New customs duties for goods from abroad are coming

The Council of the Eurasian Economic Commission, which includes Russia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia and Kazakhstan, is considering a tough option to regulate the import of goods purchased in foreign online stores. It is likely that as a result of the meeting, a new fee of 15 euros will be introduced for all purchases that are more expensive than 22 euros and heavier than 1 kg.

According to the publication Kommersant, At a meeting of the council will consider two decisions regarding cross-border Internet trading:

The first is the establishment of customs payments in the amount of 15 euros for all purchases worth 22-150 euros and weighing 1-10 kg. As for goods cheaper than 22 euros and lighter than 1 kg, then a customs fee for them will not be charged. Parcels whose value has exceeded 150 euros and / or their weight exceeds 10 kg will be subject to a customs payment of 15 euros, plus 30% of the customs value of the purchased products will have to be paid (however, at least 4 euros per 1 kg of weight )

Secondly, all goods whose customs value does not exceed 150 euros and weighs 10 kg will require a fee of 10 euros. If these parameters are exceeded, then by 10 euros will also be added 30% of the customs value, - again, at least 4 euros per 1 kg of weight.

According to Artyom Sokolov, Executive Director of AKIT, these figures are quite adequate and are consistent with international practice. Sokolov is also convinced that the adoption of new customs duties in the EAEU countries will stimulate "healthy competition between domestic online retailers and foreign ones."

At present, Russian citizens are limited by the following limits: monthly payments are not levied on purchases in foreign online stores for an amount not exceeding 1,000 euros, while the weight of the goods should not exceed 31 kg.

According to Tatyana Golendeyeva, First Deputy Head of the Federal Customs Service (FCS), now the issue of revising customs duties on imported goods from foreign online stores is particularly acute due to the devaluation of the ruble.

According to information from East-West Digital News, last year alone, about 15 million Russians at least once made purchases through the Internet in foreign stores. Especially for Russian buyers are interesting trading floors in China. In the current year, the number of goods bought abroad will increase by more than a third, which means an increase in cross-border trade by 15%, which will amount to about 240 billion rubles, in accordance with forecasts of the Association of Internet Commerce Companies (AKIT).