Importing cars into Russia in 2021 - an overview of current methods

07/30/2019 When buying a car at a dealership, the new owner receives a full package of documents and can immediately register it in his name and become the full owner of the vehicle. With used cars imported from other countries, the registration process is much more complicated - after all, before registering it with the traffic police, you need to go through the customs clearance procedure. Cars imported from Japan are no exception - they also undergo customs clearance. Residents of nearby regions, in particular the Far East, receive the maximum benefit when purchasing Japanese vehicles - after all, for them the cost of delivery is much lower than for residents of the central part of Russia.

It is for this reason that it is completely natural that Russians who want to buy a car from abroad are concerned about how to properly register the vehicle, what documents will be needed for this and how much it will cost. To fill the existing information gaps in this area, we have prepared for you the material “Customs clearance of cars from Japan”, from which you will learn the main nuances of this difficult procedure.

Important

In this article you will find information regarding the import of cars at full duty. If you are planning to purchase a “constructor”, the customs clearance procedure will be slightly different, but at the end you will receive a full-fledged car that can be registered in the Russian Federation. By purchasing a “cut”, it is no longer possible to assemble a car from it - the parts obtained can be used exclusively as spare parts.

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What does customs clearance of a vehicle include?

In fact, customs clearance of a car from Japan is not a very complicated procedure, but those who have never dealt with such transactions before may have some questions.

The principle of customs clearance of a vehicle

In order to begin the customs clearance procedure, you need to decide on the make and model of the car, the year of manufacture and its approximate cost, and decide how the car will be delivered to Russia - after all, the cost of customs clearance and the list of necessary documents will directly depend on these data.

What is a deposit and how is it calculated?

Collateral is financial security that guarantees payment of all customs duties. In essence, the deposit is an advance payment for the customs clearance procedure.

Important

The best option is to calculate and transfer the amount of the deposit with a reserve. In this case, customs clearance will proceed without any difficulties. If it turns out that the paid fee is less than necessary, then certain problems may arise - you will have to pay the missing amount, which will significantly increase the duration of the procedure. In the worst case scenario, the car simply will not pass customs clearance and will remain in a customs temporary storage warehouse.

If it turns out that the deposit amount is greater than all customs payments, the difference is returned to the buyer after submitting the appropriate application (within 60 days).

The buyer must calculate the approximate amount of the deposit independently. At the same time, if you are not sure of the correctness of your calculations, you can use a special calculator or seek help from a specialized company.

Important

The deposit must be paid in advance - 3-4 days before the expected arrival of the vehicle at customs. The fact is that the money transfer is not carried out immediately and the customs authorities will only be able to see the payment after a couple of days.

What determines the amount of collateral?

To calculate the deposit as accurately as possible, the following data is needed:

• The purchase price of the purchased vehicle;
• Year of car manufacture
• Engine capacity. The optimal figure is up to 2.0 liters;
• Engine type (gasoline, diesel, hybrid, electric). The most economical ones are electric cars;
• Carrying capacity of the vehicle (passenger cars);
• The amount of mandatory customs duties;
• The cost of registering a car at a customs point (this amount usually includes value added tax, excise tax and customs duty).

Important

It is most profitable for individuals to import cars from Japan to Russia that are between 3 and 5 years old. For organizations and individual entrepreneurs, the optimal age of a car is 5-7 years. The older the car and the larger its engine capacity, the more expensive it will cost to import it into the country.

The amount of the deposit does not depend in any way on the chosen method of car delivery: it does not matter whether you import the vehicle personally or use container transportation - this will not affect the cost of customs clearance.

Important

It should also be taken into account that when purchasing cars of equal value, the amount of deposit for legal entities and individuals will be different.

What documents does the buyer receive after paying the deposit?

After paying the deposit, the customs authorities issue the buyer two documents:

• receipt confirming payment;
• customs certificate of conformity indicating the environmental class to which the purchased vehicle corresponds.

Important

Keep in mind that any vehicles of a class lower than Euro-4 will not be allowed into the country.

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"Cut" or "constructor"

Editor's note

This method of importing cars into Russia is illegal and extremely dangerous to health. The editors of Banks Today strongly recommend not to chase savings and not to risk your health. Report all offenses to the police by calling 01.

The history of “cuts” begins in the 2000s , when the increase in customs duties on imported cars exceeded reasonable limits. Thus, since the beginning of 2009, duties on cars older than 5 years have been increased by 5-7 times , which has almost completely reduced the flow of people wishing to carry out customs clearance according to all the rules. This was explained by protectionism - the desire to protect the domestic auto industry, which was actively developing not only the production of familiar VAZs, but also mastering the production of foreign cars from kits.

However, the scheme with the replacement of units and the purchase of documents for damaged cars in Russia began around 2003 after another increase in customs tariffs. The diagram looked like this:

• Before importing the car to Russia, it was disassembled into separate units. It was important, for example, to separate the engine from the body;
• then the disassembled car crossed the border (it was registered as a set of spare parts);
• after import, the owner organized the assembly of the car and bought documents from a damaged or simply old car of the same model (formally he bought the car, but in reality these were only documents);
• Having completed the purchase of documents, changes were made to them - the data was changed to the data of the imported and assembled car.

At the exit it was possible to get a car without mileage in Russia with normal documents.

In 2008, the state stopped such activities - import duties on car bodies were increased to 5,000 euros. After this, a phenomenon called “cutting” appeared.

The car (usually from Japan) was disassembled before being sent to Russia, and the body was sawn into several parts. After the entire “set” was imported to Russia, the car was assembled back, replacing the license plate units with those taken from purchased salvage or old cars. The quality of the finished car was low - the body could fall apart.

To date, the “cutting” scheme has been improved, but this practice is becoming less and less popular. True, you should be wary of purchasing cars imported in sawn form - their reliability and safety are unknown.

What documents are required for customs clearance of a car?

The customs clearance procedure for importing a car into Russia should be taken very seriously. Please pay attention to the completeness and accuracy of filling out all necessary documents, as well as compliance with customs clearance procedures.

Where can I clear customs and register a car?

All stages of customs clearance of an imported car are carried out at the customs office in the city where the vehicle will arrive from Japan.

If you are not sure that you can prepare the entire package of documents and follow the exact procedure for customs clearance, it is better to seek help from specialists - we offer a full range of services for the import of cars purchased at auctions in Japan.

Documents required for customs clearance of cars

• Receipt for payment of security deposit;
• Customs certificate for the car;
• Documents confirming ownership (for example, a purchase and sale agreement);
• Vehicle documents issued in Japan (both originals and copies will be required);
• Agreement on compulsory insurance for imported vehicles (insurance);
• Declaration in form TD-6 (filled out in the declarant’s own hand, full details of the vehicle must be indicated). This document is required if the owner independently transports the car across the border;
• If the car arrived at customs by sea, then during registration you must provide the name of the vessel and the container number.

A complete package of documents is provided at the customs control point. After this, the car is sent to a temporary storage lot and awaits inspection.

Procedure for importing a car from Georgia

Car customs clearance includes the following actions:

• registration of the vehicle during customs control;
• presentation of documents that would confirm the purchase of a car in Georgia;
• Carrying out a technical inspection, checking the VIN number;
• assignment of a transit number.

During customs clearance:

• The VIN number of the car is entered into the database;
• information about the car is transferred to the territorial body of the Federal Tax Service;
• the driver pays mandatory customs duties and receives a vehicle transit number to cross the border.

How much does customs clearance of a Japanese car cost?

If you are confident that you can independently calculate the collateral and complete all stages of registration without the involvement of professional brokers, remember the algorithm of actions during customs clearance:

• We choose a car. The most reliable way is to find a suitable vehicle at an auction in Japan. In this case, you are guaranteed to know the history of the car, and also receive reliable information about its owner.
• We pay a deposit. To simplify the calculation as much as possible, you can use special calculators. Do not forget that the deposit must be paid in advance - by the time the car crosses the border, the funds must arrive in the customs account. To confirm payment, customs will issue a receipt and a certificate, which will need to be presented during customs clearance.
• If the vehicle is brought into the country by the owner personally, we fill out the TD-6 declaration, in which we indicate the exact details of the car.
• If container transportation takes place, we provide exact details of the ship and container number. In this case, the entire package of documents for customs clearance must be submitted to customs in advance.
• You can pick up a car from the parking lot only after paying all customs duties and receiving all the necessary documents.

As you can see, there is nothing complicated in the customs clearance procedure for a car from Japan, but the vehicle owner is required to comply with a huge number of rules and regulations, violation of which can lead to refusal of customs clearance. It is for this reason that we strongly recommend seeking help from a specialized company.

What are the advantages of a broker?

• A professional broker, as a rule, has already conducted many transactions to import a car from abroad, so he knows all the nuances and subtleties of this procedure;
• Collecting all the necessary documents usually takes a lot of time, which you can save by contacting specialists;
• A broker with experience will be able to avoid many errors in calculating collateral and customs payments, which will ensure a minimum of unnecessary actions during registration (additional payment of the missing amount and return of overpaid amounts).

You can calculate the security deposit and the approximate amount of the duty yourself - using a special calculator. All you need to do is enter the details of the car you are purchasing. The disadvantage of this option is the large error (you can easily make a mistake up or down).

The most reliable way is to pay for the services of a brokerage company and ask specialists to make an accurate calculation.

Duty Value Principle

Customs duties for importing cars into the Russian Federation are calculated based on several factors: engine size, age of the car and its cost.

For cars less than 3 years old, the main criterion for calculating customs duty is their cost, however, engine size also matters:

For cars older than 3 years, engine size and age are taken into account.

Important

As you can see, importing cars older than 5 years into Russia from Japan is quite expensive - customs duties on them are almost twice as high as on vehicles less than 5 years old.

Features of car export from Georgia

To enter Georgia, persons who are citizens of Russia do not need a visa if the person stays in the country for no more than 3 months.

You must have a foreign passport and first make sure that its validity does not expire earlier than six months after crossing the border. If your passport contains notes about visiting South Ossetia or Abkhazia, entry into Georgia may be prohibited. The restriction on the import of currency into the country is also important (according to the law - no more than 14 thousand US dollars).

If you do not want to delve into the topic of customs expenses in detail and the question of how to drive a car from Georgia to Russia seems too complicated, we recommend contacting a specialist who will import the vehicle for you to avoid problems with registration.

Is it possible to reduce the cost of customs clearance of a car?

According to the current legislation of the Russian Federation, a number of benefits apply during customs clearance:

• Persons with the status of refugees or permanent migrants who arrived in Russia less than 3 years ago are completely exempt from paying customs duties. Only cars produced in the territory of the former USSR, Russia and the CIS countries fall under this category. This benefit does not apply to cars from Japan.
• Cars over 30 years old are considered rare. Their import into the Russian Federation is also not subject to duty.

Persons purchasing cars with a small engine capacity (up to 2.3 liters) save significantly on customs duties.

If you wish, you can purchase a car from Japan by importing it into one of the countries of the Customs Union (Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia) - in these states the amount of customs duties is lower than in the Russian Federation. However, it is worth remembering that in this case you are not insured against additional costs (re-registration, transportation, etc.).

Important

You should not try to reduce customs duties by falsifying documents for cars - for such actions in the Russian Federation, administrative and criminal liability is provided for both those who were directly involved in forgery, and for those who used these documents.

New car from an official dealer

The easiest, but not the most affordable way to purchase a car in Russia is to contact an official dealer . Usually, you can choose a suitable model from those available, or place an order for your preferred model with the required configuration.

As for models and prices, this is seriously influenced by the structure of the automobile market in our country. As noted in statistical reviews, about 86% of new cars sold in Russia are produced (or assembled) in the Russian Federation.

Given the presence of the Russian auto giant ( AvtoVAZ ) and several assembly plants, the Russian auto industry has had a steady growth rate since the early 2000s. If products under the brands Lada, UAZ, GAZ, KamAZ and some others are produced in Russia in a full cycle, many popular models are assembled from imported vehicle kits:

• in St. Petersburg there are assembly facilities of Nissan, Hyundai and Toyota , which produce popular models like Hyundai Solaris and Kia Rio;
• Ford-Sollers plant produces Ford models: Focus and Mondeo;
• models of the Kia, Hyundai and BMW brands are produced in Kaliningrad;
• Volkswagen, Audi and Peugeot-Citroen cars are produced in Kaluga ;
• Lifan, Geely, Great Wall and Chery models are assembled in Cherkessk)
• in other cities they produce cars of the brands Skoda, Renault, Mazda and others.

Thus, buying a new car at a dealership is almost always buying a Russian-assembled car.

This makes it possible to keep prices at an acceptable level during the devaluation of the ruble - more than half of production costs are carried out in rubles, and assembly kits are imported at reduced import duties (0.5-1% instead of 10-15% for finished cars).

Imported cars in Russia are represented either by budget-level models, or by cars of the premium segment or simply difficult to manufacture (like the Toyota Prius).

Among imported new cars, Asian manufacturers have a significant share. Thus, the most affordable foreign cars in Russia are models of the Ravon brand (produced in Uzbekistan by the General Motors concern). Interestingly, the domestic price for these cars in Uzbekistan is higher than in Russia . This is explained by the presence in this country of a shadow exchange rate and a high excise tax on production.

In general, buying a new car from a dealer is the choice of those who are willing to spend a significant amount on the purchase, subsequent maintenance at authorized services, and also agree with the equipment.

Among the advantages, it is worth noting the presence of a warranty from the manufacturer, as well as the opportunity to obtain a car loan. Disadvantages - higher price and the need to undergo maintenance in official services to maintain the warranty.

Is it possible to do without customs clearance of a car?

Without customs clearance of a car when importing it into the territory of the Russian Federation, Russian citizens can do without any consequences. However, in this case, the vehicle can stay in the country for no more than 6 months.

If the car was imported by a foreign citizen, then the car can travel on Russian roads for no more than 1 year.

Responsibility for violations of customs legislation

In case of unlawful actions during the customs clearance of a car, the owner of the vehicle bears administrative and criminal liability:

1. A fine of up to 2,500 rubles for:

• late payment of customs duties;
• untimely submission of documents for customs clearance;
• if the vehicle was imported for temporary stay, but did not leave the country within the established time frame.

2. A fine from 100,000 to 500,000 rubles – in case of evasion of customs duties on a large scale (from 1,000,000 rubles and above).

3. A fine in an amount equal to three times the cost of the car - in case of illegal import of a vehicle into the Russian Federation.

4. Imprisonment for up to 5 years - in case of malicious evasion of customs duties on an especially large scale.

Important

It is worth noting that most often a fine is used as a punishment. Prison sentences only apply to those vehicle owners who deliberately violated the law and tried to hide the fact of importing a car into the country.

Responsibility for violating the rules of import from abroad

If before the end of the one-year period of temporary import of a vehicle for personal use, customs clearance was not completed or the vehicle was transferred to someone without a permit or declaration, the vehicle will be detained.

Temporary import of a car into the territory of the EAEU is associated with the emergence of obligations for the new owner to pay taxes and duties, which cease if the conditions regarding the temporary import and export of the car within the period established by law are met.

Failure to export or perform other mandatory customs operations in relation to a temporarily imported car before the period of temporary import established by the EAEU has expired, or transfer of the right to use such a car to a third party in violation of the conditions requires payment of customs tax. The amount of payment may be higher than the actual cost of the imported car and depends on the engine power of the vehicle).

In case of violation of the rules for the import and use of vehicles in the EAEU member countries, in addition to paying customs duties, the owner is subject to liability - a fine with confiscation of the vehicle.

Conclusion

Having familiarized themselves in detail with all the nuances of importing cars from Japan, many will decide that it is much easier and more convenient to buy a car in a showroom or second-hand in Russia. However, after detailed calculations and clarification of all the nuances, it almost always turns out that it is much more profitable to bring a vehicle into the country from abroad.

In order to save yourself from wasting effort and time, you can turn to a specialized company for help, whose employees will carry out the entire customs clearance procedure from “A” to “Z”.

provides a full range of services () for purchasing cars from auctions from Japan, including customs clearance. For more detailed information, you can contact our specialists - all contacts () can be found on our website.

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Where to clear a car through customs in Moscow and other cities of the Russian Federation

Donskoy customs post:

142000 Moscow region, Domodedovo, st. Krasnodarskaya, 17, tel.

Pikinsky customs post:

OTO AND TC No. 1 – 141580, Moscow region, Solnechnogorsk district, rural settlement Lunevskoye, village Pikino, st. Transport, study. 1, tel.

OTO AND TC No. 2 – Zelenograd, 2nd Western Ave., 3, building 1, tel.,.

Bryansk customs post:

241029, Bryansk region, Bryansk, st. Oleg Koshevoy, no. 34, tel.

Vladimir customs post:

601655, Vladimir region, Alexandrov, Yuzhny proezd, 10, tel.

Kaluga excise customs post:

OTO and TC No. 1 – Kaluga, p. Rosva, Industrial Park “Rosva”, site No. 2

OTO and TC No. 2 – Kaluga, Tula highway, 18, tel. 8 (4842) 713-847

Mikhnevsky excise customs post:

142842, Moscow region, Stupinsky district, Mikhnevo village, Kashirskoe highway, possession 6, tel.

North-West excise customs post (specialized):

194362, St. Petersburg, pos. Pargolovo, Gorskoe sh., no. 4, lit. F, tel.

Smolensk excise customs post:

214550, Smolensk region, Smolensky district, Stabna village, st. Zaozernaya, 35, tel. 8 (4812) 475-109

Southern excise customs post (with legal entity status):

346910, Rostov region, Novoshakhtinsk, st. Privolnaya, 31, tel., 8 (863) 285-00-37

GTO and TC No. 2 – Krasnodar region, Novorossiysk, Prmorsky district, village. Kirillovka, st. Lermontova, No. 1

How much does it cost to clear vehicles through customs and what affects the price list?

Recently, the state has been preparing many legislative projects that come into force and guarantee cost-effective delivery of cars from the USA. It became especially easier to import foreign cars after the adoption of Law No. 8487. If you want to find out how much customs clearance of a car costs, then use the customs clearance calculator .

After the cargo crosses the Ukrainian border, the buyer pays the following payments:

• excise tax;
• customs clearance fee;
• VAT;
• contributions to the Pension Fund.

In each individual case, the amount of contributions changes, as they take into account the characteristics of the imported vehicle: type and size of the power unit, model year, price. The website of the largest national importer of foreign cars, Carfast.express, presents a delivery calculator, through which you can roughly calculate the additional costs of transporting any vehicle from the United States:

• cars;
• motorcycle;
• electric car;
• trucks.

Management of non-customs cleared vehicles

There are situations when it is possible to import a car into the country without going through the standard procedure:

• Take advantage of the temporary import regime. This has already been mentioned. This procedure is well suited for foreigners and persons who do not plan to permanently stay in the Russian Federation.
• If the car is imported from a member country of the Customs Union, then the vehicle does not require customs clearance at the border.
• If the car is already registered in another state.

In case of duty exemption, the vehicle is usually imported for a short period of time, and after the end of the period the vehicle must be exported back.

The temporary import regime provides for liability if the vehicle is in the country for more than 1 year. An important point - all of the above applies only to transport for personal use.

If the car is rented after importation into the Russian Federation, and is also used for commercial purposes, the possibility of legal exemption from the customs clearance procedure is not provided.