Classification of goods for customs purposes is one of the important instruments for regulating foreign trade. The correctness of the definition of the product code according to the Commodity Nomenclature of Foreign Economic Activity of the Eurasian Economic Union (hereinafter referred to as the FEACN) determines not only the size of the import customs duty and other customs payments payable to the budget of our country but also the possibility of applying benefits and preferences in relation to the goods being moved. Moreover, the codes of the FEACN that are indicated in the declarations for goods imported and exported from our country are directly used in the formation and analysis of statistical data on the export and import of goods, which reflect the real trade turnover with other states [1].
Currently, when classifying goods for customs purposes, one of the most problematic issues is identification [24] and terminological issues [5-7]. There is also a rather urgent problem of the classification of multicomponent food products for customs purposes [8; 9]. The study of regulatory documentation on edible salt has shown that in national and international standards, codes and educational literature, there is classification and terminology not corresponding with the FEACN and explanations to it.
According to GOST R 58008-2017 "Edible Salt. Terms and Definitions", edible salt is a crystalline product containing at least 97.0% sodium chloride, used as an ingredient in food, which is crystals, granules, flakes, grains or pieces. This term is also described in Codex Alimentarius "Standard for Edible Salt" as "a crystalline product consisting mainly of sodium chloride. The content of NaCl must be at least 97% in dry matter, excluding additives. Salt is extracted from the sea, from underground rock salt deposits or natural brine...".
However, sometimes in the educational literature, even in 2020, it is possible to find the concept of "kitchen salt", although from September 1, 2018, the updated GOST R 51574-2018 "Edible Salt. General Technical Conditions", which replaced the standard in force since 2000 (GOST R 51574-2000 "Edible Kitchen Salt. Technical Conditions") and excluded from the name of this good the word "kitchen". The term "kitchen salt" was used for many years only because of traditions, did not reflect the characteristics of the product and misled consumers since salt obtained as a result of salt making used to be called "kitchen salt", and now there are other technologies for obtaining this product. The right term is "heat-evaporated salt". It is extracted by evaporating water from brines. The brine itself is obtained from the ground, where there are the so-called "salt layers". For such a salt, the highest concentration of sodium chloride is typical, usually from 98 to 99.8%. That is why, to avoid misleading consumers, one should dwell on the name "edible salt". Moreover, this term is accepted by all European standards.