Non-resident companies sometimes face non-fulfillment of contractual obligations by Belarusian business partners. This leads to financial losses and disagreements. When disagreements cannot be resolved, debts from Belarusian partners can be forcibly collected. Our lawyers are experienced specialists in debt collection issues.
When a non-resident company can collect a debt in Belarus
When a non-resident company enters into a contract with a Belarusian company or an individual entrepreneur, the contract usually prescribes the procedure for resolving disputes under the contract.
It is possible to collect a debt in Belarus in each of the cases:
- The place of conclusion of the agreement is the Republic of Belarus.
- The agreement prescribes the procedure for resolving disputes under Belarusian law or in a court of Belarus.
- The place where the agreement is violated or not executed must be Belarus.
Mandatory pre-trial dispute resolution procedure
When the agreement says that the parties use Belarusian legislation to resolve disputes, it is necessary to use the pre-trial dispute resolution procedure.
Limitation period
It is necessary to file a claim with the economic court within the limitation period. This is the period during which you can defend your rights in court. The total limitation period is three years. Some claims have longer or shorter limitation periods:
- According to the requirements related to cargo transportation, the limitation period is 1 year.
- According to the requirements related to the freight forwarding agreement, the limitation period is 10 months.
- According to the requirements related to the contract of international sale of goods, the limitation period is 4 years.
How to collect a debt
By default, the pre—trial dispute resolution procedure is a claim procedure. It consists in the fact that the debtor, who has not fulfilled his obligations, needs to send a claim demanding a refund.
Step 1. Sending a claim to the debtor
In the claim, you need to request a refund, make a calculation of this amount and write the refund period, bank account details for crediting.
Step 2. Explore the possibilities of the debtor’s fulfillment of the obligation
It is possible that a non-resident bank does not accept payments from Belarus. In this case, it may be necessary to open an account with a Belarusian bank or conclude a claim assignment agreement with other residents of Belarus or another country to whom the non-resident owes.
Step 3. Appeal to the court
Only after the debtor has not responded to the claim within a month after receiving it and has not fulfilled the obligation, a non-resident can apply to the court.
As a rule, they apply to the economic court at the debtor’s location. The location can be seen in the agreement on which the disagreement arose.
Step 4. Participation in the case review
When a statement of claim is filed with the court, representatives of each party to the dispute participate in the consideration of the case. Our lawyers are not only preparing a package of documents for the court. We provide legal representation, present evidence to the court and represent your interests at the court hearing.
Step 5. Execution of a court order
After receiving a court order in favor of the client, it is necessary to send it to the system of enforcement authorities or to recover money from the debtor’s bank account. We will advise you on all issues related to the execution of the court decision made in your favor and will take over the issues of recovery under the enforcement document.
How can a non-resident apply to the Belarusian Economic Court
It is most convenient to organize interaction with the Belarusian court through a representative office in Belarus. The representative will need, in particular, a power of attorney from a non-resident company. The power of attorney will need to be translated in Belarus and the translation notarized by a Belarusian notary.
Appeal in the order of writ proceedings
When the resident debtor does not dispute the claim, but also does not fulfill it, and the non-resident has documents that confirm his claims, you can apply to the Belarusian economic court in the order of writ proceedings. In this case, the court considers the case within 20 days without calling the parties and issues an enforcement document: a ruling on a court order. If the debtor sends to the court a response to the claimant’s statement of disagreement with the requirements, the court will refuse to issue a ruling on the court order to the non-resident. Disputes under contracts of assignment of a claim and transfer of debt are not considered in the order proceedings.
State duty in the writ production
Before submitting an application to the court for the initiation of writ proceedings, you must pay a state fee. Its amount depends on the amount of the penalty:
- If the amount of the penalty is up to 100 basic units (3,700 Belarusian rubles), the state duty is 2 basic units (74 Belarusian rubles).
- If the amount of collection is from 100 to 300 basic units (from 3,700 to 11,100 Belarusian rubles), the state duty is 5 basic units (185 Belarusian rubles).
- If the amount of collection is from 300 basic units or more (from 11,100 Belarusian rubles), the state duty is 7 basic units (259 Belarusian rubles).
Applying to the court with a statement of claim
When the resident debtor objects to the non-resident’s claims, you can apply to the court with a statement of claim. In this case, the court summons the parties, examines the evidence and the trial can last up to seven months or even up to one year. Our experienced lawyer will represent your interests in the debt collection case in favor of a foreign company.
The state fee for filing a claim
Before filing a claim with the economic court, a state fee must be paid. Its size depends on the price of the claim.
- If the claim price is up to 100 basic units up to 500 basic units (from 3,700 to 18,500 Belarusian rubles), the state duty is 25 basic units (925 Belarusian rubles).
- If the price of the claim is from 500 to 1000 basic units (from 18,500 to 37,000 Belarusian rubles), the state duty is 5% of the price of the claim.
- For amounts exceeding 37,000 Belarusian rubles, a percentage of the excess amount is added to 5% of 1,000 base units. The amount of the state fee will be calculated by our lawyer.
How we can be useful in debt collection in favor of non-residents of the Republic of Belarus
Our lawyers and attorneys are experienced specialists in the field of debt collection, judicial practice and speak English. We can:
- Advise you on debt collection from a resident of Belarus;
- Analyze your contract with a resident of Belarus and your disagreements and give recommendations on debt collection;
- Choose the optimal form of debt collection from the point of view of time and finances;
- Prepare a package of documents for debt collection and send it to the court;
- Represent your interests by a power of attorney in court proceedings.
Contact us
If you have any questions about debt collection in favor of non – residents of the Republic of Belarus — we will be happy to help you! Our long-term experience in the field of judicial practice of debt collection will help you in resolving any disputes in this area.
Phone and email communication options are available for your convenience:
- +375293664477 (WhatsApp/Telegram/Viber);
- info@ambylegal.by.
