Import and Export Rules for Shipments to Russia in 2026: What Your Buyer Will Ask You For

22 June 2026Trade Pulse

In short. For a shipment to Russia, duties and VAT are only half the story. The other half is non-tariff regulation: outright bans, licences, permits, certificates and quotas that decide whether the cargo may cross the border at all. These rules sit on three levels at once — EAEU-wide law, Russian national measures and sanctions lists. For you as the shipper this matters directly: almost every permit your Russian buyer has to obtain can only be issued on the basis of your documents, your samples and your technical data, and the lead time for them is yours to plan.

Two kinds of rules: tariff and non-tariff
Bans and restrictions: what cannot be shipped
Licences and permits: who needs what from you
Currency control: why your payment depends on paperwork
If you also buy from Russia: export restrictions
What to settle before you sign
Frequently asked questions

Two kinds of rules: tariff and non-tariff

Every requirement for moving goods across the border falls into one of two groups, and they need very different preparation on your side.

Tariff regulation is about money: customs duties, VAT, excise and fees. The amount depends on the commodity code (the EAEU classification, TN VED) and on the customs value. This part is predictable — your buyer opens the tariff, plugs in the figures and gets the sum payable.

Non-tariff regulation is about rules and prohibitions. Money is not the issue here; the question is whether the goods may be imported at all and on what conditions. Non-tariff measures include direct bans, a permit regime (licences, permits, certificates), quotas and special control over particular categories of cargo.

In both cases the starting point is the commodity code. It determines not only the duty rate but also whether permit documents are required, whether the goods fall under labelling rules or under restrictions. So ask your buyer early which code they intend to declare, and check that it matches your product description, technical file and invoice wording. A mismatch between what the invoice says and what the code implies is one of the most common reasons for inspection at the border. The mechanics of the clearance procedure itself, and the document set that goes with it, are covered by the customs clearance service.

The rest of this article deals with the non-tariff side. Payments can be calculated in advance; bans and permit requirements are what catch a supplier by surprise, and the price of the mistake is higher — not money, but cargo stuck at the border or turned back.

Bans and restrictions: what cannot be shipped

The basic document defining prohibitions and restrictions is Decision of the EEC Board No. 30 of 21 April 2015. It contains the unified list of goods subject to non-tariff measures inside the EAEU. The list is common to all member states, so routing a consignment through another union country does not change what applies to it. Read it before you sign the contract, not after the goods are produced.

The measures in the list differ in severity:

a full ban on the import or export of certain goods
a permit regime, where import is possible, but only with a licence or another permit
quotas, meaning a limit on quantity for a given period

Restrictions operate on three levels at once, and each has to be checked. The first is EAEU law, uniform across the union. The second is Russia's own special measures, introduced by separate decisions. The third is foreign sanctions and counter-measures, which affect not only what may be imported but also which supplier it may come from.

A current example is the food embargo. The ban on importing a range of food products from unfriendly countries has been extended until 31 December 2026 (Presidential Decree No. 807 of 18 September 2024). If you produce food in one of those countries, check the list before you quote: a product that moved freely a couple of years ago may now be prohibited.

A separate topic of recent years is parallel imports. Original branded goods may be imported into Russia without the rights holder's consent, under a list maintained by the Ministry of Industry and Trade. For such goods a simplified conformity confirmation regime also applies, extended until 1 September 2026. This is a working instrument, but it depends entirely on the current lists: the brands and positions included in them change from time to time.

Check both the goods and the consignee against the current lists before you sign the contract or start production. Measures change often, and an item you shipped freely six months ago may now be banned or require a licence — by which point the prepayment is spent and the production slot is booked.

Import and Export Rules for Shipments to Russia in 2026: What Your Buyer Will Ask You For

Non-tariff rules decide whether a shipment to Russia crosses the border at all — long before anyone counts the duty

Licences and permits: who needs what from you

If the goods fall under the permit regime, paying the duty is not enough. A separate document is required, and without it customs will not release the cargo. Most often this is a licence, in the majority of cases issued by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, but different categories are handled by different authorities. The table below shows the main cases and what each of them means for the shipper.

Goods category	What is required in Russia	What your buyer will ask you for
Dual-use goods	Licence, expert opinion (Ministry of Industry and Trade, FSTEC)	Full technical specification, parameters and composition, end-use details
Encryption products	Notification or licence (FSB of Russia)	Technical description of the cryptographic functions and manufacturer data
Cultural valuables	Export permit (Ministry of Culture)	Relevant if you buy such items in Russia: your Russian seller obtains the permit
CITES and Red Book species	Permit (Rosprirodnadzor)	Species names, origin and the CITES documents issued in your country
Precious metals and stones	Licence, state control (Ministry of Finance, assay office)	Exact composition and assay documents for the consignment

Besides licences there are other permit documents that are easily confused with one another. Many goods need a certificate or a declaration of conformity under the EAEU technical regulations — the EAC marking. Sanitary-significant products (children's goods, cosmetics, household chemicals, water, food supplements) require a state registration certificate (SGR) issued through Rospotrebnadzor. Plants and products of animal origin need a phytosanitary or veterinary certificate: that one is issued by the competent authority in your own country and travels with the cargo, while the EAC certificate is issued in Russia — but on the basis of your samples, test protocols and technical file. Selecting the right document and passing conformity assessment is what the certification service is for.

One nuance about certificates matters more than it used to: the document must not simply exist on paper, it must be live in the register. Since late 2025 Rosaccreditation has been checking certificates on a large scale and revoking those issued without genuine test protocols, passing the data to customs. A cheap certificate obtained without real testing is therefore no longer a guarantee of release — plan for actual samples, real laboratory work and the lead time both require.

Currency control: why your payment depends on paperwork

When the goods may be imported and the documents are in order, a third layer of requirements comes into play on the Russian side: currency control. It concerns not the cargo but the money your buyer pays you. The governing document is Bank of Russia Instruction No. 181-I.

The key rule is registration of the contract with the buyer's bank, which is required once the contract value reaches a threshold:

for import contracts — 3 million rubles
for export contracts — 10 million rubles

On registration the bank assigns the contract a unique number (UNK), usually within one business day. For operations up to 1 million rubles it is enough to tell the bank the operation type code; for larger amounts supporting documents on the transaction have to be produced. The contract value in rubles is calculated at the Central Bank rate on the date of signing.

For you this has a very practical consequence: the contract, annexes and invoices you sign become bank documents in Russia. Vague wording, missing delivery terms, an unsigned annex or an invoice that does not match the contract are all reasons for the bank to hold the payment — and that delay lands on your side of the deal, before the goods even ship. Violations in the currency sphere fall under Article 15.25 of the Code of Administrative Offences, with fines reaching 20–40 percent of the amount of an illegal currency operation, which is exactly why a Russian buyer is pedantic about paperwork that may look like a formality to you.

If you also buy from Russia: export restrictions

Export looks simpler than import, since export duties apply to far from all goods. In practice most of today's restrictions are concentrated on the way out, and they should not be underestimated — this concerns you if you buy raw materials, components or equipment in Russia alongside your own shipments.

In recent years a broad list of export bans and restrictions has been introduced. It covers strategically important goods, certain types of technological equipment and a number of raw material positions. Part of these measures has been extended until the end of 2027. The list is not static: positions are added and removed, so last year's experience is not a reliable guide.

External sanctions lists add to the purely customs restrictions. They affect both the range of goods and the circle of counterparties: an item may be permitted for export while the specific consignee turns out to be on a sanctions list. So the check has to cover not only what is being shipped, but to whom.

What to settle before you sign

Most border problems are born from questions that could have been closed during negotiations. Before signing the contract, walk through a short checklist with your Russian buyer.

Agree the commodity code. Fix the code with the buyer and make sure your invoice and technical documentation describe the goods the same way. For complex products the buyer can obtain a preliminary classification decision in Russia.
Check the restrictions on all three levels. The unified EAEU list, Russian special measures and sanctions lists — not one of them instead of the others.
Line up the permit documents early. Find out which of them is needed — licence, certificate, declaration of conformity, SGR, phytosanitary or veterinary certificate — and separate what only you can provide: samples, test protocols, technical files, manufacturer's letters.
Prepare a clean contract package. Contract, annexes and invoices consistent with one another, delivery and payment terms spelled out, and the contract value checked against the registration thresholds.
Screen the counterparty and the route. Check the consignee against sanctions lists, and if you also buy in Russia, check the goods against the export restrictions.

When these questions are closed in advance, clearance is calm and predictable, and the transit time you quoted stays realistic. If the goods are non-standard or Russia is a new market for you, it is reasonable to hand the requirement check to specialists — classification, document selection, verification of restrictions and responsibility for the correctness of the declaration all belong to a professional on the Russian side.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between tariff and non-tariff regulation?

Tariff regulation is about payments: duties, VAT, excise and fees. Non-tariff regulation is about rules and prohibitions: whether the goods may be imported or exported at all, whether a licence or certificate is needed, whether a quota applies. Payments can be calculated in advance; non-tariff measures determine whether the deal is possible at all.

How do I find out whether my goods are restricted?

The basic document is the unified list from EEC Board Decision No. 30. But three levels have to be checked at once: EAEU rules, Russia's special measures and sanctions lists. The most convenient starting point is the commodity code, since it is the code that ties the goods to specific restrictions.

Why does my buyer need the signed contract before paying?

Under Bank of Russia Instruction No. 181-I, import contracts from 3 million rubles and export contracts from 10 million rubles are registered with the bank, which assigns a unique number, usually within one business day. For amounts up to 1 million rubles it is enough to state the operation type code. Until the paperwork satisfies the bank, the payment does not leave.

We have a valid certificate — can the cargo still be stopped?

Yes, if the certificate is not live in the register. Since late 2025 Rosaccreditation has been revoking certificates issued without real test protocols and passing the data to customs, so a formally executed document is no longer a guarantee of release. Insist on genuine testing and keep the protocols.

Summary: the rules are a route map, not an obstacle

Import and export rules are a route map for the goods. I always tell suppliers the same thing: the payments are the easy half, and they are the buyer's half. The real difficulties start where bans, licences and currency control begin — and that is where the documents come from you. A test sample that takes six weeks to produce, a technical file nobody translated, an annex signed by the wrong person: none of that shows up in the price, but all of it shows up in the transit time.

My advice is simple. Do not treat the restriction check as a formality at the end of the process. Start with it, before the contract is signed, while you still have room to manoeuvre. Confirm the code, go through the prohibition lists on all three levels, clarify which permit documents are needed and what exactly your side has to supply for them, and check the payment thresholds with your buyer's bank. It takes time, but it saves far more of it.

If the goods are unusual or Russia and the CIS are a new direction for you, do not try to close every question alone. We check the requirements, assemble the document set and take the shipment through clearance without surprises at the border. Request a consultation, and we will go through your situation for your specific goods and route.

We can check your goods against the current EAEU restriction lists and arrange the certificates your Russian buyer will need.

Request a consultation