Since entering a customs union with Kazakhstan, and maybe with Belarus, Russia has taken up new customs legislation. Now a parcel worth up to 1,000 euros ($1,254) sent from abroad is not subject to duty; until July 1, this threshold was 10,000 rubles ($321). But if before parcels worth up to 5,000 rubles did not require customs documentation, now all parcels must carry a passenger declaration.
This applies to express parcels too. Before July 1, carriers processed parcels worth less than 200 euros on a register, a general list, but now every parcel must be registered individually by passenger declaration, that is, with the passport data of every recipient, says Ivan Shatsky, CEO of UPS in Russia. Under the new rules, the declaration may require the recipient to be present personally or to use the services of a customs broker.
This year has already seen parcels detained at customs. Officials started the fight with understated customs values, with the result that in March more than 100,000 parcels declared at understated prices were delayed. Delivery times increased from two weeks to two months.