The Federal Customs Service tightened the rules: importers' costs of importing goods increased by 10%
The new business reality means that now, when declaring, it is necessary to include in the price not only the price of the product itself, but also all related commissions paid to intermediaries for financial transactions. This is especially true for trade with Asian countries, where up to 70% of settlements are carried out with the involvement of such payment agents. The Agency, justifying its position, refers to Article 40 of the EAEU Customs Code, which interprets the customs value as the sum of all payments related to the import of goods, as well as to the established judicial practice allowing such additional charges.
However, the main difficulty for importers lies not in the fact of the new requirements themselves, but in the lack of transparent and uniform criteria for their application. The business complains about the inability to predict in advance whether the declared value will be accepted by customs or not. Companies do not have access to the same analytical systems as the FCS, which compare prices with certain market benchmarks. As a result, the declaration process turns into a lottery: in order to minimize risks, companies are forced to conduct internal audits, study historical supply data, and prepare an expanded package of documents, including pricing explanations, catalogs, and price lists.
The consequences of non-compliance with the new rules can be serious: additional charges of unpaid customs duties with penalties, administrative fines ranging from half to two times the amount of arrears, and even confiscation of goods. But the most significant effect is felt by the end customers. The increase in importers' costs is inevitably translated into retail prices. This affects low—margin consumer goods the most - household chemicals, inexpensive electronics, and consumer products. For example, a package of washing powder may rise in price by 30-40 rubles.
Experts warn that if the current practice is spontaneous and unsystematic, it may lead to the disappearance of some inexpensive imports from the shelves of Russian stores. To avoid this, business calls on the regulator to engage in dialogue and develop clear, understandable and fair rules of the game. The key criteria could be a direct connection of the payment with a specific delivery (only fees directly related to the transfer of money to the supplier are subject to inclusion) and mandatory documentary evidence of all costs. This would make it possible to combine the tasks of replenishing the budget and combating unscrupulous participants in foreign economic activity with the need to maintain a healthy competitive environment and the availability of goods to the public.
