The President signed the decree "On Stimulating the Use of Electric Vehicles". The progressiveness and timeliness of this document is to be realized and appreciated by almost everyone. Having collected all the best that has already been accumulated in the countries that moved towards an electric future a little earlier, the presidential decree created a significant foundation for this future in Belarus as well.
The document provides for measures that are designed to stimulate the demand for electric vehicles, the creation of an appropriate charging and service infrastructure in the country. EV owners are exempt from paying the fee for issuing permits for the admission to participation in traffic. Individuals will not have to pay VAT when importing electric vehicles to Belarus for personal use. Meanwhile, they will have the opportunity to return the amount of VAT paid when purchasing an electric vehicle within the limits of 500 basic units. In addition, owners of electric vehicles are exempted until January 1, 2026 from paying for parking in specially equipped places in communal car parks.
Manufacturers of electric vehicles and electric charging stations, as well as organisations operating them, have received the right to apply an increased investment deduction in the manner prescribed by the Tax Code. Charging stations are exempted from VAT if they are used in Belarus.
In addition, the production association Belorusneft will be provided with land plots for the construction and maintenance of electric charging facilities without an auction. Meanwhile, the costs of the construction of charging stations can be transferred free of charge to the balance of the legal entity registered relating to these facilities, and included by the customer (developer) into non-operating expenses. Upon receipt of the consent of the land user, land plots for the installation of charging stations will be provided without their withdrawal from common lands.
In recent years, Alexander Lukashenko has been paying special attention to the topic of ecology and respect for nature. And while in other countries these issues are often used for political PR or as a subject for discussion in society, real steps have already been taken in Belarus.
The adoption of this decree is an important condition not only for changing the institutional environment for the development of electric vehicles, but also for creating a completely new reality associated with the formation of a new future for Belarus. This opinion was expressed to SB.Belarus Today by the analyst of the Belarusian Institute for Strategic Research Aleksei Avdonin:
"The measures we envisage are advanced. They say that the country’s leadership is taking into account trends that will be relevant in 10-15 years. Electric transport has no alternative in the near future. In the context of the development of modern technologies, it is not only economical and environmentally friendly, but also creates conditions for the formation of a fundamentally new infrastructure: a network of new gas stations, a power transmission system. With the commissioning of the BelNPP, the sale of the generated electricity becomes a topical issue for Belarus. And one of the key areas is, among other things, the development of electric transport — both for personal, public and freight uses".
The BISR analyst pays special attention to this aspect:
"Along with the development of passenger and public electric transport in the United States, for example, developments are underway and there are already the first samples of electric freight transport, various pickups — that is, business cars. This is the direction I consider as the most promising, because business always responds to the cost of shipping operations. The use of electric transport will help minimize internal costs, therefore it is the business sector that will support the introduction of electric transport".
The full article is available in the Russian version of the site.