Market traders' victory: Trade without certificates allowed until end of 2014

A period was put to the most sensitive problem of small businessmen.

Market traders who sell clothes were the people who suffered from the Customs Union most of all. The technical regulations of the three-country union obliges all market traders selling clothes to obtain special certificates for their goods. The long procedure should be paid by sellers. For the last six months, there were hot debates over the date when the new rules come into force. 1 January 2014 and 1 July 2014 were named as possible dates. The latter date won, Komsomolskaya Pravda v Belarusi newspaper writes.

“The legislation doesn't provide for these changes on January 1, so market sellers paying the fixed tax can continue working in January and the following months and continue paying the fixed tax and the higher coefficient and the VAT,” Mikhail Rassolka, the head of the main tax department for individuals of the Ministry of Taxes, said at a press conference. “We prepare a regulatory document, under which market traders must have documents on all goods. Under the draft document, the new rules will be introduced by July 1, 2014. Market traders will be able to sell goods by December 31, 2014, in they way they do it now.”

According to deputy prime minister Piotr Prakapovich, the technical regulations of the Customs Union were expected to take force in December. The deputy PM said on October 31 that market traders wouldn't be able to sell goods from December 1, 2013, without the documents confirming their quality and safety in accordance with the Customs Union's technical regulations on safety of light industry goods.

Checks followed by confiscation of goods started on Belarusian markets on November 1. The Minsk authorities didn't allow to hold a forum of market traders on November 25 to discuss the new trade rules.