Interfax reported that the Belarusian government is planning to initiate the cancellation of the Russian special duty on oil supplied to Belarus

Mr Andrei Kobyakov deputy PM of Belarusian said that "We are raising the issue of canceling the Russian special duty on oil for Belarus. He said that this proposal is made due to the agreement reached by the presidents of Russia and Belarus to create a full fledged customs union by the end of 2010.

He added that Russia and Belarus are currently considering the possibility of creating a customs union by January 1st 2010.

Mr Kobyakov said that “This duty a rudiment or an atavism in the mutual trade between the two countries. For this reason, import duties on products imported into Belarus from Russia, including the special duty on oil, have to go.”

Russia has used the special duty on oil supplied to Belarus since 2007. This duty is a mechanism of interbudget division of export duties on Belarusian petroleum products. The division of Belarusian duties on petroleum products is the main condition for the supply of oil to Belarus at prices lower than the world prices.