From January 1, 2019, new duty-free limits on parcels from abroad came into force in Russia. Now, for each recipient, the duty-free limit is 500 euros and 31 kg per calendar month. In terms of the amount, the new limits were exactly two times lower than those in force earlier.
The practice of supporting the domestic economy is not new, and Russia has not become a pioneer in this regard. For example, our neighbors Belarusians have a duty-free limit of just ridiculous 22 euros and 10 kilograms per month (regardless of the number of purchases).
In Russia, such changes have been brewing for a long time, and have been discussed more than once at different levels, and have always caused a negative reaction from the target audience, against which they were actually created.
On the one hand, the meaning of such measures is clear, on the other hand, the very need to introduce such restrictions speaks of the imperfection of economic processes, due to which the adoption of such measures is required. It is not yet known whether the new limits will have a positive effect, since experienced buyers, especially those for whom foreign trade is a business, have already come up with more than one option to bypass these restrictions. For the rest, this is a reason to place orders more carefully, paying attention to both weight and amount.
It is important to understand how this very duty is calculated, the amount of which, unlike the limits, has not undergone changes – only volumes of both weight and prices are payable, in the amount of 30% of the cost, but not less than 4 euros per 1 kg of weight in part exceeding the cost or weight norm.
For example, if a parcel with your order worth up to 500 euros weighs 36 kg, the duty is calculated using the formula:
(36-31) 4 = 20 euros.
If the cost is exceeded, for example, 550 euros, and not the weight, then the calculation will be as follows:
(550-500) 30% = 500.3 = 15 euros.
If both weight and cost are exceeded, the excess is calculated for both indicators, but the amount that turns out to be greater is taken for payment.
Payment is made in rubles at the exchange rate of the Central Bank.
What to do? Given the surrounding reality, get used to it and look for ways out.
Is the Russian Post a customs officer?
In addition to the news about the reduction of the duty-free limit, there is another innovation that raises more questions than answers – from January 9, the Russian Post began to remotely collect duties on goods from foreign online stores.
The project was developed jointly with the Federal Customs Service and implies the creation of a universal platform for cross-border Internet commerce, which will allow the payment of duties on purchases worth more than 500 euros directly at the time of payment for the goods in the online store, and not after receiving it at the post office.
According to representatives of the Russian Post and the Federal Customs Service, in the near future the opportunity to pay duties online will become available to buyers of the largest foreign online stores, which will cover more than 90% of postal items received by Russian buyers from foreign retailers.
It is planned that any international trading platforms will be able to join the experiment, since “the principles of work are common for all participants.”
'Beginning to collect remotely' in this case means 'received the authority to collect duties', since there is no information about the mechanisms actually working for the implementation of these powers. But this does not mean that they will not appear in the very near future, so we stock up on popcorn and carefully watch what is happening.
In accordance with the project, other companies will be able to become such an authorized operator with the right to collect duties, but there are no tools for this at the moment, which means that the declared possibility will be only on paper for a certain amount of time.
It is not difficult to predict what this will lead to: with a high degree of probability, to an increase in the load on the Russian Post, which means to an increase in the cost and deterioration of the quality of services due to the monopolization of the postal services market, where the Russian Post will be the only authorized operator.
Can you start to panic? In fact, considering today's exchange rates, € 500 turns out to be a pretty decent amount. Of course, if we are talking about the current flagships of first-tier manufacturers, then 500 euros will not be enough, but it will be enough for their last year's flagships and current flagship solutions from B-brands.
In the meantime, the limit has not been reduced to the planned 200 euros (this is planned to be done by 2020), I offer you a selection of relevant smartphones that can be bought today in foreign online stores and at the same time do not have to pay the air duty.
As examples, given are stores where you can buy new devices at fixed prices, without any auctions and scattering of the technical condition of these very devices.
For example, the German online electronics store computeruniverse.net, popular with Russian buyers, offers the following models for 500 euros:
Samsung GALAXY S8 with 64.0 GB storage available for 489 euros
Google Pixel 2 XL with 64.0 GB storage available for 481 €
LG V30 with 64.0 GB of memory will cost 466 euros
To this amount, you must also add the cost of delivery, which for phones will be about 40 euros more.
At the same time, a special feature of this store is the deduction of VAT tax for buyers who are not citizens of the European Union. This means that the total cost will be 20% lower, so it makes sense to take a closer look at goods costing 20% above 500 euros. At checkout, VAT will be deducted, and the final price tag will be lower by the same 20%.
As for the equipment Apple, for 500 euros, even in the American official store of the apple company, where prices are lower than in the European and Russian branches, you will not be able to buy iPhone the current model range without duty .
Prices start at $ 749 for the Xr model, which at current exchange rates is € 659. It's a shame.
And even last year's iPhone 8 no longer fits into the new duty-free limit. At a cost of $ 599, the price in euros turns out to be 527 euros, which is 27 euros more than the limit.
The question remains as to how the cost of smartphones will be calculated if the seller indicates a price below the duty-free limit. On the one hand, this is a risk for the buyer, if the parcel is lost, to receive under the insurance the underestimated amount indicated by the seller in the declaration, on the other hand, the customs reserves the right to doubt the veracity of the indicated price and demand from the buyer links to purchased goods or screenshots from online stores . And then you will definitely have to pay.
Conclusion
The changes themselves did not come as a surprise, since they were announced a long time ago, and if you believe the information received earlier, then lowering the threshold to 500 euros is only the first stage, and by 2020 we will see a decrease in the limit to 200 euros and 15 kg.
It is difficult to say how much this will help the Russian economy, but it is safe to say that it will help fill the pockets of the owners of Russian enterprises that are part of AKIT. Nothing new and surprising if we remember that it was AKIT members who initiated these changes, and then actively lobbied for them.