Lithuania tightens control over transit of sanctioned goods to third countries via Belarus, Russia

MINSK. Dec 18 (Interfax) - The export and transit of sanctioned goods through Belarus and Russia will be tightened from December 18, the Lithuanian customs authority said in a statement on Monday.

"For export (re-export) or transit of the sanctioned goods, the filing of a manufacturer's declaration will be mandatory. If a manufacturer's declaration is not filed with the Lithuanian customs, the sanctioned goods will not be released out of the European Union," the statement said.

A declaration must contain a "confirmation that the manufacturer knows who the end consumer is and is also certain that [the declaration] is not being used for circumventing sanctions restrictions," it said.

This year the Lithuanian customs tightened control over goods bound for Russia and Belarus in relation to the EU sanctions policy on Moscow and Minsk. In particular, almost all trucks on the Lithuanian border with the two countries are scanned by X-ray equipment.