Prohibition for vehicles registered in the Republic of Belarus to enter the EU

On 29 June 2024, the European Union (hereinafter - the EU) imposed new sanctions against the Republic of Belarus, by adopting amendments to Council Regulation (EC) No 765/2006 of 18 May 2006 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Belarus and the involvement of Belarus in the Russian aggression against Ukraine (hereinafter – Regulation No 765/2006).[1]

Under Article 1ra(1) of Regulation No 765/2006, the import into the EU of vehicles falling under Combined Nomenclature code (hereinafter - CN code) 8703 (motor cars and other motor vehicles principally designed for the transport of less than 10 persons, including station wagons and racing cars (excluding motor vehicles of heading 8702)) from the Republic of Belarus are prohibited.

The goal of the prohibition is to restrict imports of goods from the Republic of Belarus, which allows the Republic of Belarus to diversify its sources of revenue, thereby allowing it to engage in the war against Ukraine launched by the Russian Federation. Although the term “imports” is not explicitly defined in Regulation No 765/2006, according to the European Commission guidelines, the entry of a vehicle into the territory of the European Union also constitutes imports within the meaning of Regulation No 765/2006.[2]

Derogation to the prohibition for vehicles registered in the Republic of Belarus to enter EU

Article 1ra(5) of Regulation No 765/2006 provides that the competent authorities may authorise, under such conditions as they deem appropriate, the entry into the Union of a vehicle falling under CN code 8703 not intended for sale and owned by:

1. a citizen of a Member State or an immediate family member who is resident in Belarus and is driving the vehicle into the EU for strict personal use; or
2.  a citizen of Belarus holding a valid visa or residence permit allowing entry into the Union, who is driving the vehicle into the EU for strict personal use.

The criteria set out in Article 1ra(5) of Regulation No 765/2006, which must be met cumulatively(!) for the competent authority to make a decision and grant the authorisation, are as follows:

Procedures for consideration of a derogation and documents to be submitted

In accordance with Article 1ra(5) of Regulation No 765/2006, as well as in accordance with Article 12.¹(1) of the Law on International and national Sanctions of the Republic of Latvia (hereinafter - the Sanctions Law), the Financial Intelligence Unit of Latvia (hereinafter – the FIU) is the competent authority in matters of implementation of international and national sanctions in the Republic of Latvia. Therefore, under Article 10(1) of the Sanctions Law, the FIU may, upon receiving a written and reasoned application from a person wishing to carry out activities subject to international or national sanctions, decide to grant the authorisation. Application can be made both in written form and in electronic form, by sending it to an electronic mail address sankcijas@fid.gov.lv.

Application and annexes must:

• be signed (if the application is submitted electronically, it must be signed using a secure electronic signature). If the applicant is unable to sign the application electronically, the application along with its annexes can be submitted to the Financial Intelligence Unit of Latvia at Vaļņu iela 28, Riga, LV-1050, Republic of Latvia (including through postal services);
• comply with the requirements of Cabinet Regulation No. 184 of 26 March 2024, “Procedures for the Proposition and Implementation of International and National Sanctions”;[3]
• comply with the requirements of the Official Language Law (the application and its annexes shall be reviewed only in Latvian). The requirement to submit documents in Latvian does not apply to copies of personal identification documents and a vehicle registration certificates;
• be certified, if they have been issued by a public authority other than that of the Republic of Latvia. The authenticity of the annexes to the application - a derivative of documents issued abroad - must be verified by “Apostille”.

Please note that FIU has the right, but not the obligation, to grant the authorisation to a person to enter the Republic of Latvia by means of a vehicle falling within CN code 8703. The FIU will grant authorisation only under conditions it deems appropriate. Furthermore, if the application and annexes are not signed, do not comply with the requirements of the Official Language Law or are not accompanied by documents attesting to authorisation, the FIU shall reject the review of the application and set a reasonable deadline for the applicant to correct the deficiencies indicated by the FIU. If the deficiencies indicated by FIU are not rectified within the specified time period, the application will be considered as not submitted, in accordance with Article 56(1¹) of the Administrative Procedure Law.

An application for importing a vehicle into the Republic of Latvia can be submitted by filling in the relevant form, adhering to the requirements mentioned above, and including the following documents:

A citizen of an EU Member State must submit:

1. A completed and signed submission form for importing a vehicle into the Republic of Latvia. This form must include a declaration that the vehicle is intended solely for personal use, not for sale, and that its import into Latvia will be carried out by an EU citizen who is both the owner of the vehicle and a resident of the Republic of Belarus.
2. A copy of the original personal identification document of the vehicle owner who will bring the vehicle into the Republic of Latvia.
3. A copy of the original vehicle registration certificate showing that an EU citizen is the owner of the vehicle.
4. A document proving that the EU citizen is a resident of the Republic of Belarus (e.g., residence permit, rental or lease agreement, employment contract in the Republic of Belarus, or a statement of declared address in the Republic of Belarus).

An immediate family member of a citizen of an EU Member State must submit:

1. A completed and signed submission form for the import of a vehicle into the Republic of Latvia. This form must include a declaration that the vehicle is intended solely for personal use, is not for sale, and that its import into Latvia will be carried out by the immediate family member who is both the owner of the vehicle and a resident of the Republic of Belarus.
2. A copy of the original personal identification document of the vehicle owner who will bring the vehicle into the Republic of Latvia.
3. A copy of the original vehicle registration certificate showing that the immediate family member of the EU citizen is the owner of the vehicle.
4. A document proving that the immediate family member is a resident of the Republic of Belarus (e.g. residence permit, rental, lease or employment contract in the Republic of Belarus, statement for declared address of residence in the Republic of Belarus, etc.).
5. A document proving the relationship as an immediate family member of the EU citizen.[4]

A citizen of the Republic of Belarus must submit:

1. A completed and signed submission form for importing a vehicle into the Republic of Latvia. This form must include a declaration that the vehicle is intended solely for personal use, is not for sale, and that its import into the Republic of Latvia will be carried out by the citizen of the Republic of Belarus who owns the vehicle.
2. A copy of the original personal identification document of the vehicle owner who will bring the vehicle into the Republic of Latvia.
3. A copy of the original vehicle registration certificate showing that the citizen of the Republic of Belarus is the owner of the vehicle.
4. A copy of the original valid visa or residence permit.

Application forms for importing a vehicle into the Republic of Latvia:

1. for a citizen of a Member State of the European Union;
2. for an immediate family member of a citizen of a Member State of the European Union;
3. for a citizen of the Republic of Belarus.

In accordance with Article 64(1) and 64(2) of the Administrative Procedure Law, the FIU shall decide whether to grant the authorisation within one month from the receipt of the application. This period may be extended by up to an additional three months, making the total possible extension not exceed four months from the receipt of the application. Additionally, Article 59(1) of the Administrative Procedure Law stipulates that after initiating an administrative matter, the institution shall obtain the necessary information in accordance with regulatory requirements to make a decision. Therefore, if needed, the FIU has the right to request additional documents and information from the applicant.

Please note that the FIU's decision to authorise the crossing of the Republic of Latvia's border with a vehicle registered in the Republic of Belarus does not guarantee entry into the EU. The final decision regarding entry at the border, after verifying all required documents in accordance with regulations, will be made by the competent border authorities.

Please note that applications for a derogation from sanctions or for importing a vehicle registered in the Republic of Belarus into the Republic of Lithuania or the Republic of Poland must be submitted to the competent authorities of those respective states. Therefore, individuals intending to enter the Republic of Poland or the Republic of Lithuania are encouraged not to use the border of the Republic of Latvia for this purpose. The FIU reserves the right to deny authorization issuance if the border of the Republic of Latvia is used in these cases. It is advisable to check whether a separate national authorisation is required in the countries where the vehicle registered in the Republic of Belarus will be used.

Given potential amendments to regulations governing road traffic, including possible restrictions on vehicles registered in the Republic of Belarus, it is advisable to regularly monitor updates to Latvian laws and regulations.

!! In addition, it should be noted that, in accordance with Article 2(2) of the Sanctions Law, the Sanctions Law applies to all persons, and they have the obligation to comply with and implement the international and national sanctions. That implies that each person must take all necessary measures independently to prevent violations of international and national sanctions or to prevent their involvement in activities aimed at violating international and national sanctions for which liability is laid down in Article 84 of the Criminal Law.

Additionally, please note that the Latvian version of this text takes precedence over the English translation. In case of any discrepancies, the Latvian version should be considered as the correct one.