Countries (regions) around the world generally manage imported goods into two types: articles and goods. Articles refer to goods that are for non-profit purposes and meet the principles of self-use and reasonable quantity. Such goods are generally small in quantity and low in value. Most of them go through the Universal Postal Union or express small parcels. According to international practice, countries are relatively relaxed in levying import tariffs, consumption taxes and value-added taxes on goods, especially postal customs clearance. If it is not obviously beyond the principles of self-use and reasonable quantity, the probability of being levied import tariffs, consumption taxes and value-added taxes is very low. On the contrary, if imported goods are identified as goods, the relevant import taxes and fees are generally paid in full.
United States
Different countries have different regulations on the definition of goods and the minimum tax amount. For example, the US customs policy allows everyone, including legal persons and natural persons, to import duty-free goods within US$800 from overseas every day. This duty-free amount is very high, so most mail imports to the United States are fully released as long as there are no other problems. For mail with a declared value between $801 and $2,000, if it is a mail without tariffs (tax items with a zero tax rate), the customs will also release it directly. If tariffs need to be paid, then the U.S. Customs will calculate the tariffs, issue a tax bill, and after customs clearance, hand it over to the U.S. Postal Service for final delivery, and the U.S. Postal Service will charge the recipient tariffs and customs clearance fees (US$6.25 per ticket). For mail with a declared value greater than $2,000 (regardless of whether the tariff is zero), the mail will be detained at the international mail processing center, and the customs will notify the U.S. Postal Service to send a notice to the final recipient to make a formal customs declaration for import. The recipient himself or entrusts a commercial customs declaration company to make a formal import declaration for the mail.
Russia
Due to the rapid development of cross-border e-commerce, from the perspective of customs, a certain amount of tariff loss has occurred, so Russia’s supervision of cross-border e-commerce retail items has become increasingly strict. For example, according to data from the Russian Association of Internet Trade Companies, 90% of Russian postal parcels come from China, 2% from the UK and the US, and 1% from Germany, France and Italy. According to the association’s assessment, the average value of international postal parcels is 1,250 rubles (about 143 yuan), while the average value of parcels from China is 800 rubles (about 91 yuan). The Russian Association of Internet Trade Companies believes that the huge increase in the number of cheap parcels is due to the 28% price difference between goods in Russia and abroad, which includes 18% value-added tax and 10% tariff. At the same time, they believe that Russian Post has become a tax-free channel for foreign parcels – a huge black hole for Russian customs. In 2017, Russian Post received 340 million parcels totaling 350 billion rubles (about 40 billion yuan) that bypassed customs to enter Russia.
Therefore, Russia has responded to this situation. On November 24, 2017, the Russian Federal Customs Service issued the latest regulations on commercial express customs clearance: From December 7, 2017 to July 1, 2018, Beijing time, Russian citizens who purchase goods online must verify the parcels of the five logistics companies including DHL Express, UPS, SPSR Express, DPD and Pony Express. The recipient must provide a tax identification number (TIN) and a screenshot or link of the product sold to prove its value. Other logistics companies and Post of Russia continue to implement the original system. However, the new policy issued by the Russian Customs does not involve postal parcels. The introduction of this policy aims to record the value and weight of all goods received by individuals, thereby reducing import risks. In addition, Russia is studying whether to allow Amazon, eBay, AliExpress and other platforms to collect VAT taxes (see the explanation below for details), or to reduce or cancel import tax exemptions (currently, Russian imports of products weighing less than 31kg and worth less than 1,000 euros are tax-free).