What is the tax on parcels from abroad in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan? What parcels are taxed

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Those who regularly buy various goods on foreign Internet sites must have encountered the customs service of their country of residence. All postal items sent to the country pass through the hands of workers in this field of activity. Customs officers examine the contents of the parcels for legality and consider the procedure for paying the appropriate fee. Such a fee is paid in the country where the goods are sent. That is, if a parcel was sent to you from Australia to Russia, then you will pay the tax in accordance with Russian law.

In this article we will consider the basic rules for the passage of postal items across the state border of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan. And find out what tax on parcels from abroad you need to pay in each of these countries.

A bit of terminology

Customs clearance - a set of procedures associated with the clearance of cargo crossing the border. Registration of interstate items (postal) is carried out through MMPO (places of international postal exchange),located in the country of the recipient. There are 24 such points in Russia. All of them have a different degree of workload, which depends on the popularity of trade and transport routes.

IGO - postal item (international), forwarded goods, package, parcel.

Declared value (estimated, customs) - the cost of the transported goods, assigned by the sender or established by the customs control officer. The tax on foreign parcels depends exactly on how much the goods sent are worth.

Duty is a tax fee charged by customs officers.

Duty-free limit - the rate of cargo by value or weight, for which no tax is levied when crossing the border. The limit is set in accordance with the legislation of the country of the recipient.

The Customs Union is a single zone consisting of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, which is a common customs territory. This means that customs does not charge taxes on parcels sent within these countries.

Methods of customs clearance

Delivery of goods to the country and subsequent customs clearance of cargo can be carried out in various ways:

1. Personally by the recipient. In the event that it becomes necessary to pay additional tax on parcels, the recipient himself deals with this issue - he goes to customs, fills out the necessary documents, pays the fee and picks up the goods.
2. Courier service. If the goods being sent comply with the established standards, all the clearance is taken over by the employees of a special delivery service. If the courier is notaccredited to work with IGOs, an additional commission is charged from the client.
3. Customs broker. Their services are usually resorted to only in controversial cases, since the work of a broker costs a lot. Usually they take at least 10% of the amount of the due fee (in practice, much more). Also, delivery services that do not have rights to work with IGOs (UPS, DHL, TNT and others) are forced to turn to the services of brokers. At the same time, VAT is additionally added to the amount of the duty.
4. Post operator. With this option, all issues related to customs are taken over by Russian Post. In this case, the parcel tax is issued in the form of a regular receipt, which the recipient will pay when he picks up the goods at the office. The usual notification will be sent to the home address that the package has arrived.

Duty in Belarus

Now let's talk about what kind of tax on foreign parcels citizens of a particular country pay. Let's start with Belarus. It is in this country that the rates are the toughest.

From mid-April this year, the duty-free limit in Belarus is only 22 €, and the weight of the item cannot exceed 10 kg. Moreover, this is a monthly rate per recipient. If the sending parameters exceed the norm, you will have to pay tax on international parcels. The duty is 30% of the amount exceeding the established limit (but not ˂ 4 € per 1 kg of cargo). And if the value of the received goods exceeds 1,000 € - the rate increases to 60%. In addition, for the very fact of customs clearance, you will have to pay additionalpay 5 € for each package.

In the event that delivery is carried out by a courier service, you will have to additionally issue a customs declaration. You can do it yourself or ask a customs broker for help. By the way, if you decide to use the services of a courier service, you should know that you will pay tax on foreign parcels received with their help for everything that exceeds the duty-free limit of 10 euros (instead of 22 €).

Until all formalities are completed, the postal item is located at the customs office located right at the airport.

Kazakhstan

The tax on parcels from abroad in this country is one of the most loyal. You will have to pay duty if:

• the cost of all shipments received in one month exceeded 1 thousand euros;
• the weight of all goods that came from abroad in your name during the month exceeded 31 kg.

Kazakh customs has some peculiarities. Here you need not only to understand which parcels are taxed, but also to know the rate of shipment of some goods:

• food - no more than 10 kg per month;
• cosmetics - maximum 3 pieces of the same kind;
• caviar (sturgeon or salmon) - no more than 250 grams;
• sports equipment, baby strollers, household appliances and some other goods - 1 pc. per person;
• bedding, shoes, clothes, toys, bicycles, kitchen and household items - maximum 2 pieces of one type of product;
• jewelry - 6pieces.

And most importantly, the tax on international parcels is not paid only for 1 shipment per month.

Ukrainian customs

In Ukraine, there is a law that came into force on April 1, 2014. In accordance with it, the limit for duty-free import of goods is 150 € per day (or 50 kg by weight).

In case of non-compliance with the norm, the parcel tax is 10% of the amount exceeding the limit, to which 20% VAT and a processing fee (about 2 euros) are added. If the package weighs more than 100 kg or its total value exceeds 10,000 €, the cost of insurance and shipping will be added to all of the above.

For clarity, everything said can be placed in the table:

Price of parcel ˂ 150 € Weight ˂ 50 kg	The cost of the parcel is ˃150 €, but ˂ 10,000 € Weight ˃50 but ˂ 100 kg	Price of parcel ˃ 10,000 € Weight ˃ 100 kg
Customs duty for one person once a day is 0%.	The duty is equal to 10% of the excess + 20% VAT + paperwork fee	10% excess + 20% VAT + paperwork fee + insurance + shipping

In Ukraine, there are also requirements for the contents of parcels:

• products - no more than 10 kg per 1 parcel;
• electronic or communications equipment - 2 maximum;
• other norms.

If you do not follow the rules, the package may be recognizedcommercial, and different rates will apply.

How to pay tax at Russian customs

In Russia today, the tax on parcels from abroad is the same as in Kazakhstan:

• monthly limit - €1,000;
• weight - no more than 31 kg.

Above limits will be subject to a 30% overage fee. In this case, the amount cannot be lower than 4 € / kg of excess weight.

Example:

1. The parcel weighs 30 kg and costs 2300 €. The fee will be: (2300 - 1000)30%=12000, 3=360 €.
2. The shipment weighs 40 kg and costs 380 €. The fee will be: (40 - 31)4=36 €.

If both the cost and weight of the postal item do not fit into the standard, then the fee is calculated in two ways, after which a large amount is presented for payment.

Exceptions to the rule

All of the above is true for shipping personal items. However, there is a group of goods that do not fall under this definition. These include:

• slot machines;
• medical equipment;
• ICE (engines);
• furniture for medical purposes (couches, massage tables, etc.);
• tanning beds;
• equipment for darkrooms;
• other goods, a full list of which can be viewed on the FCS website.

In addition, according to a special scheme, duty is paid for the so-called indivisible goods. A special scheme is applied here: duty + VAT + excise duty. To calculate the amount of suchpayment, you must additionally find out the TN VED code of a particular product.

Can the rules be circumvented?

If you are used to buying quite a lot of goods abroad, and you do not want to pay the parcel tax, you can try to circumvent the existing norms. If the cost of goods does not fit into the limit, the parcel should be divided into two or three smaller ones. It must be remembered that the interval between shipments must be more than 30 days.

There is another option: break the package into several parts, and send each of them to different people. Parcels can be sent not to your address, but to the place of residence of a friend or relative. Just don't forget to warn them about it. After all, they will have to pick up the shipment.

If you live in Belarus and have already chosen your limit of 22 € per month, you can do this. Find a friend/relative in Russia or Kazakhstan, where the duty-free limit for importing goods is much higher. Ask them to order a parcel for no more than 1,000 € in their name (give them the money, of course). When they receive the parcel, they will be able to send it to you for free in Belarus. Since these three countries are part of the Customs Union, there is no duty charged for the transfer of goods between them.

What awaits us in the near future

For some time now there has been persistent talk in Russia that the rate of duty-free importation of goods should be tightened. There are several options for this:

• pay extra 15 € for parcels over 22 but less than 150 €, weighing no moreover 10kg;
• for goods more expensive and heavier than the above, it is proposed to pay 15€ + 30% of the customs value.

There are other suggestions. For example, to tighten the rules to the standards adopted in Belarus. So far, this is all talk. However, no one guarantees that the rules will change soon.

Tips for shopaholics

Since you now know for sure whether parcels from Aliexpress, E-Bay and other marketplaces are taxed, it is worth adjusting your shopping schedule.

If you still decide to purchase goods abroad, the value or weight of which exceeds the established limits, choose delivery by regular mail. In this case, you will only pay the fee. If courier services or brokers are involved in the shipment, the overpayment amount will increase significantly.

Don't order many items of the same kind unless you can prove they are non-commercial. For example, if you have five children, then 8 identical T-shirts of different sizes can still be explained somehow. But here are 15 footballs that clearly demonstrate the commercial purpose of the package.