Belarus has imposed a duty on the transit of Russian oil through the country's oil pipelines, the Itar-Tass news agency reported on Thursday.

The duty took effect on Jan. 1. and was set at 45 U.S. dollars per ton of oil.

The Belarus Council of Ministers decided it would charge the duty to Russian oil pipeline company Transneft.

"In the event of failure or improper fulfillment of obligations to pay the duty, the payer bears responsibility in line with the tax legislation of the Republic of Belarus," said the Belarus government on Thursday.

The duty has been introduced "in view of a substantial deterioration of the economic position of the oil processing sector."

The Belarus government also blamed Russia for failing to observe a number of free trade agreements and ignoring the protocol for the two countries to set up a system of free trade without any limits.

Transneft Vice-President Sergei Grigoryev told the Echo of Moscow radio station on Thursday that the company had not received any official papers from Minsk about an export duty.

Source: Xinhua