Yesterday, February 19, the day before the nationwide farmers’ protest, the PL Customs Trade Union, which brings together more than half of the Customs and Tax Service officers from border chambers, appealed to farmers. They are asking for help in activities aimed at stopping the slander of Customs and Tax Service officers, but also for pressure on the authorities in their efforts to seal the border and clear goods.
The appeal was signed by the chairman of ZZ Celnica PL, Sławomir Siwy. Protesting farmers all over Poland are surprised by this situation. They ask why the appeal is addressed to them and not to those in power.
What is the appeal of customs officers to farmers about?
Customs officers are calling for:
- for help in activities aimed at stopping the slander of SCS officers,
- for pressure on the authorities in our efforts to seal the border and clear goods, which we have been seeking for many years!
– Our officers have no legal possibility not to clear the transit procedure for transports of rapeseed, corn, sunflower, wheat, wheat flour and derivatives, i.e. goods covered by the ban. We also cannot show you the documents because the law does not allow us to do so. There are videos of MPs who, knowing that we are dealing with transit, accuse the Customs and Tax Service of letting e.g. corn or rapeseed through, write customs officers.
As they say further in the appeal, they themselves inform farmers and do not allow these goods to be traded on Polish markets.
What about inspections of imported products?
– However, we do not have the legal capacity to prevent the circulation of all other agri-food products, all of which are not covered by the ban. Any decisions on this matter can only be made by MPs and Ministers, who instead of doing so, promote themselves on social media, suggesting the guilt of, for example, SCS officers – write customs officers.
As they point out, the officers do not decide on the quality of agri-food and feed products, because this is the responsibility of the border services subordinated to the Minister of Agriculture.
– A different issue is, and here we are asking for help from the authorities in Warsaw, that the system and applicable procedures imposed on us by decision-makers from Warsaw work very badly and do not ensure tightness of the border. In our opinion, the border is unsealed and customs duties are marginalized in KAS. For many years, ineffective procedures have been imposed on us, which prevent reliable border protection. The outbreak of the war did not change them at all. We understand your outrage and support you. Border protection is the basis of our common security and we thank you for raising this issue – we read in the appeal of ZZ Celnica PL.
They write directly about the regulations
– A porous border is a threat to EU citizens and the state budget, not only in terms of clearance of agri-food goods, plant protection products or goods for feed for farm animals, but also bypassing sanctions and illegal transport of weapons, ammunition, dual-use goods and smuggling. cigarettes, drugs, spirit and other goods with high tax accumulation or important for the safety of Polish citizens – we read in the appeal.
As they emphasize, officers of the Customs and Tax Service have been raising alarms about this for years, but their voices and substantive comments are not taken into account.
– According to the measures adopted by the Ministry of Finance, we have 31 minutes (sic!) to complete the clearance from assigning the system number to completing the inspection activities. Our tasks are subordinated to metrics, not to actual needs in the field of customs control. What matters most is the number of transports cleared and limits are imposed in this respect. Everything is based on a risk analysis system that is easily circumvented by fraudsters. Transports at railway crossings in Dorohusk and Medyka are cleared by officers from branches inside the country. For example, Olsztyn clears containers at the ports in Gdańsk, because these are our procedures. SCS officers at railway crossings have no right to inspect goods unless they are ordered to do so. There are huge staff shortages and officers serve at the border in two positions. We have been raising the alarm about this for a long time and have been harassed for it. However, we do not give up and continue to fight in the public interest, even though we were even dismissed from service – we read in the appeal.
The above email contains an appeal from customs officers.
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