Customs To Release Cargo To Debtors

<BR>Equipment held in St Petersburg due to its recipients not having the funds to pay duty could soon be released.<BR>Hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of such equipment has recently collected at city customs' temporary storage warehouses. <BR>Equipment can be released thanks to a customs clearance mechanism developed in November this year for such goods.<BR>The mechanism works as follows: a debtor signs a special agreement with customs, clearly stating a schedule for payments clearing his debt. As soon as such agreements are reached, customs releases the equipment.<BR>The payment period may not exceed two years, and at least half of the total debt must be paid within the first year. Senior Inspector Marina Zakharova of the Baltics customs service says, "We will agree on a specific payments schedule with each company separately. Payments should not force an enterprise to close down." <BR>According to Marina Zakharova, the first payment should be about 30% of the total debt. Interest and fines are not charged after an agreement has been signed, although interest is charged on any sum paid later than the payment schedule specifies.