Country-specific requirements – R

Thresholds for import VAT are set at 10 EUR for commercial consignments and 45 EUR for gifts between private individuals.

There is no exemption (from customs duty or VAT) for imports of tobacco, tobacco products, alcohol products, perfumes or toilet waters. However, gift consignments of alcohol, tobacco products, perfume and toilet waters are exempt, within specific allowances, from customs duty and VAT. These allowances are set out in the table below:

More information can be found on the national customs authority website www.customs.ro.

All postal items must bear complete addresses and correct postcodes to facilitate delivery.

To facilitate customs clearance and delivery, it is desirable to include the addressee's mobile telephone number and email address, if known, on the postal items.

Value up to $700 - CN 22;

Value over $700 - Parcel Despatch Note in addition to upper part of CN 22.

French or Russian as well as English.

• Articles and samples liable to Customs duty except in Small Packets;
• Ordinary and registered letters containing articles subject to Customs duty;
• See also the prohibitions listed under PARCEL POST, apart from Letters.

Parcel Despatch Note.

French or Russian as well as English.

In addition, it is prohibited to send the following items for personal use (sent to the address of private individuals or sent by private individuals for needs that are not related to company activities):

• Letters;
• Corrected proofs and printed matter with marked words or phrases, documents, printed matter, photographs, pictures and so on prejudicial to Russian economy;
• Pathogenic or potentially pathogenic organisms;
• Toxic substances which are not precursors of narcotics and psychotropic substances;
• Perishable foodstuffs, fresh fruits and vegetables, pasta foods including bread products;
• Used cloth, clothing and footwear;
• Military materials;
• Postage stamps;
• Monetary instruments of the Russian Federation or foreign countries, including currencies, coins, bank-notes, securities of any kind payable to bearer, and travellers' cheques;
• Sulphate of copper;
• Chewing gums;
• Musical cards;
• Platinum, gold or silver manufactured or not, precious stones of any kind or natural diamonds (except for jewelleries and other valuable articles in insured letters);
• Printed or audiovisual materials which:
  • propagate extremist or terrorist activities or publicly justify terrorism;
  • are of a pornographic nature;
  • are manufactured or distributed in violation of the legal requirements on elections and referenda in member countries of the Eurasian Economic Community Customs Union;
  • are intended to spread propaganda containing Nazi ideas or symbols, or ideas or symbols that might be confused with those of Nazi ideology;
  • contain other information that could be prejudicial to the political and economic interests of the Russian Federation, to public safety, and to the health and morality of its citizens;
• Plants of any kind and in any form, and seeds;
• Ozone-depleting substances;
• Plant protection products subject to the provisions of Annexes A and B to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants of 22 May 2001;
• The following implements for fishing aquatic biological resources:
  • knotted fishing nets made from synthetic monofilaments or other polyamides, with a filament diameter less than 0.5mm and mesh size less than 100mm (length of mesh at one side is less than 50mm);
  • electric fishing systems and equipment consisting of electric signal generators with connected conductors and accumulators (batteries), employed together to fish biological aquatic resources using electric current;
• Alcohol products, ethyl alcohol, beer;
• Tobacco products or smoking mixtures of all kinds;
• Radioactive materials;
  • Special technical publications on the covert reception of intelligence;
  • Medicines;
  • Conserves in hermetically sealed containers;
  • Cultural artefacts;
  • Scrap and waste from ferrous and non-ferrous metals;
  • Non-manufactured precious metals, precious metal scrap and waste, ores and concentrated precious metal products, and primary products containing precious metals;
  • Mineral substances (non-manufactured natural stones);
  • Information about subsoils.

Books, pictures, maps, music or other printed matter, drawings, photographs, film, manuscripts, printers' blocks and gramophone records are admitted only by authority of the Russian Authorities. Exceptionally, however, technical and scientific literature and periodicals not intended for sale sent to Russian trusts, syndicates or government departments, and single copies of books, periodicals and so on sent by publishers, bookseller and other firms to private persons are admitted without permit; Meat in any form; Medicines other than to private person are admitted only if accompanied by a prescription issued by a doctor in the Russian Federation and bearing the stamp and seal of a Russian health centre. Encrypting and encoding devices used for coding (encryption); High-frequency apparatus.

Parcels containing butter, honey and animal products must be accompanied by a certificate issued by the veterinary authorities of the country of origin.

Parcels containing urns of ashes of deceased persons must be accompanied by medical certificates.

Items sent to private persons arriving within a calendar month are duty-free if the total value of the goods does not exceed 200 EUR and the total weight does not exceed 31 kg.

If the value of the goods exceeds 200 EUR or if the weight exceeds 31 kg, customs duties will be calculated as follows:

• at a rate of 15% for the value exceeding 200 EUR, but at a minimum rate of 2 EUR per kg of the weight of the postal item.