06.09.18 94 402 18
Instruction from a person who goes to customs how to work
In July, I spent 12 hours at the Moscow customs, scratching my parcels from them from abroad.
Maxim Ilyakhov
former editor-in-chief T-Zh
I already know the local inspectors by sight, I come well-prepared and I can resolve issues, if not quickly, then at least the first time. Here's what I learned about receiving parcels via Russian customs: read if you order something from abroad.
What will you learn
How are parcel and customs related
To get to Russia, parcels from abroad must overcome customs: this special service, which monitors the import and export of goods across the border. There are customs offices at airports, seaports, post offices. When you arrive in Russia and walk along the "green corridor" at the airport, this is also customs.
When international parcel arrives in Russia, she also goes through customs. This applies to all parcels without exception, even those sent by courier services. The customs officer checks the contents of the parcel (on an X-ray, according to documents, and sometimes even personally) and if everything is in order, he lets the parcel go further into the country. In most cases, this happens unnoticed by us: we simply receive the package in the form in which it was sent. We don't even know she went through customs.
Why customs hold up parcels
Customs has many reasons to delay the package, but in our case, most likely, it will be one of four:
- the customs officer has a suspicion that the product is commercial, although it is declared as a private purchase;
- the recipient has spent the monthly limit on duty-free purchases abroad - in 2019 it is 500 € per month or 31 kg;
- the customs officer did not understand what was in the parcel, he needs an explanation;
- The customs officer decided that there was something forbidden in the parcel.
In these cases, the recipient will be invited to the local customs office to provide clarification and pay duties.
If you suspect that you have exceeded the limit, check if the store or courier knows your TIN. At the time of this writing, customs considers purchase limits only for those parcels for which it requests the recipient's TIN: usually these are parcels of courier services. If the courier service does not know your TIN, you will receive a letter from them: "Specify TIN". Courier Services they know these features of Russian legislation and no longer even send parcels without knowing the recipient's TIN.
If you are ordering something that comes by regular mail and does not require your TIN, it is likely that customs will not count this item as a limit. But it is now. Here they will introduce some kind of control system, and then they will count everything.
How to understand that the parcel was detained at customs
If customs holds your package, two things will happen:
- By the track number of your parcel, it will be clear that it is ready for delivery, but not where you usually receive it, but in some unfamiliar place. In Moscow, this is a branch of the international post office on Varshavskoye shosse, 37. But for now, you don’t need to go there, it will be a waste of time. Alternatively, the tracking package will say "Sent with customs notification."
- Customs will send you ordered letter at the place of delivery of the parcel. In the envelope there will be a template letter from customs, they say, come, my dear. The reasons for the delay, most likely, will not be indicated - the letter is template and vague, but it can be different in different customs departments. A notification of receipt of the parcel with its track, weight and shelf life will be attached to the letter.
If you receive a registered letter, collect the documents and get ready to take time off from work.
It's a bad thing: the track shows that the customs in St. Petersburg sent my package to Moscow with a notification. One of these days I will receive a letter... 
Pay attention to the shelf life of the parcel: if it is about to expire, you need to come as soon as possible. There is a danger that between the first arrival at customs and the actual release parcels will pass 2-3 days - you will have to collect some additional documents or you will not be accepted on the first day. During this time, the storage period may expire, and the parcel will be sent back.
Do not receive a letter if you are not going to customs
By notification in your mailbox, you will understand that the letter came from the main post office.
If you understand that you will not go to customs for economic reasons (read about this below), you can simply ignore the letter. Then the parcel will go back in two weeks, and you will be able to order this product again after a while, for example, when the limit on duty-free import is reset.
What to take with you to customs
Since we don't yet know why customs delayed the package, we need to prepare for the worst. Here's what to take with you from the documents.
Letter and notice sent to you. This is the basis for the customs officer to talk to you. The letter will need to be given, and upon notification you will be given a package if everything is fine.
Passport copies: first page and registration. You'll need one copy, but it doesn't hurt to have a few on hand. When you order goods from the Internet, it can be difficult to stop. In Varshavka, there is a photocopier directly at the post office, 15 R per copy.
Copies of documents of relatives. If the parcel contains a lot of goods that you ordered for family members, copies of their passports will be required to prove that you ordered the goods not for sale, but for relatives. It should be clear from the copies that these are your relatives. If it is not clear - copies of documents that establish kinship: marriage certificates, birth certificates.
Purchase confirmation- an invoice from the online store and confirmation of payment. The invoice is usually downloaded on the store's website, and the check - in the Internet bank. According to the invoice and receipt, it should be clear that it was you who paid for the goods.
Descriptions of what is in the package. You need to be ready to explain to the customs officer what is in the parcel, with pictures. Photos of goods from the site, printouts of the pages of the online store will do. If there are a lot of different things in the parcel, documents are needed for everything: the customs officer may have questions about a particular thing. Last time, when I went to customs, I had a dozen photos of the goods in the parcel, the customs officer studied them with great interest, asking, “What is this? But here? And how does it work?" The photos helped a lot.
14 days
period of storage of the parcel at customs
Cash to pay the fee: if you have exceeded the limit in value - 30% of the value exceeding the limit; if exceeded by weight - 4 € for each kilogram of overweight. All in terms of rubles. In Moscow, Varshavka does not accept cards, but there is one Post-Bank ATM. Whether it will work and whether there will be money in it is unknown.
From household items it is worth taking one more thing.
Thermos of tea and a snack. It's easy to spend 5-7 hours in line to the inspector. You can go out, at the post office you can drink coffee from the machine, but I prefer to take my own.
A set of bright Post-its stickers and an unusual marker. You will be surprised why they are useful. For now, just toss it in your bag.
On Varshavka, according to my observations, Mobile Internet catches badly. If you planned to watch TV shows via the Internet, it is better to download them to your tablet in advance. If you are working with google docs, install the extension for "Chrome"to work without the Internet.
Pay attention to customs days and opening hours. In Moscow, on Varshavka, individuals are not accepted on Monday, and on Saturday there is a short day. It is better to come from Tuesday to Friday right at nine in the morning, or even at half past seven.
What to do in line
Different customs work differently: somewhere it's a complete hell, somewhere it's a civilized place. I'll tell you about the customs at 37 Varshavskoye Shosse, where parcels are received by those who ordered them to Moscow. It was my best years.
Customs on Varshavka is a dozen windows, of which at best two worked with me - they say there are not enough staff. The queue moves slowly. The electronic queue boards hang but don't work, so every time I was there, I had to stand in a live queue.
The peculiarity of the live queue at this customs office is that it moves terribly slowly (with me, 3-4 people per hour passed through two windows), and people often leave without waiting. Decent people leave, having previously introduced those who are behind them to those who are in front of them. But it happens that 2-3 people from the middle of the line silently give up, and then you can’t find the ends, who was behind whom. Start screaming, tantrums and waving hands.
500 €
limit on duty-free purchases abroad per month
Advice. Bring along a set of colorful Post-its and a bright marker. If there is a live queue at your customs office, write the numbers on these brightly colored pieces of paper and distribute to everyone as if it were an electronic queue.
You are not obliged to do this, but with this gesture you will greatly simplify life for everyone, first of all for yourself. When a person has a bright piece of paper with a number in his hands, he calmly feels in line, no one asks: “Girl, who are you after?”, There is no problem that “A young man was following me, but he left, but you hold on here are the women in red. Be the person who put things in order in the queue. You will not be thanked, but you will spend the next 3-4 hours in peace. If not you, then who?
If stuffy. If you are in Varshavka and you feel stuffy - find an air conditioner panel near the information stand. She works. Press the button - it will be easier for everyone.
What to do with the inspector
When it's your turn, give the inspector a notice. He finds your case and starts working with you. He will ask questions and ask for clarification about the things in the package. Show him all the documents that you have prepared in advance.
The inspector has no parcels; he has never seen them and never will. He only looks at documents. Therefore, to offer the inspector to open the package and make sure of something for yourself will not work. The parcel itself is somewhere in the warehouse two floors below, completely different people will give it to you.
All the inspectors I came across were calm, methodical and friendly. They worked slowly but carefully. If there was something I did not understand, everything was explained to me. When they were rude and snapped because of the long wait, they doomedly shrugged their hands. I did not meet any hellish scoop and rudeness, although people in the queue constantly complained about changes in the rules and inaccurate instructions.
Here you need to understand that we are dealing with people who, in turn, deal with papers and regulations. They must comply with all the formalities and rules, this is their task. If the inspector violates something or makes a mistake with the papers, he will be sent for it. However, he is human and can make mistakes. But in the end, we do not need him to do everything right - we need to understand what specific actions this particular inspector expects from us in order to release our specific package.
Advice. Try to do everything to the maximum on the spot, without transferring work to the next day. For example, the inspector may ask you to write some kind of explanation. Agree that you will come back without a queue in 10 minutes.
If you postpone the case until tomorrow, then you may come across another inspector, and instead of an explanation, he may ask for another document or even send you to some mysterious department that no one has ever heard of. All the people who returned with me the next day always started the proceedings from the beginning and were very annoyed that each new inspector demanded some new things from them.
What not to do at customs
Don't mention the words "for sale". The inspector decides that commercial party and you don't pay tolls.
You should not say the words "surveillance", "tracker", "hidden audio recording", "encryption". All encryption tools must undergo a special check in the authorities. If, for example, you ordered a computer or microcontroller from abroad, keep quiet that you can encrypt something on it or monitor something.
Don't joke about guns and drugs. Imagine how many times the inspector has heard this joke.
Do not freak out and hysteria. The inspector works according to the regulations and sits behind the glass. He is all our psychos to the bulb. But if your proceedings with the inspector drag on, your colleagues will see in turn that you are slowing down the whole process - they can arrange a people's court.
Payment of duty
The likely course of events is if you ordered something expensive from the Internet and exceeded the limit on duty-free import, which is now 31 kg and 500 € per month. In case of excess, you will have to pay an additional duty of 30% of the value exceeding the limit, or 4 € for each kilogram of excess. Most likely, even with this surcharge, the purchase will be cheaper than in Russia.
The fee is paid by postal money order, which can be issued right there at the post office. They take a commission.
For payment, you will need a passport and an invoice for the fee, which will be issued by the inspector. The post office operator will accept the money and issue a check, with the check you need to return to the inspector and get his blessing to release the parcel.
What if you don't go
If you do not go to customs before the expiration date of the parcel, most likely it will be sent back to the store. Most often, stores return the cost of the goods, but withhold the cost of delivery. It may make economic sense, see.
Let's say you ordered a product for 490 €, but it so happened that this month you have already bought goods for 500 € and exceeded the duty-free threshold. You will need to pay an additional fee of 150 € and spend time at customs.
Five hours at customs costs you some money. Let's say you earn $500 an hour. A trip to customs, not counting transport and overhead costs, will cost you 2-3 thousand rubles. But the goods will be immediately.
On the other hand, you can ignore the product, wait for it to return to the store, get a refund and order it again when the limits are reset. The goods will be in 1.5-2 months, but they will immediately be at the post office near the house.
Two savings options
Go to customs, pay the fee:
- −150 € of duty;
- −2500 Р for time;
- -5 hours of life.
Total:−23 200 Р, −5 hours of life, goods immediately.
Do not go to customs, reorder the goods:
- −60 € for return shipping;
- −60 € for redelivery;
- +5 hours of life.
Total:−8600 R, goods in two months.
How to keep your mind at customs
- If you are waiting for an expensive package from abroad, add its track to your Personal Area on the Russian Post website to be aware of the fate of that parcel. So you do not miss the moment when she gets stuck at customs.
- Don't hesitate until you receive an official letter from customs. Go there without a letter only if the parcel is about to expire. Now the shelf life is 14 days.
- Take a copy of your passport, cash and all conceivable documents for the purchase, including a bank statement for the purchase. Product photos, screenshots from the site - print everything.
- Collect as many documents as possible to resolve issues with the package in one trip. Better to print ten extra pages than spend ten extra days going to the inspectors.
- Get ready for 5 hours in line. Organize a live queue yourself so that no one freaks out.
- First study what is prohibited for import into Russia, and if possible do not provoke the customs officer with these words.
- If the problem is duties, consider what is more profitable: pick up the goods at customs now or re-order it in a month or two.
Problems during delivery can arise for various reasons: a car breakdown, a large traffic jam on the highway, an ill driver or forwarder. But the most common reason is customs delay. Just to prepare for customs clearance and go through customs post, it will take several days. What can we say about situations when the cargo is delayed and, moreover, arrested?
Why was the shipment delayed?
The reason, in fact, is one - it does not comply with Russian legislation. This is not only about explicit smuggling (prohibited goods: drugs, weapons, etc.), but also about cargo clearance. And this can be problematic.
If you are like individual- you buy goods for yourself, your cargo may be detained at customs for the following reasons:
- The cost of the cargo exceeds 1000 euros, or the weight is over 50 kg. In this case, you did not pay duties and did not draw up a declaration.
- The parcel contains goods prohibited for distribution in the Russian Federation. It can be not only drugs, but also medicines, sanctioned foodstuffs and much more. Including products that could previously be ordered without problems (hidden video recording tools, video cards for mining, etc.).
- Customs officials have suspicions about the commercial purpose of the parcel. For example, you ordered 6 pairs of shoes in different sizes, 10 mobile phones, 20 kg of loose tea. You most likely take this product for sale, and therefore, you must pay customs duties and VAT.
If you - entity or individual entrepreneur and take the goods in bulk, a delay may occur:
- Due to incomplete set of documents;
- incorrect definition of the TN VED code;
- lack of certificates or a ban on the import of goods;
- suspicions of understating the value of the goods specified in the TD;
- errors in the customs declaration and other documents, data inconsistencies;
- no payment or incomplete payment customs duties and fees;
- a clear discrepancy between net and gross weight;
- non-compliance of the cargo (its type, specifications etc.) data specified in the documents.
Actually there are more reasons. The reason for the delay may be too high load on the customs office. Or maybe an attempt to sell a prohibited product under the guise of another. In the first case, all that remains is to wait, in the second, the recipient will incur administrative, and possibly criminal liability.
What to do if the cargo is delayed at customs?
If you are a private person and do not carry anything prohibited, in order to solve the problem, you need to:
- Pay due customs duties and duties, fill out a declaration.
- Explain where and for what purpose you ordered illegal goods (and, most likely, say goodbye to it - such cargo is subject to liquidation).
- If customs officers suspect that the goods are for commercial purposes, you need to prove that they were ordered for personal use (for example, you are buying shoes for yourself and friends). Or fill out a declaration and pay the fees.
If you are engaged in trading activities, you will have to:
- Complete missing documents.
- Change the TN VED code (and, accordingly, pay additional duties), or prove that the code is correct.
- Get product certificates. If it is prohibited for transportation, get permission. If this is not possible, you will have to say goodbye to the cargo.
- Prove that the value of the goods is correct by providing payment documents and price lists from the supplier. Or make changes to the declaration and pay the duties in the proper amount (and with them the fines, if it was found that you wanted to deceive the customs).
- If errors are found in documents, correct them.
- Pay (surcharge) customs fees and duties, if this has not been done in advance.
- Determine the reason for the non-compliance of the cargo with the data in the documents, provide evidence of your innocence.
If the gross weight does not match the net weight, customs officers may suspect that you are smuggling and inspect your shipment more closely. If nothing was found, the shipment will be sent to you. If smuggling is found, a trial will follow.
How long can the cargo be delayed?
There are two concepts - "delay" and "confiscation". If the cargo is delayed, it is placed in a temporary storage warehouse. By law, he can stay there for up to 14 days from the date of notification of the recipient. At the same time, the goods are stored free of charge for the first 5 days. The rest of the time you have to pay. If your shipment is delayed, try to collect the documents, pay the fees and do whatever is necessary to pick it up as quickly as possible.
If you wanted to bring (or were sent to you) a prohibited cargo, it will be confiscated and liquidated.
Please note that you, as the recipient, may be fined. Criminal liability is also possible if it is proved that you tried to deceive customs. To prevent this from happening, treat the paperwork carefully and do not try to save money.
In what cases is it possible to open international postal items.
Recently, my package from abroad showed damage to the packaging, carelessly sealed with tape, and a slight discrepancy in weight. Everything pointed to the fact that someone tried to profit from the goods addressed to me.
At my request to check the attachment and fill out the form, 51 employees of the Russian Post fired the assumption that the package was most likely opened at customs. They say it's a common procedure. Taking into account the fact that the parcel was not attached to the act of carrying out customs inspection I ignored her arguments. Next, we proceeded to open the package.
An opened package is an unpleasant event, but sometimes justified. Who has the right to open shipments and when can this happen?
Our friends from the Banderolka service helped us to sort out difficult customs issues, as well as customs officers of the Russian Federation, whose passwords and appearances we will not hand over.
customs control
Customs clearance of international mail is handled by special customs posts. Now there are more than 20 points of international postal exchange located in various parts of our vast Motherland. But most of them are in Moscow - at three airports and at the Main Post Office. All other customs can only arrange transit to places of international mail exchange.
Although the design international mail and is carried out at separate customs posts, the procedure is generally similar to the customs clearance of ordinary goods: customs control - payment of duties and fees - decision on release.
All overseas shipments are accompanied by a completed declaration in the form CN22 or CN23. By the way, for parcels sent from Russia, you will also need to fill out forms CN22 / CN23, which must indicate the description of the investment and its cost.
By default, all incoming parcels undergo documentary control, after which they are tested for radioactivity and the “ inspection»on x-ray. Postal correspondence is often scanned en masse.
If there is suspicion
If the customs inspector suspects that the contents do not correspond to those declared or are included in the list of goods prohibited for shipment, the parcel is sent to inspection. Inspection is the only opportunity for customs to open the parcels.
According to statistics, no more than 3% departures, and for the vast majority of sufficient standard control.
How is the opening
The opening and inspection of the contents takes place in the presence of two postal employees. If the inspector's suspicions are not confirmed, then the shipment is packed, and on the outside it is attached The act of customs inspection, certified by the participants in the process.
If the parcel declares goods prohibited for transportation, then it will simply be returned back to the sender. If the presence of prohibited goods is detected during the inspection procedure, the parcel is subject to seizure and disposal. The goods will no longer be received by either the addressee or the sender.
In addition, zones customs control are equipped with video surveillance systems, so it is rather problematic to seize the goods you like during customs clearance.
By the way!
List of Sanctioned Products.
The current list of goods prohibited for sending by mail can always be found on the website of the Russian Post. It includes:
- tobacco products, alcoholic and alcoholic products;
perishable products; - weapons (including cold weapons), explosives, their components and components;
- drugs and similar substances;
- poisons, hazardous wastes and ozone depleting substances
- but most importantly: it is forbidden to import goods from the sanctions list into Russia, including by mail.
Packaging damage
Parcels are not always opened with malicious intent. Sometimes damage to the outer layer of a shipment can occur accidentally during transport or postal processing.
If postal employees discover the integrity of the package of the item is broken, they are required to inspect the attachment, if necessary, open the package and compare the contents with the inventory. At the same time, postmen must make Autopsy report and attach a copy of it to the shipment after repackaging.
Based on personal experience, I can add that the parcel must be re-sealed using Russian Post branded tape.
By the way. If you bought something in the USA, then you can protect your parcel from damage using the Banderolkin insurance system and additional parcel protection -.
Who opens
And yet, at what point do they try to get into the parcel?
During customs control, it is almost impossible to do this. In addition, in recent years I have never heard that any customs inspector was caught stealing from mail.
However, the inspectors have a hypothetical opportunity to safely pass "half-empty" parcels with a discrepancy in weight through the inspection. Collusion between the Postal operator and the customs officer is theoretically possible, although it seems difficult to me.
Who can get into the parcel
But that's where dishonest individuals seem to have room for action, so this is during multiple sortings at railway stations and post offices.
According to the leadership of the Russian Post, now employees are losing one package out of a hundred thousand. Unfortunately, it does not provide statistics on opened and ruined shipments. But for some reason it seems to me that this happens much more often than loss. Judging by the messages on thematic forums, the number of problematic parcels has decreased over the past two years, but has not completely disappeared.
In my case, everything went well. After opening the package in the presence of a Postal employee, the attachment turned out to be intact and complete. Probably, some postman was too lazy to make an Autopsy Report, patching up the damaged package "as best he could."
However, even with a positive outcome, it is unpleasant to encounter opened parcels.
Buyers Chinese goods on Aliexpress, Pandao, Joom and other sites, since April 2018, they began to regularly observe a special status "Customs clearance failed", which appears at the moment the parcel crosses the border. Such a strange wording, to put it mildly, causes panic, so it’s worth explaining everything right away. In this article, you'll learn what this tracking status means, what you should do, and how seriously you should take this notification.
Meaning
Let's immediately decide on the actual designation of the status. "Customs clearance"- this is the passage of customs by the parcel, in particular, a set of formalities that provides for checking the registration of the parcel (correct filling, address), including the collection of duties. Any cargo crossing the border passes through this, and the process itself is automated.
Compliance established norms registration, payment of taxes and fees are the key to successful customs clearance. But in AliExpress, the situation is slightly different. Previously, there was no such inscription in the tracking statuses of Aliexpress goods, but now there are three statuses related to customs:
- Customs clearance started;
- Customs clearance has been successfully passed (or not passed);
- Released by customs.
As a rule, this whole procedure takes place already in the territory of the recipient's country. For example, we already wrote about the postal and customs hub of the Russian Post in, which, in conjunction with the MR LC Vnukovo, processes the lion's share of parcels from China.
What does "Customs clearance not passed" mean?
The emergence of such a status for many came as a surprise. At the same time, the problem has become widespread. starting at the end of April.
It should be noted that in most cases there is no reason to worry. Already within 3-5 days the parcel will continue on its way. You can see this using tracking. Opening the parcel and checking the contents was also not detected in such situations.
There is an opinion among recipients that such a status is a consequence of a familiar machine translation from Chinese into Russian. This is quite logical, because if there were problems with documentation and taxes, no one would receive the goods, but in reality the situation is the opposite. A logical conclusion follows from this - the appearance of a message just the opposite means a successful check.
Choosing a profitable cashback service for Aliexpress
Of course, we should not exclude the emergence of a real problem associated with the clearance of goods and the passage customs service. It is important to know and be able to defend your interests. Fortunately, the Aliexpress service allows you to solve most unpleasant situations by opening disputes.
What to do when a status occurs?
First of all, do not worry, as in most cases this does not mean problems. Follow the status of the parcel on the website of the Russian Post. It is noteworthy that in the starting nodes through the Russian Post service, there is no such status. Usually, during the first three days, the package continues to move without the slightest participation of the recipient. However, if after 5 days this did not happen, then it is worth contacting customs and finding out the reason for the delay.
If earlier it was possible to return the money in full in almost any situation by opening a dispute, now things are more complicated. When similar situation, in most cases it is possible to return the money, except for the cost of transportation. There are already cases when the cargo is delayed or requires payment. The goods are not returned to the sender, and the recipient does not receive the order, and quite rarely can return at least part of the amount back.
What is the reason for the phenomenon? When opening a dispute, in order to prove your case, you must provide certified documents indicating the reason for the detention of the parcel by customs. 7 days are allotted for this, but at the same time, making a request and receiving a response may take more than a day. Calling to hot phone customs service, ask them to send documentary evidence that the parcel is delayed due to the seller. Attach this document, a screenshot of the copy of the order and a screenshot of the tracking to the dispute.
Supplier Responsibility:
- lack of invoice;
- lack of certificates and licenses;
- registration of goods at a reduced price;
- counterfeit.
By the way, check out this article too: Smartphone Doogee X5 is cheap and not angry
Recipient's responsibility:
- ordering prohibited goods;
- payment of duty.
From what was said earlier, it follows that even if the parcel is delayed due to the fault of the seller, it is not always possible to return the money and / or receive the goods. It is likely that the Aliexpress service will change its attitude towards such incidents in the future.
Summing up
So, we found out what “Customs clearance failed” means and the reasons for the appearance of such a status when tracking a parcel. As a rule, this does not predict any problems for the buyer and the purchase continues successfully. However, one should not exclude the possibility of incorrect filling of documentation and other factors that raise questions from customs officers. It is possible to provide information about the reasons for the detention by telephone with the service employees, but then either wait for the parcel to arrive, or open a dispute with the seller.
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