Information on the introduction of a local fee for crossing the State Border of the Republic of Belarus by vehicles on a permanent basis from February 1, 2025, at border crossing points of the Republic of Belarus
INFORMATION on the local fee for crossing the State Border of the Republic of Belarus by vehicles at border crossing points of the Republic of Belarus
Regarding the introduction of a local fee from February 1, 2025.
Based on paragraph 6 of Article 6 of the Law of the Republic of Belarus dated December 13, 2024 No. 47-Z "On Amendments to Laws", part one of paragraph 6, and the thirteenth subparagraph of paragraph 7 of Article 4 of the Law of the Republic of Belarus dated December 29, 2020 No. 72-Z "On Amendments to the Tax Code of the Republic of Belarus" (hereinafter - Law No. 72-Z), the Vitebsk Regional Council of Deputies adopted the Decision dated December 30, 2024 No. 69 "On the Local Fee" (published: National Legal Internet Portal of the Republic of Belarus, January 11, 2025, No. 9/136672), which comes into force on February 1, 2025 (hereinafter - 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 border crossing points of the Republic of Belarus (hereinafter - the fee) has been permanently introduced on the territory of the Vitebsk region from February 1, 2025.
Previously, this fee was introduced in the Vitebsk region by the Decision of the Vitebsk Regional Council of Deputies dated December 30, 2022 No. 358 "On the 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 border crossing points on the border with the Republic of Latvia and the Republic of Lithuania.
The fee rate is set (as before) at the amount of 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 that vehicle.
According to the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus dated 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 shall be presented at the border crossing points by the driver of a vehicle belonging to an organization or an individual, including one registered as an individual entrepreneur.
Fee Exemptions
According to paragraph 7 of Article 4 of Law No. 72-Z, the following vehicles are exempt from 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 government, members of parliamentary, governmental, and other official delegations, persons arriving in the Republic of Belarus by 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 states, documented with diplomatic and service passports, as well as their family members;
Employees of diplomatic missions, consular institutions, other official representations of foreign states, international organizations, and interstate formations, their representations and bodies, and their family members;
individuals attending the funeral of family members and close relatives, upon presentation of supporting documents;
individuals accompanying deceased persons 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 their escorts;
participants of the Great Patriotic War, upon presentation of supporting documents;
participants in the liquidation of the consequences of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant disaster;
individuals traveling for treatment at sanatorium-resort institutions, upon presentation of supporting documents;
participants of sports and mass sports, cultural, and educational events, upon presentation of supporting documents.
By Resolution No. 69, the following vehicles are additionally exempted from the fee:
representatives of state bodies of the Republic of Belarus in the performance of official duties, provided they have supporting documents;
foreign citizens and stateless persons arriving in the Republic of Belarus at the 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 holding of the "Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk" International Arts Festival, provided they have original or electronic tickets for events of this festival at the Summer Amphitheatre 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 the 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 severity and degree of limitation of 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 accompanying persons;
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 to care for 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 caring for family members and/or close relatives due to their serious illness, provided they have supporting documents;
foreign citizens and stateless persons leaving the Republic of Belarus after the funeral of family members or close relatives, provided they have supporting documents;
individuals transporting hematopoietic stem cells, human organs and (or) tissues for transplantation;
individuals leaving the Republic of Belarus under decisions on imposing administrative penalties in the form of deportation, expulsion, provided they have supporting documents.
Regarding the payment of the fee
The fee is paid 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, OAO "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 across the State Border 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 has been paid to the regional budget of any other region, the fee is not considered paid.
The document confirming the payment of the fee must be presented at the border crossing point by the vehicle driver to an officer of the border service or an official of the customs authority (except in cases where the vehicle is exempt from paying 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, first name, patronymic (if any) of the payer, the amount and date of payment, the registration number of the vehicle crossing the border, and the purpose of payment.
The fee can be paid at the branches of RUP "Belpochta" and credit and financial organizations (at the bank teller, ATM, payment and inquiry terminal, info kiosk, Internet banking, mobile banking). If the payment is made at the bank teller, inform about the need to make the payment through the "Raschet" (ERIP) system.
In the "Raschet" (ERIP) system, you need to 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), a card check generated on paper or electronically must be presented at the checkpoint.
When transferring the fee amount from the account of an organization or individual entrepreneur, an additional copy of the payment instruction must be presented at the checkpoint, a copy of the payment instruction drawn up on paper for electronic payments, with the bank's mark of execution. 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 an overpaid (erroneously paid) fee from the regional budget.
Please note that an application for a refund of an overpaid (erroneously paid) fee from the regional budget is not an appeal, is not subject to submission through the state unified (integrated) republican information system for accounting and processing of citizens' and legal entities' appeals and consideration in the manner prescribed by the legislation on citizens' and legal entities' appeals.
In accordance with clause 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 shall be refunded within 5 working days from the date of receipt of documents that form the basis for refund – a written application from the taxpayer (other obligated or interested person), to which are attached documents that form the basis for refund: documents confirming the payment of funds to the local budget, and a document issued by the organization controlling the payment of the given payment, which indicates the circumstances that form the basis for the full or partial refund of the payment. The taxpayer's (other obligated or interested person's) application shall indicate the bank details for transferring funds from the budget.
According to clause 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 of funds in settlements for the payment of cash from the bank's cash desk is possible. Funds not claimed by an individual and not paid out from the cash desk of OJSC "ASB Belarusbank" within one month, credited to the bank for refund to an individual taxpayer, shall be transferred to the revenue of the corresponding local budget.
According to clause 26 of the Instructions, for the purpose of refunding 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 Directorate 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, first name, patronymic (if any) and details of the identity document of the individual.
In accordance with clause 28 of the Instructions, funds credited to the beneficiary bank for refund to an individual taxpayer: not claimed by the individual and not paid out from the cash desk of OJSC "ASB Belarusbank" within 30 working days from the date of their receipt, shall be transferred to the revenue of the corresponding local budget.
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 belonging to 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, which specifies:
payer's passport data (identity document number, date of issue and issuing authority, identification number);
payer's phone number;
type of payment document for the fee payment, date and amount of payment;
registration number of the vehicle crossing the border;
circumstances (reason) for the payment refund;
bank details for crediting funds (card account number belonging to the payer (in 28-digit IBAN format), bank 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 refund to the payer, an individual, which are not claimed by the individual within a month and not paid from the cash desk of OJSC "ASB Belarusbank", are subject to transfer to the income of the Vitebsk regional budget. Cash payment from the cash desk of OJSC "ASB Belarusbank" in Vitebsk is made by branch No. 200/2024 at the address: Smolenskaya St., 9A, as well as by branches of OJSC "ASB Belarusbank" in the district centers of the Vitebsk region. If the payer, an individual, indicates in the application the receipt of funds from the bank's cash desk at an OJSC "ASB Belarusbank" branch 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 OJSC "ASB Belarusbank" branch, its address, and bank details;
Date, personal signature, printed name.
2. Copy of passport or other identity document of a citizen of the Republic of Belarus (pages 31–33), copy of 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. Copy of the vehicle's technical passport (both sides).
4. Information on fee payment (receipt, cash receipt, card receipt, etc.).
If the fee refund is requested by an individual who is not the fee payer, a power of attorney to receive the specified funds, duly executed, must also be provided.
The application and documents for fee refund shall be submitted to the main financial department of the regional executive committee in person (by messenger, courier), by postal service (postal address: Gogol St., 6, Vitebsk, 210029) or scanned copies of the application and refund documents shall be sent via e-mail: gfu.vitebskobl@minfin.gov.by.
The decision on fee refund 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 a refund decision cannot be made, the main financial department of the regional executive committee shall notify the payer in writing at the address indicated in the application.