Day of Customs Workers of Turkmenistan (04/11)

On November 4, employees of the customs authorities of Turkmenistan celebrate their professional holiday. The corresponding Decree of the President of the Republic, issued in October 2017, fixed this date in the list of professional holidays of Turkmenistan without providing a day off.

Officially calling itself neutral, Turkmenistan is considered one of the most «closed» states in the world. This is not entirely true. From a tourism point of view, there are indeed difficulties in obtaining a visa. But from the point of view of trade turnover, the country cannot be called closed, since economic and cultural development does not imply complete isolation, and trade turnover between Turkmenistan and neighboring countries is intended to contribute to the development of the state’s economy and the growth of the well-being of citizens.

The functions of customs control are reduced to supervision and control in the field of customs affairs, control in the field of foreign exchange transactions, protection of rights to intellectual property, transport control when crossing the state border by transport at specially designated points. In addition, customs authorities perform the functions of quarantine, sanitary, phytosanitary and veterinary control within their competence.

Import of goods into the territory of the state and export from it of goods, intellectual property, currency, jewelry, items of national heritage and culture, etc. when crossing the state border, it goes through the customs control procedure. The growth in the volume of cargo flows, including transit ones, requires coordinated actions and a high level of control from the customs authorities of Turkmenistan.

The date of the professional holiday of customs control officials was chosen for the reason that it was on this day in 1991, literally a few days after the independence referendum, that the new state created the State Customs Service (Turkm). Türkmenistanyň Döwlet gümrük gullugy).

Its activities were built gradually with the entry into force of such fundamental documents as the Constitution of Turkmenistan, Law «On Customs Service», Customs Code and other regulatory legal acts that complement and specify the provisions of the basic laws. Specialists for customs control authorities are trained by a special training center, which is also responsible for retraining and advanced training of employees.

The opening and uninterrupted operation of the international railway transport corridor passing through the entire territory of Turkmenistan, new air ports and the seaport also became possible thanks to the organized work of customs control authorities.

Traditionally, the president of the country addresses customs officials with congratulations on November 4. In his address, he emphasizes the importance of the tasks performed by customs officials, and also expresses gratitude to them for their work for the benefit of the state.

In honor of the professional holiday, ceremonial events are held at which awards, valuable gifts are presented, and regular military ranks are awarded to employees who have distinguished themselves in the service. The state tries to take care of its wards both in the service, modernizing the material and technical base, improving the personnel training system, and in everyday life, providing them and their families with certain social and everyday benefits.

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