The State Customs Committee of Belarus denies reports that about 300 trucks with Kaliningrad registration arriving from Lithuania have been detained in Belarus. The Russian publication Klops reported that the trucks had been detained for examination.
The customs committee says it ensures the timely release of transit goods moved in compliance with the law, including goods from Kaliningrad. On average, about 80 vehicles with Kaliningrad registration cross the Belarusian-Lithuanian border each day.
Sixteen vehicles, including 11 Russian-registered ones, remain at customs in Belarus. They were stopped on suspicion of evading customs payments.
“At present, there are just 16 international transport vehicles in customs control zones in Belarus (11 of them are Russian-registered), whose movement has been suspended because there are grounds to suspect violations of the law during their importation.
This concerns one of the common methods of evading customs payments — moving vehicles under the guise of vehicles already registered in the EAEU. To do this, offenders falsify VIN numbers, registration plates and technical passports”, the customs committee explained.
Inspections and examinations of such trucks take up to 20 working days. Carriers are notified that the vehicles’ movement has been suspended so that they can replace the vehicles and continue transporting the cargo.
“In the first half of 2026 alone, Belarusian customs officials identified 60 attempts to import vehicles, including trailers, using this method, 16 of which showed signs of criminal offenses. Administrative proceedings have already been completed in connection with the illegal import of 26 vehicles, with a total value of more than 1.8 million Belarusian rubles”, the customs committee said.
The Russian publication previously reported that Belarus had detained about 300 trucks with Kaliningrad registration for examinations that could take up to three or four months. As a result, carriers are suffering losses.
