From January 1, 2022, the import and sale of a number of food products from the EU, the USA, Canada, the Kingdom of Norway, the Republic of Albania, the Republic of Iceland, the Republic of North Macedonia, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Montenegro, and the Swiss Confederation will be limited.

These products include, for example, vegetables, fruits, nuts, confectionery, salt, cattle meat, etc.

However, the restrictions will not apply to a number of groups:

  • goods that were imported before January 1, 2022;
  • import for personal use;
  • import for processing;
  • placement of goods under the customs procedure of the FEZ;
  • import for processing for domestic consumption;
  • import for processing in the customs territory.
  • import within the framework of customs territories;
  • import with the license from the Ministry of Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade of Belarus (hereinafter - MART).

However, it should be noted that the Resolution contains a clause according to which goods placed under the above customs procedures, and the goods that are obtained from them (manufactured) and are classified as prohibited, are placed under the customs procedure for release for domestic consumption exclusively within the framework of quotas. Thus, it can be assumed that you will still need to obtain an import quota for domestic consumption on the territory of Belarus, for prohibited goods that were imported for the production of non-prohibited goods.

To obtain the quota, the importer should follow the website of the authorized body (the list of bodies is set in the Appendix to the Resolution of the Council of Ministers No. 700). This body places information on the establishment of a quota on its website. Legal entities have 15 working days to obtain a quota, during which they must submit an application for its receipt and other documents. A separate application is submitted for each product.

In addition to the received quota, it is necessary to obtain a one-time MART license for the import of goods.

Other rules can be found at the link: https://bit.ly/3pQw37I

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.