The Association of Internet Commerce Companies (AKIT) sent a letter addressed to State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin with a proposal to introduce VAT and lift the duty-free threshold for importing goods for online stores from countries supporting unfriendly actions against Russia, writes RT.
According to AKIT, such a measure would be an adequate response to the hostile policy of foreign countries towards Russia and will serve as an incentive for import substitution and the development of domestic light industry and trade.
According to Aleksey Fedorov, President of AKIT, when establishing the obligation to pay taxes and customs duties by foreign online stores, the fee should be at least 30%, which corresponds to the fees for classical imports (18% VAT and 10-15% - customs duty). The duty-free threshold must be reduced to zero.
First of all, the proposed measures will affect the American eBay and Amazon sites.
AKIT indicates that in recent years, the share of sales of foreign Internet sites in volume to the Russian market has reached 36% of the total volume of the Internet commerce market. The volume of tax-free trade in 2017 reached 374 billion rubles, of which 34% falls on the Internet sites of the United States and EU countries. It is noted that in the absence of tax and customs duties, the Russian budget did not receive more than 80 billion rubles from this commercial turnover.
Currently, in Russia it is possible to obtain parcels without paying a parcel cost of up to € 1 thousand and weighing up to 31 kg per month, if these values are exceeded, the duty is 30%. VAT on online purchases from other countries is not taxed. According to a recent proposal by the Ministry of Finance, from July 1, 2018, the threshold for duty-free import of parcels to Russia can be set at € 500 per person per month. And from January 2019, it is proposed to lower it to € 200.
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