Customs duty

Customs duty: a payment to the budget that customs charges on goods when they are imported into the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) or exported from the union. The rules are set by the EAEU Customs Code and the EAEU Common Customs Tariff. Duties can be import or export duties.

How the duty is calculated

The rate is determined by the product’s code in the TN VED. The rates themselves come in three types:

• ad valorem: a percentage of the customs value;
• specific: a set amount per unit of goods, whether a kilogram, a liter or a piece;
• combined: a mix of the first two.

The base for an ad valorem rate is the customs value. Usually this is the contract price plus the cost of delivery to the border. The country of origin matters too: goods from some countries get preferential rates, goods from others get higher ones.

Besides the duty, on import you pay VAT, excise on some goods, and customs fees.

Where it comes up in an international payment

The duty is paid in roubles to the budget under customs rules. It is a separate flow of money and does not go through the payment to the supplier. But the two flows are linked: the price in the contract, the amount on the invoice and the value in the declaration must match. If the supplier was paid more or less than declared to customs, both customs and the bank will have questions.

What to watch for

• Reflect discounts, surcharges and payment in installments in the documents before declaring.
• If an agent pays, the payment purpose states the supplier’s contract and invoice. That way the payment and the declaration will match when checked.

The supplier under an import contract is paid by an agent from our pool, while we select the agent, put together the full document set and follow the payment through to execution. More on the Import payments page.