Фото: ГТК
Belarus is seeking ways to formally legalize the detention of Lithuanian trucks and semi-trailers that were sent more than three months ago to special parking lots in Minsk. This was stated by the president of Lithuania’s National Association of Road Carriers Erlandas Mikėnas, LRT reports citing BNS.
According to him, the owners of the stranded vehicles have received letters from the EU-sanctioned Belarusian company Beltamozhservice, which operates the parking facilities. In these letters, carriers are asked to sign storage service contracts retroactively — dated between November 10 and 14.
“Carriers are receiving contracts from Beltamozhservice dated retroactively from November 10 to 14, stating that we ‘requested’ them to look after our vehicles. Since the equipment was driven in, in essence, forcibly and no contracts were signed at that time, and everything dragged on, they are now looking for ways to formally legalize this,” Mikėnas said. “This is how they are trying to legalize their actions.”
According to the head of Linava, previously carriers only received invoices for parking fees from the company. The new contracts also specify parking charges — in some cases amounting to twice the value of the vehicle itself.
“Carriers, of course, will not sign the contracts (…). We said from the very beginning that the longer we stand there, the more some vehicles will simply not be worth retrieving,” he stated.
The president of the association, which unites around 700 small companies, says that some transport firms are no longer able to pay taxes in Lithuania. According to Mikėnas, some companies cannot settle payments with the State Tax Inspectorate or the social insurance fund Sodra, resulting in the freezing of their accounts.
He noted that for companies with up to 90 percent of their fleet detained in Belarus, paying taxes is effectively impossible. Mikėnas has previously stated that carriers’ losses are approaching 100 million euros.
Despite the reopening of the border, Minsk continues to prevent Lithuanian freight vehicles from leaving the country and directs them to special parking facilities. A fee of 120 euros per day is charged for each truck or semi-trailer, and after four months of storage the equipment may be confiscated.
According to the president of Linava, the organization intends to appeal to the European Commission for assistance in returning the stranded vehicles and to demand compensation for losses from Minsk.
According to the latest data from Linava, based on information provided by companies, 1,071 transport units are currently stuck in Minsk — including 575 semi-trailers and 496 tractor units. However, Mikėnas continues to assert that the total number of Lithuanian vehicles stranded in Belarus stands at around 4,000, including approximately 1,250 trucks.