Participant in foreign economic activity

Participant in foreign economic activity: a company or sole proprietor that conducts foreign economic activity, that is, concludes and performs deals with foreign partners. These are importers, exporters, and companies that buy services abroad or sell them to foreign clients.

Roles in a deal

• Importer and exporter: the parties to the foreign trade contract.
• Non-resident: the foreign counterparty, the seller or the buyer.
• Intermediaries: the payment agent is responsible for the money, the carrier and freight forwarder for the cargo, the customs representative for the declaration. Buying or selling goods at the resident’s expense is handled by an agent or a commission agent.
• Banks: the resident’s bank, correspondent banks, the beneficiary’s bank.

Obligations of a resident

A Russian participant in foreign economic activity has obligations in several areas at once:

• currency control: contract registration with the bank if required, submitting documents to the bank, repatriation of proceeds or return of an advance;
• customs: declaring goods, paying duties and taxes, complying with prohibitions and restrictions;
• taxes: VAT on import, confirming the zero VAT rate on export, accounting for exchange rate differences;
• checking the counterparty and complying with restrictive regimes.

As a general rule, no separate permit is needed for foreign economic activity. But some goods require licenses, permits and certificates.

What to watch for

A resident’s obligations do not pass to an intermediary. If an agent pays on your behalf, the contract with the supplier and the responsibility to currency control remain yours. The agent is responsible for executing its payment order.

VEDmost works with companies and sole proprietors, not with private individuals. We put together the documents your bank needs for a payment through an agent. More on the How it works page.