Customs Duties and Taxes on Shipments to Russia: Rates, Fees and How the 2026 Bill Is Calculated

15 June 2026Trade Pulse

Your invoice says 30,000 US dollars, and it is tempting to treat that as the cost of the shipment. By the time the container reaches the Russian border the figure is considerably bigger: import duty, value added tax, sometimes excise and mandatory processing fees are added on top of the goods value. Your buyer treats this as a budget line and calculates it in advance — and in 2026 several of those lines changed. Below is what your consignment is charged when it enters the Eurasian Economic Union, and which of your documents decide whether the bill is high, low, or the goods stand at the border while it is recalculated.

What your buyer pays when the goods arrive
Import duty: where the rate comes from
Ad valorem, specific and combined rates
When the duty drops: origin and preferences
Anti-dumping, safeguard and countervailing duties
Import VAT in 2026
Excise goods
Customs processing fees
Technology fee and recycling fee
A worked example of the final bill
What to prepare before you ship
Frequently asked questions

What your buyer pays when the goods arrive

A customs payment is not a single charge but a group of mandatory payments due when goods cross the border of the Eurasian Economic Union. Five items make up that group: import duty, export duty, import VAT, excise and customs processing fees. Protective duties — anti-dumping, special safeguard and countervailing — sit apart: they are not imposed on every product and not on every country of origin.

The payer is the declarant: your buyer in Russia or their customs broker. The money must be credited before release, or at the latest when the declaration is filed. Until it is, the cargo stays at the terminal and is not released into free circulation.

That last sentence is the whole reason this article concerns you. A tax bill the buyer underestimated does not slow down a payment order somewhere in an accounting department — it stops a container with your name on the bill of lading, and demurrage and storage start running the same day.

Import duty: where the rate comes from

Import duty is the mandatory payment for moving goods across the EAEU border. The rate comes from the EAEU Common Customs Tariff, where every HS code (TN VED code) has its own line. The same code applies in all member states, so the base rate on a machine tool or a roll of fabric is identical in Russia and in Kazakhstan. If you ship into several CIS markets, one classification decision covers all of them.

Russia also levies export duties, but only on a narrow list of goods leaving the country: crude oil, gas, timber, certain metals and fertilisers. Nothing on that list affects an inbound shipment.

The amount depends on three things: the code, the country of origin and any preference in force. And the code is assigned from your paperwork — the product description, the technical specification, the material composition and the stated purpose on your invoice. A vague or careless description moves the code, the code moves the duty, and the correction is made during clearance, when the goods are already at the border.

Ad valorem, specific and combined rates

Duty rates are calculated in one of three ways, and which one applies to your goods determines what data customs needs from your documents.

An ad valorem rate is a percentage of the customs value, for example 10 per cent of the consignment value. The more expensive the goods, the higher the duty.
A specific rate is a fixed amount per unit: per kilogram, litre, pair or piece. It is usually expressed in euros or dollars, for example 0.5 euro per kilogram. The price is irrelevant here; only quantity counts.
A combined rate merges both approaches. The wording looks like this: 12 per cent, but not less than 0.8 euro per kilogram. Customs calculates both figures and charges the larger one.

Combined rates are common on clothing and footwear and on food. They protect the market against understated values: even if the invoice price looks suspiciously low, the specific component keeps the duty from falling to nothing.

For the shipper this turns the packing list into a financial document. Where a specific or combined rate applies, the duty is calculated on net weight, pairs or litres, so a rounded figure or a weight copied from a previous shipment changes the amount your buyer owes — and any mismatch between the packing list and the actual weighing at the border triggers a check.

When the duty drops: origin and preferences

The tariff rate is not always the final figure. Origin and the chosen customs procedure can move it substantially.

Tariff preferences. Goods from a range of developing countries get a reduced import duty rate if origin is confirmed by a Form A certificate. With CIS countries and free trade agreement partners, duties on many lines are zero when a correctly issued CT-1 certificate is presented. Without confirmed origin the preference simply does not apply and the full rate is charged.

Tariff quotas. Some goods carry a quota: within the permitted volume the duty is lower, above it higher. This mostly affects part of the agricultural range, certain types of meat among them.

Preferential procedures. Under temporary import the full duty is not paid — instead 3 per cent of the calculated amount is due for each month the goods stay in the country (Article 223 of the EAEU Customs Code). This is the route for demonstration machines, exhibition samples and test equipment. Inward processing and re-export have their own reliefs if the conditions of the procedure are met.

The practical point for the exporter: the origin certificate is a document only you can obtain, in your own country, before the goods leave. It has to travel with the shipping set. A correctly issued certificate can save hundreds of thousands of rubles on a single consignment; a missing one cannot be replaced by any argument at the border. If you are not sure which confirmations and certificates your product needs, check before dispatch, not after arrival.

Customs Duties and Taxes on Shipments to Russia: Rates, Fees and How the 2026 Bill Is Calculated

Import duty, VAT and customs fees are added to the invoice value before goods shipped to Russia are released

Anti-dumping, safeguard and countervailing duties

These are a separate group of payments, introduced to protect producers inside the EAEU from unfair competition. Legally they are not customs duty in the strict sense, but they are paid to customs on top of the import duty.

A special safeguard duty is imposed when imports of a product have grown sharply and are harming local plants.
An anti-dumping duty is applied against dumping, when a foreign product is sold cheaper than it is at home.
A countervailing duty targets goods produced abroad with state subsidies.

Such measures are introduced by the Eurasian Economic Commission following an investigation. While the investigation runs, a preliminary duty may be in force. Rates can reach tens of per cent, which is enough to make an otherwise competitive offer unsellable. Check whether your product and your country of manufacture fall under a measure in force before you quote a price, not after the buyer has signed. Current lists are published by the EAEU Commission.

Import VAT in 2026

Value added tax is payable on almost every import. From 1 January 2026 the base rate rose to 22 per cent (Federal Law No. 425-FZ of 28 November 2025). The reduced 10 per cent rate remains for socially significant goods: most food products, children's goods and medicines.

Here is the point newcomers to the market miss. VAT is not calculated on the invoice price of the goods. It is calculated on a base that already includes the duty, and for excisable goods the excise as well.

The VAT base is customs value plus import duty plus excise. In other words, tax is charged on the duty too. Anyone who calculates VAT on the goods price alone will find the real payment noticeably higher than the plan.

The compounding matters when you and your buyer argue about classification. A two-point difference in the duty rate does not cost two points — it costs the duty plus 22 per cent VAT charged on that duty.

Excise goods

Excise is an indirect tax on particular categories of goods. It is not charged on everything, only on excisable products listed in Article 181 of the Tax Code: alcohol and alcohol-containing liquids, tobacco, petrol and diesel, passenger cars, sugar-sweetened drinks.

From 2026 the list was extended with tobacco-free heating mixtures, e-cigarette liquids and certain pharmaceutical products. If you ship goods of this kind, excise is added to the duty and VAT.

Excise is calculated by the same three logics as duty: by volume (specific rate), as a percentage of value including duty (ad valorem), or on a combined basis. For the exporter this means two things: clearance of an excisable product is almost always more expensive and slower, and the composition, strength, volume and unit packaging stated in your documents feed directly into the calculation, so they must match the goods exactly.

Customs processing fees

The fee for customs operations is charged for the act of clearance itself, separately from duty and taxes. It is a fixed amount that depends on the declared customs value of the consignment. From 1 January 2026 the fees went up (Russian Government Decree No. 1638 of 23 October 2025).

The 2026 scale looks like this:

up to 200,000 rubles: 1,231 rubles
200,000 to 450,000 rubles: 2,462 rubles
450,000 to 1.2 million rubles: 4,924 rubles
1.2 to 2.7 million rubles: 13,541 rubles
2.7 to 4.2 million rubles: 18,465 rubles
4.2 to 5.5 million rubles: 21,344 rubles
5.5 to 10 million rubles: 49,240 rubles
over 10 million rubles: 73,860 rubles

For radio-electronic goods on the government list a separate rate of 73,860 rubles applies — up in one step from the previous 30,000 rubles.

Because the fee follows the declared value of the consignment, the way you split or consolidate orders changes it. Several small shipments each carry their own fee; one large one carries a single, higher one.

Technology fee and recycling fee

Alongside the classic payments, new ones have appeared that affect specific groups of goods.

The technology fee is introduced from 1 September 2026 by the same Law No. 425-FZ. It is a fixed amount in rubles for each unit of electronics, not a percentage of value. In the first stage it will cover finished products: smartphones, laptops, tablets, televisions, household appliances. The ceiling under discussion is around 5,000 rubles per unit, but the exact rates and the list of HS codes are to be approved by a separate government decree.

A per-unit charge hits volume, not value: a container of inexpensive devices is affected far more than a pallet of expensive ones. If you ship electronic components and equipment, factor this into autumn 2026 price lists and delivery schedules, and expect your buyer to ask about it well before September.

The recycling fee is payable on imports of vehicles. For passenger cars a base rate of 20,000 rubles is multiplied by a coefficient that now depends on engine power. The methodology was changed at the end of 2025, and from 1 April 2026 even private individuals pay under the commercial formula if the car's output exceeds 160 horsepower.

A worked example of the final bill

Here is how the payments stack up in figures. Take a notional consignment of non-excisable goods with a customs value of 1,000,000 rubles and an ad valorem duty rate of 10 per cent. There is no excise, so the VAT base consists of value and duty only.

Payment	How it is calculated	Amount
Customs value	Goods price plus transport to the border	1,000,000 rubles
Import duty	10 per cent of the value	100,000 rubles
VAT base	Value plus duty	1,100,000 rubles
VAT	22 per cent of the base	242,000 rubles
Customs fee	Fixed, by the value scale	4,924 rubles
Total payments	Duty plus VAT plus fee	346,924 rubles

The result: a consignment worth one million rubles attracts almost 347,000 rubles of mandatory payments, and that is before delivery, storage and clearance services. Had the goods been excisable, excise would be added and the VAT base would grow further.

Note the first line. Customs value is the price of the goods plus transport to the border, which means your delivery terms decide how much freight sits inside the taxable base — and the freight invoice has to be documented, not estimated. This is also why your buyer asks for a breakdown of the price rather than one lump sum.

What to prepare before you ship

Agree the HS code with the buyer in writing. One code, confirmed by both sides before the goods are booked. Disagreement discovered at the border is resolved by customs, not by you.
Write a full product description. Material composition, technical parameters, intended use, model and article numbers. The description is what the code is built on.
Give exact quantities and weights. Net and gross, pieces, pairs, litres, per package. With specific and combined rates these are the numbers the duty is calculated from.
Obtain the certificate of origin. Form A or CT-1 depending on your country. It is issued at home, before shipment, and travels with the documents. Without it your buyer pays the full rate.
Check the protective measures. Look up your product and country of manufacture in the Eurasian Economic Commission lists before you quote a price.
Confirm who bears the payments. Duty, VAT and fees are paid in Russia by the declarant, but which side ultimately carries the cost is set by the delivery terms in your contract. Fix it before the deal, not after the container arrives.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a customs duty and a customs fee?

Duty is a payment for importing a specific product and its size depends on the HS code and the value. The fee is a charge for the clearance operation itself: fixed, tied to the value of the consignment rather than to the type of goods. Both are paid separately within one declaration.

Can the total be worked out before the contract is signed?

Yes. With the HS code, the customs value and the country of origin, the payments can be calculated in advance. The duty rate comes from the EAEU Common Customs Tariff, VAT and the fee from the current rules. It is worth having the calculation checked by a specialist, because an error in the code changes the whole figure — and it is a strong argument in a price negotiation when your buyer can see the landed cost.

Do these payments apply if the goods are samples or equipment for a demonstration?

Import VAT and duty are due on imports regardless of whether goods are for resale or for the importer's own use. What changes the arithmetic is the customs procedure: under temporary import the payment is 3 per cent of the calculated duty for each month the goods remain in the country, which is the usual route for exhibition and test equipment.

Our buyer asks for a lower invoice value. Is that a problem?

It is a violation, and the exposure lands on the goods. Customs runs an additional value check, assesses the payments upwards, and inadequate declaration carries a fine of up to twice the value of the goods with possible confiscation. Even when it ends without a penalty, the check holds the consignment at the border. The saving is imaginary, the risk is real — and a documented, consistent price set across your invoice, contract and price list is the best protection for both sides.

Summary: the landed cost is agreed before the deal, not at the border

In forty years I have seen dozens of deals that looked profitable on the invoice and lost their margin after clearance. The reason is almost always the same: someone counted the price of the goods and forgot the duty, the VAT charged on that duty, and the fees. In 2026 the cost of that mistake grew. VAT went up to 22 per cent, the fees were indexed, and new payments were added on electronics and cars.

Exporters sometimes treat this as the buyer's arithmetic. It is not. When the landed cost comes out higher than the importer planned, the shipment sits at the terminal, the reorder is postponed, and the next tender goes to a supplier whose paperwork made the calculation easy. The documents that decide the amount — the description, the weights, the origin certificate — come from your side of the border.

My advice is simple. Settle the HS code with your buyer in advance and check the duty rate against it, whether the goods fall under excise or a protective measure. Provide exact weights and a full specification. Obtain the origin certificate before dispatch. Then both sides see the real landed cost before the contract is signed.

If you are unsure about the classification or the calculation, do not guess. We will identify the codes, calculate the payments and clear the goods without delays — request a consultation and we will work through your case with concrete figures.

Send us your product description and we will confirm the HS code and calculate the full duty, VAT and fee bill before you quote your buyer.

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