Upper Lars checkpoint to launch green track for Armenian exports

The customs authorities at the Upper Lars checkpoint (Russia-Georgia border) will open a green track for Armenian exports to facilitate the delivery of truck cargo to Russia.

To check the procedure’s effectiveness, both Russia and Armenia will later conduct monitoring to ensure that the process is sufficiently smooth and rapid, Suren Karayan, a deputy minister of International Economic Integration and Reforms, told Tert.am.

“Mutual monitoring will be conducted within a month to see to what extent and with what speed the cargo crosses the checkpoint and to ensure that our promise for more easy and free integration into the markets is kept after joining the Eurasian Customs Union,” he explained.

Karayan, who is a member of the working group elaborating a model customs code for the Commonwealth of Independent States, said he knows that an agreement regulating oil export procedures has been recently signed between the Russian side and the Armenian tax and customs authorities and Ministries of Energy, and Economy. “As you are aware, Armenia and Russian in 2013 signed a bilateral agreement on lifting customs tariffs on the export of oil supply and raw diamond. But there was a problem, particularly with several types of oil products which Rusal Armenal uses as raw. The question that the organization raised was that the Russian side wouldn’t provide the raw - the liquid oil paraffin – on custom-free terms,” the official said.

He added this question too, was quite recently raised, and the corresponding Russian and Armenian ministries agreed to allow that products’ customs free delivery to Armenia within a couple of weeks (the due date is today).

Asked to comment on the dynamics observed since Armenia’s accession to the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), the deputy minister said he doesn’t find evaluations timely for the moment.

The customs regulations effective across the common Eurasian economic area imply increased customs duties for 1,800 types of goods. After negotiations, it was agreed to leave the tariffs unchanged for 780 (for 3-5 years).


Asked whether there are available records revealing the new regulations’ impact on the goods not included in the negotiated list (clothing and perfumes), the deputy minister said that the Government made the selection considering the products’ social significance.

For the rest of products, he recommended looking more thoroughly into the statistics.

Karayan further addressed the concerns over the sugar and wheat import. “There isn’t any problem as far as sugar is concerned; we have included sugar in the exception list, so there will not be changes in the customs tariffs in the near future,” he added.

The deputy minister admitted that there were certain problems on the wheat market after new customs tariffs went into effect in Russia in January) He said that the Russian side initially attempted to deduce an equivalent to the export duty for insurance to later return it to the exporting company after the wheat reached Armenia.

The procedure appeared to be an extra burden for wheat importers, forcing them to freeze a corresponding amount.

Karayan said that the problem was raised and a possible solution was offered at his recent meeting with a Russian deputy minister of economy in Moscow. He said that wheat exporters will no longer have to freeze any money for their products’ delivery to Armenia.