Imports from Belarus through Russia's SPOT system without prepayment possible if transparency of tax systems increases - Overchuk

BRASILIA. Feb 5 (Interfax) - Russian and Belarusian government agencies are now holding consultations to ensure that Russia's launch of its SPOT system for confirming expected goods in cross-border trade does not increase the fiscal burden within the Union State, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk said.

"We already have fairly close cooperation with Belarus on issues of administering the value-added tax, and from this point of view our economies are fairly transparent to one another. Now our finance ministries, the Federal Tax Service of Russia and the Belarusian Tax Ministry are holding negotiations to see how the SPOT system will affect relations in order to take the necessary action and adapt it so that the financial burden on taxpayers is reduced," Overchuk told reporters.

"We believe it will be possible to avoid prepayment if the proper transparency is ensured," he said.

Reaching an agreement with Belarus is not tied to the timetable for launching the system, Overchuk added. The SPOT system is supposed to go into pilot operation on April 1 this year and full-fledged operation on July 1, he recalled. Prepayment for confirmation of goods delivery will have to be made starting October 1.

"We are foremost aiming to carry out tasks to formalize the economy here and issues regarding non-payment of the value-added tax that arise as a result of mutual trade between EAEU countries are very pressing for us. Our partners also understand this very well," Overchuk said.