Skopje, 29 July 2022 (MIA) - After the alarm that one of Open Balkan lanes was not working at the Tabanovce border crossing, two others have been put into use that the trucks will be able to use without interruption, said Minister of Interior Oliver Spasovski and Customs Administration director Slavica Kutirov on Friday. As Spasovski and Kutirov said after the visit to Tabanovce, the crowds during this period are very large due to the annual holidays, but every effort must be made to ensure a smooth flow of goods, especially those with a short shelf life, as well as swift passage of passengers. In order to speed up and facilitate the flow of goods, as Kutirov announced, a change in the import customs procedure will be implemented on October 1, which will allow for goods to be automatically released into free circulation in an hour, provided the necessary declaration is submitted correctly and the customs debt is settled. In the first seven months of the year, the frequency of vehicles and passengers at the border crossings for entry and exit from the country has increased by 45 percent, and by 30 percent at Tabanovce. "All facilities at the border crossings are working at full capacity. We worked on opening two new lanes at Tabanovce and this is already being realized in order to have a faster flow. Regarding Open Balkan, it does not mean that the ramps are raised and that one can enter and exit without stopping. When there is a border crossing, there are procedures that must be followed from a security point of view and from any other point of view. So, the initiative does not mean raising the ramps, but that the countries from the Open Balkan will have far better privileges when passing. Analyses are still being made where the transit time can be shortened," said Spasovski. At the moment, 10 lanes operate on Tabanovce - two for trucks, one for buses, which is occasionally used for passenger vehicles, and another seven lanes for passenger vehicles. Digitization and electronic signaling will be priorities for even greater efficiency at this border crossing. dk/ik/