Belarusian banks given access to Russia's public procurement system

“Belarusian banks, along with Russian banks, will be able to issue independent guarantees to participants of the domestic public procurement system. The document to launch the pilot experiment was signed by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. The decision is designed to simplify access to the Russian public procurement system for suppliers from Belarus. The move is expected to help promote economic integration of the two countries,” the press release reads.

The experiment will be held in two stages and will be running until the end of 2023. At the first stage Belarusian banks will get documents necessary for operation in Russia, including the individual insurance account number (SNILS), TIN, qualification certificates of the electronic signature verification key, and will also get registered on the public services portal and in the unified public procurement information system. The second stage involves direct participation of banks from Belarus in public procurement contracts. At this stage Belarusian banks will issue independent guarantees and will make sure that such guarantees are included in the register of independent guarantees. An independent guarantee is one of the ways of financial assurance in public procerement. The bank reimburses the customer the amount covered by the guarantee if the supplier fails to fulfill obligations.

“Simplifying the access of Belarusian companies to the Russian public procurement system is part of the bilateral agreements reached within the framework of the High-Level Group of the Council of Ministers of the Union State. The group is co-chaired by Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk and Belarus' Ambassador to Russia Vladimir Semashko. There are plans to implement the agreements within the framework of 28 Union State economic integration programs,” the Russian government added.