The Ministry of Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade of Belarus has prepared a draft resolution, which may prohibit the sales of new clothes together with second hand ones. The draft document is available on the MART website.
The document says that the main purpose of the measure is to limit the sales of second hand goods in Belarus. To this end, it is planned to limit the sales of second-hand clothing along with new goods, including stock goods, in one commercial facility.
The MART states that importers declare “stock” goods as second hand goods and thus avoid paying duties on new finished goods (15% of real value on average).
It is also noted that the proportion of imports of second hand goods coming to Belarus for sale in the volume of “net” imports of consumer goods of light industry is about 10%, while the actual amount of sales of such goods may be about $250 million.
In addition, the MART states that Belarusians prefer second hand clothing to clothes made in Belarus.
Restricting the sales of new goods, including stock goods, in one trade facility will create additional conditions for fair competition between Belarusian and foreign manufacturers.
