News & Events in Belarus

MINSK, 25 October (BelTA) – Belarusian MPs have ratified the Treaty on the Customs Code of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) at the third session of the House of Representatives, BelTA has learned.

The draft law on the ratification of the EAEU Customs Code was introduced by Yuri Senko, Chairman of Belarus’ State Customs Committee.

Dmitry Shevtsov, Deputy Chairman of the Standing Commission on International Affairs of the House of Representatives, told the media that the Treaty on the EAEU Customs Code was initiated in 2014. “This is a complex document unifying the legislation of five states. Some serious work has been done; the document is fundamental and comprises some 500 articles,” Dmitry Shevtsov underlined.

The MP said the document is to facilitate all the customs procedures in the EAEU. “All the recommendations have been implemented. This document focuses on automation in order to speed up every process. For instance, it could take a whole working day for a vehicle to cross the border before. The new Customs Code reduces this time to four hours. Moreover, now most customs declarations will be sent in the electronic format,” he remarked.

Dmitry Shevtsov also drew attention to the fact that the EAEU Customs Code envisages procedures facilitating taxation and payment of various fees. “The document is also meant to help customs authorities in the EAEU exchange information. It eliminates double taxation, which is very important, too. All the existing barriers will be removed,” he added.

The new Customs Code shall come into effect after the Eurasian Economic Commission receives notices on the ratification of the agreement from each of the five EAEU member states.

The document stipulates a transfer of the system of customs administration of the foreign economic activity in the EAEU from paper to electronic technology. The approach will save business plenty of business resources, accelerate the process of customs procedures, and neutralize the human factor in decision-making at all the stages - from the registration of the declaration to the release of goods.