MOSCOW, August 8 Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law ratifying the protocol defining the specifics of regulating electronic trade in goods within the Eurasian economic union. Changes are made to the agreement on the Customs Code of the EAEU. The corresponding document is posted on the portal of official publication of legal acts.
The protocol was signed on December 25, 2023 in St. Petersburg by the heads of state — members of the EAEU and submitted for ratification by Russian President Vladimir Putin. It singles out goods purchased within the framework of foreign electronic trade as a separate category and defines the specifics of regulating such trade. At the same time, a new institution is introduced — an electronic trade operator, combining the functions of a logistics operator and a customs representative, as well as a new type of customs declaration — for goods of electronic trade.
Declaration of such goods will be carried out by an individual — the recipient of the goods or the operator of electronic trade. Moreover, the operator will be responsible for false customs declaration, and also pay customs duties and taxes on these goods, if they are provided for by national legislation. One of the key functions of the operator is the support of goods purchased on the international Internet platform, including the provision of logistics.
In this case, it is possible to use two logistics schemes. The first involves the delivery of goods to the buyer directly from the seller abroad, and the second — from a customs (bonded) warehouse, where previously imported goods are stored. However, the second scheme is possible only with the participation of an e-commerce operator, to whom the goods are transferred for storage by the foreign seller.
For goods delivered to an individual directly from the seller, customs duties are paid at a single rate determined by the Eurasian Economic Commission for all EAEU member states, and from a bonded warehouse — at the rates established by the single customs tariff of the EAEU.
The Protocol grants each EAEU member state the right to establish a value-added tax on e-commerce goods. In addition, the protocol provides for the possibility of establishing a duty-free threshold for the import of e-commerce goods imported directly by individuals.