Russian authorities are not ruling out the establishment of customs fees on imported hardware equipped with GPS navigators not supported by the Russian national satellite navigation system GLONASS. “Currently the fee is zero. There are plans to introduce customs fees for GPS equipment that is notoriented to GLONASS GPS. It is possible that [the customs fees will start to be imposed] by January 1, 2012,” Vice Prime Minister Sergey Ivanov told journalists this week.
GLONASS-supported imported handsets, navigators and other equipment will not be subject to customs fees, Ivanov added.
According to Ivanov, the GLONASS signal will cover the entire earth by the end of this year. The new federal special-purpose program intended to develop GLONASS in 2012-2020 will provide funding both for the maintenance of the GLONASS satellite fleet and for the development of the ground infrastructure for GLONASS, as well as for the production of GLONASS-equipped hardware, Ivanov indicated
Source: RIA Novosti
