Commentary to decree No. 490 of 22 December 2018

Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko signed decree No. 490 “On customs regulation” on 22 December.

The document addresses matters, which the national legislation is supposed to handle in line with the Eurasian Economic Union Customs Code Treaty. The document also stipulates the principle of fairness and bona fide practice, which means that all contradictions and ambiguities in customs regulations are to be interpreted for the benefit of the declarant (payer).

Customs fees shall not be levied if the demand (decision) to collect them is made by the customs body more than five years after the fees were due for payment. A number of simplifications for customs brokers, residents of free economic zones and the China-Belarus industrial park Great Stone are stipulated.

The decree allows moving process equipment, raw materials, and components imported for implementing investment projects, which match the core business of the company, without guarantees to pay customs fees and consequently submit the declaration.

The decree also allows duty-free stores to sell goods in the Minsk National Airport to travelers upon arrival in the Republic of Belarus and to sell goods on board of Belarusian aircraft, which transport passengers between countries.

The decree scrapped restrictions on importing medical products, food, dietary supplements for citizens suffering from certain incurable diseases via international mail.

The decree raises the duty-free limit on receiving international mail packages for personal use from €22 and 10kg to a total of €200 and 31kg per month while the limits per package remain at €22 and 10kg.