Kaliningrad border restrictions ‘will benefit budget’: official

Poland suspended visa-free local border traffic agreements with both Ukraine and the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad on 4 July due to concerns about security ahead of World Youth Day and the NATO summit in Warsaw.

Temporary checks were introduced at all crossings. The local border traffic agreement with Ukraine has since been restored, but that with Russia remains suspended.

Skiba argued that, according to data, 91 percent of products purchased by Poles in Kaliningrad would have had excise duty applied had they been bought in Poland.

Skiba said: “As a result of Poles purchasing these products in Kaliningrad, the state budget missed out on PLN 74 million (EUR 17 million) of revenue in the first quarter of 2016.”

During the first quarter of 2016 the local border traffic agreement was still in operation.

In addition, Skiba said that Russians had not reduced the amount of shopping they do in Poland. Kaliningrad residents crossing into Poland usually purchase food.

Meanwhile, Marian Banaś, head of the Customs Service, announced that the number of criminal tax proceedings launched against people crossing the border have fallen from 2,190 in May, to just 885 in July thanks to the suspension.

Banaś said this was evidence that Polish citizens smuggled products from Kaliningrad into Poland, causing the Polish government to lose revenue. (sl/pk)

Source: PAP