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Presidential Administration asked to appeal to Eurasian Economic Commission over new certification rules

 

А small business association called Perspektyva has urged the Presidential Administration of Belarus to appeal to the Eurasian Economic Commission to suspend the introduction of new certification rules for imported clothing and footwear within the Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia.

Perspektyva explains that market vendors in Kazakhstan and Russia do not abide by the rules, calls on Alyaksandr Lukashenka not to sacrifice the interests of citizens of Belarus for the sake of interstate agreements, and warns that market vendors will stage a one-day strike on June 27.

The association demands that the government should immediately start talks about the planned introduction of the certification rules with market vendors, and that Syarhey Rumas, a representative of Belarus on the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission, should be punished for endangering the interests of Belarusian small business owners by authorizing the rules.

Perspektyva calls for amending the government’s directive that would provide for delaying the introduction of the rules by one year. The reprieve does not apply to vendors registered as "private unitary enterprises," which will be required to have their goods certified by the health authorities in a very costly procedure starting next month.

The association says that all market vendors should be allowed to work without certificates until July 1, 2014, and that they should not be required to produce papers confirming that their goods have been imported from a Customs Union country.

Under the directive, the reprieve does not apply to vendors registered as "private unitary enterprises," which will be required to have their goods certified by the health authorities in a very costly procedure starting next month.

Speaking on the sidelines of a business forum in Minsk on Monday, a representative of the Eurasian Economic Commission described the postponement of the introduction of the certification rules as illegal.

The rules, which are scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2013, will prohibit the sale of clothes and footwear without a special label confirming their compliance with the Customs Union's safety standards. //BelaPAN