Vet certificates for fish imports to Russia to be drawn within several minutes

As of 20 January 2011 veterinary certificates for importation of finished products of animal origin from members of Customs Union (Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan) can be issued in several minutes time, reports http://www.megafishnet.com/ with reference to the Service.

More specifically, Russia's Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor) has launched a new information system "Argus" in autonomous regime.

Autonomous regime means that the certificate for importation can be issued in several minutes time directly on the border veterinary service station. Notably, such an opportunity is given to those companies which have already delivered their products under control onto the territory of Russian Federation before.

As the representatives of the Service told, despite numerous warns many companies engaged in importation of finished products onto the territory of Russian Federation have turned to be not prepared to the new rules of importation under the Customs Union law.

In this situation, problems connected with importation of those products without licenses (which have become obligatory) now occur at border stations where some of the shipments have been halted.