Shipping to Russia: which permits your buyer needs and how they affect your lead time
Before your goods can cross the Russian border, someone has to hold a permit document for them — and that document is issued inside the EAEU, by your buyer or their customs representative. The work, however, starts on your side: test samples, datasheets, technical specifications and brand authorisation letters all come from the manufacturer. Below is how we read each line of the non-tariff regulation answers we send to our clients, what it means for your shipment, and how much time to build into your delivery schedule. The costly mistake is treating this as paperwork the importer sorts out alone while the container is already on the water.
Why the Russian permit list is your problem too
Non-tariff regulation in the EAEU is not a duty you can pay at the border. It is a set of documents that must exist before the goods are declared: a certificate or declaration of conformity under a technical regulation, a notification, an import licence, a state registration certificate, a letter from the rights holder. None of them can be produced overnight, and every one of them needs input from the manufacturer.
For your buyer, the answer they receive is a short line against each part number. For you it translates into concrete obligations: send samples for laboratory testing, issue a technical description, apply the EAC conformity mark at the factory, or confirm in writing that the buyer is authorised to import your brand. If you learn about this after booking the vessel, the goods arrive faster than the paperwork and sit at the terminal while storage charges run.
What each line in the permit answer means
The table below decodes the wording your buyer will quote to you. The right-hand column is what it costs the shipment — in samples, in documents from you, and in calendar time. Our certification service covers the EAEU side of the same list, so the two can run in parallel with production.
| Line in the permit answer | What it means for your goods | What it takes |
|---|---|---|
| Certificate of conformity / TR CU 004 (or another technical regulation) | A certificate must be registered in the EAEU, and the goods must carry the EAC conformity mark. Samples have to be imported for laboratory testing. In some cases a declaration of conformity is accepted instead. | From RUB 70,000; about one month, plus the sample shipment |
| Declaration of conformity / DoC TR CU 004 (or another TR CU) | The lighter route to the same EAC marking. Whether samples are needed for testing depends on the product. | RUB 15,000; 2–3 days |
| IP / rights holder permission | A written authorisation for the supply from the brand owner's representative in Russia. If you are not the brand owner yourself, this comes from your licensor. | Depends on the rights holder; iCustoms helps to make contact |
| Notification required | The product falls under the FSB notification regime (encryption functionality). Obtaining a new notification is difficult. | From RUB 20,000; about four weeks |
| Notification RU****** (a number is quoted) | A notification for these goods already exists in the register. Nothing new has to be obtained — iCustoms clients can rely on it when importing. | No action from you |
| RES / HF licence from Minpromtorg | Radio-electronic equipment and high-frequency devices require an import licence. | An extremely complex and lengthy process |
| Covered by the RES / HF exemptions | The product is on the exemption list for radio equipment licensing and may be imported as it is. | No action from you |
| SGR required | A state registration certificate — a single-format document confirming that the product is safe and complies with the unified sanitary and hygienic requirements. It may already be in the register; a new one is hard to obtain. | From RUB 50,000 |
| Precious metals / excisable goods | Clearance is only possible at specialised authorised customs posts. | Affects the route and the destination terminal |
| Air transport not allowed | Because of fire or explosion hazard, air carriage is permitted only as a separate shipment under special conditions. | Plan road, rail or sea instead |
| Datasheet / description required | The part number alone does not identify the goods or their characteristics well enough to classify them. | A technical datasheet from the manufacturer |
| DoC not for customs clearance | The declaration of conformity is needed to sell the product in Russia, but is not presented to the customs authorities. | Does not hold up the border crossing |
| Certificate held by iCustoms | iCustoms already holds a certificate of conformity covering these goods and provides it to clients under a power of attorney. The EAC mark is still required on the product. | Marking at the factory |
| No / EAC marking not required | No permit documentation is needed for import. | Nothing |
Permit documents for the EAEU: what a foreign supplier prepares before the goods are shipped to Russia
Time, samples and cost to build into the schedule
The spread between the two conformity routes is what drives the delivery date. A declaration of conformity is registered in 2–3 days and costs RUB 15,000. A certificate takes about a month, costs from RUB 70,000, and cannot be issued at all until samples of the product have physically been imported and tested. An FSB notification is a separate four-week track, and a state registration certificate starts at RUB 50,000. Where a certificate is required, the sample shipment is the real critical path — it is a small consignment that has to be cleared as samples and catalogues before the commercial batch is even produced.
Every permit is issued in Russia, but almost all of them start with something only you can supply — test samples, a datasheet, or a letter from the brand owner. Ship first and the goods wait at the border, with storage running, for the month a certificate or the four weeks a notification needs.
Note the one line that does not delay anything: "DoC not for customs clearance". Here the declaration is needed for the product to be sold on the Russian market, not to clear the border, so the shipment can move while the document is being registered. Confusing this with a customs requirement leads exporters to hold back consignments for no reason.
When the route, not the paperwork, is the constraint
Three lines in the answer change the logistics rather than the document set. Goods flagged as fire or explosion hazardous cannot travel as ordinary air freight — carriage by air is only possible separately and under special conditions, so the realistic options are road, rail or sea. Precious metals and excisable goods are cleared exclusively at specialised authorised customs posts, which fixes both the entry point and the destination terminal. Radio-electronic and high-frequency equipment that is not covered by the exemptions needs a Minpromtorg import licence — a long and difficult process, and the reason why electronics and home appliance shipments should be checked at the quotation stage, not at the packing stage.
The same applies to identification. When customs cannot tell what the product is from the part number, a datasheet is requested — and until the manufacturer supplies it, the declaration cannot be completed. A one-page technical description issued in advance is the cheapest insurance against a hold at the border.
What the exporter should do
- Ask your buyer for the non-tariff regulation answer against your part numbers before you confirm a delivery date.
- Issue a full technical datasheet or description for every article — not just a part number and a trade name.
- If a certificate is required, send test samples as early as possible; the testing month starts only once they arrive.
- Check whether a declaration of conformity is acceptable instead of a certificate — 2–3 days against a month is often worth reworking the scope for.
- If you are not the brand owner, obtain the rights holder's authorisation letter for supplies to Russia in advance.
- Declare any encryption functionality honestly: it decides whether an FSB notification is needed, or whether an existing register entry already covers the goods.
- Confirm fire and explosion hazard properties with an MSDS before anyone books air freight.
- Apply the EAC mark at the factory when the goods fall under a technical regulation — remarking after arrival is slower and more expensive.
Frequently asked questions
Can we obtain the EAC certificate ourselves, as a foreign manufacturer?
The certificate or declaration is registered inside the EAEU, so an applicant established there has to hold it. Your part is the technical documentation and the test samples. Where an existing certificate is held by iCustoms, clients are covered by it under a power of attorney.
Our product already has a notification number quoted in the answer. Do we need a new one?
No. A quoted RU number means the notification is already in the register and can be used for the import, with no additional cost or four-week wait.
Does a missing declaration of conformity stop the goods at customs?
Not when the answer says the declaration is not for customs clearance. It is required for the product to be sold in Russia, but it is not presented to the customs authorities.
What is the fastest permit route overall?
A declaration of conformity: RUB 15,000 and 2–3 days, with samples needed only for some product types. A certificate is about a month and from RUB 70,000, and always requires samples to be imported for testing.
Summary
Non-tariff regulation decides whether your goods clear the Russian border on arrival or wait weeks for a document. The heaviest items — a conformity certificate, an FSB notification, a state registration certificate — take from four weeks and depend on samples and technical documentation that only the manufacturer can provide. The lighter ones, such as a declaration of conformity or an existing notification in the register, cost days rather than months. Check the permit answer against your part numbers before you fix the shipping date: Leave a request for a consultation, and we will review the requirements for your specific cargo.
We will check your part numbers against the EAEU permit lists and tell you exactly which documents your shipment needs.
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