Garaev, A.A. Guarantees of lawfulness when disposing of the withheld goods.

Abstract: The article concerns the situation when unclaimed goods appear at the temporary keeping warehouses in the process of customs control and possible legal means for their disposal. One of the options for disposal of such goods is withholding them and their later sale without judicial sanctions. These norms exist in the legislation for several years by now, however, they are not applied due to the inconsistencies in the positions of various government bodies. The author evaluates the positions of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation and the Federal Customs Service of Russia on this issue. The author also provides critical analysis of the positions of the opponents of the non-judicial disposal of the withheld property. It is stated that this position does not take into account both international and national legislation. It uses the norms of the Constitution of the Russian Federation selectively and with no reference to its other norms, thus providing the ground for the abuse of proprietary right, and giving it absolute priority. The work contains the references to the positions of opponents and supporters of sale and destruction of withheld goods. Taking into account the fact that the article mostly provides the positions of the opponents of the disposal of withheld goods, the author provides analysis of the weak points in such positions. In addition to criticism the article contains legal substantiation for the norms established by law, and the analysis of practical problems arising in their implementation. The detailed analysis of the issues concerning disposal of the withheld goods takes place for the first time. The author shows the ambiguity of sale and destruction of withheld goods without the sanction of a court. However, the author of the article does not support the position that these norms are unconstitutional and provides the grounds for this position. The article also reflects legal gaps in the procedure for the sale of withheld goods. The author also gives propositions for the possible solutions of this dispute, including possible participation of the prosecutors.

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