Version for the visually impaired
The Russian Government Legislative Commission has endorsed a draft law to ratify the Agreement between the governments of the SCO member states' on International Road Transportation Facilitation, that was initiated by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Transport, according to the Cabinet website.
The new legislation will simplify and coordinate the procedures and requirements of the SCO member states for international road transport, lift the existing ban on Russian vehicles entering China through the checkpoints on the Kazakh-Chinese border, and thus enhance trade between Russia and China.
International Road Transportation Facilitation Agreement was signed at the Dushanbe Summit.
The agreement is subject to ratification because it sets rules other than those stipulated by Russian law. In particular, one of the clauses of the document relieves carriers involved in international automotive logistics in the SCO member states, which are regulated by the agreement, from paying another country's taxes that are associated with the possession or use of vehicles, and with the use or maintenance of the other country's motorways, based on reciprocity.
In accordance with the Federal Law On Motor Roads and Road Activities in the Russian Federation and On Amending Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation, this clause will apply to the fees to be paid in Russia from November 15, 2015 for vehicles heavier than 12 metric tonnes to compensate for the damage they do to federal roads.
The draft law will be considered at a Government meeting.