Non-Tariff Screening Before Shipping to Russia: What Your Buyer Will Ask You For

What the pre-shipment screening actually is

Non-tariff regulation is the layer of control that sits on top of duty rates: certification, conformity declarations, state registration, licences for radio equipment, intellectual property protection, restrictions on air carriage. None of it depends on the value of the goods — a single sample and a full pallet are treated the same way.

The screening is done per article number, not per shipment. Analysts take your part numbers and descriptions and return one verdict per position. For iCustoms clients the check is free, and it is deliberately run before shipping rather than after arrival: once the goods are at the border, every missing permit turns into demurrage and storage.

Answers that stop or delay your shipment

These verdicts mean the goods either cannot be released yet or need a document that does not exist at the moment of screening.

1. Certificate under TR CU 004 (EAC marking required) — or another technical regulation. A certificate of conformity is needed. It starts at around RUB 100,000 and is issued on the basis of your technical file and samples. Certification is something we handle for the importing side, but the input comes from you.
2. Declaration of conformity (EAC marking required). Cheaper and faster than a certificate — from around RUB 10,000 and a few days. It is registered by the party established in Russia, so your buyer takes care of the registration itself. Your part is the technical documentation and the EAC label applied to the packaging.
3. Customs IP register — a letter from the rights holder is required. The brand is entered in the register of protected intellectual property, and release requires a written consent from the rights holder's representative in Russia. This is the verdict that most often surprises genuine manufacturers' distributors.
4. Radio equipment licence. An import licence for radio-electronic devices. Extremely hard and slow to obtain.
5. High-frequency device licence. Same story: hard to obtain, long lead time.
6. FSB notification required. Applies to goods with encryption functions. Difficult but realistic: from around RUB 20,000, roughly two weeks.
7. State registration certificate (SGR) required. A single-format document confirming that the product meets common sanitary and hygienic requirements. It may already exist in the register; obtaining a new one is difficult but possible.
8. Precious metals. Clearance is only performed at specialised authorised customs posts, which dictates the delivery route and the final destination of the truck.
9. Air carriage not allowed. Because of fire hazard, air transport is only possible separately and under special conditions — worth checking before you quote a lead time based on air freight.
10. Datasheet or description required. The goods cannot be identified from the part number alone, so no verdict can be given at all.

The most common reason for a delay is not a ban but ambiguity: if your article number cannot be matched to a product with clear technical characteristics, the screening returns "datasheet required" and everything stops until you send the document.

Answers that mean you can ship

Not every restriction applies to your specific item. These verdicts close the question:

1. Notification RU0000015558 (the number will differ). A number in the answer means someone has already registered a notification for this product — it can be imported.
2. Covered by the exemptions for radio and high-frequency devices. The item falls under the exemptions from licensing and may be imported as is.
3. Declaration of conformity not required for customs clearance. The declaration is needed for selling the goods on the Russian market, but customs authorities are not empowered to check it. It does not hold up the border crossing.
4. Certificate already held by us (EAC marking required). The certificate exists on the broker's side; the practical step left is printing the EAC label and applying it to the packaging.
5. None (no EAC marking required). Nothing is needed for import.

Even a green verdict can still generate a request to you — most often for labels. If EAC marking is required, applying it at your factory before packing is cheaper and faster than re-labelling a pallet in a Russian warehouse. Discuss this with your buyer while the goods are still on your side, together with the rest of the customs clearance paperwork.

What each verdict means for the exporter

What to do before you book the truck

1. Send your buyer the full article list two to three weeks before the planned shipping date — not on the day the goods are ready.
2. Attach datasheets or technical descriptions for every position. A part number alone is not enough to identify goods for customs purposes.
3. For anything with a radio module, state the frequency band, transmitting power and whether the product has encryption functions. These three details decide between "no marking required", "notification" and "licence".
4. Confirm the brand on the goods and, if you are not the rights holder, be ready for a request for a consent letter from their representative in Russia.
5. Agree who applies the EAC label — you at the factory or the buyer on arrival — and lock the answer before packing.
6. Check dangerous-goods restrictions before you quote a transit time based on air freight; some items may only fly separately and under special conditions.
7. If your goods contain precious metals, confirm the destination customs post with your buyer before you plan the route.

Frequently asked questions

Do I as a foreign manufacturer have to hold the certificate or declaration myself?
No. These documents are held on the Russian side. Your contribution is the technical file, samples and photographs — but without them nothing can be issued, so the timeline still depends on you.

My product has Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. Does that block the shipment?
Not necessarily. The screening may return an existing notification number, or show that the item falls under the exemptions for radio and high-frequency devices. Only encryption functions and non-exempt radio equipment lead to a notification or a licence.

Why is a datasheet requested when the invoice already carries the article number?
Because non-tariff measures are applied to characteristics, not to codes on paper. If the item and its parameters cannot be determined unambiguously from the article number, no verdict can be issued.

The answer says the declaration of conformity is not needed for customs clearance. Can we forget about it?
Only for the border crossing. It is still required for selling the goods on the Russian market, so your buyer will come back to it later.

Summary

The pre-shipment screening returns a simple verdict per article: ship, ship with a permit, or do not ship. Most blocking answers come down to documents that only you as the manufacturer or supplier can provide — technical descriptions, radio and encryption parameters, brand confirmations. Start that exchange weeks before the goods are ready, and the border becomes a formality rather than a risk. Leave a request for a consultation and we will review your specific shipment.

Send us your part numbers and we will screen them against EAEU non-tariff measures before your goods leave the factory.

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