Customs clearance and Foreign Economic Activities (FEA) in Russia

Any goods imported in Russia must undergo mandatory customs clearance. This applies to the sale and purchase, delivery of goods and other activities. To engage in foreign economic activities (FEA), special approval and qualified staff are obligatory.

In order to comply with the Russian FEA, companies and staff need to know the following.

Regulatory documents

1. Simply knowledge are not enough; associates are required to have a vast practical experience. The legal field is extensive and it is necessary to be aware of either Russian legislation or customs law of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and international treaties of the Russian Federation.
2. Associates are required to take deep into every last detail of legal acts of different cargo transportation types (air, trucks, sea, or railway).

Details of accounting and finance in FEA

Knowledge of foreign languages is required since all essential documents are designed in two languages. Among essential skill, there are also care and consideration of all price and cost formation factors at all stages, when estimating the cargo cost and tax calculation

Mandatory customs clearance

There is approved list of custom clearance procedures. Within each procedure, there are estimated stages and rules. These are export, import, transit, re-export / re-import, processing, or depot.

To be compliant with the legal FEA regulations, a Company must observe certain conditions and stages.

Stages and conditions of customs clearance

1. Documents submission for registration. It contains long list of bligatory data to perform submission.

• statutory documents
• INN
• bank statements or statistics,
• copies of the responsible persons appointment orders, e.g., appointment of the  director, or chief accountant.
• lease agreements and other documents.

 

As soon as registration is complete, the company will get the FEA member card.

2. To estimate FEA customs commodity codes. To check the rules of tariffs, taxes and fees applied to a given category of goods.

3. To declare correct customs value. Expressly decreased value is easy to detect. Custom authorities can request the whole chain of the cargo price formation, and authorized to receive information from your counterparty. Fines, confiscations are often listed among the consequences.

4. To pay all customs duties. This is a serious scope of work for the specialists involved in the transaction. They are required to be aware of all the nuances of import/export taxes and international agreements to avoid double taxation and to observe the timelines.

5. Measures and reporting to control and account the foreign exchange.

In real life, huge amount of constantly changing rules and conditions are hard to comply with, thus external specialized companies are involved. They are busy with the FEA services for legal entities.

If you store your cargo in logistic depots or out-source your storage, you may address their service list and apply for customs clearance and FEA services.

Advantages if apply for outsourced FEA services.

1. External qualified associates may be involved and execute all the required documents. They are all contracted with the responsibilities and risks specified.
2. Vendors may support you in separate fields, e.g., FEA accounting services, logistics or storage or certification. 
3. All-inclusive option is also possible. In that case vendors prepare transaction, develop shipment options, perform accounting and cargo clearance. In that case your vendor may act on their behalf assuming all the risks.