From April 1, Russia will cease to require individuals to provide certificates on the status of vehicles when importing them into its territory

March 15, Minsk / Anna Kot - BELTA /. From April 1, 2011, customs authorities of Russia will cease to require customs documents from individuals that certify the release of vehicles for free circulation in the territory of Belarus, in order to confirm their status when importing into the territory of Russia. This was announced today in Minsk to journalists by the Chairman of the State Customs Committee of Belarus, Alexander Shpilevsky, BELTA correspondent reports. The State Customs Committee of Belarus has transferred to the Federal Customs Service of Russia information contained in the databases of vehicles imported into the territory of Belarus and released for free circulation in the period up to January 1, 2010, for the purpose of determining the status of vehicles deregistered in Belarus and imported into the territory of Russia. The Federal Customs Service of Russia has already analyzed this data regarding vehicles imported by individuals. At the same time, the database for vehicles imported by legal entities into the territory of Belarus for free circulation still needs additional adjustment. The Federal Customs Service of Russia will complete this work by March 31 of this year and from April 1, 2011, will begin to practically use the database, after which it will cease to require certificates from individuals confirming the status of passenger cars when importing them from Belarus into its territory. During a trilateral meeting of the heads of customs services of Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia in Minsk today, a proposal was also made to provide citizens with the opportunity to independently check the date of vehicle import through the Internet resources of the customs authorities of the Customs Union. This will reduce the number of inquiries and allow individuals to independently clarify whether it is worth purchasing a particular vehicle. The issue is planned to be worked out by April 15, 2011. -0-