Importing goods from Latin America into Russia: who declares them, which controls apply and what documents you need

What is happening

A Paraguayan beef exporter has received an enquiry from a Moscow distributor. Before signing, it needs to find out whether products from its plant may be imported into Russia and which veterinary documents will be required.

A Colombian coffee producer wants to sell roasted coffee in retail packaging. It asks whether Russia's mandatory Chestny Znak marking applies and who will act as declarant, given that it has no company in Russia.

A Brazilian company has shipped a consignment of equipment, but the supply contract does not say who handles conformity assessment or who bears the costs if the goods are not released. The cargo is already at sea.

What the law says

• As a general rule, the declarant of imported goods is a person from an EAEU member state that is a party to the transaction with the foreign person (Article 83 of the Customs Code of the Eurasian Economic Union). A foreign supplier cannot itself declare goods for sale in Russia: a Russian importer is needed.
• Veterinary control of imported meat, fish, seafood and dairy products is carried out under Customs Union Commission Decision No. 317 of 18 June 2010 on the Application of Veterinary and Sanitary Measures in the Eurasian Economic Union, which approved the Unified List of Controlled Goods and the Unified Veterinary Requirements.
• The list of goods subject to mandatory marking with identification codes was approved by Russian Government Order No. 792-r of 28 April 2018. It includes, among others, dairy products, soft drinks, canned products and meat products in consumer packaging; coffee is not named in the current version. Deadlines for mandatory marking are set for each product group by separate Government resolutions.
• The Russian importer is a resident and the Latin American supplier a non-resident within the meaning of Article 1 of Federal Law No. 173-FZ of 10 December 2003 on Currency Regulation and Currency Control. Payments under the supply contract are therefore subject to currency control at the importer's bank.

What we do

• From the product description we determine the TN VED (EAEU commodity) codes and, based on them, the requirements: EAEU technical regulations, the form of conformity assessment, veterinary or phytosanitary control, mandatory marking and duty rates.
• We propose an import structure: your own Russian LLC or a Russian importer partner, and show what each option means for tax, banking and liability.
• For products under veterinary control, we check whether the exporter's plant may supply Russia and which export country documents must accompany the cargo.
• We draft a bilingual supply contract: Incoterms, who arranges and pays for conformity assessment, allocation of the risk of non-release, currency and a backup payment route.
• We agree the marking and packaging texts with the supplier before shipment, so that the goods do not have to be repackaged in Russia.
• We work with the customs broker and the certification body chosen by the importer and check the documents before the declaration is filed.
• If goods are detained or release is refused, we analyse the grounds and propose a course of action; disputes with customs are handled as a separate service.

What we will need from you

• A list of goods describing composition, purpose and packaging; TN VED codes if known.
• Details of the manufacturing plant and any existing certificates and test reports.
• The draft or current contract with the Russian buyer or importer.
• Samples of labels and packaging.
• Planned volumes, delivery schedule and delivery terms.