State duty cancellation on the import of electric vehicles for Belarusians

The EEC Council (Eurasian Economic Commission) decided to reset the rate of import customs duty on electric vehicles, reports dev.by.

Initially, it was planned to establish free entry before the end of this year , but this innovation will be valid for almost two years – until December 31, 2021. There will be zero duty for both legal entities and individuals.

So far, the import volume of electric vehicles to Belarus is low. In January–October 2019, 292 electric vehicles worth $14 million were imported. Import share for Belarus is 30%. Mainly electric vehicles are imported from the United States , China, Austria and Germany .

Last week, the President of Belarus signed a decree "on encouraging the use of electric vehicles". Thus, owners of electric vehicles will not pay the road toll. As well as individuals will not have to pay VAT(value-added tax) when purchasing electric vehicles for personal use. At the same time, those who previously bought an electric car will be able to return the VAT amount paid within 500 basic units.

Currently, about 350 electric vehicles are registered in Belarus. Belorusneft company (The Belarusian State Concern for Oil and Chemistry) expects that the number of electric cars will grow to 100 thousand in five years due to benefits.