The European Commission has issued new clarifications on the application of sanctions against Russia (.pdf). It says that the ban on importing cars from Russia includes entry into the European Union in personal cars with Russian license plates, including as part of tourist trips. RBC drew attention to the publication.
In explanations number 13, the question is asked whether Russian citizens can carry with them, “for example, during tourist trips,” personal belongings and vehicles listed in Appendix XXI to Article 3i of the European Commission sanctions regulation. The answer to this is negative.
“It does not matter whether the vehicles are used for private or commercial purposes as long as they fall under a code specified in Annex XXI (for example code 8703) and are of Russian origin or imported from Russia. First of all, this applies to cars with Russian license plates and registration in Russia,” the document says.
“The duration of their possible stay in the territory of the European Union and the customs procedures applied accordingly (for example, release for free circulation or temporary entry) , also do not matter,” the clarification adds.
A ban on the import from Russia to the EU of “cars and other vehicles intended for the transport of less than 10 people” (code 8703) appeared in October 2022 as part of the eighth package of EU sanctions. In Article 3i itself, there is an indication that for the ban to apply, the import of such goods must “bring sufficient income to Russia and thus contribute to destabilizing the situation in Ukraine.”
German authorities in the summer of 2023, citing these restrictions, began to temporarily confiscate personal cars of Russian citizens. Similar problems have not been reported in other countries; EU members monitor the implementation of sanctions independently. German customs said that the ban also applies to transit travel, but soon returned the cars to the Russians. Lawyers interviewed by Deutsche Welle explained this by the peculiarities of translating legal terms into German.
RBC notes that Appendix XXI lists other consumer goods — cosmetics, suitcases and leather bags, smartphones and laptops. There were no known claims against them at customs when Russians entered the EU countries.