Palladium and platinum from Russia to China: permits, the declaration and the 0% VAT file

Why a precious metals lot is not described like ordinary cargo

An ordinary industrial consignment is described to customs by its name, gross and net weight and its commodity code. For palladium and platinum that is not enough: the lot has to reconcile at once in three places — your contract, the metal producer's documents and the Russian state accounting system for precious metals. The declaration itself needs the physical form (ingots, granules, sponge, powder), the fineness, both the alloyed and the chemically pure mass, the lot numbers and the assay results.

Most of those figures originate in the specification you sign. This is where foreign buyers lose time: a purchase order that says «10 kg of palladium, 99.95%» does not reconcile automatically with a producer's certificate that states the fine mass to three decimal places. Agree the exact wording and the exact figures at contract stage, not at shipment stage.

The commodity code for platinum group metals differs depending on the form and the degree of processing, and the code drives both the control procedure and the set of permits required. A classification error here is more expensive than on ordinary cargo: it affects not only the payments but the question of whether the lot may lawfully leave the country at all. Fix the code in the specification together with the form of the metal.

The third point is price. A precious metals contract price is normally tied to a quotation on an agreed date or to a calculation formula. That formula must be written into the contract and must be readable from the invoice: if the declared amount cannot be reproduced from the documents, customs will ask for explanations and the banks on both sides will ask for the basis of the calculation.

Permits and export control: what they do to your delivery date

Moving precious metals out of Russia is a regulated operation. The practical meaning for you is simple: the document pack is assembled before the cargo goes anywhere near the border, not in parallel with transport. A typical set includes the foreign trade contract with an annex for each lot, documents confirming the origin of and title to the metal, assay control documents, data from the state precious metals accounting system and permits from the authorised bodies. The place of declaration is also restricted — the declaration cannot simply be filed at the nearest customs post.

Lots rarely stop on the permit itself. They stop on a data mismatch: the fine mass in the producer's documents differs from the mass in the contract and in the declaration, even by fractions of a gram. Insist that the three documents are reconciled against each other before the declaration is filed — afterwards it is an amendment, with all the delays and explanations that follow.

Build your delivery schedule from the permit timeline, not the other way round. For a first shipment with a new seller, count in weeks, not days, and avoid signing delay penalties tied to a date agreed before the permits are in hand. If your usual business is shipping goods into Russia rather than buying metal out of it, the pattern is the same one your buyer already knows from customs clearance and certification: documents first, transport second.

The 0% VAT file — and why half of it is your documents

Exports from Russia are taxed at a zero VAT rate, but the rate is not applied automatically — it has to be confirmed to the tax authority. The basic file is the foreign trade contract with the foreign buyer, with all annexes and specifications, the customs declaration data bearing the marks of actual export, and the transport documents. Most of this now moves through electronic registers, which does not remove the requirement to hold the underlying documents: during a desk audit the inspectorate may ask for them.

Read that list again: the contract and the specifications are yours as much as the seller's. What you control is whether they are signed rather than drafted, whether your company details are identical in every annex, and whether the money can be traced to a specific supply.

The other key point is time. The zero rate must be confirmed within a limited period from the date the goods are placed under the export procedure — as a general rule, 180 days. Miss it and the tax is charged at the standard rate and must be paid, then recovered through an amended return. In practice two things eat the deadline: slow receipt of confirmation of actual export, and disputes over the calculations when payment goes through a payment agent and the documents show no link between the transfer and the specific delivery. Put the contract and specification numbers in the payment purpose every time — this is the cheapest thing on this entire list and the one most often skipped.

Excise. Platinum group metals are not excisable goods, so excise has nothing to do with this shipment. If your product range also includes excisable items, remember that exemption on export is likewise confirmed with documents, and until it is confirmed a bank guarantee or payment with subsequent recovery is required. The two mechanisms — VAT and excise — are confirmed separately and should not be mixed into one file.

Transport and the situations that actually delay lots

Platinum group metals are high-value, low-volume cargo, so the main channel to China is air freight with escort, special packing, seals and insurance at the full value of the lot. Slots for valuable cargo are limited, so reserve the flight date early rather than waiting for every permit to be closed — but keep the permit timeline as the master schedule. Booking transport ahead of the documents almost always ends up paid for in standing time. The same order of operations applies on any regulated route, including consignments moving the other way, into Russia and the CIS.

What to do as the foreign counterparty

1. Fix the exact form of the metal — ingots, granules, sponge or powder — and the commodity code in the contract and in every specification.
2. Require the alloyed mass, the chemically pure mass, the fineness and the lot numbers to be identical in the producer's documents, the contract, the invoice and the transport documents.
3. Ask the seller to confirm that the lot is correctly reflected in the state precious metals accounting system and that the permits are obtained before the flight is booked.
4. Confirm which customs office the declaration will be filed at — for precious metals the choice is restricted, and this determines the routing to the airport.
5. Write the price formula into the contract with the quotation source and date, so the invoice amount can be reproduced from the documents by any inspector or bank.
6. Agree the payment route with your bank and always reference the contract and specification numbers in the payment purpose.
7. Do not sign delivery dates or delay penalties before the permit timeline is known; for a first shipment allow weeks, not days.
8. Insure the lot at full value and book the valuable-cargo slot early, while keeping documents ahead of transport.

Frequently asked questions

Does every lot of palladium or platinum need its own permit?
The permit layer is tied to the goods and to the operation, not granted once and forgotten. It has to be planned for every shipment, including trial and small lots. There is no universal «annual permit for everything», so the delivery schedule is built around the time it takes to obtain documents.

What happens if the zero VAT rate is not confirmed in time?
The tax is charged at the standard rate and becomes payable. The right to the zero rate is not lost for good — the file can still be assembled and an amended return filed — but for that period the money is out of circulation and interest accrues on top. Expect that cost to show up in pricing.

Is excise payable on exports of precious metals?
No. Platinum group metals are not excisable goods. The excise exemption mechanism on export applies to a different product range and is confirmed separately from VAT.

Can a trial lot be sent as a sample to simplify formalities?
Sample status does not take precious metal out of the control loop: the description of the lot, the accounting entries and the permits are required in full. Any time saved comes from logistics, not from documents.

Summary

Growth in palladium and platinum shipments to China is, above all, growth in the number of deals where a documentary error is measured in millions. The permits, the precise description of the lot and the place of declaration decide whether the metal leaves on schedule; the tax file decides whether the zero VAT rate survives — and both are half yours, because the contract, the specifications and the payment references come from your side. Prepare both packs in parallel and before shipment, not after the fact. Request a consultation and we will go through your contract and your specific lot.

We prepare export declarations for precious metals and assemble the document set that keeps the zero VAT rate in place — for your contract and your lot.

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