Problems of identifying customs evasion

This article examines the existing problems arising from the identification of criminal acts related to tax evasion as a subject of research. As research methods used: structural, comparative and system analysis. The research methodology included a theoretical analysis of legislative, regulatory, literary sources and statistical data. It has been established that the danger of crimes related to evasion of customs payments is associated with a high degree of latency, which does not allow timely detection of signs of crime and effective countermeasures. The following problems were identified as the main problems arising in the identification of criminal acts related to tax evasion: incorrect determination of the subject of criminal actions, investigating authorities’ investigators do not always competently resolve issues regarding the amount of damage when evading customs payments , the lack of a cluster of information content and an operational report on the most common ways of evading customs payments, the limited use (or non-use) of an interrogator materials on the facts of customs control and administrative investigations, a number of existing legislative norms and the lack of a unified position on the assessment of the signs of a crime by various law enforcement agencies. The analysis allows us to talk about the need for the scientific development of a set of recommendations aimed at improving the effectiveness of the fight against crimes related to tax evasion, especially taking into account the decriminalization of smuggling as part of a criminal offense. Given the dramatic changes in customs and criminal legislation, today it is necessary to rethink the theoretical provisions on which the activity on the identification, disclosure and investigation of tax evasion was previously based, as well as develop practical recommendations for improving the detection and investigation of crimes related to tax evasion.