On the local fee for crossing the State Border of the Republic of Belarus by vehicles at checkpoints across the State Border of the Republic of Belarus
Based on paragraph 6 of Article 6 of the Law of the Republic of Belarus of December 13, 2024 No. 47-Z "On Amendments to Laws", part one of paragraph 6, and the thirteenth clause of paragraph 7 of Article 4 of the Law of the Republic of Belarus of December 29, 2020 No. 72-Z "On Amendments to the Tax Code of the Republic of Belarus" (hereinafter referred to as Law No. 72-Z), the Vitebsk Regional Council of Deputies adopted Decision No. 69 of December 30, 2024 "On a Local Fee"(published: National Legal Internet Portal of the Republic of Belarus, January 11, 2025, No. 9/136672), which enters into force on February 1, 2025 (hereinafter referred to as Decision No. 69).
In accordance with Decision No. 69, a local fee for crossing the State Border of the Republic of Belarus by vehicles at checkpoints across the State Border of the Republic of Belarus (hereinafter referred to as the fee) has been permanently introduced on the territory of the Vitebsk region from February 1, 2025.
Previously, this fee was introduced on the territory of the Vitebsk region by Decision No. 358 of the Vitebsk Regional Council of Deputies of December 30, 2022 "On a Local Fee" from February 1, 2023, and was levied until January 1, 2025.
In the Vitebsk region, the fee is levied from February 1, 2025, for crossing the State Border by a vehicle when leaving the country at checkpoints on the border with the Latvian and Lithuanian Republics.
The fee rate is set (as before) at 1 (one) base unit(currently - 42.00 rubles) for crossing the border by one vehicle with a technically maximum mass not exceeding 5 tons, regardless of the number of passengers in this vehicle.
According to the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus of November 16, 2024 No. 848 "On establishing the size of the base unit", from January 1, 2025, the base unit is set at 42.00 rubles.
The document confirming the payment of the fee is presented at the checkpoints by the driver of a vehicle belonging to an organization or an individual, including one registered as
individual entrepreneur.
Fee Exemptions
According to paragraph 7 of Article 4 of Law No. 72-Z, **vehicles carrying the following are exempt from paying the fee**:
heads of state and government of the Republic of Belarus, members of parliamentary, governmental and other official delegations of the Republic of Belarus, the House of Representatives and the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus, the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus and other state bodies;
heads of state and governments, members of parliamentary, governmental and other official delegations, persons arriving in the Republic of Belarus at the invitation of the President of the Republic of Belarus, the House of Representatives and the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus, the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus and other state bodies;
employees of diplomatic missions and consular institutions of the Republic of Belarus in foreign countries, documented with diplomatic and service passports, as well as their family members;
employees of diplomatic missions, consular institutions, other official representative offices of foreign states, international organizations and interstate formations, their representative offices and bodies, and their family members;
persons traveling to the funeral of family members and close relatives, upon presentation of supporting documents;
persons accompanying the deceased for burial during the transportation of coffins (urns) with their bodies (remains);
disabled veterans of the Great Patriotic War, disabled persons of Group I and II, as well as persons accompanying them;
participants of the Great Patriotic War, upon presentation of supporting documents;
participants in the liquidation of the consequences of the Chernobyl NPP disaster;
persons traveling for treatment to sanatorium-resort institutions, upon presentation of supporting documents;
participants in sports and mass sports, cultural, educational events, upon presentation of supporting documents.
Decision No. 69 additionally exempts from paymenttransport vehicles carrying:
representatives of state bodies of the Republic of Belarus for the purpose of performing official duties, provided they have supporting documents;
foreign citizens and stateless persons arriving in the Republic of Belarus by invitation of state bodies, state organizations, provided they have supporting documents;
foreign citizens and stateless persons for whom a visa-free regime for entry into and exit from the Republic of Belarus is established in connection with the International Festival of Arts "Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk", provided they have original or electronic tickets for events of this festival held in the Summer Amphitheater or the "Vitebsk" Concert Hall;
veterans of the Great Patriotic War, veterans of combat operations in the territory of other states, provided they have supporting documents issued by competent authorities of the Republic of Belarus, as well as persons accompanying disabled veterans of combat operations in the territory of other states;
foreign citizens and stateless persons traveling with documents confirming the degree of severity and manifestation of limitations in physical activity and participation of 75–100 percent, issued by the competent authorities of the state of citizenship or usual place of residence of the foreign citizen or stateless person;
persons leaving the Republic of Belarus for medical treatment, provided they have documents (copies of documents) from the receiving medical organization or the Ministry of Health, or after receiving medical treatment, provided they have documents (copies of documents) from a healthcare organization of the Republic of Belarus, as well as persons accompanying them;
foreign citizens leaving after staying in sanatorium-resort and health improvement organizations of the Republic of Belarus, provided they have supporting documents;
citizens of the Republic of Belarus leaving for the care of family members and (or) close relatives due to their serious illness, as well as citizens of the Republic of Belarus, foreign citizens and stateless persons,returning to their place of permanent residence after providing care for family members and/or close relatives due to their serious illness, provided that supporting documents are available;
foreign citizens and stateless persons leaving the Republic of Belarus after the funeral of family members or close relatives, provided that supporting documents are available;
persons transporting hematopoietic stem cells, human organs and/or tissues for transplantation;
persons leaving the Republic of Belarus under decisions to impose administrative penalties in the form of deportation, expulsion, provided that supporting documents are available.
On the procedure for paying the fee
Payment of the fee is made to the current treasury account for accounting of funds of the Vitebsk regional budget using the following details:
settlement account BY37 AKBB 3600 3010 0002 0000 0000 Minsk, OJSC "ASB Belarusbank", BIK AKBBBY2X, beneficiary – Main Department of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Belarus for the Vitebsk region, taxpayer identification number of the beneficiary 300594330, actual beneficiary – Main Financial Department of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, taxpayer identification number of the actual beneficiary 300002612. Budget payment code 03110 "Fee for crossing the State Border of the Republic of Belarus by vehicles".
The fee is paid in Belarusian rubles before crossing the state border (in advance), or upon crossing the border at border crossing points based on the amount of the basic unit in effect on the date of payment.
The fee is paid into the revenue of the Vitebsk regional budget (if the border crossing points of the Republic of Belarus are located in the Vitebsk region).
In the event that the location of the border crossing point through which the State Border of the Republic of Belarus is crossed is located in the Vitebsk region, and the fee is paid to the regional budget of any other region, the fee is not considered paid.
The document confirming the payment of the fee is presented by the driver of the vehicle at the border crossing point.
to an employee of the border service or an official of the customs authority (except in cases where the vehicle is exempt from payment of the fee). The document can be presented in paper or electronic form.This document must contain the following information: the name of the organization and/or the surname, given name, patronymic (if any) of the payer, the amount and date of payment, the registration number of the vehicle crossing the border, the purpose of payment.
The fee can be paid at the branches of RUP "Belpochta" and credit and financial organizations (at the bank's cash desk, ATM, payment and information terminal, info kiosk, internet banking, mobile banking). If the payment is made at the bank's cash desk, inform about the need to make the payment through the "Raschet" system (ERIP).
In the "Raschet" system (ERIP), you must sequentially select the following tabs: Administrative procedures, state duty, fees/ Fee for crossing the border of the Republic of Belarus/ Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee GFU/ Fee for crossing the border.
When paying the fee electronically (using software and hardware infrastructure and remote banking systems) at the checkpoint, you must present a card receipt generated on paper or in electronic form.
When transferring the amount of the fee from the account of an organization or individual entrepreneur at the checkpoint, you must present an additional copy of the payment instruction, a copy of the payment instruction drawn up on paper when making electronic payments, with the bank's mark of execution. In this case, the bank's mark must contain: the date of execution of the payment instruction, the original bank stamp and the signature of the responsible executor.
Procedure for refunding overpaid (erroneously) paid fees from the regional budget.
Please note that an application for refunding overpaid (erroneously) paid fees from the regional budget is not an appeal and is not subject to submission through the state unified (integrated) republican
of the information system for accounting and processing appeals from citizens and legal entities and their consideration in the manner established by the legislation on appeals from citizens and legal entities.In accordance with paragraph 21 of the Instructions on the procedure for executing local budgets by revenue, approved by the Resolution of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Belarus and the Board of the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus dated December 23, 2005 No. 159/176 (hereinafter referred to as the Instructions), payments are refunded within 5 working days from the date of receipt of documents that form the basis for refund – a written application from the taxpayer (or other obligated or interested person), to which documents forming the basis for refund are attached: documents confirming the payment of funds to the local budget, and a document issued by the organization controlling the payment of this fee, which specifies the circumstances that form the basis for the full or partial refund of the payment. The taxpayer's (or other obligated or interested person's) application shall indicate the bank details for transferring funds from the budget.
According to paragraph 25 of the Instructions, if an individual taxpayer does not have an account, a refund to the account of a separate (structural) unit of OJSC "ASB Belarusbank" for accounting for funds in settlements for the payment of cash from the bank's cash desk is possible. Unclaimed funds by an individual and not paid out within a month from the cash desk of OJSC "ASB Belarusbank", credited to the bank for refund to an individual taxpayer, are subject to transfer to the revenue of the corresponding local budget.
According to paragraph 26 of the Instructions, to carry out the refund of payments to an individual from the bank's cash desk, the main financial department of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee (hereinafter referred to as the main financial department of the regional executive committee) must submit to the Main Department of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Belarus for the Vitebsk Region a payment order for the transfer of funds to the beneficiary bank, which indicates the surname, given name, patronymic (if any)and the details of the identity document of an individual.
According to paragraph 28 of the Instructions, the following funds are subject to transfer to the revenue of the respective local budget: funds credited to the receiving bank for return to the payer – an individual: unclaimed by the individual and not paid from the cash desk of OJSC "ASB Belarusbank" within 30 working days from the date of their receipt.
In accordance with paragraph 3 of Article 4, Part two of paragraph 10 of Law No. 72, the payers of the fee are recognized as drivers of vehicles owned by organizations or individuals, including those registered as individual entrepreneurs, crossing the State Border of the Republic of Belarus at border crossing points.
To make a decision on the refund of the fee from the regional budget, the following documents are submitted by the fee payer to the main financial department of the regional executive committee:
1. A written application from the payer with a personal signature addressed to the head of the main financial department of the regional executive committee, indicating:
payer's passport details (identity document number, date of issue and issuing authority, identification number);
payer's phone number;
type of payment document for fee payment, date and amount of payment;
registration number of the vehicle crossing the border;
circumstances (reason) for payment refund;
bank details for crediting funds (card account number belonging to the payer (in 28-digit IBAN format), details of the bank where these accounts are opened).
If the payer – an individual does not have a card account, cash payment from the cash desk of OJSC "ASB Belarusbank" is possible. Funds credited to the bank for return to the payer – an individual, unclaimed by the individual within a month and not paid from the cash desk of OJSC "ASB Belarusbank", are subject to transfer to the revenue
Vitebsk regional budget. Cash payment from the cash desk of JSC "ASB Belarusbank" in Vitebsk is made by department No. 200/2024 at the address: Smolenskaya str., 9A, as well as by branches of JSC "ASB Belarusbank" in the district centers of the Vitebsk region. If the payer is an individual and indicates in the application the receipt of funds from the bank's cash desk at a branch of JSC "ASB Belarusbank" in other settlements of the Republic of Belarus, the possibility of cash payment from the cash desk of this bank is clarified by the payer at the selected bank branch independently, indicating in the application the number of the branch of JSC "ASB Belarusbank", its address and bank details;date, signature, printed name.
2. A copy of the passport or other identity document of a citizen of the Republic of Belarus (pages 31–33), a copy of the passport or other identity document of a foreign citizen not permanently residing in the Republic of Belarus, with a notarized translation into Belarusian or Russian.
3. A copy of the vehicle's technical passport (both sides).
4. Information on fee payment (receipt, cash check, card check, etc.).
If an individual who is not the fee payer applies for a refund of the fee, a power of attorney for the receipt of the specified funds, executed in the prescribed manner, must also be provided.
The application and documents for the refund of the fee are submitted to the main financial department of the regional executive committee in person (by messenger, courier), by postal service (postal address: Gogol str., 6, Vitebsk, 210029) or scanned copies of the application and documents for refund are sent to the e-mail: gfu.vitebskobl@minfin.gov.by.
The decision on the refund of the fee is made by the main financial department of the regional executive committee within 5 working days from the date of receipt of the documents. In cases where the refund decision cannot
be accepted, the main financial department of the executive committee shall notify the payer in writing at the address specified in the application.