77 MPs voted in favor of the amendments to the Road Traffic Law, while 9 voted against.
The adopted amendments foresee that after October 31, a car registered in Belarus will be allowed to transit through the territory of Latvia once, by first registering in the e-services provided by the Road Traffic Safety Directorate (CSDD).
There will also be other exceptions - Belarusian diplomatic and consular services, embassies and delegations will be able to enter Latvia. Cars registered in Belarus will also be allowed to enter Latvia if they are intended solely for humanitarian purposes, including evacuation or repatriation of persons.
An exception will also apply to persons with reduced mobility for visiting parents, children, or spouses in Latvia in a specially equipped car registered in Belarus, as well as in cases where the Minister for Foreign Affairs is asked to consider an application for entry into Latvia for specific national security issues.
In such cases, the Financial Intelligence Service, which is responsible for enforcing sanctions, will be able to issue a permit for entry into Latvia for up to 3 months.
A similar ban has been in force for Russian-registered vehicles since February this year.
As the Latvian border can be crossed at several places, the number of cars registered in Belarus is not counted in Latvia.
The restrictions on Russian-registered vehicles adopted last year show that people are aware of the restrictions - State Police data show that three Russian-registered vehicles have been detected in the country since mid-February this year when the ban on Russian cars in Latvia came into force.
CSDD data also show that until February 14 this year, cars with Russian plates could still participate in road traffic in Latvia, 30 vehicles were re-registered, while 982 persons declared their Russian-registered cars for transit.
