Фото: Reform.by
Belarusian Ambassador to Russia Yury Seliverstau said he expects Belarus and Russia to establish the smooth functioning of the Goods Arrival Confirmation System (SPOT), which came into effect in Russia on June 1.
“You know, it is still too early to say how it works because it has only just started operating. I would say that we need to be very pragmatic here. Why do we have concerns? Our trade turnover with the Russian Federation — goods and services combined — amounts to $62 billion. That is a significant figure. Any disruptions or slowdown in the process could create certain difficulties because the volume of mutual trade is very large,” he told TASS.
Under the SPOT system, Russian importers bringing goods from Eurasian Economic Union member states must notify tax authorities of upcoming deliveries and make security payments equivalent to the taxes and duties that are due. When goods cross the border, officials verify that the shipment matches the previously submitted declaration. The requirement for security payments on goods imported from Belarus has been postponed until the autumn.
According to Seliverstau, the Belarusian side understands why its Russian partners have introduced the system.
“Yes, we understand that this has been done to eliminate imports that do not comply with sanctions-related requirements as part of the broader effort to formalise and clean up the economy currently underway in the Russian Federation. Everything here must be carefully balanced to ensure there are no disruptions. Within the framework of the Union State, we have special relations and special additional systems for tracking goods that do not exist, for example, within the EAEU with other countries.
Therefore, we would like Russia’s SPOT system to be integrated with the bilateral systems we already have in place. This can be done quickly and efficiently.
I think we will establish normal operations, develop all the necessary mechanisms, and we will not have any problems. But that requires work, and it is important for both sides to act quickly so that we can avoid any issues that might, for one reason or another, reduce our trade turnover,” he said.