MINSK, May 24 (Itar-Tass) — Belarus will allocate 134.9 billion roubles /about 16.6 million dollars/ to upgrade motor transport checkpoints on its borders, deputy chairman of the State Customs Committee /GTK/ Sergei Borisyuk told reporters on Wednesday.
"The state investment program for 2012 envisions an allocation of 134.95 billion roubles," Borisyuk said explaining that the money will fund the commissioning of the Privalka checkpoint on the Belarusian-Lithuanian border and the Grigorovshchina checkpoint on the Belarussian-Latvian order, as well as the works on cost estimates of the project to renovate the Kamenny Log and Novaya Guta checkpoints.
Last year, the republic allocated more than 43.5 billion roubles /some 5.3 million dollars/ for the program. "These funds were fully disbursed," the official said.
As a result, throughput capacity at motor transport checkpoints increased from 23,7000 cars a day to 28,000 cars a day last year, thanks to the completion of the renovation of the Domachyovo checkpoint and the Kozlovichi-2 cargo terminal on the Belarusian-Polish border.
In 2015, throughput capacity at all the checkpoints on the Belarusians border is expected to increase to 33,980 cars a day, the GTK deputy chairman said.
Beginning from June 17, Belarus will introduce mandatory preliminary information about the commodities brought to the Customs Union territory by motor transport.
"Whereas it used to be a voluntary procedure by transporters and other interested persons, preliminary information about the cargoes delivered by motor transport will become mandatory from June 17," Borisyuk said.
The decision was taken with the view to streamline customs procedures. It facilitates international trade, improves the effectiveness of customs control, and minimizes the violations of customs legislation thanks to more effective interaction and coordination of activities between the customs bodies of the three countries.
Preliminary information must be provided to the checkpoint at least two hours before bringing in the cargo.
It is a universal procedure which is also practiced in EU countries.
The automated preliminary information system at customs bodies was to have been launched in February 2011. As present, just 43.3 percent of transporters use this procedure. "There's been an increase in the number of persons interested in filing preliminary information electronically to customs bodies," Sergei Borisyuk said.