The Russian Customs Regulations Act entered into force on 4 September 2018. According to the Act, only one foreign-registered vehicle in private use and registered to a single owner can be in the Russian territory at a time temporarily duty free. For any following vehicles arriving in the Russian territory at the same time, a guarantee for the amount of import duties and taxes must be lodged, possibly thousands of euros. This regulation has, in practice, prevented the holders of vehicles owned by financing companies from travelling to Russia.
The Federal Customs Service of Russia has suggested that if it receives information on the financing companies in advance from Finnish Customs, it may, at its discretion, waive the lodging of a guarantee for the cars owned by the company in question.
Financing companies that need this waiver for the cars they own, can submit a written consent to Finnish Customs by email to yritysneuvonta.lupa-asiakkaat(at)tulli.fi no later than 24 September 2018. Companies other than financing companies can also submit a written consent within the same time limit to Finnish Customs.
Any decision in the matter is at the discretion of the Federal Customs Service of Russia. We will inform of the decision made by the Federal Customs Service of Russia as soon as we are notified of it.
