The Ministry of Transport has approved a list of 48 types of documents to be converted into electronic format for international cargo transportation. The list covers foreign trade agreements, invoices, technical and shipping documentation, waybills, declarations, certificates of origin, veterinary and phytosanitary certificates, as well as import and export permits for certain categories of goods. The list applies to all types of transport: air, road, rail, sea and inland waterway.
The order of the Ministry of Economic Development has identified 29 states for the development of electronic interaction. China, India, Turkey, Belarus and Kazakhstan are among the priority partners. The new mechanism is aimed at simplifying cargo clearance in key trade routes, including the "North—South" international transport corridor, as well as railway and multimodal routes between the CIS countries.
Both departmental acts were developed following discussions with relevant departments, exporters, importers and professional associations within the framework of the National Model of Targeted Business Conditions in the field of "International Trade", approved by the government in 2025.
"The transition to electronic document management and the creation of transparent supply chains will speed up the processing of international goods and reduce business costs at the border. This will have a direct impact on the development of strategic logistics initiatives linking the main ports of China and Russia. As a result of the introduction of mechanisms for mutual recognition of documents, companies will receive enormous savings in time and resources when carrying out foreign economic activity," said Denis Tyupyshev, Deputy Minister of Economic Development.
The next stage is negotiations with foreign partners and the approval of rules for the recognition of documents and electronic signatures. After that, pilot projects are planned.
"Businesses need an understandable mechanism that will allow the use of an electronic document throughout the supply chain — from the sender to the recipient abroad. Two new acts set the basis for such work: they define the range of documents and countries. The next stage is agreements with partners and pilot projects. This is a difficult job, but its result will have a significant effect on export-import operations. Companies will be able to process shipments faster, reduce administrative costs and plan delivery times more accurately," said Mikhail Utkin, Director of ASI's Investment Climate Development Division.
Domestically, the transition to a mandatory electronic format for basic transportation documents will take effect on September 1, 2026. Mutual recognition of electronic commercial and transportation documents with priority reference countries is planned by 2029. Agreed digital formats should speed up international cargo clearance, reduce shipping costs, and increase transparency in supply chains.
