Truckers to pay deposit to book queue slots at Kazakhstan-Uzbekistan border crossings
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Truckers will need to make a deposit to reserve queue slots at Kazakhstan-Uzbekistan border crossings
Freight carriers will be required to place a guarantee deposit of 86,500 tenge, or about 2.26 million soums, to book an electronic queue slot at three border crossings between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan starting Nov. 9, the Turkestan Province State Revenue Department said.
The new rule will apply at the Kazygurt, B. Konysbayev and Atameken crossings. Before reserving a slot, carriers must transfer the deposit to a special electronic account. The full amount will be returned if the driver arrives at the border at the scheduled time, the department said.
A carrier will lose the deposit if a truck fails to show up at its scheduled time twice in a row within 90 calendar days. The forfeited funds will go to Kazakhstan’s state budget.
The department said the measure is intended to stop artificial queues from forming at the crossings. It urged carriers to replenish their electronic accounts ahead of time and factor the new requirements into trip planning.
The deposit is equal to 20 monthly calculation indices, the department said.