In October, Belarusians Are Expecting Changes

Many will affect the thickness of their wallets.

"Revolution" at the borders of the EU countries, changes in car insurance, increased prices for school lunches, new rules for calculating housing and utility services. All this awaits Belarusians next month. Some of the changes will have to wait until the middle of the month, but some of them will start working on October 1, writes Telegraf.news.

Payment of "utilities" in a new way

Back in August, the Council of Ministers of Belarus adopted a large decree, which adjusted the order of calculations in the housing and communal services (HCS). The document, which will officially come into force on October 1, has changed several fundamental points related to the payment for utilities.

First, the terms of payment for housing and communal services for the so-called "deadbeats" - persons, officially not employed in the economy of the country, will change significantly. From October 1, they will be charged for heating, water heating, gas supply at 100% ("economically justified") tariffs. And this rule will apply regardless of who else is registered in the apartment belonging to such a person, and if such an owner has several apartments, the full tariff will be applied in all of them.

Secondly, the same document prescribed new rules for recalculation of payment for certain types of utilities in case a person does not live in his apartment for more than 10 consecutive days at the place of residence.

Thirdly, the government decree provided a new benefit for dacha owners. More precisely, those who are entitled by law to benefits for housing and communal services, including electricity, will be able to take advantage of benefits for housing and communal services. Previously, beneficiaries could take advantage of preferential tariffs only at the place of residence, and from October 1 - and at the place of actual stay .

Prices for food in schools and kindergartens

Since October 1, new norms of expenses for food for children in schools and kindergartens will begin to operate. On this norm directly depends on the amount of money that parents of schoolchildren and preschoolers are charged for feeding their children in educational institutions.

On average, the norms of food costs have increased by 5%, therefore, parents' expenses for school meals for their children will increase by approximately this much. The amount depends on several factors - the age of the child, the type of educational institution, as well as the number of hours he spends in school or kindergarten.

Changes in auto insurance

Some October innovations will work only in the middle of the month. Thus, from October 15, a new edition of the Rules for determining the amount of damage caused to a vehicle as a result of a road traffic accident (RTA) will come into force. They were brought in line with the March Regulations on Compulsory Insurance, approved by Presidential Decree No. 108 of March 18, 2025.

This decree gave car owners the opportunity to pay insurance premiums in non-cash form using appropriate means of payment. But the most significant innovation is that now the amount of insurance premiums for compulsory insurance of vehicle owners must be specified in basic units (actually - in rubles), while before the values were specified in euros.

According to the explanations of the National Legal Internet Portal, the new version of the Rules stipulates that the amount of damage caused to the car in an accident is determined on the basis of the cost of repair and/or impairment of car parts, as well as the total value of the vehicle on the date of assessment. In this case, all calculations - the cost of the car itself, the price of spare parts and materials for repair, as well as the cost of repair work must be determined in rubles

"Foreign currencies are allowed in the calculations with subsequent recalculation in the national currency at the official exchange rate of the National Bank against these currencies on the date of assessment," - explained the National Legal Internet Portal.

New rules at EU borders

Since October 12, a new digital registration system for citizens from non-EU countries - EES - is to work at the borders of the EU countries that are part of the Schengen Agreement. It will replace stamps in passports.

The control system will collect biometric data of foreigners entering the EU with a short-term visit (up to 90 days in 180 days). We are talking about fingerprints, photos, personal data from documents and so on.

Registration through the EES will be mandatory regardless of the mode of transportation by which the foreigner travels - car, bus, plane, train or ferry. However, many EU countries will introduce the system gradually, over a six-month period, rather than at all checkpoints at once.

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