MOSCOW, December 16 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's Federal Customs Service and Economic Development and Trade Ministry said Friday that they could ask parliament to ratify the international convention on the simplification and harmonization of customs procedures in the spring of 2006.
Head of the Customs Service's Legal Department Galina Balandina said the government was now discussing which specific obligations Russia should assume under the document, also known by its short name, the Kyoto Convention.
If the convention is ratified, Russia will have to bring its national legislation in line within three years' time, Balandina said, adding that the country's new customs code is almost fully based on the Kyoto Convention and will require only minor changes.
The convention, which entered into force in 1974, aims to make international commerce more predictable and efficient.
