Fines of 9 million for trade without certificates

Controlling agencies can also seize goods and sales revenues.

Sole traders can be fined 50 base amounts (9 million rubles) for selling goods without documents and quality certificates from March 1. Controllers can also confiscate both goods and revenues. According to the Ministry of Taxes, violating the technical regulations of the Customs Union is qualified as violating article 12.17 of the Code of Administrative Offences (violating trade rules), TUT.by reports.

On February 9, Aliaksandr Lukashenka signed the decree “Concerning the state control (audit) over the observation of technical regulations”. The document provides for administrative sanctions for violating trade regulations. The State Standartisation Committee says the particular measures will be published in the nearest time: about 20 amendments to the current legislation will be ready soon.

Decree No. 222 “On the regulation of business activities” comes into force next month. In accordance with the document, sole traders must have accompanying documents and quality certificates for all goods they sell.

Traders are allowed to sell goods without certificates until March, but only if they were brought into Belarus before July 2014.

“The transition period, which allowed traders to sell the stock without the documents that confirm their purchase on the basis of lists, is expiring. Selling the stock is prohibited starting from March 1,” the Ministry of Taxes writes.

The authorities discussed the demand of sole traders to allow selling the remaining goods, but the demand was dismissed.

“Belarus must comply with the international obligations. We cannot prolong the [transition] period any more. It would conflict with the requirement of the supranational legislation,” Iryna Babachonak, the director of the department for business at the Ministry of Economy, said at the Forum of Small Businessmen.

Sole traders already called March 1 “black day”. They claim small business is unable to work under new rules. Many traders are going to close their business to avoid fines and confiscations.