Lithuania will tighten the rules for the transit of goods through Russia and Belarus

The Lithuanian customs decided to tighten the order of cargo transit of goods through the territory of Russia and Belarus. The restrictions will come into force in early July and will affect 57 groups of goods, according to the website of the Lithuanian Customs Department.

• Under the tightening of transit will fall products that are used “for military purposes or to increase the capacity of Russian industry.”
• It will become mandatory to indicate in the customs declaration confirmation that the manufacturer of the goods knows the seller and the buyer in a third country.
• It is also required to confirm that the goods will be transported in transit through Belarus or the Russian Federation and will not be resold in these countries.
• The manufacturer must also know who the final consumer of the product is in the third country.

Manufacturer’s declarations will need to be submitted from July 3 when declaring goods for export and re-export, and from July 17 – at customs operating at border control points.

Since June 5, the Lithuanian customs department has already been applying stricter checks to prevent possible circumvention of sanctions and the importation of goods into Russia – carriers must submit documents confirming this. However, the department is concerned that, despite the restrictions, “there is a parallel import of some goods to Russia and Belarus.”

June 18, 2022 Lithuania stopped rail and road transit to the Kaliningrad region of sanctioned goods. A month later, the European Commission allowed the supply of certain items to the Kaliningrad region within the limits. From September 1, Lithuanian banks refused accept payment for transit to Kaliningrad via Lithuanian Railways. Road transit remains prohibited.

Alexander Kislov