International web purchases of the Russians will be put on a special tax

In the course of World Wide Web development entirely new segments of business appeared, including online shops, which are becoming more popular in our country from year to year. Corresponding way of trade may be economically justified for a range of reasons. Firstly, there is no need to pay high rental charges for the room of the goods display. It is sufficient to have a small pick-up point or the buyers can get the parcel in the post by themselves. Secondly, on the virtual shelves we can see the assortment of goods that are uneasy to find in ordinary shops. The most important reason is that frequently the price for identic goods abroad is significantly lower than ours. Obviously, there are some disadvantages. For instance, there is a definite date of delivery and no chance to examine, to check the ordered good by oneself before buying; difficulties with return of defective or unsuitable goods. But in spite of everything the Federal Customs Service of the Russian Federation notes substantial growth of number of international parcels from year to year.

At the present time there is a customs fee of 30% of the good’s cost for international shipments, which declared value exceeds 1 thousand USD and the total weight is more than 30 kilos.

Seeing that the majority of the letter packets don’t satisfy the circumstances for the collection of duties, the government decided to revise current practice and to introduce the so-called special tax of 10% of the goods cost. This money is to be paid by a consumer who bought the goods in the online shop. At the same time, the Western trading internet-platforms don’t pay taxes and special duties and the cost of goods is lower. Corresponding innovation is still in the talking stage. But it is easy to suppose that in the end buyers’ expenses will increase. According to customs officials’ calculations, the federal budget will receive extra 28 million USD per year, if this measure will be taken legally. It is necessary to admit that this sum of money appears to be symbolic at the domestic level. The question why identic goods are cheaper in the Western Europe is left open.