Russian Customs Regulations

Russian customs regulations are tangled and have special features. To export personal item(s) worth over $10,000 you will need to pay 30%. Besides, if customs officials determine your items to be of commercial use, they'll apply additional export duties. All items which are of cultural or historical value - icons, antiques, paintings, coins, etc. - may be taken out of Russia only with prior written approval of the Ministry of Culture and payment of 100% duty. Certain items, such as caviar, medications, jewelry, precious or semi-precious stones, or metals and fuel may be exported duty-free in limited amounts.

As computers’ hard-drives may be scanned by customs officials, it is recommended to present your laptops to customs at least 1,5 hours before you depart.

Important: It's necessary to present customs declaration upon arrival with amount of currency brought into the country declared and all valuable items listed (including your mobile phone). Make certain that the declaration is officially stamped by customs officials on entry in order to prevent problems in taking currency and valuables out. Remember that a signature by a customs official is not sufficient - you need to have a stamp on your declaration, only thus it will be valid. Otherwise you will not be able to prove that you possessed that ring or a mobile phone prior to your visit.

Customs Regulations and the Customs System of the Russian Federation

1. In accordance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the customs regulations are subject to the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation in establishing the norms and the rules whose observance shall enable persons to fulfil their rights to convey merchandise and means of transport across the customs border of the Russian Federation (hereinafter, the customs border).

The customs regulations shall be exercised in accordance with the customs legislation of the Russian Federation and the effective Federal Law of the Russian Federation on the State Regulation of Foreign Trade Activities.

2. The customs system incorporates the methods and the facilities applied to ensure the observance of customs-tariff regulations, prohibitions, and restrictions stipulated by the effective Federal Law of the Russian Federation on the State Regulation of Foreign Trade Activities associated with conveyance of merchandise and means of transport across the customs border.

3. In accordance with Russian federal legislation, the Government of the Russian Federation exercises general supervision of the customs system.

The Federal Customs Authority shall warrant proper fulfilment of customs-related tasks and uniformity of application by all customs authorities of the customs legislation of the Russian Federation on the territory of the Russian Federation.

4. The Russian Federation participates in international cooperation in the field of customs regulations with a view to harmonizing and amending the customs legislation of the Russian Federation in conformity with generally recognised international norms and practices.Customs Territory and Customs Border of the Russian Federation.

1. The territory of the Russian Federation constitutes the only customs territory of the Russian Federation.

2. The customs territory of the Russian Federation also includes man-made islands, installations, and structures situated in the exclusive economic zone of the Russian Federation as well as those located on the continental shelf of the Russian Federation subject to the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation in accordance with Russian federal law.

3. The territory of the Russian Federation may incorporate special economic zones set up in accordance with Russian federal legislation, which constitute an integral part of the customs territory of the Russian Federation. The merchandise placed on the territory of said special economic zones shall be regarded as situated outside the customs territory of the Russian Federation in terms of its liability for customs duties, taxes, and economic prohibitions and restrictions pursuant to the effective Federal Law of the Russian Federation on the State Regulation of Foreign Trade Activities, except in those instances stipulated by this Customs Code and other federal laws.

4. The boundaries of the customs territory of the Russian Federation, including the perimeters of the territories specified in Items 2 and 3 herein, shall comprise the customs border of the Russian Federation.

5. The customs border coincides with the State Border of the Russian Federation except the boundaries of the territories specified in Items 2 and 3 herein.

Customs Legislation of the Russian Federation. Legal Acts of President and Government of the Russian Federation

1. The customs legislation of the Russian Federation regulates relations in the sphere of the customs system including those stipulated by the adoption of the customs border crossing procedures for merchandise and/or means of transport, arising in the process of customs registration and customs control measures, due to persons’ complaints to legal acts, actions (inaction) of customs offices and their officers, resulting from the introduction and application of various customs procedures, as well as the relations associated with the establishment, levying and collection of dutiable payments.
The customs border crossing procedures applicable to the merchandise and means of transport conveyed across the customs border, the latter coinciding with the State Border of the Russian Federation, shall be governed by the Federal Law on the State Border of the Russian Federation and in those instances which are not regulated by the Federal Law on the State Border of the Russian Federation, by the customs legislation of the Russian Federation.
As regards the relations predicated on the establishment, levying and collection of dutiable payments, the customs legislation of the Russian Federation shall only apply in those instances which are not regulated by Russian legislation on taxes and duties.

2. The customs legislation of the Russian Federation consists of this Customs Code and other federal statutes adopted pursuant to this Customs Code (hereinafter, the statutes of the customs legislation).

3. The relations specified in Item 1 herein may also be regulated by decrees issued by the President of the Russian Federation.

Based on and pursuant to the statutes of the customs legislation and pertinent decrees of the President of the Russian Federation, the Government of the Russian Federation shall issue specific resolutions and directives pertaining to the customs system.

Validity of Statutes of Customs Legislation and other Legal Acts of the Russian Federation

1. The statutes of the customs legislation, the decrees issued by the President of the Russian Federation, the resolutions and the directives of the Government of the Russian Federation (hereinafter, other legal acts of the Russian Federation) shall apply to the relations resulting from their enactment, and they shall have no retroactive effect, except in those cases stipulated by Item 2 herein.

2. The statutes of the customs legislation and other legal acts of the Russian Federation adopted to improve the customs formalities applicable to persons shall have retroactive effect provided such effect is directly stipulated by them. In other situations, the statutes of the customs legislation and other legal acts of the Russian Federation may only have retroactive effect if the latter effect is stipulated by federal laws or the international treaties to which the Russian Federation is party.

3. The statutes of the customs legislation shall go into effect not earlier than in one month from the date of their official publication.

4. The prohibitions, restrictions or requirements pertaining to the customs system set forth by other legal acts of the Russian Federation shall go into effect not earlier than in one month from the date of official publication of said acts except the instances when:
the respective clauses of the legislative acts, on whose basis and pursuant to which other normative legal acts of the Russian Federation have been issued with an intent to warrant the observance of the prohibitions and restrictions introduced in accordance with the Law of the Russian Federation on the State Regulation of External Economic Activities, directly stipulate that they be enforced within a shorter period of time;
this Customs Code sets forth a special procedure for the enforcement of said prohibitions, restrictions or requirements.

Legal Acts of the Federal Customs Authority

1. In those instances which are directly defined by the statutes of the customs legislation and other legal acts of the Russian Federation, the Federal Customs Authority within the limits of its competence shall issue normative legal acts pertaining to the customs system.

2. The normative legal acts of the Federal Customs Authority shall be subject to state registration and official publication in accordance with the procedure established for the state registration and official publication of normative legal acts issued by the federal executive power bodies.

3. The normative legal acts of the Federal Customs Authority shall go into effect not earlier than in ten days following their official publication with the exception of the instances when:
respective clauses of the statutes of the customs legislation and of other legal acts of the Russian Federation on whose basis and pursuant to which the Federal Customs Authority has issued its normative legal acts ought to go into effect within a shorter period of time;
the normative legal acts of the Federal Customs Authority stipulate more equitable procedures than those currently applied. In this case, the time terms for the entry into force of such legal acts may be shortened or they may have a retroactive effect.
this Customs Code establishes a special procedure for the entry into force of the normative legal acts issued by the Federal Customs Authority.

4. The normative legal acts of the Federal Customs Authority affecting the rights and lawful interests of the persons involved in entrepreneurial and/or other economic activities may be appealed in arbitration tribunals in accordance with the provisions of the Arbitration Procedural Code of the Russian Federation.

Requirements Laid to Statutes of Customs Legislation, Other Legal Acts of the Russian Federation, and Legal Acts Issued by the Federal Customs Authority

1. The clauses and provisions of the statutes comprising the customs legislation and the normative legal acts pertaining to customs ought to be worded and formulated so as to ensure clear understanding by every person of his (or her) rights and obligations, as well as his (or her) actions and their sequence in the process of conveyance of goods and means of transport across the customs border.

2. The clauses of the legal acts of the Federal Customs Authority may not contradict the provisions of the statutes of the customs legislation or any other legal act of the Russian Federation or the requirements, prohibitions and restrictions that are not stipulated either by the statutes of the customs legislation or by other legal acts of the Russian Federation.

3. A normative legal act pertaining to the customs system shall be regarded as inconsistent with this Customs Code if said act:
1) has been issued by a body that is not authorised by this Customs Code to issue such legal acts or its issuance contravenes the order established for the issuance of such legal acts;
2) repeals or constrains the rights of persons with regard to goods or means of transport or affects the powers of the customs authorities laid down by this Customs Code;
3) changes the provisions, conditions, sequence, or order of actions set forth by this Customs Code undertaken by participants of the relations regulated by the customs legislation of the Russian Federation or by any other persons whose responsibilities are defined by the provisions of this Customs Code;
4) alters the substance of the provisions set forth in this Customs Code, or in case such provisions are applied with connotations other than those stipulated by this Customs Code.

4. The normative legal acts specified in Item 1 herein shall be regarded as inconsistent with this Customs Code in case at least one precondition specified by Sub-Item 3) of Item 3 herein applies. Said normative legal act can only be pronounced inconsistent with this Customs Code by an explicit court ruling to that effect.

5. No person may be prosecuted for a violation of any customs regulation if such violation was predicated on vagueness of the legal norm in question contained in the normative legal act pertaining to the customs system.

6. The state shall be obliged to recompense the losses incurred by persons as a result of untimely adoption, entry into force, and/or publication of normative legal whose passage is stipulated by this Customs Code and reimburse the losses caused by inaccurate information circulated by the customs authorities. Compensations shall be repaid from the Treasury of the Russian Federation in accordance with the order set forth by the applicable Russian legislation.

Application of Customs Tariff Regulations, Prohibitions and Restrictions Stipulated by the Federal Law of the Russian Federation on the State Regulation of Foreign Trade Activities and Statues of Federal Legislation on Customs Duties and Taxes

The customs system shall be subject to customs tariff regulations, prohibitions and restrictions stipulated by the Federal Law of the Russian Federation on the State Regulation of Foreign Trade Activities and the statues of Russian legislation on taxes and duties effective on the date of acceptance of a customs declaration unless other provisions thereto apply.