Aliaksandr Makayeu: Part of market traders resume work at their risk

A part of sole traders resumed work at their risk and peril. They don't know what tax rates and working conditions they can expect.

Aliaksandr Makayeu, the leader of the Coordination Council of Minsk Market Traders, told it to the Belaruskaya Prauda website.

“The situation in regions is very difficult: a part of traders have resumed their work at their risk and peril. They don't know what tax rates and working conditions they can expect. Representatives of a number of small business groups visited today the director of the sole proprietorship department of the Ministry of Economy. The new draft decree is being discussed only by officials. Businessmen don't have access to it,” Ales Makayeu notes.

“We made our proposals regarding the decree. We proposed to include several candidates, who are respected by market traders in regions, into the working group,” says Iryna Yaskevich from Vitebsk, the head of the organising committee to form the Together trade union.

Scandalous decree No.222, which bans selling light industry products imported from the Customs Union without accompanying documents, took force on March 1. Traders will be fined 9 million rubles and goods will be seized in case of violations.

Audits and confiscations on a large scale have been held in the country in the last few months.

Market traders didn't appear at work on March 1. All largest markets in Minsk and regions were empty. Half of sellers explain their absence at work with “holidays”. Many say they “went to buy goods”, some say directly they suspended work until the situation is clarified.

The authorities promised to sign a new decree that would set new rules of selling light industry goods. The Tax Ministry calls on market traders to return to work before the new decree is adopted. It is a paradoxical situation: the Tax Ministry wants traders to work in violation of decree No.222, while they want to observe laws.

According to the Ministry of Tax, sole traders paying the single tax have the right to sell the goods they imported from the Customs Union without accompanying documents until the new decree takes force.

The rule is applied to trading facilities (except for shops) and trading places at markets. However, the single tax will be doubled and the increased fixed VAT rate will be set for trading without documents on goods.

The sole traders who pay the single tax and plan to sell goods without documents in March 2015 must file a single tax declaration before they start their work and pay the single tax and the fixed rate VAT. The tax declaration is submitted in paper format. This declaration must include the calculation of the single tax with a multiplying factor of 2 for selling goods without documents and the fixed rate of VAT (two single tax rates, excluding multiplying factor 2 for selling goods without documents).

“Sole traders will have to submit amended declarations depending on the established amounts of the single tax and VAT rates after the new decree comes into force,” the Tax Ministry explained. According to the draft decree, amended declarations must be filed by 31 March 2015.