From 1 January 2019 the duty-free threshold lowered twice and is 500 euros for purchases in online stores that are made within one month. Still, it was not clear how the buyers will pay a fee in excess of this threshold. It turned out that the payment collection will “Mail of Russia”. The corresponding order of the Ministry of Finance was published on 28 Dec.
“Mail of Russia” will now make the customs clearance of goods purchased for personal use, in the name and on behalf of the buyer, writes “Kommersant”. For this the company will work with the electronic system of the Federal customs service (FCS): to inform who, what and how much is ordered, including to consider the total weight and value of goods for one month.
How to pay a fee when you purchase above 500 EUR
For the buyer there is little that will change — just when ordering on the website foreign online store, he would pay not only the cost of the goods (and delivery if it is paid), but the fee, which is calculated automatically. The process of payment will be identical to paying with a Bank card on the Internet. Recall, if the total amount of products ordered during the month in foreign online stores, 500 euros, or the total weight of the orders exceeds 31 kg, the buyer must pay 30% of the product cost, but not less than 4 euros for each kilogram over the limit.
Because now the majority of shipments in Russia received through “Mail of Russia”, buyers will notice the innovation only on their wallets. In some cases, however, have to refuse the services of one or another cargo company, because now the authority to charge fees is the only “Mail of Russia”. Over time, the right to charge a fee can get all companies with the status of an authorized postal operator.
By the way, in 2020 duty-free threshold actually want to drop 200 euros. These rules are recorded in the new Customs code of the Eurasian economic Union. When this happens — you learn with the help of our Telegram channel.