Customs examination and clearance fees take effect from the moment the goods cross the country border by railway, air, sea or motor transport. You should be aware that any goods imported from abroad, including postage, are subject to customs inspection. The customs service inspects all incoming and outgoing postal items, checks their contents for compliance with law and the need to pay customs duties. In each country, there is a list of goods prohibited for import or export.

We will take a closer look at the laws of Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan regarding the receiving of goods for personal use in international mail by individuals.

• International mail: an international postal item (parcel, package).
• Customs duty: a tax collected by the customs.
• Declared (assessed, custom) value: the value of goods determined by the sender or by a customs official.
• Duty-free allowance: regulations, in respect of which the goods received in the international postal item are not subject to duty. The regulations usually limit the cost of goods, their cumulative weight, and the number of packages received within a certain time period (typically a month).
• The value of the package is determined by its sender who states it in the customs declaration field titled “Declared value”, or by a customs official if the field is blank or if the declared value is obviously understated.

Ukraine

• Maximum parcel weight is 50 kg.
• Maximum value of non-commercial goods is 150 euros.

Ukraine has the following customs rules. All goods, except for excisable goods, the total value of which does not exceed the equivalent of 150 euros and which are shipped to Ukraine to the address of one recipient in one box during the day, are not subject to duty.

If one or more parcels arrive to one recipient during the day and the value of the goods does not exceed 150 euros, such parcels are subject to duty even if their total weight is less than 50 kg. In other words, one recipient can receive only one parcel with the value of up to 150 euros and weighing up to 50 kg during the day without duty.

Goods (except for excisable goods), the total value of which exceeds the equivalent of 150 euros, but does not exceed the equivalent of 10,000 euros, and which are shipped to Ukraine to the address of one recipient, are subject to duty because of their total value exceeding the equivalent of 150 euros.

On February 26, 2015, an additional import fee of 10% for an amount exceeding 150 euros was introduced for international postal items subject to duty according to legislation (i.e. the value of which exceeds 150 euros).

At the moment, customs payments for the parcels, the value of which exceeds 150 euros, are calculated as follows:
Customs duty – 10%
Additional import fee – 10%
Value-added tax – 20%.
For example, there is a parcel worth 200 euros. It is subject to duty because its value exceeds 150 euros.
200 euros – 150 euros = 50 euros
Customs duty: 50 * 0.1 = 5 euros
Additional import fee: 50 * 0.1 = 5 euros
Value-added tax: (50 + 5 (customs duty) + 5 (additional import fee)) * 0.2 = 12 euros
Total amount of customs payments: 5 + 5 + 12 = 22 euros
Payment in UAH at the NBU exchange rate on the date of receipt of the parcel.

Parcels that arrive at the customs of Ukraine in one day and are addressed to the same address but to different individuals, and cost up to 150 euros each, weighing up to 50 kg, are not subject to duty.

Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia

• Maximum parcel weight is 30 kg.
• No more than 2 parcels per one recipient, with a maximum total cost of $1000.

Member countries of the Eurasian Customs Union (EACU) have a single customs space, which began operating on July 1, 2010. The rules regarding the shipment of items for personal use in international mail are defined by the Agreement on the Procedure for the Transportation of Items for Personal Use by Individuals Across the Customs Border of the Eurasian Customs Union, which is effective in Kazakhstan.

According to the Agreement, an individual who is in the territory of the Eurasian Customs Union can receive free of duty goods for personal use in international postal items, the customs cost of which does not exceed the sum equivalent of 1000 euros and the total weight does not exceed 31 kg, within one calendar month.

If these restrictions are exceeded, the recipient must pay a customs duty of 30% of the value of goods minus 1000 euros, but not less than 4 euros per 1 kg of weight exceeding the weight of 31 kg. If the value of the goods does not exceed 200 euros, they are subject to the simplified customs clearance procedure, which does not require issuing a customs declaration. Goods sent to legal entities are not subject to duty if their value does not exceed 200 euros.

International shipments require a customs declaration. In the United States, it is Form 2976-A, Customs Declaration and Dispatch Note. Based on the declared value of goods, customs authorities decide whether to pass or delay the package and determine the amount of customs fee if there is any. Note that customs authorities have the right to check whether the declared value of the goods corresponds to their real value. In such a case, they may request confirmation documents (invoices, receipts, order printouts) or may redirect the parcel to reassess and determine its real value.

The declaration is filled in by the sender. When you ship with RusBid Inc., we fill in the declaration for you. At a client’s request, we can declare the value that is close to the real value but lower than the duty-free limit in the country of destination, so that you don’t have to pay the customs duty.

If you need to ship to other CIS countries, we strongly recommend that you study their customs requirements and give us appropriate instructions.

Goods Prohibited for Shipment in International Postal Items

• items that may pose a threat to the company’s employees, spoil or damage other goods or equipment;
• narcotics and psychotropic substances;
• food supplements, steroids and dietary supplements for athletes;
• poisonous substances, chemicals and reagents;
• live animals, plants and seedlings;
• radioactive, potent, corrosive, explosive and flammable substances, pyrotechnics and other dangerous substances;
• combat arms, hand arms, small arms, melee weapons, civilian weapons, collectors’ weapons (including replicas), service weapons, ammunition, pepper sprays, air guns, gas spray guns, firearm parts, accessories and supplies for any type of weapon, telescopic sights, electroshock weapon, spark gap switches;
• perishables;
• printed matter, photo, video and audio materials containing propaganda of war, racism, violence;
• pornographic products and materials;
• currency, banknotes, coins, payment orders, checks, vouchers, bonds, coupons, stock certificates, bank cards;
• jewelry, precious metals and stones;
• antiques and works of art;
• human remains and organs;
• any items and goods prohibited for transportation by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the Universal Postal Union (UPU).

Additional Restrictions for the Contents of Packages Shipped by Air

• Bengal lights, fireworks, gunpowder;
• gases in any packaging, including pepper sprays and tear gas;
• any fuel and empty fuel containers;
• flammable paints, lacquers and solvents;
• corrosion inhibitors;
• oxygen-rich substances;
• aerosols;
• diving cylinders;
• propane and carbon dioxide tanks;
• car dampers and other auto parts that have been previously used or have traces of lubricants.