Vehicle confiscation for throwing cigarette butts from car

Sanctions for environmental pollution may be significantly tightened in 2015.

BelTA reports it, quoting Tatsyana Yeudaseva, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment Protection.

“The analysis of regulatory acts relating to environmental protection showed that the current norms of the Code of Administrative Offences of Belarus that set administrative sanctions for violating the requirements of the environmental legislation are often insufficient,” the ministry's spokesperson said.

The ministry suggests imposing stricter sanctions for violating the environmental legislation. The ministry wants higher fines and sanctions, including the confiscation of a vehicle in specific cases.

Specialists prepared a bill that includes proposals for stricter punishment for individuals, entities and sole proprietors for violating environmental laws.

In accordance with the bill, violating part 1 of article 18.9 of the Code of Administrative Offences “Throwing litter or other items from a vehicle” is punished with a fine of from 10 to 30 penalty units (one penalty unit is 150,000 rubles). The current fine for the same offence is from 1 to 2 penalty units. If sanctions are toughened, the second violation of the article can be punished with a fined of from 30 to 100 penalty units. If litter is thrown from a car, the car will be seized.

The ministry proposes to give more power to ministry officials. A draft decree proposes to give officers of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment Protection the right to check IDs of individuals and stop vehicles and vessels for checks.