements;
- registration in Russia of enterprises wholly owned by foreign capital;
- the creation of free economic zones (FEZ), aimed at actively attracting foreign investors to certain regions of the country.
Direct investments are divided into two groups:
- transcontinental capital investments due to possible better conditions market capacity occurs when it is possible to supply goods from a new production complex to a new market;
- transnational investments- direct investments made with the aim of minimizing the costs of the parent company. The goods of these enterprises are sold to third world countries.
Currency and financial and credit operations - are one of the main points in the foreign economic activity of any enterprise or company. It is these operations that accompany transactions that are associated with ensuring payment for delivered products through specific forms of payment. Foreign exchange transactions are carried out to avoid exchange rate losses.
A foreign trade participant, like any business entity on the Russian market, can open a foreign currency account in any foreign currency or in several currencies at once, the so-called multi-currency account and conversion account. Opening a foreign exchange account in several types of currencies allows you to avoid currency conversion from one to another and additional financial costs that accompany the process of foreign exchange transactions. Exchange differences associated with currency translation (in case of conversion) are also credited to the enterprise's foreign exchange account.
At the moment of opening a foreign currency account by a foreign trade participant, two types of accounts are opened for him at once: transit and current, which are maintained in parallel. Foreign exchange earnings received from the export of goods (works, services) are first credited to the transit account, and then, after sales on the domestic foreign exchange market, the balance is transferred to the current foreign exchange account of the foreign trade participant. Currency received from transactions on the domestic foreign exchange market is credited directly to the current foreign exchange account.
The sources of foreign exchange earnings in the domestic foreign exchange market of Russia are foreign exchange earnings received from the sale of goods (works, services) by bank transfer or for cash, as well as by checks; currency purchased at the foreign exchange exchange and at the bank; foreign currency donations, etc.
Current currency accounts of foreign trade participants in authorized banks may without restrictions be credited with receipts in cash currency in the form of the unused balance of cash currency previously received by them from the relevant authorized bank for payment in cash currency of expenses associated with the departure and stay abroad of seconded workers, and other components within the limits permitted by the Central Bank of Russia.
Lending for foreign economic activity in Russia is carried out in the following forms:
- providing loans for export-import operations;
- purchasing equipment on credit;
- issuing debt on international capital markets;
- joint venture;
- co-financing;
- leasing;
- project financing.
Depending on the source of provision, loans are distinguished:
- private;
- government (state);
- mixed (private-public);
- loans from international institutions.
By type, loans are divided into:
- commodity;
- currency.
Return times:
- short-term (up to 1 year);
- medium-term (up to 5 years);
- long-term (more than 5 years).
Co-financing - a method of obtaining a loan in which the bank takes part with its resources together with third parties in a specific project or gives joint guarantees for its implementation. Co-financing is used by government agencies and international financial institutions (World Bank, EBRD). In banking practice, parallel and joint financing is used. Parallel co-financing assumes that partner organizations allocate resources to the borrower separately. In a joint form, partners form a common fund of funds, from which credit is provided for the purchase of goods and services.
Project financing - project lending, which involves the allocation of credit resources at a certain percentage with the condition of organizing a comprehensive plan for the creation and subsequent operation of a particular enterprise. At the same time, repayment of loans that are necessary for the implementation of the project is carried out at the expense of funds received from the sale of the enterprise’s products on the domestic or foreign markets.Directions of foreign economic activity
Two areas of foreign economic activity of an enterprise can be distinguished: joint ventures and the conclusion of foreign trade contracts with foreign counterparties.
Legal issues of joint venture are determined by the rules of trade and civil legislation of the state where the joint venture is created.
The conclusion and implementation of an agreement on the foreign market is subject to legal regulation in the following positions: international agreements on foreign trade activities and civil legislation. The rights and obligations of the parties to the implementation of a foreign economic transaction are determined by those legislative acts that are in force at the place of its conclusion.
Foreign trade contract - this is an agreement on the purchase and sale, supply, or performance of any work or services, concluded by two or more parties (counterparties). The contract is the main, basic document defining the measure financial liability parties for the fulfillment of obligations, therefore, the final result of the transaction depends on the correctness of its preparation. The contract must include the following sections:
- general provisions;
- subject of contract;
It is important to identify the subject of the contract. This means that the name of the product and its quantity must be stated as accurately as possible. For goods in the contract, it is also recommended to indicate product codes in accordance with the Commodity Nomenclature of Foreign Economic Activity. To implement measures of customs tariff and non-tariff regulation of foreign trade and other types of foreign economic activity, maintaining customs statistics in Russian Federation The Commodity Nomenclature for Foreign Economic Activity, approved by the Commission of the Customs Union, is applied.
- price and contract value;
In the case of a “mixed” foreign trade purchase and sale agreement, when the transaction being carried out covers operations, including goods, services, results of intellectual activity, it is necessary to separately clearly highlight the cost of all components of the transaction - goods, services, results of intellectual activity.
- basic delivery terms (FOB, CIF, FCA, etc.) according to Incoterms 2010;
- delivery time of goods;
When signing the contract, you must pay attention to the fact that, in accordance with Art. The Civil Code of the Russian Federation, if the parties to the contract provide for the delivery of goods during the term of the contract in separate batches, in the absence of delivery dates for individual batches (delivery periods), goods must be supplied in equal batches monthly, unless otherwise follows from the law, other legal acts, the essence of obligations or business customs.
- conditions of payment;
This section indicates payment terms, payment currency, forms of international payments (bank transfer, letter of credit, collection; mixed forms of payment).
A protective measure against exchange rate losses can be to fix the cost of the goods in a freely convertible currency, and the payment currency in the currency of the payer’s country at the conversion rate agreed upon by the parties (in practice, the rate set by the payer’s central bank is mainly used for conversion). Russian legislation also provides for the possibility of determining the value of goods in foreign currency (conventional monetary units) when fulfilling a monetary obligation in Russian rubles. In accordance with Art. Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the equivalent of the amount payable in Russian rubles is determined at the official exchange rate of foreign currency (conventional monetary units) on the day of payment, unless a different rate or the date of its determination is established by law or by agreement of the parties. In order to prevent violation of the requirements of the currency legislation of the Russian Federation, payment terms for foreign trade export operations should be determined from (before) the date of execution of documents confirming the fact of execution of work, provision of services, transfer of information and results of intellectual activity (including exclusive rights to them), as well as from the date of export of goods from the customs territory of the Russian Federation.
- packaging and labeling of cargo;
- procedure for filing claims;
This section specifies the procedure for submitting claims, as well as sanctions for improper fulfillment of obligations under the contract (violation of delivery dates, payment terms, improper quantity, quality).
- sanctions and fines;
- force majeure (force majeure);
This is the only case when the parties are released from liability for failure to fulfill the contract. This section specifies a list of circumstances that the parties agree to consider force majeure. If the list is not specified, then the general standard principle for determining force majeure circumstances applies.
- dispute resolution;
This section specifies the place of arbitration and the law applied by the parties in the judicial resolution of disputes. Lawyers say that in arbitration disputes it is more difficult to prove losses. It is better to replace them with a penalty.
It is extremely important to explicitly state the applicable law in a foreign economic contract (especially an import contract). Why? If the import agreement does not establish the applicable law, then the general rules, established by Art. Civil Code of the Russian Federation. This article states that unless otherwise provided by the contract, when resolving conflicts, the law of the party with which the contract is most closely related is applied by default.
For example, if this is a purchase and sale agreement, then it is the seller; under a contract agreement, it is a contractor; under an agency agreement, it is an agent. But it is better to indicate specifically which country’s law will be applied in the event of controversial situations in order to avoid uncertainty in cases where a non-resident company has an extensive network of divisions or management companies in different countries.
- details of organizations.
The contract must indicate the full (as well as abbreviated) official name of the companies entering into the contract, with a mandatory indication of the legal organizational form and their addresses (the full address must be indicated with the obligatory indication of the country, city, it is also recommended to indicate the mailbox number). The agreement also specifies the details of the banks servicing the company, through the accounts in which currency settlements for the transaction will be carried out.
To resolve problems related to transportation, the International Chamber of Commerce published for the first time in 1936 a set of international rules for the precise definition of trade terms. These rules are known as "Incoterms 1936". Amendments and additions were later made in 1953, 1967, 1976, 1980, 1990, 2000. On January 1, 2011, the new Incoterms 2010 came into force.
International trade terms are the standard terms of an international sales contract.
The Russian Federation is a party to the 1980 UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods.
Knowledge and application of the Convention allows the use of a unified legal regime to control sales contracts in the foreign economic activities of an enterprise. This is important because various foreign partners bring with them national characteristics in resolving the same issues, in a number of cases it is problematic to determine the state whose law governs relations under a specific agreement. Therefore, if any positions in contracts are not settled, the convention is applied, regardless of whether there is a reference to it or not. The criterion for applying the Convention in the performance of international contracts is the finding commercial enterprises- parties to the agreement in different states, and these states must be parties to the Convention.
The object of the contract can only be movable property (with the exception of property acquired for personal, family or household use). The Convention does not apply to auction sales, sales of securities, shares, security papers, negotiable instruments and money, in the supply of watercraft, air transport, hovercraft and electricity, and also excludes sales by execution or otherwise by force of law . The Convention does not apply to a fairly common foreign trade operation - processing of customer-supplied raw materials (Article 3 of the Convention).
The form of foreign economic transactions carried out by Russian legal entities, regardless of the place of their execution, is determined by Russian legislation and must be made in writing. Any other form of concluding a transaction is unacceptable. Paragraph of Art. 162 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation establishes that failure to comply with the simple written form of a foreign economic transaction entails its invalidity.
According to the Convention, a declaration of termination of a contract is only valid if it is made to the other party by notice. In the absence of such notice, the contract continues to be valid. For example, a foreign partner (non-resident of the Russian Federation) did not make advance payment in favor of the Russian legal entity on time. The resident, according to the terms of the contract, considers this violation sufficient to consider the contract terminated, but the non-resident makes payment after the expiration of the period specified in the offer and waits for the delivery of the goods by the resident. In case of non-delivery of goods by a resident, a legal claim of a non-resident against a resident may be satisfied (however, a counter-claim of a resident against a non-resident is also possible).
The Convention does not answer the question regarding the legality of the execution of a contract after its expiration. Arbitration practice shows that if the parties fulfill an agreement after its expiration, the agreement is considered actually valid.
The Convention does not contain rules regulating the moment of transfer of ownership of goods. If there is no reference in the agreement to the moment of transfer of ownership, then this moment governed by national law.
Also, the Convention does not regulate the violation of contractual terms by a party to a contract.
When drawing up a foreign economic agreement, it is recommended to strictly adhere to the standards and formulations established in the practice of foreign economic activity, since this area of activity does not tolerate free and easy presentation, which can lead to erroneous interpretation of the clauses of the agreement and, as a result, judicial settlement of disagreements that have arisen.
Methods for implementing export-import operations
Currently, an enterprise can carry out export-import operations independently through the implementation of direct contracts with foreign partners or through intermediaries - other enterprises providing their services in foreign trade. Choice legal form Foreign economic activity depends on the economic capabilities and needs of the enterprise.
When realizing its goals in foreign economic activity through other enterprises, an exporting (importing) enterprise uses agency agreements, commission agreements, and supply agreements. When concluding a commission agreement, when concluding contracts with foreign counterparties, a commission agent acts on behalf of the manufacturer (committee) of the exported (imported) product. In addition to signing the agreement, the commission agent undertakes to implement this agreement under certain conditions, in particular, as a rule, at the expense of the principal. As a result, the commission agent receives a commission in the amount of an agreed percentage of the total cost of the contract by mutual agreement of the parties.
If we are talking about agency contracts, then the exporting (importing) enterprise instructs another enterprise to conclude contracts on its own behalf for a certain remuneration.
The variety of types and forms of foreign economic activity of enterprises should help improve the efficiency of external relations of the state as a whole. This will allow solving such problems as increasing foreign exchange resources and trade volumes, improving the structure of exports and imports, paying off current debts, expanding areas of cooperation, attracting capital and technology to the country.
Responsibility for the results of foreign economic activity lies with the enterprise itself, not only in terms of export supplies, but also import purchases for the development of export and import-substituting production, and technical reconstruction.
State regulation of foreign economic activity is a method of state regulation of foreign trade in goods, carried out through the application of import and export customs duties.
Non-tariff regulation - a method of state regulation of foreign trade in goods, carried out by introducing quantitative restrictions, distribution of quotas, licensing in the field of foreign trade in goods, monitoring exports and (or) imports individual species goods, exclusive right to export and (or) import certain types of goods, special protective measures, anti-dumping measures and countervailing measures.
3. Incoterms 2010 - a set of International rules, interpretation of trade terms. The document was once developed by the International Chamber of Commerce and Industry and was widely used in practice.
Incoterms terms can be divided into 4 groups:
- Group E - Departure
- Group F - Main Carriage Unpaid
- Group C - Main Carriage Paid
- Group D - Delivery (Arrival)
4. Instruction of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation dated June 15, 2004 N 117-I “On the procedure for residents and non-residents to submit documents and information to authorized banks when carrying out currency transactions, the procedure for authorized banks to record currency transactions and prepare transaction passports.”
In 2011, the most significant change was the release of Bank of Russia Directive No. 2557-U dated December 29, 2010 “On Amendments to Bank of Russia Instruction No. 117-I dated June 15, 2004,” according to which the authorized bank opens a transaction passport for foreign trade contract only if the contract amount exceeds the equivalent of $50,000, amendments were made to increase the period for submitting a certificate of currency transactions to the authorized bank (up to 15 working days).
5. Regulations on the procedure for residents to submit supporting documents and information to authorized banks related to conducting currency transactions with non-residents in foreign trade transactions, and for authorized banks to exercise control over currency transactions, approved by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation on June 1, 2004 N 258-P.
6. List of documents confirming the performance of work, provision of services and rights to the results of intellectual activity when performing foreign trade transactions, approved by the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations of Russia 07/01/1997 N 10-83/2508, State Customs Committee of Russia 07/09/1997 N 01-23/13044, VEC of Russia 07/03/1997 N 07-26/3628.
8. Also in 2011, Bank of Russia Regulation No. 364-P dated December 29, 2010 was adopted, which obligated authorized banks to transmit information on transaction passports electronically to customs authorities.
9. The legislative basis for investment cooperation in the Russian Federation is the Federal Law of July 9, 1999 No. 160-FZ “On Foreign Investments in the Russian Federation”, which defines the basic guarantees of the rights of foreign investors to investments and the income and profits received from them, the conditions for the business activities of foreign investors in the Russian Federation.
11. Order of the Federal Customs Service of the Russian Federation dated December 16, 2011 N 2533 “On approval of the Procedure for accounting for bank guarantees, sureties and pledges of property accepted as security for the payment of customs duties and taxes.” Effective from 01/01/2012.
12. Order of the Federal Customs Service of the Russian Federation dated November 8, 2011 N 2266 “On approval of the Instructions on the actions of customs officials when collecting customs duties from unspent balances advance payments, cash collateral, overpaid (collected) customs duties."
The instruction was approved in order to improve the procedure for collecting customs duties payable.
The actions of customs officials are determined:
- when collecting customs duties, taxes and penalties;
- upon receipt of a request for an offset against debt repayment from the customs authority carrying out the collection.
The forms of necessary documents are given.
13. Order of the Federal Customs Service of the Russian Federation dated December 9, 2011 N 2490 “On approval of the Instructions on the procedure for preparing and executing international requests not related to cases of administrative offenses and not related to operational inspections.”
The instruction was approved in order to streamline the exchange of information on international requests in the field of customs affairs.
The instructions define the procedure for preparing, sending and executing international requests on issues within the competence of the customs authorities of the Russian Federation.
Given:
- list of international treaties of the Russian Federation on cooperation and mutual assistance in customs affairs(as of December 1, 2011);
- sample application for the preparation of an international request to some customs authorities.
14. “Customs Code of the Customs Union” (as amended by the Protocol dated April 16, 2010).
15. Letters from Rosselkhoznadzor, etc.
Tags: foreign trade activities, export, import, goods, economics, re-export, customs, incoterms
Authors):
The development of any modern economy is difficult to imagine without intensifying its ties with other countries. Since 1991, Russia has abandoned the state monopoly on which means that all companies now know what foreign economic activity is. Today, every enterprise has the right to enter the world market of goods and services, and the state no longer acts as an intermediary between it and foreign partners.
Let's figure out what foreign economic activity is. any company or enterprise that represents a separate area of its work, developing in direct connection with the world market. Now that you know what foreign economic activity is, let’s move on to the complex concept of foreign economic activity. are the totality of all those relations between national and foreign business entities that currently exist. In addition to clarifying the question of what foreign economic activity and wind economics are, let’s consider what international economic activity is. International economic relations are a system of economic relationships between individual states, which can manifest themselves in a wide variety of forms. It should be noted that the last concept is precisely the broadest, so it is extremely difficult to understand it without knowledge of the previous ones.
The classification of foreign economic activity involves the identification of various types and forms of interaction between residents and non-residents of a given country. Economists identify five main forms of foreign economic activity: international production, scientific, technical and investment cooperation, as well as international credit and monetary relations. Within each of the above forms, there are many types of foreign economic activity.
For example, international scientific and technical cooperation is divided into such types as the sale of patents and licenses for joint research in the field of science and technology; franchising; providing consulting and various types of technical assistance. Monetary, financial and credit relations between residents and non-residents of a given country involve providing each other with loans and credits, making payments on the international market, buying and selling bonds, shares, derivatives and, of course, currency. International cooperation in investment terms involves investments with and without the right to participate in management, leasing and creation with foreign entities. As for trade, everything is simple here - export, import and various types of counter agreements, including barter, which was used by ancient tribes.
Foreign economic activity participants are a set of legal entities and individuals who carry out foreign economic activities at their own discretion in accordance with the legislation of the country. It is they who exchange the products of their intellectual activity, manufactured goods, and also provide services to each other.
To understand what VED is, let’s define that foreign trade activities This is foreign economic activity - a rather complex and interesting area of activity for organizations, requiring a huge amount of knowledge and experience from its specialists. More recently, the foreign economic activity of an enterprise was a monopoly sphere of activity of the state, but today the situation is completely different:
ved this is already:
- expanding the rights of line ministries and departments of enterprises, associations and organizations to enter the foreign economic market;
- expanding the number of participants in the foreign economic activity of the enterprise;
- formation of a stable regulatory framework for foreign economic activity.
As a rule, when briefly describing this type of activity, people usually refer to the export and import of goods. However, foreign economic activity is a whole range of transport, logistics, customs, financial and legal services. Professional work in this area is possible only with a serious attitude to the matter, and only if the organization has a whole staff of highly qualified specialists.
An understanding of what foreign economic activity is is given by considering the main directions of foreign economic activity.
The main directions of foreign economic activity in today's services market can be considered foreign trade activities, production cooperation, as well as investment cooperation and various financial transactions. Let's take a closer look at the meaning of these components.
- Foreign trade activity is determined by the global international division of labor, when some countries, due to their raw materials and industrial specifics, produce much cheaper and higher quality goods than others. The demand for these goods is pushing enterprises to further optimize and expand their production.
- Production cooperation is one of the most important conditions for the global international division of labor and consists in the division of production functions between enterprises of different countries and regions. This type of cooperation, when production functions are divided between enterprises taking into account their industrial and technological capabilities, invariably leads to optimization of production as a whole and reduction in the cost of manufactured goods.
- Investment cooperation between enterprises and countries is one of the oldest forms of foreign economic activity. At the moment, investments from foreign partners around the world make it possible to develop and strengthen the core industrial areas of many enterprises, thereby beneficially influencing international cooperation in general and making capital “work.”
- Various financial and credit (including foreign exchange) operations are those operations that are associated with payments for delivered (or sold) products, financial obligations of international partners, or operations related to various forms investment cooperation. Carrying out any form of these financial transactions requires specialists to have deep knowledge and experience both in the field of finance and in the field of international law.
Thus, foreign trade activities This is an area of an organization’s economic activity where lack of professionalism and lack of experience can cause serious difficulties on the way to achieving its goals and objectives. Therefore, when choosing partners in this area, you should contact only serious companies and experienced specialists.
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Outsourcing of foreign trade activities
Outsourcing of foreign economic activity is full support of foreign economic activity. It involves purchasing, logistics, customs clearance and other services of the Importer. Selection of foreign suppliers, conclusion and support of contracts, organization of purchase of goods, preparation of necessary permitting documents for export or import, transport logistics and cargo transportation, customs clearance and delivery of goods to the client’s warehouse, consultations and assistance in organizing the foreign trade department of the client company. It should be noted that with long-term and constant work with the customs authorities of the same organization, it is much easier and faster to go through the procedure of customs clearance of goods. Therefore, the benefit from the mutual cooperation of an exporter or importer of goods with a permanent partner in export-import operations in the form of an agent is quite obvious.
Foreign trade: nuances of customs clearance of goods
Almost all companies that happen to transport their goods and cargo across the Russian border face a number of problems such as customs clearance of goods, popularly called customs clearance or customs clearance. Customs declaration is now a necessary condition for the possibility of carrying out trade import-export operations. In order for the cargo to ultimately overcome all natural (or artificial) obstacles on the way to the warehouse, the coordinated work of a team of professionals is needed.
Difficulties in conducting foreign trade activities
Designed for those who have at least once thought about supplying their goods for export, but do not know how this can be done. After all, it is quite obvious that in conditions of fierce competition it is necessary to sell your products or goods not only in domestic but also in foreign markets. Few people know that currently another new service has appeared on the market, the meaning of which is that a certain specialized company takes on all the exporter’s problems associated with the delivery of goods abroad.
Unfair competition in foreign trade activities
It looks something like this. The price offered for delivery is quite attractive, but it does not say that this is only for transportation (without customs clearance) or only for the first delivery, and then it will be more expensive. Nowhere is it emphasized that the company is responsible only for the transportation of goods and they are responsible for customs clearance some other companies that are involved as counterparties. These companies can change all the time, so their disclaimer is very likely.
Features of modern outsourcing of foreign trade activities
Outsourcing of foreign trade activities is a comprehensive solution that includes delivery and customs clearance, from economic calculations and creation of a contract, to the release of cargo from customs. This is the transfer by a trading organization in Russia of its existing business processes for the transportation and customs clearance of imported goods, on the basis of a long-term contract with a company specializing in the relevant field.