Belarusian present to Russia and Kazakhstan: LCD TV-sets will go more expensive

Russia and Kazakhstan will have to increase import customs duties on LCD TV-sets.

Belarus addressed the Eurasian Economic Commission with a request to increase the duty rate. Apart from TV-sets Belarus suggested to increase the duty rates on microwaves, air conditioners and vacuum cleaners, however Russian manufacturers were flatly against it.

The Council of the Eurasian Economic Commission adopted the decision to unify the rates of the import customs duties in LCD TV-sets with recording and reproducing equipment or without those at the rate of 16% of the customs value. Earlier the rate was 10% for TV-sets with video equipment and 15% - without that.

“The manufacturing capacities of TV equipment producers in the Customs Union approximately loaded at 60% of their potential. The introduction of such a measure is aimed at motivating the growth of such manufacturing at the territory of the Customs Union and increase of the competitiveness compared to the goods of foreign origin”, - the trade minister of the Eurasian Economic Commission Andrei Sliapniou commented. – Since such goods have complex technical features, it was decided to establish equal rates of import duties on TV-sets with and without video reproducing equipment, in order to avoid the risks of faulty declaring”.

The decision comes into force in 30 days after the day of its official publication.