A Finnish haulage company says that its lorries have not had to pay illegal fees in recent days that had previously been levied by Russian customs authorities at the Svetogorsk crossing opposite from Imatra.
This week there were no requests for money, which the owner of the company says has not happened in years. Helsingin Sanomat reported on Monday that Russian officials at the crossing of Svetogorsk had been charging drivers of heavy vehicles between EUR 10 and EUR 80 each time they crossed the border.
It was reported that nearly all vehicles, including Russian lorries, had to pay the fee. The charges were highest on trucks carrying cars.
It appears that fees for loads of timber coming from Russia to Finland are paid by the Russian seller, and that the Finnish lorry driver does not need to become involved. Helsingin Sanomat was not able to reach other companies that deliver goods to Russia via Svetogorsk, which might have had more recent experiences from the border.
Some companies will not know if things have changed this week until drivers who are now out on a job come back with their bills of freight.
Illegal border fees have become such a standard part of road transport between Finland and Russia that even large customers will compensate haulage companies for the fees even if there is no receipt: a notation in a bill of freight is enough.
