The Department of Customs Affairs and Law was founded in 2008 as part of the Institute of Management and Economics. The opening of the department was necessitated by the demand for customs specialists. This demand was most apparent in different spheres of public service and national economy, as well as in enterprises. Since its foundation the department was called "Customs Affairs and Law" – and this name is still kept today. Traditionally, the department trains customs specialists. This qualification is awarded to graduates of Customs Affairs educational program in accordance with the current federal state educational standard.

Over the years, hundreds of specialists have graduated from the department and have successfully established themselves in the labor market.

Since its foundation, the distinctive traits of department’s work have been insuring both broad and deep education of the department’s students as well as their involvement in different scientific and social activities.

In addition to the educational process, the department is actively engaged in research and teaching-methodological activities.

During the department’s years of formation and development, it has established a strong professional relationship with other customs-oriented departments in the universities of North-Western, Siberian and Far Eastern Federal Districts, which allows for interaction and exchange of experience between teachers and students.

The educational process at the department of Customs Affairs and Law is inherently intertwined with scientific research. Since the day of department’s foundation, members of its staff have published hundreds of scientific papers in peer-reviewed scientific publications, as well as monographies. Most of these works by department’s employees have been published in the national bibliographic scientific citation database system.

The core scientific interests of the department are focused on the issues of perfecting the state regulation in the field of customs affairs, on the current issues of customs control and customs tariff regulation, on the interaction between customs authorities and the importers/exporters, on the issues of legal coverage for combatting corruption in the systems of state and municipal government, on the ways to improve the national and adjoined legislation in the sphere of customs affairs and administrative responsibility for violation of customs rules.

Students of the department are invited to take their part in scientific conferences, competitions and Olympiads. Many of them are honored with winner’s certificates for best essays, or else got award-winning places and participatory prizes after attending All-Russian and regional scientific events.

Regular interaction between the teachers and the students not only in educational, but also in scientific sphere – allows to achieve high results in specialist education.