This document discusses the concept of fast corridors along the Silk Road to facilitate customs clearing procedures and economic integration. It outlines some of the historical context of the Silk Road and modern initiatives like the New Silk Road Project. Key points discussed include the European experience with fast corridors, which allow for immediate delivery of goods with clearance occurring after. This helps reduce costs, time, and bureaucracy associated with customs. Establishing fast corridors could provide opportunities to accelerate competitiveness along the land-based Silk Road and benefit countries like Kazakhstan through improved logistics services, education, and standards.

1. Empowering the New Silk Road:
the European Fast Corridors
The European Experience on Customs clearing procedures
Professor Marco Greggi, Ph.D

2. Ferrara and the Silk Road
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3. Economic Integration along the Silk Road
• Issues on the Agenda:
• Understanding the meanings of «Silk Road»:
• Historical Concept;
• Business Issues;
• Reasoning on Infrastructures to be developed:
• Physical infrastructures;
• Legal infrastructures (rule of law in business relations);
• Tax Infrastructures (Indirect taxation, Customs duties, warehouse management, …);
• Concluding remarks.
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4. Historical Concept
• A Bridge
between
cultures that
boomed in
the IX
Century but
was still very
active in the
XIII.
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5. From Marco Polo’s Saga to the current Days
• There are silk roads:
• NSR “New Silk Road Project”
• SREB “Silk Road Economic Belt”;
• Different Supports (US vs China);
• Different paths;
• Different purposes;
• Different impacts on the Central Asian Region;
• …
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6. Silk Road 2.0
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7. The European (and Italian) view on this
• Priorities on the Agenda:
• Need for a legal infrastructure;
• Cope with Customs and Customs clearance;
• Understanding the legal consequences of importation of goods:
• Application of Customs Fees (if any);
• Application of VAT (always);
• Possible use of tax warehouses to temporarily waive import fees and taxes;
• …
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8. Factors preventing the implementation of the
Road
COSTS TIME
BUREAUCRACY
LEGAL
UNCERTAINTY
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9. Introducing the Fast Corridors
• Initiative led by the Italian Customs Agency consistently with
European Regulation;
• The core concept: Goods first !
• Immediate delivery of the products imported to the place where they
are going to be used / sold / manufactured.
• Clearance occurs after the goods have been delivered;
• Conditions:
• Reciprocal trusts;
• Availability of adequate arrangements.
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10. Success Cases
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11. Advantages of the fast Corridors
• Better management of airport / port / warehouse areas;
• Dramatic decrease of the stand by time of goods at Customs premises
for inspection;
• On-time service delivery;
• Improved safety and reliability of the documentation (electronic
format) confirming the nature of the business and the transaction;
• Internet of Logistics;
• Custom compliance made available on corporate software currently
used for business management (horizontal integration).
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12. Conditions to be Met
1. Appropriate handling of the goods (stored in special purpose
containers);
2. Transportation contract consistent with international standards
covering the part of the corridor;
3. Destination point controlled as the starting point;
• Need to coordinate Customs administrations of the States
• Qualified responsibility of the transporter;
4. Development of special software to manage fast corridors.
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13. Fast Corridors on the Silk Road
• Opportunities for Kazakhstan:
• Country of logistics;
1. Services;
2. Education;
3. Know how;
4. Standards improvement;
• Accelerating competitiveness of the land Silk Road;
• Seamless transportation model;
• More friendly framework for the business.
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14. Opportunities for Education too
• Training of the Kazakh future expert in logistics:
• Transportation Contracts;
• Taxation;
• Customs clearance;
• Collaboration between Tax administration;
• Italian experience:
• Collaboration between University and Customs agency;
• Special purpose seminars on logistics;
• Opportunity for the country, opportunity for the Educational system.
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15. Thanks for your attention
marco.greggi@unife.it
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