Customs clearance in Russia

Customs clearance procedures are longwinded and complicated. Clearance can only be completed by the consignee who must be a company registered in Russia. All duties and VAT have to be paid to Customs prior to release of goods. Payment of VAT/duty on some items must be paid in advance to Customs before the container/trailer is allowed to cross the border. This particularly applies to items such as spirits and tobacco.

Customs duties

Customs duties are levied according to the type of goods imported and their origin. Duties are normally expressed as a percentage of the value of the goods imported. However, they may also be expressed as a set amount of euros per unit or kilogram or as a combination (the greater of the two).  A customs processing fee of 0.15% of the cost is also levied. Customs duties are payable in rubles at the current exchange rate. According to customs regulations, processing should take no longer than 3 days. If goods are refused entry by Russian Customs, regulations call for their return to the country of origin.

Customs clearance procedures

Customs clearance procedures are the essential part of International transportations. Arivist offers a complex of services in customs clearance assistance for import, export and transit shipments dispatched by all means of transport.

Customs Tariffs

Customs Tariffs are the tariff codes nominated by the Customs Department to each and every different moveable product imported or exported. The Customs Tariff Classification of a product is applied in terms of legal principles of tariff interpretation and determines the rate of duty applicable. Due to advanced technology and the increasing number of new and sophisticated products being traded internationally, the classification of products under their correct tariff headings have also become more complex. Importers and Exporters generally do not have the required technical knowledge of the customs tariff to classify their goods correctly, resulting in either overpayment of duties or underpayments of duties. An incorrect tariff classification of a product may have serious financial implications for the manufacturer, importer or exporter.

Declaration of goods

The declaration of goods is effected through submission to the customs authorities of information pertaining to goods and their customs procedural status, as well as of any other information, which may be required for customs clearance purposes, in a customs declaration or by any other method stipulated by this Customs Code in a written, verbal, electronic, or contracting form. Declaration of goods may be effected either by a declarant or by a customs broker (agent) at the declarant’s discretion. The scope of information to be entered in a customs declaration is limited to the details which are required for calculating and levying dutiable payments, gathering customs statistics, and applying the customs legislation of the Russian Federation.

Temporary importation

Temporary importation constitutes a customs procedure under which foreign goods are utilised in the customs territory of the Russian Federation within a designated period of time (goods processing period) with complete or partial conditional exemption from customs duties and without subjecting such goods to any economic restrictions of prohibitions stipulated by the Federal Law of the Russian Federation on the State Regulation of Foreign Trade Activities.