Federal Law No. 276-FZ of 07.26.2026 entered into force on August 26, 2026. One of its provisions allows residents of priority development territories to transport goods for their own production and technological needs between several TOP sites where customs control zones have been established as part of the free customs zone procedure.
The essence of the restriction that is being lifted is clear to those who have encountered it. The procedure of the free customs zone allows the import of foreign raw materials, components and equipment without payment of duties and taxes, provided that the goods are located and used within the boundaries of the established customs control zone. So far, there is only one plot, there are no questions. As soon as a resident has a second or third site — a warehouse in one place, processing in another, assembly in a third — each movement between them rests on the boundaries of the zone.
Now such movements are allowed directly by law, if the goods are used for the resident's own production and technological needs.
The economic effect consists of three parts. The first is that the goods remain under the procedure of a free customs zone and do not require payment of payments during transportation. Secondly, there is no need to split up the production chain according to the geography of the zone or duplicate storage facilities at each site. Third— the administrative cycle is shortened: fewer approvals per batch, fewer reasons to stop the process.
The restriction remains meaningful: it is about the resident's own needs, and not about the resale or transfer of goods to third parties. The formulation should be kept in mind when building the internal logic of the movement of materials.
What should TOP residents with multiple sites do? Reassemble the flow pattern of raw materials and components between sites, taking into account the new opportunity, and evaluate where previously it was necessary to go around. Coordinate this scheme with the customs authority before the first shipment — the accounting and reporting procedure for goods remains under the procedure, and the discrepancy between the actual movement and the accounting model creates a risk during verification. And describe in advance in the regulations how the qualification of movement as a production need is documented: it is this criterion that will be checked.
