The introduction of a single duty for cross-border goods was not supported by the government

AKIT proposal for the introduction of a single charge on goodspurchased on foreign sites in the Russian government was considered an excessive measure. The Ministry of Communications and the Ministry of Industry and Trade consider it appropriate to maintain the current rules on the EurAsEC market - duty-free import of goods worth up to € 500 per month, Izvestia writes.

At the end of April, the Association of Internet Trade Companies (AKIT) approached Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak with an initiative to exclude products that Russian consumers buy in foreign online stores from the category of "goods for personal use." It was proposed to impose a single tax on these purchases at a rate of 20%, subsequently the amount of the proposed tax was adjusted to 15%. However, in the documents submitted to government structures, a figure of 20% appears.

The Government Analytical Center estimated that as a result of the proposed AKIT introduction of a single fee on cross-border trade in the amount of 20%, the total tax burden on consumers would increase by up to 121 billion rubles a year.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade considers it appropriate to adhere to the standards established by the decision of the EEC Council in 2017, which provides for a phased reduction of the threshold for duty-free import of goods from foreign online stores by 2020 to € 200 per parcel.

Comments on this topic were also made at the Gaidar Institute of Economic Policy, where AKIT also sent a letter with the corresponding proposal.

Institute experts agree that the introduction of a duty will increase the tax burden on individuals and not on representatives of foreign business.