Putin, as an experiment, introduced a deferment of VAT payment when importing goods into Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on conducting an experiment to defer the payment of VAT, which customs charges when importing goods into Russia. The experiment will last until June 30, 2027.

When importing goods into Russia, companies will be able to defer payment of value added tax for a maximum of three months. The deferment will be provided without paying interest, the decree says.

As RBC notes , legal entities that:

• are included in the register of authorized economic operators and (or) in the list of systemically important organizations of the Russian economy;
• work on the general taxation system (OSNO), that is, they pay internal VAT;
• and sell imported goods for which a deferment has been granted, either to individuals who are not individual entrepreneurs, or to organizations on OSNO.

A deferment is provided for the payment of tax to customs authorities. It only applies to imports from countries outside the EAEU , since when importing from the EAEU, the tax is paid directly to the tax office.

Currently, companies that import goods for sale within the country pay the tax in full in advance - before submitting a customs declaration. That is, the importer must have in his personal account an amount sufficient to pay VAT.