Russia restored border with Belarus
11
10:34, — Politics
At the Belarusian-Russian border processing of temporary importation of passenger cars for citizens of Belarus ahs been resumed. Russian customs officers tax Belarusians for drawing up of documents. In this connection cars are to wait at the Belarusian-Russian border for 3-4 hours.
An entrepreneur from Vorsha Syarhei Antonenka was unpleasantly surprised when he saw a queue of passenger cars and trucks with Belarusian number plates on the way to Smolensk. They lined up in front of the “transparent” Belarusian-Russian border. While previously the procedure of temporary importation concerned exclusively truck transport, since today private cars are to draw it up as well.
“It was a complete shock. You are drawn into a car parking, and then you have to go and carry out a registration procedure. There is a long queue, common for passenger cars ad trucks. In the central route “Chyrvonaya Horka” on the Russian side only three persons are drawing up documents. There are very many camions, other roads are blocked for heavy trucks, and all of them drive through central border crossings,” the businessman told to Radio Svaboda.
“Does it concern only Belarusian citizens?”
“Yes, Belarusians. Russian citizens pass freely, as the Russian customs office is proceeding custom registration. It’s a temporary importation procedure. You should fill in a declaration, stating the number of the car, engine and body. And when you leave the country, you give that paper back. You are to leave within 15 days. Otherwise you face at least a fine. But your car could be taken to a car pound, a case would be initiated, and a car can be even confiscated. It is very strict in Russia, when a term temporarily importation is exceeded. It is stated directly that you have a right to enter the country, but without a right to sell the car, and so on.”
The time is lost. The businessman has spent more that three hours in the queue. Besides, it costs 250 Russian rubles for registration and 50 rubles for computer services, which makes more than $10.
It is worth mentioning that in the beginning of the last year Federal Customs Service of Russia had already imposed border processing of temporary importation of passenger cars for Belarusian citizens. But as a result of negotiations of the heads of customs agencies of the two countries the procedure was cancelled in two weeks, and Belarusian citizens traveled to Russia for more than a year without standing at the border for many hours.
The press-service of Smolensk customs office Vladimir Safonov has confirmed the waiting time of Belarusian cars at the Belarusian-Russian border, but he refused to explain who registration procedure for Belarusians had been returned. Other sources say that March 27, 2008 the Federal Customs Service of Russia by a special letter annulled its own letter of April 6, 2007 which imposed custom registration.
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