What special formalities are associated with exporting goods to Armenia?

Export to Armenia

Most often, raw materials and food products are imported into Armenia and delivered in various ways: by air, road and rail. In fact, if you carefully develop the export algorithm, then there will be no tangible problems that impact the budget. According to statistics, every second participant in foreign trade activities who has not contacted a customs representative faces problems at customs. This is due to the fact that even such a relatively easy process as export combines a number of secrets during registration.

We recommend that you contact customs clearance specialists, since mistakes are often made at the following stages of export:

• Customs clearance of cargo
• Payment with the buyer in foreign currency
• Drawing up an international sales contract
• Organization of delivery to Armenia

As a rule, inaccurate information about a product may lead to fines for the shipment and delay of the shipment.

Features of export to Armenia

Planning the export of any product to Armenia requires a responsible approach to fulfilling the assigned tasks. As practice shows, mistakes are most often made when calculating export duties, and mistakes are also often made when selecting the HS code. Even an organization that deals with customs clearance in other countries can make mistakes when selecting the correct HS code. We recommend that you take a responsible approach to the process of customs clearance of your cargo to Armenia. If you are not completely sure of the correctness of the completed documents for your product, then contact our specialists for help.

Customs clearance of your cargo in Armenia has a number of features, for example, if you provide ST-1 (certificate of origin) for your goods, then the cargo is exempt from paying customs duties. Goods produced and imported from countries included in the free trade zone are exempt from customs duties.

WORTH KNOWING! If your product does not have a certificate of origin, then the amount of customs duties is doubled.

Export by an individual: individuals have the right to import cargo exclusively for personal use. It is not always possible to determine one hundred percent whether a cargo belongs to a commercial shipment. In fact, there is no specific description of the concept of “commercial party” in the legislation. To determine the relationship of your cargo to a commercial shipment, simply ask yourself the question “could the quantity of cargo or its purpose be related to commercial activity?” If you still cannot answer this question, then send us a request by email or call us, our specialists will advise you on all your questions.

Export by a legal entity: if you are exporting goods from your company, then it is simply important for you to know about the amount of customs duties, delivery costs and the need for additional documentation. It happens that special permits and certificates are required to clear certain types of goods; it is very important to know about the need to obtain them in advance for customs clearance to be successful.

How to confirm zero rate

The next point that needs to be addressed is procedural. How exactly and when should the collected supporting documents be submitted to the tax office?

The deadline is provided for in paragraph 5 of the Protocol. Exporters are given 180 calendar days from the date of shipment of goods to collect documents. If the documents are not collected within this period, the transaction will be subject to VAT in the usual manner, i.e. at a rate of 18 (10) percent based on the results of the tax period in which the shipment occurred. In this case, the tax is paid with penalties, which are accrued starting from the 181st day after shipment (resolutions of the Presidium of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation dated May 16, 2006 No. 15326/05 and dated March 11, 2008 No. 15079/07 in case No. A56-7714/2006).

If in the future supporting documents are nevertheless collected and submitted to the inspectorate, the paid tax can be offset or returned in the usual manner (i.e., according to the rules of Article 78 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation), which is also expressly stated in paragraph 5 of the Protocol. Well, if you cannot collect the documents, then the VAT paid can be taken into account as an expense when taxing profits. The fact is that such VAT is not subject to the prohibition established by clause 19 of Art. 270 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, since the tax was not presented to buyers, but was paid by the seller at his own expense. (letters of the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated December 24, 2013 No. SA-4-7/23263 and the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated October 20, 2015 No. 03-03-06/1/60045, dated July 27, 2015 No. 03-03-06/1/42961). As for the rules for submitting documents, they are regulated in the Procedure for filling out a tax return for value added tax (approved by Order of the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated October 29, 2014 No. ММВ-7-3 / [email protected] ). This document states that when selling goods to the EAEU countries, section 4 is filled out in the tax return. Please note: for transactions for which it was not possible to collect documents for 180 days, you will have to submit an updated declaration for the shipment period. And the supporting documents we discussed above are included as an appendix to the declaration completed in this way.

Customs payments when exporting to Armenia

Customs payments are not provided for when exporting from Russia to Armenia, but if your contract specifies delivery conditions under which you must not only clear customs, but also pay the costs of customs clearance of goods in the buyer’s country and delivery, you need to know the specifics of paying customs duties in Armenia.

As you already understand, customs payments are determined by the HS code, which is assigned to the goods upon declaration. Our specialists will be happy to select a HS code for your cargo within the shortest period of time and describe all the features of customs clearance in Armenia.

It is important to know that if you import goods under conditions where the buyer himself is involved in customs clearance of the goods, then you are NOT provided for payment of customs duties.

VAT reporting for imports from EAEU countries

The reporting generated when importing goods from the EAEU countries includes (clause 20 of Section III of Appendix No. 18 to the Treaty on the EAEU):

• application for the import of goods, drawn up in the form approved by the protocol “On the exchange of information in electronic form between the tax authorities of the EAEU member states...” dated December 11, 2009 (Appendix No. 1);
• a declaration generated on the form KND 1151088, approved by Order of the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated September 27, 2017 No. SA-7-3 / [email protected] (Appendix No. 1).

Both reports can be submitted to the tax authority either on paper or electronically. When submitted on paper, the application, unlike a tax return drawn up in two copies (for the Federal Tax Service and for the taxpayer), is prepared in four copies (subclause 1, clause 20, section III of Appendix No. 18 to the Treaty on the EAEU).

This number of copies of the paper application is explained by the fact that it is intended:

• for the applicant himself;
• its supplier is a member of the EAEU;
• the tax authority to which the applicant reports;
• tax authority to which the supplier reports.

That is, by submitting 4 copies of this document to the Federal Tax Service on paper, the taxpayer will receive back only 3 copies containing the mark of the tax authority, 2 of which he must send to his supplier - a member of the EAEU.

If an error is detected in the data included in the application, it is possible to submit an updated version (clause 21 of Section III of Appendix No. 18 to the Treaty on the EAEU). If an error made in the application entails the need to clarify the declaration, then the declaration is also corrected.

If the value of the goods subsequently changes upward, both reporting documents (application and declaration) reflect not the new value, but the amount of its increase. These documents should be submitted to the Federal Tax Service for the month in which the fact of the increase in value was agreed upon (clause 24 of Section III of Appendix No. 18 to the Treaty on the EAEU).

Peculiarities of importing goods to Armenia

Trade routes between Russia and Armenia are varied, depending on the type of imported goods, you can choose transportation by air, road or rail. Each of the presented delivery types has its own advantages and features. During the coronavirus period, for example, only air transport was used to export and import goods, because this type of delivery is the fastest of the listed types of delivery.

When we take EAEU-VAT for deduction

The tax that arises when goods are imported into the Russian Federation from EAEU countries can be taken as a deduction. However, for this it is not enough to fulfill the conditions provided for in paragraph 2 of Art. 171 and paragraph 1 of Art. 172 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation (i.e., acceptance of goods for registration, their intended use for operations subject to VAT, and payment of tax).

The necessary points for the possibility of carrying out this procedure, due to the mandatory registration, also become (letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated 07/02/2015 No. 03-07-13/1/38180):

• presence of an import application signed by the tax authority;
• adoption by the Federal Tax Service of a declaration reflecting data on it.

That is, the procedure for accepting EAEU-VAT as deductions turns out to be more complicated than when importing goods from countries outside this union. Let us recall that in the latter situation, it is sufficient to have a customs declaration with the amount of tax paid reflected in it and confirmation of the fact of its payment.

Persons enjoying VAT exemption under Art. 145 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, and special regimes for whom the fact of import leads to the obligation to pay import tax cannot take advantage of deductions, since they are not payers of the usual VAT for the Russian Federation. They will have to include such a tax in the cost of the purchased goods (subclause 3, clause 2, article 170 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

Cargo transportation to Armenia

When delivering to Armenia from Russia, you should develop the correct and competent algorithm of actions for transporting your cargo. In addition to choosing the type of transport, it is necessary to organize the loading and unloading of cargo.

To avoid worries about logistics planning, contact our specialists. In the shortest possible time, our logisticians will provide you with an individual proposal for exporting your goods with all calculations that will not change, but remain static.

Allowed to import

It is allowed to import into the territory of Armenia:

tobacco – up to 250 g;

cigarettes – up to 200 pieces;

personal belongings (the total amount should not exceed 1.5 thousand euros);

alcoholic products (total quantity – up to 3,000 ml/1 person);

items of cultural and historical value, the statute of limitations of which does not exceed 50 years;

other cultural objects, the statute of limitations of which does not exceed 76 years.

The total weight of products that can be imported to Armenia is up to 50 kg.

Cargo delivery to Yerevan

Cargo is delivered to Yerevan in various ways; most often our clients choose the road delivery method. They most often choose delivery by car due to the economy of this type of cargo delivery to Yerevan.

Delivery of personal belongings to Yerevan is also possible; it is most profitable to send it as groupage cargo. Due to our experience in delivering commercial and personal cargo, you can contact our specialists for any cargo, because sending cargo to Yerevan is not so difficult if experienced logisticians and declarants are involved in the matter.

Export schemes to Armenia

1 scheme for exporting goods to Armenia

This scheme involves your Russian company, on behalf of which you send your shipment. After purchasing the cargo from you, you send us three documents (contract, waybill and invoice). After receiving all the documents, our organization submits the documents to customs under a personal brokerage seal. This service costs 23,000 rubles.

2 scheme for exporting goods to Armenia

This scheme will help those who sell cargo on behalf of an individual and do not want to send it on their own behalf. Please note that individuals do not have the right to send commercial shipments from an individual, so in this case it is necessary to find a company that will ship the goods. Not every company wants to be listed as a sender of cargo to which it has no connection. That is why we recommend that you use our service of sending cargo from our legal entity. We will simply take it onto our balance sheet, clear it at customs, and safely export it to Armenia to your buyer. This service costs 35,000 rubles.

3 scheme
for exporting goods to Armenia
Often, inexperienced entrepreneurs are faced with a situation where they need to purchase cargo in another country and sell it, but do not know how to do it. We have this scheme specifically to solve such situations. Our organization purchases a consignment of your cargo in Russia and sells it to Armenia. If necessary, our specialists will organize delivery of your cargo from anywhere in the world to your warehouse. The main advantage of this scheme is that the entire transaction process goes through our company. Your legal entity (if any) and you yourself are not listed in any of the documents. This service costs 35,000 rubles.

Transportation of medicines

According to customs regulations, medicines are prohibited from being sent or received by mail. This rule has no exceptions. It is due to the need to comply with safety rules: in recent years, drugs containing narcotic ingredients have entered the country.

When crossing the border of Armenia, a person who has such medicines in his medicine cabinet is required to present a prescription from the attending physician. This document is certified by the personal signature and seal of the hospital. It would be best to have the recipe certified by a notary.

List of documents required for export to Armenia

The process of conducting a transaction with your buyer from Armenia requires the preparation of a voluminous package of documents. Therefore, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with the list of main documents:

• Export contract
• Invoice
• Customs declaration
• Passports, certificates and licenses for exported goods
• All shipping documents

For more detailed advice, contact our specialists for advice by calling +7 . It is important to remember that due to the peculiarities and amendments in the legislation, the list of documents may.

Accounting EAEU-VAT

Accounting for VAT generated when importing from EAEU countries is quite simple. There are only three wires involved here:

1. Dt 19 Kt 68 - accrued the amount reflected for the corresponding month in the application and declaration;
2. Dt 68 Kt 51 - tax paid;
3. Dt 68 Kt 19 - import VAT is taken as a reduction from ordinary Russian VAT.

The last of them becomes possible only if all the conditions necessary for applying the EAEU-VAT deduction are met. The amount accompanying this posting will appear in line 160 of section 3 in a regular quarterly VAT return, specifically designed to reflect the tax arising on imports from the EAEU countries.

Registration of ST-1 for export to Armenia

Many people are interested in why it is necessary to issue a certificate of conformity for goods exported to Armenia. The certificate of conformity itself is a document that confirms the origin of the product. To obtain this certificate, you need to know the characteristics of your cargo and all information about transportation and cargo.

ST-1 states:

1. Information about the shipper (exporter);
2. Recipient (importer) details;
3. Information about the method of transportation and types of transport;
4. Unique document number indicating the country of issue of the document;
5. Marks in documents;
6. Cargo number;
7. Method of cargo packaging and number of pieces;
8. Description of the cargo;
9. Criteria for the origin of goods;
10. Information about the quantity of goods;
11. Price;
12. Country of origin of the cargo.

Goods delivery services: 3 transportation methods

Peculiarities of the geographical location and political situation limit the variability of vehicles for supplies to Armenia from Russia:

• Armenia has no access to the sea and no navigable rivers. Therefore, water modes of transport are not in demand for transportation.
• There is no direct railway connection between Russia and Armenia, although the Armenian Railway is a subsidiary of Russian Railways. Stations operate in the three largest cities: Yerevan, Gyumri and Vanadzor. Currently, some of the stations and interstate crossings are closed; only the crossing on the border with Georgia is operational. The rolling stock and tracks need reconstruction and modernization. All these factors significantly reduce the popularity of the railway as a method of transporting export goods.
• A significant share of freight transportation is carried out by cars. The construction of new modern highways, repair and maintenance of existing highways is an important part of the country’s socio-economic structure.
• Air transport is the main means of delivering exports to Armenia under the blockade by Turkey and Azerbaijan and unstable relations between Russia and Georgia.

“Customs technologies” offer three methods of transportation, each of which has its own advantages. The choice depends on the type of product, the volume of the shipment, the planned delivery time and budget.

Dedicated transport

Dedicated transport is provided for the transportation of large quantities of goods of various types from any region of the Russian Federation. Delivery in this case can be carried out directly from the customer’s location, without delivery to Moscow.

Sending general cargo of any volume is beneficial in cases where urgency plays a major role. Eliminating the waiting period for the formation of a prefabricated batch allows you to get a great advantage in time.

“Customs Technologies” has its own vehicles for various purposes. We are ready to accept any type of cargo for shipment, including dangerous, non-standard and oversized, perishable and fragile. For each case, we will select the appropriate vehicle, guaranteed to be in good working order and meeting international standards.

An additional advantage when transporting by road is our company’s membership in ASMAP, the Russian association of international road carriers. Having a license minimizes control during transit movement, frees cars from inspection, convoy and other expensive and time-consuming procedures. Thanks to this, we offer our clients the best terms and cost of road delivery to Armenia.

Groupage cargo

When sending a small batch of goods (sample, test, retail sale), the freight of a dedicated transport turns out to be unprofitable - transportation costs exceed the potential profit or worsen the competitiveness of the product.

The groupage cargo service is designed for economical shipping of small-volume orders to Yerevan. Goods from different customers are packed in one vehicle, and payment is made according to the space occupied.

Orders are picked up from any city in Russia and delivered to Moscow to form a prefabricated batch at the Customs Technologies warehouse. Consolidation time ranges from 2 to 14 days. We provide delivery to the warehouse, safe storage (free of charge), packaging and loading work.

In partnership with us, you can always be sure that the cargo entrusted to us will be delivered strictly within the agreed time frame, in complete safety.

Air cargo transportation

Air transportation to Armenia from Russia is the optimal solution in most cases. High speed and minimal costs for preparing accompanying documentation are the main advantages of this type of delivery.

When organizing air transportation, Customs Technologies uses the ships of its partners - air carriers. We work with companies that have long established themselves in the market, provide high quality and offer adequate rates. Long-term regular cooperation allows us to enjoy priority when processing orders and benefits that reduce customer delivery costs.

The only airport of international level is located in Yerevan. If delivery to other cities is required, road transport is used and multimodal schemes are used.

Registration of a phytosanitary certificate for the export of perishable goods to Armenia

If you need to send fruits or vegetables to Armenia, then a phytosanitary certificate is required. Many people have problems obtaining a phytosanitary certificate for their cargo. This is due to the fact that there is not so much high-quality and correct information on the topic of issuing a phytosanitary certificate.

It is important to note that the process of obtaining a phytosanitary certificate looks simple only in theory. In practice, government agencies may find something to cling to in your case.

In this paragraph we have collected for you the main questions and answers on the topic of issuing a phytosanitary certificate. The need to obtain a phytosanitary certificate is described in two conclusions:

1. Federal Law No. 206 of July 21, 2014 “On plant quarantine”;
2. Order of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation No. 163 of March 14, 2007 “On the organization...”.

Why do you need a phytosanitary certificate?

• A phytosanitary certificate is required for the export of regulated products outside the Russian Federation. This certificate is issued by Rosselkhoznadzor.

How much does a phytosanitary certificate cost?

• Registration of a phytosanitary certificate does not include additional expenses.

What documents are needed to obtain a phytosanitary certificate?

• Information about the applicant from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities or Unified State Register of Individual Entrepreneurs, notarized;
• Certificate of registration with the Ministry of Taxation;
• Information on phytosanitary disinfection of warehouses where goods to be exported were stored;
• Identification document of the applicant;
• Confirmation of the fact of product disinfection (if required by law);
• An extract from the contract, which is the basis for the export of products outside of Russia, regarding the fit-san requirements for the product (if such a document and requirements exist).

Where are the rules for importing into Russia from Kyrgyzstan?

The importation of goods (import) into the territory of the Russian Federation is accompanied by the accrual and payment of VAT.
However, the order used for these procedures may vary. What does this depend on? Depending on which country the import is coming from. With regard to VAT rules, countries are divided into two groups:

• members of the EAEU (Eurasian Economic Union) and subject to the provisions of the agreement on this union (signed in Astana on May 29, 2014);
• all others, upon import of which tax is charged in accordance with customs legislation.

The Eurasian Economic Union is formed by five states:

• Russia;
• Armenia;
• Belarus;
• Kazakhstan;
• Kyrgyzstan, which entered there later than everyone else (in August 2015).

That is, imports from Kyrgyzstan in 2021 are subject to the rules of the Treaty on the EAEU, and a description of the procedure for calculating VAT paid when importing goods must be found in it, more precisely, in Appendix No. 18 to this treaty.