26 December, Vitebsk /Diana Kurilo - BELTA/. Belarusian customs officers seized a car belonging to an Estonian citizen from a Russian national for non-payment of customs duties, the Vitebsk Customs Office told a BELTA correspondent. During special operations at the border between Belarus and Russia, in the Rossonsky district, officers of the anti-smuggling and administrative customs offenses department of the Vitebsk Customs Office detained a Mersedes-Benz passenger car, manufactured in 1999, driven by a citizen of the Russian Federation. It turned out that the car had been temporarily imported into the customs territory of the Customs Union by an Estonian citizen – from Estonia to Russia – and then handed over for use to a Russian citizen. In accordance with Article 11 of the Agreement on the Procedure for the Movement of Goods for Personal Use by Individuals Across the Customs Border of the Customs Union and the Performance of Customs Operations Related to Their Release, the transfer of the right to use and (or) dispose of vehicles for personal use, registered in a foreign state and temporarily imported into the customs territory of the Customs Union by a foreign individual for the duration of their temporary stay, is permitted only on the condition of their declaration and payment of customs duties and taxes. Thus, as a result of transferring the temporarily imported Mersedes-Benz passenger car for personal use to another person without the permission of the customs authority, the Estonian citizen incurred an obligation to pay customs duties and taxes, estimated at approximately Br150 million. The vehicle, with an estimated value of Br94 million, has been seized and placed in temporary storage. An investigation is underway regarding this incident.-0-

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