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20.04.2012

Belarus sticks to Russian requirements to EU forwarders

MINSK, 20 April (BelTA) – Belarus stays committed to the Russian requirements regarding EU forwarders heading for the Russian Federation, First Deputy Head of the Transport Inspectorate of the Transport Ministry Leonid Lemesh said on 19 April as he commented on the information appeared in the Internet concerning tougher controlling procedures for the forwarders coming from Lithuania and other EU countries at the Belarusian-Lithuania border.

In his words, the requirements of the Belarusian transport inspectorate in regard to the permits of EU forwarders heading for the Russian Federation were altered in the mid April. Now in defining a necessary amount of permitting documents Belarus takes into account not only the country where the cargo is shipped but also the country of origin of goods.

According to Leonid Lemesh, in early April Russia ratified the Belarusian-Russian agreement on transport control at the Union State external border. “During the recent meetings in Moscow, Russia presented some new requirements which we are expected to fulfill,” the official added. In his words, it has been done to determine the necessary type of the permit: bilateral or to/from third countries.

Taking into account the recent changes, the cargo, for instance, from Germany shipped in Poland or Lithuania will be considered as the cargo from third countries. In this case Belarus should only define the type of the permit. Leonid Lemesh explained that there are no problems if the transportation is bilateral. If it is fixed that the haulage does not correspond to the documents presented by the forwarder, the vehicle is allowed to the territory of the Russian Federation only with a written notification from the Belarusian transport inspectorate according to which the forwarder is set to regulate the issue with the Russian side. “If the issue remains unsettled, we have the right not to let the vehicle out from the Single Economic Space,” the official added.