Debt collection in Belarus

Collection of receivables

Collection of receivables is one of the main specializations of our law office. Our lawyers will be able to provide you with detailed advice on issues that may arise during this procedure, help you decide on the most appropriate method of recovery in your situation, prepare all the necessary documents and independently send them to the courts if necessary.

In some cases, to collect the debt from the counterparty, it is enough to make several calls and agree on payment, or send a written claim with the requirement to repay the resulting debt. If such pre-trial measures have not brought results, it is necessary to move to more effective methods.

Sending written claims does not require any significant costs, and also allows you to maintain friendly relations with the debtor. Our lawyers will be able to help you both in drafting the claim itself as well as in complying with the claim procedure for resolving the dispute. This compliance is often a prerequisite for subsequent recourse to the court to recover receivables. It should be noted that the claim collection procedure is not compulsory.

If this is stipulated in the contract with the counterparty, you can also use other methods of dispute settlement, such as mediation, arbitration, etc.

It is also possible to recover the debt in the Republic of Belarus by applying to a notary for the implementation of a writ of execution. This writ is an enforcement document that allows you to recover undisputed (not disputed by the debtor) debts and penalties in a simplified manner (without recourse to the court), in particular, under contracts of sale, delivery, contract, transportation, paid services and storage. A necessary condition for such penalties is recognition by the debtor of the debt being collected in writing. One of the advantages of this method of collection is its short term of execution: from 1 to 3 days. Interest collection is not provided in this method since it is collected from the debtor in court. This does not require mandatory compliance with the claim procedure, but in some cases it is necessary to notify the debtor in writing of the intention to resort to this method. Our lawyers will help you avoid making mistakes in the process of applying and implementing the writ of execution, as well as prepare the necessary documents.

If the collection of receivables is resolved by judicial means, then it is worth highlighting the writ and action proceedings.

WRIT PROCEEDINGS

Writ proceedings are a simpler procedure in comparison with action proceedings. It is used for judicial recovery of receivables through the economic court. Within the framework of such proceedings, judicial collection of debts is performed without direct proceedings and summoning the parties. The review period is no more than 20 days.

Writ proceedings are applicable if a claim, the subject of which is the collection of debt, is:

– indisputable (there are documents confirming the debt)

– not disputed or recognized by the debtor, but not executed;

– declared for an amount less than 100 basic units.

That being said, at least one of the listed characteristics is sufficient for making a claim.

This method is most often used to collect penalties and interest on the condition that they are recognized by the debtor, as well as the amount of the principal debt.

Claims that are subject to collection on the basis of a writ of execution are not considered in the order of writ proceedings. The executive document in the case of writ proceedings is the court ruling on the writ.

You can contact our law office for legal assistance with applying to the court to collect the debt in the order of writ proceedings, preparing the necessary documents and complying with the established procedure.

ACTION PROCEEDINGS

Action proceedings is the collection of debt through the court, including a full-fledged trial with a summons of the parties. It is a rather time-consuming and expensive procedure, which requires compliance with the pre-trial claim procedure for dispute settlement. Our lawyers will help you comply with all the nuances, as well as simplify communication with the court and the application procedure by taking care of drafting documents, resolving issues and conducting other necessary activities.

WHY SHOULD YOU CONTACT US FOR LEGAL ASSISTANCE IN ORDER TO COLLECT RECEIVABLES IN BELARUS?

  • Our lawyers have more than 15 years of experience in collecting receivables;
  • Our staff of lawyers has experience in economic courts, as well as in the service of bailiffs of the Republic of Belarus;
  • The funds that you will spend on our legal assistance to recover the debt will be collected from your debtor in the future;
  • We use an individual approach and always choose for our clients the fastest and least expensive way of debt recovery possible in a particular situation.

It should be remembered that debt collection is not an easy process, especially if the debtor evades their obligations to pay the debt.

Our legal assistance includes:

1) Collecting information about your debtor.

Very often there is a situation when at the time of a client’s application to a law firm for collection of receivables the debtor is no longer in possession of the property subject to collection and does not carry out commercial or other activities. Therefore, when conducting court actions against such debtors, there is a great chance one will end up wasting time and money, and as a result, without collecting the debt. When we get contacted by a client, we offer assistance in collecting information about the financial status of your debtor. This determines the feasibility and potential for recovery.

If there are grounds for claiming economic insolvency of the debtor, in some cases this may help recover the debt even if the debtor is insolvent. In such an event, the court must be provided with reliable information about the debtor’s bankruptcy. Our lawyers can advise you on specific cases and methods of initiating bankruptcy proceedings for the debtor, as well as actions available to the creditor within the framework of such proceedings.

2) Advice on how to collect receivables in Belarus.

Our lawyers will evaluate your existing documentation and conduct initial negotiations with the debtor to attempt pre-trial settlement of claims. In fact, collection of receivables is first and foremost an analysis of documentation.

3) Preparation of a claim to the debtor.

A written offer to the debtor for a voluntary settlement of the dispute is a necessary condition for further debt collection in the economic court. Although it is a formal legal requirement, the claim procedure is often a fairly effective method of influence in case the debtor is interested in voluntary repayment of the debt and wants to avoid additional costs that the creditor’s appeal to the courts will entail. Collection of receivables bypassing the claim procedure is practically impossible.

4) Lawyers of our law office carry out support for obtaining a notary’s writ of execution. 

To date, debt collection in Minsk and other cities of the Republic of Belarus is possible by implementing a notary’s writ of execution.

To implement a writ of execution, a notary needs the following:

– a contract concluded with the debtor, or a copy of it certified by the claimant;

– documents confirming the debt with its calculation for unpaid payments and payment terms, indicating the remaining debt amount.

5) Support of writ proceedings.

One of the most frequent methods of debt collection is through writ proceedings. It is characterized by lower costs than action proceedings, and consists in the court ruling on the court order at the request of the claimant.

In contrast to a claim form, an application for initiation of writ proceedings must be accompanied by evidence of the fact that a copy of it was sent to the debtor, as well as a list of documents confirming the existence of grounds for considering the application in this order. Such grounds include indisputability, recognition or non-dispute of claims, as well as some others.

Recognition of claims can be confirmed by: a response to the claim in which the debtor recognized the debt; reconciliation reports signed by both parties; accepted payment request, etc.

Non-dispute of claims will be confirmed by the claim left unanswered. In this case, you will also need to confirm that the debtor received the claim or intentionally avoided receiving the claim.

The application signed by the representative must be accompanied by a power of attorney, which confirms their authority to sign such an application.

The absence of evidence in the attachments to the application of notification of the debtor about its submission, as well as insufficient evidence of the lawfulness of the claimant’s claims or the attachment of unverified copies of documents entails the refusal of the court to accept the application. Preparing the correct set of documents is a serious event, and it is better to contact our lawyers for qualified assistance.

Within the framework of writ proceedings, we provide the following legal assistance:

– preparation of an application for initiation of writ proceedings, as well as a set of documents attached to the specified application, in order to carry out judicial recovery of debts;

– support and control of the state of your case in court;

– transition from writ proceedings to action proceedings if the debtor writes a letter of revocation.

6) Action proceedings. If you require debt collection in the court of first instance we provide services of:

– analyzing documents and building a case narrative, assessing the prospects for trial;

– preparing a claim form for the economic court and a set of documents attached to the claim form for debt recovery, including the calculation of the amounts of the principal debt, penalties, interest for the use of other people’s money;

– preparing applications and petitions to the court, including for securing the claim.

Why you should choose us

– debts collection in Belarus is one of the main specializations of our law office;

– English-speaking attorneys;

– Within last 5 years we helped more than 400 companies to collect their debt in Belarus;

– Deep understanding of debt collection process in Belarus;

– We have only experienced lawyers and advocates: some of our lawyers have more than 20 years of experience in the field;

– High level of confidentiality;

– Fair pricing policy: we always make even more than we agreed!

How to find and contact us

If you decided to invest in Belarus or you are considering some options how toinvest in Belarus we will be glad to help you.

Our contacts you can find here.

Also here is the office mobile number (Telegram, Viber, WhatsApp): +37529 357 03 55.

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