Major shoe manufacturers and exporters have stopped delivering to Belarus. You explain the delivery failure with problems with the compulsory labeling of goods after the successful EAC conformity assessment, which the Belarusian authorities introduced on November 1st.
Major shoe manufacturers and exporters sent a letter to the Belarusian Ministry of Taxes and Duties informing them of the suspension of deliveries to the country due to problems with labeling. The authors of the letter indicate that the problems began after the introduction of mandatory labeling of shoes in Belarus on November 1st. Since deliveries to Belarus are made via Russia, manufacturers must buy the GLN number that is attached to the goods twice: first from the Russian Center for the Development of Advanced Technologies, and then from the Belarusian operator Belblankavid.
And since November 1, errors have been occurring when trying to enter data on the Russian GLN numbers on shoes into the surveillance system of Belarus. This means that the placing on the market of goods is not permitted. The lack of labeling threatens the supplier with administrative liability, which can result in a fine of up to 50% of the value of the products.
Labeling of shoes in Russia will be mandatory from July 1, 2020. The representative of the Center for the Development of Advanced Technologies explained the difficulties caused by the fact that the Belarusian regulatory requirements for labeling contradicted the Russian ones. Especially when importing goods to Belarus, manufacturers and importers have to provide more detailed information than in Russia, which is why errors occur. Some exporters have already stopped deliveries to Belarus, others will do it by the end of November.
According to experts, the unmarked leftovers will be sold in Belarus for 1-3 months. According to the Russian Federal Customs Service, almost 30% of Russian footwear exports went to Belarus in 2020.
