The Federal Tax Service is changing its approach to foreign forwarders: when the importer is facing 10% tax on the entire amount

Previously, the logic was relatively simple: the duty of a tax agent arises only for income directly mentioned in paragraph 1 of Article 309 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, including income from international transportation (subclause 8). And forwarding services in the absence of a permanent representative office of a foreigner were usually attributed to paragraph 2 of Article 309: that is, income, which are not taxed in the Russian Federation. This position was confirmed by the explanations of the Ministry of Finance in different years — business used to consider the freight forwarding contract "not about 10%."

Now the focus has shifted to the economic “stuffing" of the payment. The Ministry of Finance points out that if the income from international transportation is paid through a forwarding company, then different components can "sit" in the total amount. Therefore, the tax consequences must be determined for each type of income, and if it is impossible to divide it, the risk increases that the tax will be calculated from the entire amount as from income from international transportation. This is where the feeling of "retraining into mediation" arises, although formally the dispute more often revolves around evidence of the payment structure and the primary, rather than around the name of the contract.

Why does it hurt importers specifically

The importer usually pays the foreign forwarder with a "single check" for turnkey delivery. In the "contract" model, the client does not see the real freight price and the size of the forwarder's margin: subcontractors are not disclosed, and there is no breakdown in the invoice. In this construction, it is easier for the tax authorities to say: "If you have not allocated it, then you must keep it." The risk is increased by the fact that the rate on income related to international transportation appears in the practice of applying the norms of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation as 10%, and the obligation to withhold is imposed on the payer, a Russian tax agent.

What to do to avoid falling into the “tax trap”

1. Embed the breakdown in the contract and the primary. Separate lines/appendices are needed: freight (transportation) separately, forwarder's remuneration separately, other services separately.
2. Pull up supporting documents: carrier invoices, routes, bills of lading/CMR, acts detailing the stages.
3. Decide on the scheme in advance. If you want an "agency" model, fix the cost overexpenditure and transparent commission. If a "contract" is unavoidable, at least achieve manageable detail (even without disclosing all subcontractors, but with the allocation of the transportation tariff as a base).
4. Evaluate the country factor. In some cases, special regimes/reservations apply to international agreements and their suspension; the letter from the Ministry of Finance specifically mentions the conditions under which retention may not be carried out under a number of agreements until 12/31/2025 (the date of conclusion and other criteria are important).

The main conclusion for the foreign economic activity market is that the tax risk now depends not on the heading "feasibility study", but on whether you can document the payment for transportation and forwarder services. The blacker the box, the higher the probability that the dispute will end with additional charges at the expense of the importer.