Starting from March 1, 2026, a register of notifications on freight forwarding activities based on the national GosLog platform will be launched in Russia. The registry is maintained in electronic form, and the operator is Rostransnadzor. The notification is provided through the forwarder's personal account in Public Services with an electronic signature.
A transition period of 60 calendar days from the launch date has been set for existing companies and sole proprietors. In practice, the key guideline for the deadline in the professional environment is associated with the end of April 2026. The task of the business here is simple: to have time to enter the registry before the moment when work without registration begins to be interpreted as a violation with financial consequences.
There is a stricter rule for new market participants. The notification is submitted before the start of forwarding services. The right to work arises from the day the information is entered into the register and ends on the day the entry is deleted. This approach changes the usual logic of starting a business: the launch of sales of forwarding services must be synchronized with the availability of documents, signatures and EDI.
A separate layer of changes is related to electronic document management. The transition to mandatory electronic exchange of forwarding documents is scheduled for September 1, 2026. Companies that postpone setting up EDI risk having their processes disrupted during peak seasons. Training includes the selection of an operator, the release and distribution of an item instance, setting up approval routes, employee training, and data storage and quality control regulations.
The penalty part looks tough and is understandable to the market. Sanctions have been announced for activities without inclusion in the register: 3-5 thousand rubles for citizens, 100-300 thousand rubles for legal entities. In case of repeated violations, the amounts increase to 10 thousand rubles for individuals and up to 500 thousand – 1 million rubles for companies.
The practical conclusion for the forwarder comes down to the checklist. It is necessary to check in advance whether the company actually falls under the forwarding activity, prepare a package of supporting documents, issue a valid signature, set up an office for Public Services, appoint those responsible for EDI and deadline control. It is important to take into account the frequent question about the OKVED: if there is a code, but the service is not actually provided, notification is not required. It is better to document the internal position in order to safely pass counterparty checks and compliance in banks.
