Russian Customs inspection procedures for air transport conveyance

Please find official information regarding Russian customs inspection procedures at the Russian airports

The Federal Customs Comitee of Russia stipulates the following conditions for physical entities conveyed by air as visitors of the capital of the Russian Federation.

I. At the time of departure from Russia before undergoing customs inspection:

Without fail they must fill in a customs declaration in writing and proceed along the “Red corridor” if they have in their hand-luggage:

• cash (foreign currency and rubles) in excess of the amount of $3 000 (export of a sum in excess of $10 000 is permissible in amounts confirmed by customs declaration to be equivalent to ones brought into the Russian Federation);

• securities (except as otherwise stated by a customs declaration in witness of their previous importation into the Russian Federation);

• traveler’s cheques, if their total equivalent amount exceeds $10 000 (exclusive of the amount of other exported valuables);

• precious metals and stones in any form and condition, excluding those in the form of jewelry and other domestic and scrapped articles as temporary exports;

• weapons, ammunition and explosives (the export of weapons and their munitions is authorized by written permits from bodies of internal affairs);

• narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and their analogues;

• cultural valuables (musical instruments, paintings, sculptures, icons, antique coins, medals and other period pieces more than 50 years old are permitted for exportation on the basis of a certificate issued by the Minister of Culture of Russia on production of a customs declaration in support of importation of the above articles);

• poisonous and toxic agents as well as drastic medicaments (hypnotic and anesthetic substances, etc);

• nuclear substances;

• wildlife under threat of extinction; parts and products thereof;

• caviar of sturgeon (originally packed) in quantities exceeding 250 grams (permitted for exportation on production of license from the Ministry of Economic Development);

• all species of sturgeon and products thereof (permitted for exportation on production of a license issued by the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia);

• hardware consisting of one or more radio-transmitting or radio-receiving units or a combination thereof, as well as accessory equipment (including radio telephones, radio navigation and radio positioning systems, cable television systems and other devices operated at frequencies in excess of 9 kHz);

• printed matter, movie clips, photo-features and video recordings, constituting national security information as well as propagandizing fascism, race, national and religious enmity, and materials of a pornographic nature;

• commodities which, in accordance with Russian law, are restricted in weight and cost to cross the customs border without payment of customs duties in the framework of streamlined procedures in case of exceeding these restrictions;

• commodities designed and intended for production or other commercial activities.

• At the same time, provision is made for duty-free exportation of commodity items if their equivalent value does not exceed $10 000 US dollars.

In the absence of goods subject to declaration, it is not necessary to fill in a customs declaration. If this is the case, it is necessary to proceed through the “Green corridor”.

It must be noted that once lost, a customs declaration will be neither renewed nor duplicated. Stating inadequate information in a customs declaration as well as proceeding through the “Green corridor” with goods subject to declaration will entail liability under the law in force in the Russian Federation.

II. When entering Russia:

Proceed through the “Green corridor” without filling in a customs declaration if the following conditions are met:

• arriving passengers do not have unattended (separately carried) luggage and it does not contain goods forbidden or restricted for exportation into the territory of the Russian Federation;

• the value of exported goods does not exceed 65 000 rubles, and their total weight does not exceed 35 kg, but not more than 650 000 rubles and not more than 200 kg (exported goods in excess of the specified limitations are subject to customs levying of duties and taxes at the flat rate of 30% of customs value, but not less than 4 Euro per 1 kg);

• the total sum of cash (foreign currency and rubles, domestic and foreign certified securities as well as traveler’s cheques) does not exceed $10 000;

• the quantity of imported (per person) sturgeon caviar (originally packed) does not exceed 250 grams (quantity in excess of the specified weight is permitted for importation on production of a license granted by the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia);

• the quantity of imported alcoholic beverages (per person over the age of 21) does not exceed 2 liters; tobacco products (per person over the age of 18) does not exceed 50 cigars, 100 cigarillos, 200 cigarettes, 0.25 kg of tobacco (importation of one type of tobacco product is allowed – 100 cigars, 200 cigarillos, 400 cigarettes or 0.5 kg of tobacco);

• arriving passengers must not have weapons and ammunition (their importation is allowed exclusively on production of a permit issued by bodies of internal affairs);

• arriving passengers must not have radio-electronic equipment (radiophones, radio installations, satellite communication systems, etc.), importation of which is allowed only on production of a permit issued by the Gossviaznadzor (National Committee on Control over Communications), attached to the Ministry of Russia), except equipment allowed for temporary importation;

• arriving passengers must not have sturgeon of any species or products thereof (their importation is allowed only on the strength of a license granted by the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia).

Foreign physical entities are allowed to import duty-free goods (except transport vehicles), serving as personal demand items during the period of their temporary stay within the territory of the Russian Federation. These items will be subject to the imposition of customs taxes and levying of customs duties if not released from temporary import upon expiry of the established time period.

Those intending to export foreign currency, currency valuables and other merchandise previously imported into Russia, and having commodities subject to a mandatory written declaration, must, at the point of entry into the Russian Federation, fill in two copies of the customs declaration and proceed through the “Red corridor”.

III. In the event of non-acceptance of the decision made by a customs officer regarding the determination of the customs value of goods, as well as in some other cases, this decision can be appealed in accordance with the Customs Code of the Russian Federation, Chapter 4. While processing this complaint, a superior officer of the customs authority is entitled to conduct an examination (the examination will be carried out at the expense of the person conveying the goods).

IV. Passengers should familiarize themselves with information on the customs regulations in force, which is available to passengers in more detail at information desks, before undergoing customs inspection.

V. Preliminary consultation can be provided by the customs authorities in charge of the crossing of the customs border of the Russian Federation.

The Customs-house of Sheremetievo
Sheremetievo Airport
578-21-20
578-14-30

The Customs-house of Domodedovo
Domodedovo Airport
787-29-80

The Customs-house of Vnukovo
Vnukovo Airport
736-90-62