Successfully Importing Into Russia

While it is important to gain access to emerging markets, companies must ensure compliant processes are followed diligently. This problem presents itself in Russia, as many people would like to do business there, but won’t risk it, as they aren’t confident it can be done compliantly and without corruption. 

Allyn International (Allyn) has been managing imports into Russia for clients for several years, and Allyn’s processes always begin and end with compliance. This document outlines the Russian import environment and how Allyn can help your company be successful in Russia. 

Business Environment

The Russian business environment is quite a tricky one to work in successfully. The ever changing requirements and the extensive regulations make it hard for anyone to be an expert in the process. The poor transportation infrastructure, old school bureaucracy, and extensive documentary requirements, make it hard to do anything in a timely fashion. Additionally, the widespread corruption brings risk to the mix as it opens up your company to increased costs and exposure to potential penalties. 

Russian Import Controls:

There are a lot of government organizations that can involve themselves in the import process, these include:  Customs, Finance and Currency Control, Tax Control, Chemical Control, Nuclear Control, Transport Control, Sanitary Control, Certification (GOST), Military Control, Technical Control, Veterinary Service, and Phytosanitary service. The regulations and jurisdictions of these agencies are subject to change with little to no advanced notice. 

Grey Imports:

Many companies take advantage of the import processes and regulations by stretching the compliance rules a little. This could include under-declaring values and weights, declaring the wrong commodity codes in order to minimize duty costs, and “optimization” of commodity groups in order to save time and costs. Many companies importing into Russia consider “White Imports (100% compliant)” to be too costly, time consuming and complicated. 

Even well-known global freight forwarders operating in Russia tend to allow the practices of grey imports in order to "help" the customer clear the goods "quicker" and "cheaper”.

How Can Allyn Help:

If you are having troubles with any of the above areas, or if you are just nervous about shipping to Russia because of what you have heard, Allyn can certainly be of assistance. Allyn has tried and true processes addressing all of the potential pitfalls of Russian imports. 

The process starts with Allyn reviewing the details of the shipment and the documentation. Allyn can translate and prepare all of the documentation necessary for the clearance. Likewise Allyn will help your company track down the important technical information and certificates that Russian Customs requires. Allyn eagerly embraces the challenges of extra paperwork in order to help clients reach the targets compliantly.
  
Next, Allyn will work with your customs broker to make sure they have the correct documentation in a timely fashion. Allyn will work with your brokers to ensure that duties, taxes and documentation are correct and preliminary customs inspection is arranged if required. Allyn will work with customs to facilitate their need for additional information, documentation and will justify the values if requested by customs. By allowing Allyn to manage the broker, you are taking precautions to ensure that your broker is operating compliantly and not taking illegal shortcuts. 

Handling the pre-shipment paperwork, managing the handoff to the broker and what your customs brokers submit to customs ensures that your imports into Russia will be timely and compliant.  Allyn is used to working in this environment, and our processes and personnel have been dealing successfully with these imports for years. 

Furthermore, Allyn is adept at working with, training, and providing visibility for personnel who may not be interested in compliance, but only in delivery. 

The situation in Russia is delicate and Allyn’s integrity policy pushes for a 100% compliance rate on all entries. Thus, you avoid the possibility of being subject to penalties (FCPA, U.K. Anti-Bribery Act), as you won’t be breaking any Russian, US or International laws. Using Allyn International to help you in Russia is one way to ensure that you can take advantage of this exciting emerging market, while maintaining the highest level of compliance. 

If you would like additional information, please contact Allyn International at 239-489-9900 and choose Option 6 for the Global Trade Compliance Department or sales@allynintl.com.
 

About Allyn International

Allyn International is dedicated to providing high quality, customer centric services and solutions for the global marketplace. Allyn's core products include transportation management, logistics sourcing, freight forwarding, supply chain consulting, tax management and global trade compliance.  Allyn clients range from small local businesses to Fortune 500 firms. Allyn conducts business in more than 20 languages and has extensive experience in both developed and emerging markets. Highly trained experts are positioned throughout North America, Europe and Asia and Allyn regional headquarters are strategically located in Fort Myers FL USA, Shanghai P.R. CHINA and Prague, CZECH REPUBLIC. For more information, log on to www.allynintl.com.