Sole Traders: Markets To Stand Empty For All January Long

January 1, 2016 is the turning point for Belarusian sole traders.

On this day the transition period, when they can sell the shelf stock imported to Belarus without covering documents, expires, Media Palesse writes.

Since the beginning of the new year, according to Decree №222, sole traders will be able to sell consumer goods imported from the countries of the Customs Union, only when they have covering documents. Small businessmen stated many times that they would not be able to follow the requirements of the decree, as their suppliers from Russia refuse to issue documents for goods confirming their origin, or issue fraudulent documents.

Stsiapan, a businessman, told about sentiments of vendors at market places in Pinsk:

– There are such firms in Russia that sell goods with necessary covering documents. But on different reasons it increases the cost of goods by 20%. Considering all our expenses and payments into the budget, we can earn almost no money. That is why the majority of our sole traders in the market have no legal documents. People simply buy blank forms in Russia and fill in the necessary information. That’s the way they trade goods.

It is known that tax inspectors are carrying out monitoring checks in Pinsk. So far they have been recording origin of invoices and certificates and sending inquiries to Russia.

– When answers are received, tough stuff is probably to start, fined and confiscations, – a small businessman who has agreed to tell about his unpleasant expectations, supposes. – As a solution, one can take goods from warehouses in Minsk, but then again it is much more expensive than in Moscow, and the choice is poor there. It is a vicious circle. And moreover, the demand has subsided – wages have been cut, and customers simply have no money.

The sole trader also stressed the factor of Pinsk being close to Ukraine.

– For example, the ticket to the Ukrainian town of Zarichcha costs Br60,000 (and even less with changes). The analogous goods cost 30-50% less in their markets. So many Pinsk dwellers buy everything there, – he said.

Pinsk dwellers say that they are not going to work in the market places in January at all. Then, if fines are to begin, they are going to close. Some of them, for example, are preparing to go to the Far East as migrant labourers.

But it looks as if the state is set to finalize the problem of small vendors. For example, on November 16 Kiryl Rydy, an aide to the Belarus president on economic issues made a statement during the Entrepreneurship Forum and described the collective portrait of a Belarusian sole trader in the following way: most likely it is a man who sells imported goods, who pays an insignificant tax (a little more than Br1 million a month). As said by the presidential aide, over the 9 months of 2015 sole traders paid only 2% of all tax revenues to the budget. That is why sole traders should adapt to the new conditions of work independently, and they should solve pressing issues at the Economy Ministry.

We remind that on October 16 in the noon 500 vendors of the market in Polatsk started a strike in protest at mass checks by tax inspectors and the Department for fighting against Economic crimes. The district tax inspection warned sole traders that checks are to continue. Besides, the authorities started to demand sole traders to have special certificates for their goods, but as long as wholesale warehouses in Russia, where Belarusians mostly buy batches of goods, work without certificates, small business encountered difficulties.