Customs Administration tonight said that after the checks, it was determined that it was not recorded at all that the bus of "Besa Trans", which burned in a terrible accident on a highway in Bulgaria, left the country. Two customs officers have been suspended for misconduct.

Regarding the information presented to the public regarding the competencies of the Customs Administration of the Republic of Northern Macedonia in controlling the entry and exit of vehicles and carriers performing international free transport of passengers, as well as the action in this case, we inform you about the following:

Pursuant to Article 49 of the Law on Road Transport, when performing free transport of passengers in international road traffic, depending on the type of transport, the carrier must have: license certificate, travel order in original, evident sheet for passenger transport , an agreement concluded between the carrier and the service provider and a correctly and accurately completed travel form on a prescribed form, signed and certified by the carrier and certified by the competent customs services.

Based on these attached documents, the Customs Administration electronically records the transport at the entrance or exit at the first and second crossing of the vehicle through the border crossing of the Republic of Northern Macedonia, depending on the transport route.

For the vehicle with license plates SK 0284 BA of the carrier BESA Trans from Skopje, in the period from 15.10.2020 to 11.11.2021, the Customs Administration has registered several crossings, through the border crossings: GCI Deve Bair, GCI Blace, GCI Kjafasan Delchevo, for different types of transport, including records of the number of the Excerpt from the License for performing public transport in the international road traffic - free transport of passengers. The authenticity of these attached documents will be further checked by the carrier.

The initial findings from the internal control show that on 18.11.2021, by the customs officers electronically the exit of the vehicle with license plates SK0284BA on the carrier BESA Trans from Skopje was not registered, only the registration sheet was verified for passenger transport.

"For the identified irregularities in the action, for two customs officers who were on duty when the vehicle left the country, measures will be taken to suspend the workplace, and for their immediate manager will follow a sanctioning measure," the statement said.