BELARUSIAN ECONOMY & TRADE

The State Customs Committee of Belarus plans to introduce electronic customs clearance of goods and electronic signature on experimental basis by the end of 2005.

Initially electronic customs clearance and the signature will be tested in Brest and Minsk regions to decrease the number of contacts between customs officials and commercial entities to the minimum.

The SCC also plans to use 100% electronic paperwork inside the system of customs bodies.

13/02/2005

INTERVIEW: Customs Committee to draft devt program till ’10 by May

MINSK, Feb 11 (Prime-Tass) -- The State Customs Committee (SCC) plans to draft by May 1, 2005 a large-scale program of the development of the infrastructure of border checkpoints for 2006-2010, the chairman of the customs infrastructure development department with the State Customs Committee, Nikolai Okhrimuk, said in an interview with Prime-Tass Friday.

“The program is based on the concept of the development of border checkpoints infrastructure for the period until 2015, which had been drafted by the SCC,” Okhrimuk said.

According to him, the Belarusian side is negotiating with Belarus’ neighbors the key routes to construct new or upgrade the existing checkpoints. “We must separate checkpoints servicing passenger and freight transport,” the SCC official said.

It is planned to change the classification of checkpoints, their working hours and schedules and reconsider some other issues, including the circulation of hazardous commodities and restrictions on the carrying capacity of carriers.

“We plan to have two categories of border checkpoints – those servicing international freight, cargo-and-passenger and passenger transport and passenger transport for local trips of the citizens from border areas. Besides, it is planned to develop service areas adjacent to the checkpoints,” the official said.

The Council of Ministers of the Union State of Belarus and Russia decided to extend the checkpoint development program for 2005, although it was planned to finish it in 2004, Okhrimuk said.

“In 2005 we will receive 198.7 million Russian rubles for the upgrade of Bruzghi, Berestovitsa, Novaya Rudnya and Mokrany checkpoints,” he said, adding that Russia will pay 70% of this sum, and Belarus will provide the rest.

According to him, the reconstruction of Bruzghi will increase the capacity of the checkpoint to 5,000 trucks and passenger cars a day, while the upgrade of Berestovitsa will raise its capacity to 3,800, of Novaya Rudnya to 895 and Mokrany to 825 vehicles.

In 1997-2000 Belarus spent 573.9 million Russian rubles of the Union budget funds to reconstruct the checkpoints of Warshawski Most, Kozlovichi, Berestovitsa, Bruzghi, Kamenny Log and Novaya Guta.

“The SCC jointly with the Federal Customs Service of Russia is choosing the directions with most traffic. Besides, these checkpoints are located on the trans-European corridors Berlin-Warsaw-Brest-Moscow and Bucharest-Kiev-Gomel-St.Petersburg-Helsinki,” Okhrimuk said.

Besides, Belarus started in 2003 to construct three new checkpoints, which are financed from the Belarusian state budget – Kotlovka and Benyakoni on the Lithuanian border and Domachevo on the Polish border.

In 2005 Kotlovka will require 2.3 billion Belarusian rubles, and Domachevo and Benyakoni will need 1 billion Belarusian rubles each. “We plan to complete the construction of Kotlovka in 2006, while Benyakoni and Domachevo will be finished in 2007,” Okhrimuk said.

Also, the Belarusian budget will allocate 2.5 billion rubles in 2005 for the development of an integrated telecommunication network to facilitate data processing, he added.

He noted that Belarus’ neighbors were all using funds provided by the European Union to upgrade their customs infrastructure. “The European Commission allocated in 2002 1.34 million euros for the reconstruction of Kamenny Log within the framework of TACIS. Besides, we received 1.26 million euros to reequip Kozlovichi, Warshawski Most and Kamenny Log,” Okhrimuk said.

He reminded that Polish Budimex SA is to start the construction of the customs terminal Kozlovichi-2 on the Belarusian-Polish border within TACIS framework. The project costs 16 million euros, of them 14 million euros will be used to finance the construction and 2 million euros will be spent on equipment.

“The Kozlovichi terminal is to be launched in 2007,” Okhrimuk said.

At the same time, he believes Belarus may attract EU’s funds to complete the construction of Bruzghi and Berestovitsa checkpoints. “These projects cost 10 million euros each. We have included them in TACIS indicative program, and plan to hold negotiations soon,” Okhrimuk said.

There are 32 border checkpoints in Belarus on the Polish, Lithuanian, Latvian and Ukrainian directions. Belarus needs an estimated $70-80 million to complete the reconstruction of all checkpoints.

13/02/2005

Belarus cuts customs duties on road trains imported before Jun ‘03

MINSK, Feb 11 (Prime-Tass) -- The Belarusian government has decided to transfer in the free trade mode the road trains for international transportation, which had been imported at a reduced import duty of 10% before May 26, 2003, according to ruling #129 of the Council of Ministers.

“Reduced customs duties will allow international carriers to keep their fleet. Otherwise, carriers would have to export the vehicles or pay a 50% customs duty when the temporary import term expired,” Belarus’ First Deputy Transportation Minister Nikolai Verkhovets said.

Vehicles imported after May 26, 2003 are subject to customs duty at 50% of the customs value.

Belarus’ Transport and Communication Ministry wants to increase the term of temporary import of carrier vehicles for international transportation to 34 months from the current 24 months to facilitate payments of the import duty.

According to the ministry, in 2004 Belarusian carriers have purchased 250 Belarus-made truck units for international transportation and about 700 foreign vehicles have been transferred from the mode of temporary imports to non-restricted use. End

New civil liability insurance may inflict losses on transport cos

MINSK, Feb 11 (Prime-Tass) -- In Belarus, the introduction of mandatory insurance of civil liability of transporter to passengers, which is applied to all means of transport starting January 1, 2005, will increase losses of transportation companies by 60% on the year to 17 billion Belarusian rubles, an official with the Transportation and Communication Ministry told Prime-Tass Friday.

“The launch of mandatory insurance will hike transportation cost and increase losses of companies that deal with passenger transportation,” the official said, adding that transportations tariffs are controlled by the government and do not cover companies’ expenses.

According to the ministry, losses of municipal transportation are to rise by 3.5 billion Belarusian rubles from 6.4 billion rubles in 2004. Losses of suburban transportation are expected to hike by 0.8 billion Belarusian rubles from 4 billion rubles in 2004.

To avoid losses of transportation companies, the ministry wants to increase transportation tariffs, cut insurance tariffs and introduce reduction factors if a company did not have any insured accidents in previous year.

As Prime-Tass reported earlier, in Belarus mandatory insurance of civil liability of transporter to passengers applies to all means of transport starting January 1, 2005, in line with ordinance #610 of Belarus’ President Alexander Lukashenko.

Currently mandatory civil liability insurance of transporters applies to automobile, air, water and rail transport except for foreign passenger transportation in Belarus, suburban transport, municipal transport, subway and inland water transport for tourists.

Insurance tariffs are set by the Belarusian government. They depend on the type and number of carrier vehicles used by the transporter, and passenger turnover. Insurance payments for health damage amount to 3,000 euros and for loss or damage or luggage 1,000 euros. End (2,169 Belarusian rubles – U.S. $1)

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ELECTRONIC CUSTOMS CLEARANCE, ELECTRONIC SIGNATURE TO BE INTRODUCED BY 2006

INTERVIEW: Customs Committee to draft devt program till ’10 by May

Belarus cuts customs duties on road trains imported before Jun ‘03

New civil liability insurance may inflict losses on transport cos