The Vedomosti publication reported that the threshold for duty-free purchases in foreign online stores of €1,000, approved in March 2022, will automatically decrease if the EAEU countries do not agree to maintain it. The source said at what stage the negotiations are now.
Maintaining the increased limit must be agreed upon by Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus, Armenia and Kazakhstan. If this does not happen, on April 1, 2024, the duty-free import threshold for purchases in foreign online stores will be reduced to €200. According to Vedomosti sources, three days before the specified date, the preparation of documents for extending the limit had not begun.
The publication reports that the Eurasian Consumer Union approached the EEC with a request to maintain the limit, but the chairman of the organization, Pyotr Shelishch, said that not a single EAEU country proposed to do this. According to market participants, lowering the limit could lead to an increase in prices for foreign goods by 15-20% while simultaneously reducing their range.