Taxmen of Vitsebsk announced hunt for small businessmen

Every single day small businessmen from markets of the city fall a pray to tax inspection, the Economic crime department or the Committee of Standardization.

A self-employed entrepreneur from Vitsebsk, who works at Mega Shopping centre, told charter97.org about the situation of private entrepreneurs in his city.

“Every day either tax inspectors, or representatives of the standardization committee, or the Economic crime department slip past the shopping centre. They have not left the centre without a victim and without confiscations! For example, on February 20 two persons from the tax inspection and four workers of the Economic crime department visited the same shopping centre in one day,” he said.

The businessman himself is not going to close his business since March 1, however he does not exclude that this solution is not the best one, as customers do not have money, and trade is at a standstill.

“Nobody knows what to do since March 1… Many people are closed, waiting for “a miracle”. And I plan to work, though the purchasing power of population has dropped to almost a zero level,” the businessman said.

We remind that the same reports are received from other region. Thus, on March 1 markets of Brest are going to become empty.

The Forum of self-employed entrepreneurs held in Minsk previously, has not solved the major problem its participants faced: to postpone coming in force of Lukashenka’s Decree #222, which obliges to have accompanying documents for every item of goods since March 1. In a week it will be prohibited to sell goods without such documents. In case of violations businessmen are to be fined Br9 mln, their goods will be confiscated. Even now massive unscheduled inspections and confiscations are taking place.

Representatives of this sector of economy say that as a result of that thousands of sole traders will have to close business, as wholesale warehouses of Russia, where Belarusians mostly buy goods, work without certificates.