"Mail of Russia" will help to collect duties from overseas purchases

Foreign online stores remain for Russian officials the best source for replenishing the state budget (fortunately for us, so far only in the future). Introduction of VAT for foreign stores , lowering the threshold of duty-free import of goods to € 200 or even to € 22 - such initiatives are constantly discussed in the highest circles. Here and "Mail of Russia" does not lag behind, offering to charge duties on foreign parcels more expensive than € 50. In this case, the duty is proposed to pay automatically, even when buying from an online store.



Pochta Rossii offered to reduce the threshold of duty-free import of goods from January 1, 2019 to € 200, from January 1, 2020 to € 100 and a year later to € 50. According to the head of the post office Nikolay Podguzov, a gradual decrease in the threshold will allow maintaining the growth rates of cross-border e-commerce. A sharp reduction in incoming parcels may also affect Russian Post itself, in which this business is now going uphill. In the first quarter of 2017, mail processed 70.9 million international parcels, which is 50% higher than the same period last year.







Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich instructed to review the mail offer and “update the calculation of the budget effect at different thresholds with the participation of the Ministry of Finance and the Post of Russia”.



Recall that the plan, previously developed by the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission, provides for a reduction of the limit from January 1, 2019 to € 500, and from 2020 to € 200. Now in the EEU countries a different duty-free threshold is operating, for example, in Armenia - $ 150, in Kazakhstan and Russia - € 1000. In Belarus, the threshold was reduced from € 200 to € 22 at the beginning of 2016. This resulted in a 37% drop in incoming shipments, the market has more than halved in six months - from 1.67 million to 0.73 million shipments, and now local mail plans to demand an increase in the limit to € 150. While in the EEU countries there are different limits for duty-free entry, citizens have the opportunity to avoid fees by sending parcels through countries with more favorable conditions.

Production costs

Experts note that the current technology of collecting customs duties will require significant time and financial costs, which calls into question the appropriateness of such innovations. At present, the duty collection procedure consists of the following stages:

1. Fee calculation
2. Statement of customs receipt order
3. Forwarding dispatch data with a fee payment control
4. Reception of money transfer
5. Delivery of mail

By reducing the customs threshold to € 200, the cost of collecting duties will repeatedly block the fiscal effect, which will negate efforts to increase budget revenues, said Alexander Ivanov, president of the National Association of Distance Trading. “If a high tax appears in cross-border trade, the market instantly goes into the gray zone. It’s very easy to do, it’s enough to write “Gift” on all the packages. Or put a stamp - "the cost of € 20." This is an unprovable thing, you will drown in inspections, administration, ”Ivanov said.



To reduce costs, Russian Post, together with customs officers, are developing a technology that allows them to collect duties immediately when they purchase goods on the Internet. Testing of this innovation for AliExpress (which accounts for 80% of international purchases of Russians) will be completed by April 1, 2018, after which Russian Post plans to agree on implementation with other international online stores.

international experience

Usually, initiatives to tighten the customs control of foreign online commerce are accompanied by an appeal to abroad. Like, in most European countries, all parcels are more expensive than € 15- € 22. This is true, but independent experts say that due to the low customs threshold, European countries suffer losses in the administration of duties.



However, international experience is not so straightforward. Last year, in the US, the threshold for duty-free importation of parcels was increased 4 times - from $ 200 to $ 800 (not for a month, but for each package). It is assumed that such a measure will increase the volume of parcels and will create an additional burden on postal services, which ultimately will lead to an increase in tax revenues to the budget.







For American sellers, raising the duty-free limit will be an opportunity to increase exports. Of course, for some stores, an increase in cross-border trade will result in a collapse, but he and capitalism survive the strongest. You must be able to adapt to the new realities and global trade trends.

What we recommend

The outcome of this story is clear - restrictions on foreign online trading will be accepted. The intrigue is preserved except in the timing of the entry into force of these restrictions and their radicalism. We believe that this is an excellent reason to remind you that it is very profitable to buy in American online stores (especially appliances and electronics), and with Pochtoy.com, delivery of goods from the US to Russia starts at $ 8.99, which will allow you to save a lot. Register with this link , enter the code GEEKTIMES and get $ 7 to your account.