ID :
124879
Sat, 05/29/2010 - 12:54
Auther :

Kazakh citizens free to enter Russia on their cars - Shuvalov.



ST. PETERSBURG, May 29 (Itar-Tass) -- The citizens of Kazakhstan are
free to enter Russia on their own cars before the Common Economic Space
becomes a reality, First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov told the
media on Friday.
He explained that if a citizen of Kazakhstan who had acquired a
foreign car wished to drive into Russia, there would be no hindrances to
doing so. The sole restriction is on issuing the power of attorney and on
selling the vehicle.
"That will be possible on the condition of paying the corresponding
customs taxes," Shuvalov said, adding that the rate would be lax and there
would be a chance of paying the tax on the border.
This measure, Shuvalov said, will be effective till the moment the
Common Economic Space takes effect - for the transitional period.
"Then the unified customs rate will apply," Shuvalov said.

.European court's revision of Kononov case political - Medvedev.

MOSCOW, May 29 (Itar-Tass) -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has
made some very critical remarks about the European Court of Human Rights'
decision to revise the case of 88-year-old Russian World War II veteran
Vasily Kononov.
"By virtue of my education I am not in the habit of making comments on
verdicts pronounced by courts. But this time I cannot but agree the
outrageous revision of the earlier decisions made on the case was a
politically motivated act," Medvedev said.
He believes that the ECHR's decision is an attempt to explode the
existing system of international law on certain positions.
"This is a very dangerous thing," he said. "International law is a
product of humanity's suffering in the 19th and 20th centuries. This
decision shakes loose the basis of international law and it is very
deplorable."
The Kononov affair has lasted for several years now. Convicted by a
Latvian court of what was termed as war crimes, Kononov, a former
anti-Nazi resistance guerilla unit commander, filed a lawsuit with the
ECHR back in 2004. As a result, a collegium of judges ruled that the
veteran's protests against the Latvian judiciary's decision to qualify him
as a war criminal were well-founded. According to the initial ruling the
Latvian authorities violated article 7 of the European Convention on Human
Rights and were obliged to pay Kononov a compensation for moral damage. In
the same year the Latvian government submitted an appeal to the ECHR's
Grand Chamber, which on May 18 overturned the decision by the Small
Chamber, although the president of the Strasbourg Court Jean-Paul Costa
and judges from Moldova and Montenegro took Kononov's side.

.Customs Union may cut taxes on foreign cars to 25 pct - Shuvalov.

ST. PETERSBURG, May 29 (Itar-Tass) -- Russia's First Deputy Prime
Minister Igor Shuvalov does not rule out there may be a reduction in the
import taxes on foreign cars within the Customs Union when the Common
Economic Space becomes a reality.
"We proceed from the understanding that as soon as the transitional
period is over, they (citizens of Kazakhstan - Itar-Tass) will be able to
bring in motor vehicles at the existing rates or, if we manage to agree,
at lower ones," Shuvalov said. He recalled that before Russia had an
import tax of 25 percent of the customs value, but it was eventually
raised to 30 percent. Shuvalov believes that currently such a rate is
well-founded, "but in the longer term we may get back to the previous one."
Shuvalov warned that "a compromise on used cars is impossible,"
because "this is useful not just for the Russian market, but also for the
markets of Kazakhstan and Belarus."
"As far as new vehicles are concerned, I do not rule out a revision,"
he said.
About the likely dates when decisions may be made Shuvalov said that
"January 1, 2012 is the deadline for all agreements to take effect."
"But we all are interested in seeing the ratification of the entire
package of Common Economic Space agreements as soon as possible," he added.

.Shuvalov asks Minsk not to link common customs territory to taxes.

ST. PETERSBURG, May 29 (Itar-Tass) -- Russia's First Deputy Prime
Minister Igor Shuvalov has called upon Belarus to refrain from linking the
question of taxes in mutual trade to the formation of a common customs
space of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. He made a statement to that
effect following a meeting of the Supreme Board of the Customs Union of
Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan on Friday. The meeting took place in a
two-party format with only Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Kazakhstan's
Prime Minister Karimov Masimov participating. Their Belarussian
counterpart Sergei Sidorsky was absent.
About the gist of controversies between Russia and Belarus Shuvalov
said that "Belarus argues that the customs duties must be terminated as of
the moment the common customs territory starts functioning, while Russia
and Kazakhstan believe that until the creation of a common economic space
this must be a sovereign right of each participating state."
Shuvalov said that after the signing of the entire package of
documents concerning the common economic space "the states will lose this
right."
Also, he said that all other points of disagreement that were
discussed at the May 21 2010 Customs Union member countries' prime
ministers had been eliminated.
"All disagreements among Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan have been
settled, including those over special economic zones and the movement of
goods," he said.

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