Belarus Introduces New Rules To Check Parcels

What will they look for?

International postal parcels and goods sent to Belarusians will be checked in special places of control before delivery. This is one of the measures provided by the decree № 297, prohibiting the import, storage, circulation, operation and manufacture of civilian UAVs and aircraft models. The document has been published today on the National Legal Internet Portal.

Thus, the ban on the import, operation and manufacture of drones by individuals in Belarus is introduced after the official publication of the decree. Within three months, they must sell or transfer their UAVs for storage to an authorised organization (it will be determined later). All this is done "in order to ensure national and public security".

Such an opportunity is preserved for legal entities and private entrepreneurs, but upon fulfilment of certain rules.

In order to import a UAV or an aircraft model into Belarus, one should obtain a special permit from the Aviation Department of the Ministry of Transport on the basis of the decision of the Interdepartmental Commission on Military-Technical Cooperation and Export Control under the Council of Ministers of Belarus. The Council of Ministers will determine the procedure for issuing the permit and its format.

In order to manufacture, operate and register UAVs, which include radio electronic means, one needs to obtain a permit for the right to operate radio electronic means or high-frequency devices used in civil aviation, issued by the Department of Aviation.

A legal entity or sole trader is obliged to put the drone on the state account with the Department of Aviation within five working days after the official publication of the decree. They will be logged until December 31, 2024, and from 2025 the automated information system of the state registration of civil UAVs is supposed to start working. A similar procedure is envisaged for deregistering a drone, with the only difference being that in case of loss, it must be reported no later than the day following the day of discovering it.

Restrictions are also envisaged for drone operators. They are now required to undergo special training, the requirements for which are yet to be developed by the government.

All these requirements do not apply to UAVs classified as state and experimental aviation.

The government has been instructed to ensure that proposals are submitted to the House of Representatives of the National Assembly to establish penalties for violating the requirements of the decree.