Belarus to turn foreigners away over a pair of extra socks
Effective since May 15, 2008, the recommendations stipulate the methodology of how to identify the expediency of the goods imported by physical entities. The regulation is as follows: you are allowed to bring in not more than three pieces of one item once within two months but not more than 10 different item names. If you travel abroad more often than once per week, you will be allowed to carry only one piece of one commodity item. The aim of these “recommendations” is to determine and restrict the quantity of the goods that are transported across the border, depending on how often you travel, on the number of your family members, on your place of work or its absence, on your residence proximity to the border and other factors.
Let’s imagine someone who has been cleared by the Polish customs through their border but turned away by the Belarusians because of the exceeding quantity of imported goods. What should this person do in this situation? The European Radio for Belarus got an answer from a customs officer from the border crossing point in Brest.
“Those goods belong to them. Since they own them, it is up to them to decide how to handle this matter. We take a decision and don’t care about the rest. In this situation, we are not in the position to give advices on what they should do next”.
The European Radio for Belarus has learned that the weight and quantity or commodity diversity restrictions apply both to the Belarusian citizens and foreigners, even those in transit. According to the same customs official in Brest, a foreign passport is not a hurdle for them to implement the “recommendations” of the Belarusian customs and the president’s decree.
“Similar restrictions apply to all. We have president’s decree No503. That says it all”.
