Belarus - Raiffeisen Bank International AG

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Excise tax takes the form of fixed amounts in Belarusian rubles (BYR) charged per unit of goods. For
instance, the excise tax on champagne and sparkling wine (1 litre) is BYR2,740 (€0.73), the tax on wine
(1 litre) is €0.21 and the tax on a cigar is €0.57. When importing goods that attract excise tax, the importer
must apply for and buy the excise tax stamp (proving payment of excise tax) and affix it to the product.
Tax on the sale of car fuels
Belarusian companies must pay this tax when buying car fuels. The tax is levied at a rate of 10 per cent of
the price of the gasoline or diesel. This tax is normally paid by the fuel wholesaler.
Profit tax
A profit tax of 24 per cent is imposed on company profits in Belarus. The profit tax is regulated in the Special
Part of the Tax Code No. 71-3 of 29 December 2009. This tax must be paid by Belarusian legal entities and
foreign legal entities with a permanent establishment in Belarus, but the tax levied on a permanent establishment
of a foreign company in Belarus is limited to the profits recorded by that permanent establishment.
Under the double tax agreement between Austria and Belarus of 23 April 2002, the profits of Austrian companies
operating in Belarus without setting up a permanent establishment are taxed in Austria. However,
the profits that can be attributed to a permanent establishment of an Austrian company in Belarus (e.g. a
subsidiary) are subject to Belarusian profit taxation. The representative office of an Austria company is not
subject to profit taxation in Belarus so long as the Belarusian tax authorities have not deemed it to be a permanent
establishment on the grounds of its activities. The double tax agreement also sets out special rules
allowing the Belarusian taxation at source of the profit distributions of Belarusian companies with Austrian
shareholders/members/partners (5 per cent if stake > 25 per cent: otherwise 15 per cent) as well as of profits
from securities transactions (24 per cent) and transportation services (6 per cent).
When rendering services in Belarus, one must take into account that the Belarusian tax code specifies that,
when a foreign company renders a service in Belarus, the revenues from that service will be taxed at source
at a rate of 24 per cent of the value of the order. The recipient of the service must withhold the tax applying
the reverse charge system. Installation and assembly services may be exempted.