Customs clearance of a car from Russia to Ukraine: how to process it and how much it costs

Content

• What cars cannot be imported from Russia to Ukraine
• Which cars from Russia can be cleared through customs?
• How to check a car from Russia
• How does customs clearance of a car take place in Ukraine?
• Methods of customs clearance of cars
• What documents are needed for customs clearance?
• How much does customs clearance of a car cost in Ukraine?

Russia is a large country with a huge secondary car market, where you can find a decent option for good money. Such a car can be purchased in the Russian Federation, brought to Ukraine and undergo customs clearance. True, due to recent relations between countries, import and customs clearance of cars in Ukraine in 2021 has its own characteristics. We will talk about this in this material.

Customs clearance and customs clearance of goods from Ukraine

At the moment, foreign economic activity related to Ukraine has its own nuances due to the political situation and relations between the Russian Federation and Ukraine. The main thing is to comply with all rules, prohibitions and restrictions. The list of goods prohibited for import from the territory of Ukraine is specified in the Appendix to the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of December 29, 2021 No. 1716-83. There is a food embargo on products from Ukraine, which is why when organizing import supplies you must first consult with specialists.

What cars cannot be imported from Russia to Ukraine

Preferential customs clearance of cars in Ukraine in 2021 applies to cars with European license plates. For example, customs clearance of cars from Poland in Ukraine will be more profitable for Ukrainians than cars imported from outside the European Union. Previously, this also applied to cars manufactured on the territory of the Russian Federation. But with the adoption of Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 1147 of December 30, 2015 and Resolution of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of January 27, 2015 No. 129-VIII, customs clearance of such vehicles in Ukraine is prohibited. This applies to both new and used vehicles.

Customs clearance of cars in Ukraine under the new laws is impossible not only for cars from the Russian automobile industry. We are also talking about cars of foreign brands that are assembled in Russia. In particular, the ban applies to Russian-assembled cars of such brands as BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Renault, Toyota, etc. Therefore, in Ukraine, customs clearance of cars from Germany and other European countries is a real alternative when purchasing an imported vehicle.

Since customs clearance of Russian cars is prohibited in Ukraine, before buying a car from Russia it is worth checking the country of its production. This can be done using the vehicle's VIN. If it begins with the letter “X” or “Z”, then the vehicle was manufactured in the Russian Federation. To avoid problems, it is better to refrain from purchasing such a car.

Also read: Why crossovers are not as reliable as everyone thinks

Refund of customs VAT when exporting goods

Participants in foreign trade activities have the right to deduct VAT paid by them when importing goods into the Russian Federation only if the exporter is a VAT payer. If the goods are intended for transactions that are subject to VAT, and they are accepted for accounting. A deduction can be made if the goods are intended for operations that are subject to VAT. To confirm your right to a tax deduction, the following documents may be required:

• foreign trade contract with a foreign supplier;
• invoice for payment from the supplier (invoice) invoice;
• customs declaration (copy);
• payment order, bank statements, certified duplicates of payment orders.

The listed documents must be stored for four years.

If an organization is not a VAT payer, then, according to the law, it will not be able to receive a deduction. These are organizations that have chosen tax regimes: simplified taxation system (USNO), unified tax on imputed income (UTI), unified agricultural tax (UST).

Which cars from Russia can be cleared through customs?

Taking into account the laws on customs clearance of cars in Ukraine, it becomes clear that the choice of cars from Russia is significantly narrowed. Ukrainian citizens can purchase and clear customs in their country only those cars that were manufactured in other states, but were later registered in the Russian Federation.

Imported cars imported into Ukraine must meet two more conditions. Firstly, their environmental class should not be lower than the Euro-2 standard. And, secondly, the car must be registered to an individual for personal use.

Having found a suitable car in Russia and made sure that it was produced outside the Russian Federation, you need to enter its license plate number or VIN and, based on the data received, decide whether to look at the car or not.

Also read: All the girls will describe themselves: what sellers write in advertisements for the sale of cars

How to check a car from Russia

You can check the option you like through the avtocod.ru service. It shows a lot of data on the car: number of owners, accidents, repair calculations, theft, use in a taxi, mileage adjustment, pledge, participation in auctions with total damage, etc. All data is collected from official sources and is current at the time the report is generated. You can order a check using the VIN or license plate number of the vehicle. The cost of the report is 399 rubles.

Let's show it with an example.

Let's say you like this Chevrolet Tahoe.

We ask the owner for the license plate number, enter it on the main page of the site, pay for the check and in two minutes we receive a full report.

The car is being sold after five owners. The latter used it for almost three years. That is, the car is being sold by the owner, and he knows about the car’s problems and will be able to tell you what he repaired/changed/how often.

Initially, the car belonged to legal entities.

The second owner bought the car on lease.

You need to ask if the contract is closed. If yes, then when buying a car you need to pick up a lease closing agreement.

The inspection also showed a calculation of repair work.

And I discovered a twist in the mileage.

We would not recommend buying an old, problematic car. You can look for something more recent, inexpensive and with an impeccable history.

When you find the right option, check with the car seller before concluding a contract. Suddenly, in front of you is a fraudster who is selling a car using a fake passport or is on the wanted list. View an example report

If the car owner verification service shows that the seller has no problems with the law, agree to the deal.

Also read: How I bought a car with overcooked wine

Rules for declaring goods and money

The times when border checks were an empty formality are a thing of the past. The inspection is carried out carefully on both the Ukrainian and Russian sides. Even if you travel by train or bus, be prepared to have to open your bags: customs officers will thoroughly go through your items. But, according to reviews, there are also cases when no one checks luggage, so the trip partly turns into a lottery. To avoid troubles, correctly declare the valuables being transported.

If you have chosen a plane or a car, then the principle of passing through customs on the Ukrainian and Russian sides is the same. Travelers are offered a 2-channel system:

1. People who do not have valuables or money in quantities that require declaration pass through the green corridor But you won’t be able to enter this zone and, if a violation is detected, refer to the fact that you simply made a mistake. When you head into the green corridor, it means that you automatically declare: “There is nothing to declare.”
2. Travelers who have items subject to duty or with restrictions on value or quantity go to the red corridor Perhaps the staff will conduct a search.

You will fill out the declaration in 2 copies and hand the document to the customs officer. He will take one paper and leave the second one for you. Please submit the following along with your declaration:

• passport;
• receipts for goods that must be declared;
• tickets.

If you have documents entitling you to a customs exemption, show them to the employees. It is especially important to keep receipts for goods when the cost of the latter raises questions. When you carry expensive items and do not show receipts, customs officers determine the value at their discretion. This development of events will not necessarily benefit you, so save your receipts.

When you travel by train, service employees simply inspect things right in the carriages. The declaration can be completed on the spot.

How does customs clearance of a car take place in Ukraine?

To go through the customs clearance procedure for a car from Russia in Ukraine, you need to:

• Submit a preliminary declaration to the customs authority where the car will be registered. After submitting the document, the vehicle can be imported into the country within 30 days.

• Deposit a financial guarantee in the amount of customs duties into the account of the customs authority (this can be done simultaneously with the submission of a preliminary declaration). Payment is made at the current hryvnia exchange rate.
• Buy a car in Russia, deregister it and get transit numbers.
• Go through the border checkpoint and customs clearance. There they will issue a customs declaration and a customs inspection certificate.
• If the vehicle's environmental class is not indicated in the vehicle registration certificate, then a certificate of conformity will need to be obtained from a special accredited center.

• Provide the car along with a package of documents to the customs post where the preliminary declaration was submitted. From the moment of entry into the country, 10 days are allotted for this. Addresses of customs authorities on the territory of Ukraine are located on the website of the State Customs Service of Ukraine.

• If the exchange rate or customs value of the car has changed, then pay the difference between the payment made and the final customs clearance amount to the account of the customs authority. If the amount of the financial guarantee exceeds the required payments, the excess will be returned.

After receiving the registration certificate, the car must be registered with the MREO.

Customs clearance of a car in Ukraine can be done independently, but this process with all its formalities is quite labor-intensive. So, in addition to correctly filling out customs documents, you need to have special software. It is necessary to create a mandatory electronic copy of the customs declaration. To make their life easier, many turn to customs brokers for help. It is advisable to negotiate with them before purchasing a car from Russia.

Also read: How I used cars for 25 thousand rubles

What does Ukraine trade with the “aggressor”

According to the Ukrainian State Customs Service, at the end of 11 months of 2021, Russia was the third largest trading partner of Ukraine after China and Germany (8.5% of total exports and 5.6% of total imports).

From January to November of this year, goods worth $4.1 billion were imported from Russia. During the same period, goods worth $2.5 billion were sold from Ukraine to Russia. Thus, for 11 months of this year, trade turnover between the two countries reached $6 .6 billion

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RIA Novosti, Gleb Kotov / Go to photobank
According to the State Statistics Service of Ukraine, over 10 months of this year, imports from Russia decreased by 37.6%, exports to the Russian Federation - by 16.9%.
But at the same time, there was also a general decline in Ukraine’s foreign trade. For example, the State Customs Service recorded a decrease in imports by 10.8% and exports by 3.5% from January to November. According to the latest data from the Russian statistical agency, in January-October 2021, trade turnover between Russia and Ukraine fell by 18.5% compared to last year and amounted to $8.1 billion. According to Rosstat, in 2021 the volume of trade turnover between the two countries reached $11 .8 billion. In the structure of trade turnover by country, Ukraine for Russia last year was partner No. 15 with a share of 1.8%.

Trade structure

In 2021, Russia successfully supplies Ukraine with fuel and fuels and lubricants, civil vehicles of all types, live cattle and small cattle, meat and meat products, fish and fish products, dairy products, vegetables, fruits, honey, nuts, tea, coffee, gardening and park seedlings, salt, sugar, confectionery. Also in demand in Ukraine are Russian toys for children, tobacco products, plastics, leather and leather goods, wood and wood products, pulp and paper products, watches and spare parts for watches.

From Ukraine, Russia imports rolled metal and metal products, machine tools and vehicles, chemical products, wood and pulp and paper products, food products and agricultural raw materials, textiles and footwear.

Trade swing

Before certain events, Ukraine and Russia traded as members of the CIS free trade area. Ukraine's trade with Russia, its main trading partner, fell sharply after Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 and the outbreak of conflict between the two countries.

If in 2013 the total volume of trade between the two countries reached $38.5 billion, then by 2021 this figure collapsed to $8.7 billion. After Ukraine’s deep and comprehensive free trade agreement with the European Union came into force at the beginning of 2021, Russia has suspended its free trade agreement with Ukraine. The two countries have also imposed mutual import restrictions, with Russia including Ukraine in its ban on certain European goods that has been in effect since August 2014. Ukraine has banned the import of some Russian goods.

Ukraine will double trade turnover with Turkey

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Public Domain
Both sides suffered.
But the damage to the Ukrainian economy and Ukrainian enterprises from the loss of a significant part of the Russian market turned out to be much more serious than similar damage to the Russian economy and Russian enterprises - due to the manifold difference in the volume of the economy and in export volumes. Equilibrium (in absolute values) replacement of Ukrainian exports to Russia with exports to the EU has not occurred. In 2021, there was an increase in mutual trade: exports to Russia amounted to $3.9 billion (+9.6%), and imports to Ukraine amounted to $7.2 billion (+40%). In 2021, exports to Russia decreased slightly - by 7.2% and amounted to $3.65 billion, while imports to Ukraine increased to $8 billion (+12.3%), and total trade turnover amounted to $11.7 billion. However, if in In 2013, about 27% of Ukraine's trade was with Russia, but by 2018, Russia's share in Ukrainian foreign trade fell to 11.3%.

Overall trade turnover began to decline starting in 2021, and this trend continues in 2021.

True, Ukraine trades with Russia at a loss. Throughout the entire period, the overall trade balance was negative: Ukraine bought more goods from Russia than it sold.

Business separately, trade separately

Over the past three years, Russia has become Ukraine's second largest trading partner after China. Russia lacked only $1.5 billion in trade turnover to become Ukraine's largest trading partner, News24UA reports. Trade turnover between Ukraine and Russia from January 2021 to August 2021 reached $37.9 billion. Thus, at the end of three years, Russia moved to second place in the list of Ukraine’s largest trading partners. The first place remains with China (trade turnover for 2017–2020 - $39.6 billion). Germany dropped to third place (trade turnover for 2017–2020: $26.2 billion).

Unfortunately, the total volume of trade turnover between Ukraine and the Russian Federation over three years has not approached the figure of 2013 alone.

According to the Ukrainian Institute of Politics, the total amount of trade turnover between Ukraine and Russia over the six years of the armed conflict in Donbass amounted to $81.17 billion.

“We can say that Ukrainian-Russian business relations and the war on the territory of the country seem to exist in different dimensions. Over the past six years, hostilities have proven to be no obstacle to business. Therefore, it looks especially paradoxical and cynical when many Ukrainian politicians continue to speculate on the topic of war, but at the same time conduct active business activities with the “aggressor”...

At the same time, we can assume that about 20% (traditionally 30-40%) of this amount went to the Russian budget in the form of taxes and fees, and this is at least $16.2 billion. For comparison: the cost of the Crimean Bridge is $4 billion; annual subsidy for the Autonomous Republic of Crimea in 2020 - $2-3 billion; LDNR - $2-5 billion,” UIP analysts note.

You don't choose your neighbors

“Russia and Ukraine are doomed to be neighbors, and, naturally, economic cooperation will continue. If war is not declared, there are no other political restrictions, trade will develop and bring billions of dollars into the treasury. Another thing is that there is a list of sanctioned things for which a manufacturer or trader can be punished, and not only in Ukraine, but throughout the world. But there are things that are not sanctioned and can easily cross the border. For example, the same energy resources or goods that do not have dual use. Therefore, there is nothing to be surprised here - we cannot simply take and cross out the economic relations that existed between Ukraine and Russia. If, for example, you look at the list of energy resources that are supplied to Ukraine, then Russian diesel fuel is dominant in the Ukrainian market, and this is a fact.

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mriya.ua / Go to photobank
The structure of trade turnover with Russia has changed very seriously. If in 2012-2013 we had a fairly large share of high-tech products, now we have descended to the level of raw materials - products with low added value. Ukraine and Russia, unfortunately, are at one of the lowest levels in the global division of labor - we are not producers of products with high added value, which is why we trade these products among ourselves,” Oleg, a member of the Economic Discussion Club, said in a comment to Ukraine.ru Pendzin.
Ukrainian society is gradually being prepared for the fact that normalization of relations with its northern partner is inevitable. Recently, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba expressed the opinion that Kiev should have a strategy for relations with Moscow, but Ukrainian society is not yet ready for a calm conversation about Russia, although it is necessary.

“I am of the opinion, to be honest, that Ukrainian society is not yet ready for a calm conversation about Russia - neither society nor politicians. Somewhere I meet people, experts who are ready to take a sober look at this country, at this neighbor. We will never run away from our geography, this must be understood,” the diplomat admitted.

According to him, someone who is actually ready for such a conversation may be called a fanatic or a traitor, which will expose such a person to attack.

“But this conversation is very necessary. Without a strategy regarding Russia, there will be neither security nor prosperity,” Kuleba emphasized as part of a discussion on diplomatic priorities for the next year.

Methods of customs clearance of cars

Citizens of Ukraine sometimes use alternative methods of importing cars from the Russian Federation. These include:

• Importing a car in disassembled form - spare parts are delivered in different ways and then assembled together. The design will be cheaper, but you will have to work hard on assembling the car itself.
• The car is registered as an inheritance in the name of a Ukrainian citizen, who ultimately transfers it to the owner.
• Preferential customs clearance of cars in Ukraine applies to vehicles of representative offices of foreign enterprises. Import of a car in this quality is carried out without charging VAT.
• Customs clearance of a car in Ukraine for a disabled person is free of charge, but for this the car must be donated and it cannot be sold or donated for 10 years.

The bill on preferential customs clearance of cars for Chernobyl victims in Ukraine (we are talking about citizens without disabilities) is still under consideration.

Regardless of the actions of others, you should avoid fraudulent methods of importing cars into Ukraine. Violators will be held accountable before the law.

Also read: 5 factors to consider when buying a used car

VAT rates according to the Commodity Nomenclature of Foreign Economic Activity

The commodity nomenclature of foreign economic activity (TN FEA) is a special classifier of goods developed by the member countries of the EAEU. It is a table of code values, each of which relates to a specific type of product - a HS code. VAT rates are tied to the HS code. This code consists of 10 digits. The customs declarant, having determined the product code, understands the meaning of the VAT rate. Exact compliance of the selected code with the nomenclature is one of the most important tasks of the customs declarant.

Do you need to determine the HS code? Don't know what fees you will have to pay at customs? – We will help you!

What documents are needed for customs clearance?

When passing through a customs point at the Ukrainian border, you need to have the following package of documents with you:

• Ukrainian passport;
• taxpayer identification number;
• car purchase and sale agreement;
• vehicle registration certificate (technical passport);
• a document confirming the cost of the car;
• preliminary declaration number.

To complete the customs clearance procedure, you must provide the following to the customs authority where the preliminary customs declaration was submitted:

• passport of a citizen of Ukraine and TIN;
• application for issuance of a vehicle registration certificate;
• customs declaration;
• customs inspection report and other documents received at the border;
• an invoice or other document confirming the cost of the car;
• a document confirming ownership of the vehicle (sale or purchase agreement);
• vehicle registration certificate (technical passport);
• confirmation of deregistration of the car in Russia;
• a document confirming that the vehicle meets an environmental class of at least Euro 2;
• additional declaration to the preliminary customs declaration.

After completing customs clearance, you should register the car with the MREO.

Also read: The eternal debate among motorists: what to choose - a sedan or a hatchback

To calculate VAT you need:

1. Correctly determine the product code according to the Commodity Nomenclature of Foreign Economic Activity;
2. Determine the tax rate using the code;
3. Determine the import duty rate;
4. Determine the excise tax rate;
5. Calculate the customs value of goods and excise tax;
6. Using the formula, we get VAT = (Tam St. + Tam. St. + Share) x VAT rate%.

Example of VAT calculation

Example 1: Goods are imported for an aircraft plant: Pipes and tubes made of aluminum alloys without further processing after extrusion for the production of aircraft engines. Product code 7608208902. VAT = 20%; Import duty = 0%; Excise tax = 0%; Customs value = 78,000 rubles. VAT = 78,000 x 20% = 15,600 rub.

Example 2: An individual entrepreneur imports a batch of strollers from Israel for people who are unable to move. HS code 8713100000. The stroller is a vital medical equipment (preferential product). Import duty = 0, goods are not subject to excise tax, VAT = 0%. To apply these rates, it is necessary to provide documents confirming the intended purpose of the stroller, issued by the federal executive body, and a registration certificate. If supporting documents are not provided, then VAT = 20%.