What is the tax on parcels from abroad in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan? What parcels are taxed

Those who regularly buy different goods on foreign Internet sites, necessarily collided with the customs service of the country of residence. Through the hands of workers in this field of activity, all postal items sent to the country pass. Customs officers study the contents of parcels for the sake of legality and consider the procedure for payment of the relevant fee. Such a fee is paid in the country to which the goods are sent. That is, if you were sent a parcel from Australia to Russia, then you will pay the tax in accordance with Russian legislation.

In this article we will consider the basic rules for the passage of postal items across the state border of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan. And we learn what tax on parcels from abroad is to be paid in each of these countries.

Some terminology

Customs clearance - a set of procedures associated with the design of cargo crossing the border. Registration of interstate dispatches (postal) is carried out through MMPO (places of international postal exchange) located in the recipient's country. In Russia, there are 24 such items. All of them have a different degree of congestion, which depends on the popularity of trade and transport routes.

IGO - postal (international), sent goods, package, parcel.

Declared value (estimated, customs) - the cost of the goods being transported, appointed by the sender or established by the customs control officer. The tax on foreign parcels depends on the cost of the goods being shipped.

The duty is a tax charge accrued by customs officials.

Duty-free limit - the rate of the cargo at a cost or weight, for which no tax is levied when crossing the border. The limit is established in accordance with the legislation of the recipient country.

The Customs Union is a single zone consisting of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, which is a common customs territory. This means that the customs tax on the parcels sent inside these countries does not take.

Ways of passing customs

Delivery of goods to the country and subsequent customs clearance of the goods can be carried out in various ways:

1. Personally, the recipient. In the event that it becomes necessary to pay an additional tax on parcels, the recipient himself is engaged in this matter - goes to customs, fills in the necessary documents, pays for the collection and picks up the cargo.
2. By courier service. If the goods sent are in compliance with the established standards, all the clearance is incurred by the employees of the special delivery service. If the courier is not accredited to work with the IGO, an additional commission is charged from the customer.
3. Customs broker. Their services are usually used only in disputable cases, since the work of the broker is worth a lot. Usually they take not less than 10% of the amount of the due fee (in practice much more). Also, brokers are forced to contact delivery services that do not have the right to work with IGOs (UPS, DHL, TNT and others). At the same time, VAT is additionally added to the amount of the duty.
4. The postal operator. At this variant, all the questions connected with customs are taken up by the "Post of Russia". The tax on the parcel in this case is formalized in the form of an ordinary receipt, which the recipient will pay when he takes the goods in the office. At home, the usual notification will come that a parcel has arrived.

Fees in Belarus

Now let's talk about the tax on foreign parcels paid by citizens of a particular country. Let's start with Belarus. It is in this country that the stakes are the toughest.

Since the middle of April this year the duty-free limit in Belarus is only 22 €, and the weight of the shipment can not exceed 10 kg. And this is the monthly rate per recipient. If the departure parameters exceed the norm, you will have to pay tax on international parcels. The fee is 30% of the amount exceeding the established limit (but not ˂ 4 € per 1 kg of cargo). And if the value of the received goods exceeds 1 000 € - the rate increases to 60%. In addition, for the very fact of customs clearance you will have to pay an additional 5 € for each parcel.

In the event that the delivery is carried out by the courier service, it will be necessary to register the customs declaration in addition . You can do it yourself or ask for help from a customs broker. By the way, if you decide to use the courier service, it is worth knowing that the tax on foreign parcels received with their help, you will pay for everything that exceeds the duty-free limit of 10 euros (instead of 22 €).

Until all formalities are met, the postal item is at a customs station located right at the airport.

Kazakhstan

The tax on parcels from abroad in this country is one of the most loyal. You will have to pay a fee if:

• The cost of all items received in one month exceeded 1 thousand euros;
• The weight of all goods that came from abroad to your name within a month exceeded 31 kg.

The Kazakh customs has some features. Here it is necessary not only to understand what parcels are taxed, but also to know the rate of shipment of certain goods:

• Food products - not more than 10 kg per month;
• Cosmetics - a maximum of 3 pieces of the same kind;
• Caviar (sturgeon or salmon) - no more than 250 grams;
• Sport equipment, baby carriages, household appliances and some other goods - 1 pc. Per person;
• Bed-clothes, footwear, clothes, toys, bicycles, kitchen and household accessories - a maximum of 2 pieces of one kind of goods;
• Jewelry - 6 pieces.

And most importantly - the tax on international parcels is not paid only for 1 departure per month.

Ukrainian Customs

Ukraine has a law that came into force on April 1, 2014. In accordance with it, the limit for duty-free import of goods is 150 € per day (or 50 kg by weight).

In case of non-compliance with the norm, the parcel tax is 10% of the amount exceeding the limit, to which is added 20% VAT and registration fee (about 2 euros). If the parcel weighs more than 100 kg or its total value exceeds 10 000 €, the cost of insurance and delivery of cargo is added to all of the above.

All that is said for clarity can be placed in the table:

In Ukraine, there are also requirements for the content of parcels:

• Products - not more than 10 kg per 1 parcel;
• Electronic equipment or means of communication - a maximum of 2 pieces;
• Other norms.

If you do not follow the rules, the parcel can be recognized as commercial, and the rates of payment will be applied quite different.

How to pay tax on Russian customs

In Russia today, the tax on parcels from abroad is the same as in Kazakhstan:

• Monthly limit - 1 000 €;
• Weight - not more than 31 kg.

For exceeding the standards, a fee of 30% is charged for the surplus. At the same time, the amount can not be less than 4 € / kg of excess weight.

Example:

1. The parcel weighs 30 kg and costs 2300 €. The fee will be: (2300 - 1000) * 30% = 1200 * 0.3 = 360 €.
2. The departure weighs 40 kg and costs 380 €. The fee will be: (40 - 31) * 4 = 36 €.

If the value does not fit into the standard, and the weight of the postal item, the duty is calculated in two ways, after which a large sum is paid for payment.

Exceptions to the rules

All of the above is true for the transfer of personal goods. However, there is a group of products that do not fall under this definition. These include:

• Slot machines;
• Medaparparature;
• Diesel engines (engines);
• Furniture, having medical purpose (couches, massage tables and others);
• Solariums;
• Equipment for photolaboratories;
• Other goods, a full list of which can be found on the FCS website.

In addition, according to a special scheme, a fee is paid for the so-called indivisible goods. A special scheme is applied here: duty + VAT + excise duty. In order to calculate the amount of such payment it is necessary to find out the HS code of foreign trade of a specific commodity.

Can the norms be bypassed?

If you are used to buying quite a lot of goods abroad, and you do not want to pay tax on parcels, you can try to bypass existing norms. If the cost of goods does not fit into the limit, the parcel should be divided into two or three smaller ones. It should be remembered that the interval between the items should be more than 30 days.

There is one more option: break up the parcel into several parts, and send each of them to different people. Parcels can be sent not to your own address, but to the place of residence of a friend or relative. Just do not forget to warn them about it. After all, they should take the departure.

If you live in Belarus and have already chosen your limit of 22 € per month, you can do so. Find a friend / relative in Russia or Kazakhstan, where the duty-free limit of importing goods is much higher. Ask them to order a parcel of no more than € 1,000 in their name (of course, give them money for this). When they receive the parcel, they will be able to send it to you free of charge in Belarus. Since these three countries are members of the Customs Union, there is no fee for transferring goods between them.

What awaits us in the near future

For some time in Russia there have been persistent talks that the duty-free import of goods should be tightened. There are several options for this:

• To pay 15 € for parcels, the cost of which is more than 22, but less than 150 €, with a weight not exceeding 10 kg;
• For goods more expensive and heavier than the above, it is proposed to pay 15 € + 30% of the customs value.

There are other suggestions. For example, tighten the rules to the norms adopted in Belarus. While all this is talk. However, no one guarantees that the rules will be changed soon.

Tips for Shopaholics

Since you now know for sure whether the parcels from Aliexpress, E-Bay and other trading platforms are taxed, it is worth adjusting the schedule of your purchases. If you still decide to purchase a product abroad whose value or weight exceeds the established limits, choose delivery by regular mail. In this case, you pay only the fee. If the courier services or brokers are involved in the transfer, the amount of the overpayment will significantly increase.

Do not order a lot of goods of the same kind, if you can not prove their non-commercial purpose. For example, if you have five children, then 8 identical t-shirts of different sizes can still be explained. But 15 footballs are clearly demonstrating the commercial purpose of the parcel.