How to transport a car from Kaliningrad to Russia

What is car customs clearance?

So, let’s now look at the question, what is customs clearance? Customs clearance is a method of legalizing a car imported from abroad into the territory of a certain state (in our case, we will, of course, be talking about the Russian Federation). Customs clearance is done regardless of how long the import of the vehicle is planned - a week/month/on an ongoing basis. The fundamental point here is that you are the owner of this car, and did not take it, for example, “for a while to drive with a cousin from Germany.” That is, this is a car that you bought abroad (it doesn’t matter whether it’s new or used) and you are taking it for use in the Russian Federation. Well, in order to introduce this car into the legal field of Russia, to legalize it there, so to speak, for this it needs to be cleared through customs.

According to the rules of the Russian Federation, a car must be cleared through customs within 24 hours after its import into the territory of our country. This term refers to a series of actions that must be performed by an individual or legal entity. In general, it all comes down to paying duties and fees. So for a “physicist”, clearing a car through customs means paying the total customs fee. This payment is calculated on the basis of uniform customs rates. Its size can be affected by the period for which the car is imported, as well as the purpose of import. For a legal professional, the requirements are more extensive. For customs clearance, a complex customs fee must be paid, consisting of the customs duty itself, as well as excise taxes and VAT.

It is necessary to remember several nuances that you may have to encounter when importing a car from Europe, in particular Germany. The fact is that in Europe in general there is a peculiar tendency for a car to become significantly cheaper compared to its age and mileage. There, after the vehicle left the dealership, it had already lost 40, or even 50% of its original price. This nuance must be taken into account when purchasing, transporting and subsequent customs clearance of a car purchased in Europe. According to the current rules for customs clearance of a car, its service life should not exceed 7 years. Otherwise, the cost of the procedure itself may exceed the cost of the car.

In addition, the cost of the procedure directly depends on the engine power. The higher it is, the correspondingly higher the cost of customs clearance. In addition to this, “physicists” (that is, you and me) also need to remember that according to the current regulations, an individual has the right to carry out the customs clearance procedure no more than once a year. This is precisely the period established by law for individuals who have not registered the status of an entrepreneur.

As for those cars that are allowed to be imported into the territory of the Russian Federation, there is also one curious point. The fact is that after 2014, the requirements for cars have become significantly stricter. Now you can import only those vehicles that meet the environmental safety class of EURO-5 and higher. Naturally, like everything in our country, this factor also affected the cost of the procedure itself.

Let us now touch on an equally important point - where exactly can customs clearance be carried out? This procedure can be carried out through a special office of customs brokers. Moreover, there can be at least 2 options for carrying out this procedure. Either you buy a car that will undergo customs clearance in one piece, or you are supposed to import individual components of the car (and the components undergo customs clearance separately) from which the whole car is then assembled (a cheaper method).

Well, since we are already talking about the cost of the procedure itself, let’s focus some attention on this. It is not possible to say the exact amount that the procedure for legalizing your car in our country will cost you. Everything will depend on the cost of operating a particular office, on the engine size, on the age of your future car, on the checkpoint where the transportation is carried out, on the class and category of the car, on the year of import (indicators change not only every year, they change depending on many factors, now, for example, due to sanctions among others). In order to determine the exact final cost, the easiest way is to use a special calculator program for calculating the cost of importation. If we try to generalize the initial data, we can say that the cheapest cars are those whose age does not exceed 5 years, and whose engine capacity is 2000 cubic meters of pure power (do not forget - the main indicator influencing the cost of the procedure is still “power” "of your machine).

Now let’s focus on how the procedure itself is carried out:

• The first thing you need to understand is that a citizen or organization planning to purchase a car abroad must notify the customs authorities about this in the form of depositing a sum of money in the form of customs security. The driver calculates the approximate cost of the purchased car and leaves an amount equivalent to the cost of customs clearance. If the stated amount does not match the purchase price, the difference is refunded. As a closing document, the driver (or other person responsible for transportation) will receive a customs receipt confirming the fact of making customs security;
• on the way back, a special customs declaration in form TD-6 is provided;
• copies of documents confirming the legality of the car purchase (DCP, etc.);
• Well, of course, you will need insurance, where would you be without it?

After submitting a package of documents, the car is placed in temporary storage warehouses, where customs authorities compare the information provided by the new owner with the real history of the imported property. If there are no complaints, the owner receives a title, with which he can go to the traffic police to register the car.

Now that you are briefly familiar with the customs clearance procedure, let’s move on to other, equally important issues. In particular, let’s look at the question of how cars are directly imported through Kaliningrad?

Are there any benefits for customs clearance?

From April 1, new benefits were introduced for Kaliningrad drivers. According to the law, previously citizens could import cars into the region on preferential terms. All this was due to the position of the special economic zone. The new law will abolish benefits, namely the purchase of a car within the free customs zone.

The previous law was called customs clearance for the region. This law applies only to passenger cars . There are many cars in the region and all of them came to the Kaliningrad region before 2006. Upon expiration of this period, registration of such cars was not terminated.

Benefits are provided to foreigners, refugees, and diplomats. Russians offer discounts when purchasing a car and when temporarily importing a vehicle. Customs clearance of a foreign-assembled vehicle takes time and effort. In addition, the euro and dollar are growing, so moving a vehicle becomes an expensive procedure.

Legal entities are not entitled to benefits, but individuals also want to purchase a foreign-made car. Preferential rates will apply to non-residents and residents. Citizens of the Russian Federation can also obtain duty-free import for a period of six months.

Persons of the Kaliningrad region can use a foreign car on the territory of the Russian Federation without clearance from customs. The driving period is only two years, and after this time you will need to comply with customs legislation. Selling a car for which the full deposit amount has not been paid is not permitted.

Duty-free import for 365 days is available to citizens of other countries who want to obtain permanent residence. However, this is a temporary benefit, and it applies only to those foreigners who have just settled in Russian cities. After the end of the period, you need to register the car with the State Traffic Inspectorate. Employees of diplomatic services and embassies that exist in other countries may qualify for a discount.

Methods and features of importing a car from Kaliningrad

As we have already noted, Kaliningrad is advantageous in our case because it is surrounded on all sides by Europe. It borders closely with Lithuania and Poland. And these countries, both before and now, remain a Klondike of used European and other cars. But in addition to proximity to the border with European countries, cars from Kaliningrad have a number of other interesting features. Moreover, they have both positive and negative connotations.

The positive aspects of this method of car distillation include, of course, the fact that Kaliningrad is classified as a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and, accordingly, some economic benefits apply to this region. This also applies to the cost of customs duties and excise taxes for customs clearance. But there was a fly in the ointment. These benefits apply only to certain categories of imported transport. In particular, we are talking about special equipment (including trucks), buses, pickup trucks and truck tractors. That is, we can conclude that these preferences can be used to a greater extent by legal entities; these preferences were introduced for business.

Those who have previously driven a car from Europe to Russia via Kaliningrad have probably come across such concepts as “customs clearance in the Russian Federation” and “customs clearance in the region” (meaning the Kaliningrad region, of course). Let's look at the issue of customs clearance for the Kaliningrad region, what does this concept mean? Previously, this meant that the imported car was planned to be used only on the territory of a given subject of the Russian Federation. Accordingly, everyone who used this particular customs clearance option had the opportunity not to pay customs duties. This option was convenient only for residents of this region. In principle, this aspect no longer plays any significance, because in 2006 this preference was abolished. Now in Kaliningrad customs clearance is only possible “for Russia”.

However, despite this limitation, ordering a car through Kaliningrad is still more profitable than, say, Moscow. The regional coefficient in the work of customs brokers affects (which in turn is based on the purchasing power of residents of the capital and regions).

So, you decided to order a car through a customs broker in Kaliningrad, what is the purchase algorithm:

• you need to decide on the model you are interested in;
• Next, we find a broker with whom we plan to work (this is not difficult to do in the era of the developed Internet, and we also look on the Internet for reviews about the broker who interested us), we voice to him our preferences for the car, and also discuss the possibility of moving the car independently from Kaliningrad to your region. As for delivering a car to a transshipment point (which is the former Koenigsberg), I think it’s better to entrust this issue to professionals;
• We provide the broker with all the necessary documents to purchase a car. After which the specified comrade independently resolves all issues with dealers, delivery to Kaliningrad and customs clearance;
• upon arrival of the car, the broker enters into a contract with you and gives you your car;
• Then it’s a matter of technique and desire - if you want, the broker will find you a driver who will drive your car to your region of residence, if you want, you drive it yourself.

Well, now that we’ve gotten to the aspect of distilling your car, let’s talk directly about the ways in which this can be done. So, how can you transport a car from Kaliningrad to the mainland? There are two such ways.

In transit in Europe

A somewhat more complex method, in that it involves crossing at least 3 state borders. And this, in turn, requires coordination with the customs authorities of foreign countries.

So, if we dwell on the issue of moving a car in transit, then it consists of two main stages:

1. Preparation of the necessary documents, state transit visa, taxes and customs duties, “green card” (I have already written about it in previous articles). At the same time, it is important to remember that cars registered in Kaliningrad after 2001 (approximately our case) are subject to customs duties and taxes according to a simplified scheme for “physicists”. These preferences do not apply to “Yurikov”; they have other benefits.
2. Well, the process of driving itself, which includes crossing the state. borders, inspections, document verification and other “joys”.

We have reviewed the preparation procedure, now let’s move on directly to choosing the route for your future trip. There are also several such options:

• 1st possible route – Kaliningrad/Lithuania/Latvia/Russia. The most convenient in terms of distance (that is, the shortest). However, do not forget about an important factor - along this route you will have to cross 2 Baltic countries, whose authorities are not very friendly towards the citizens of our country and sacredly respect the integrity of their borders and the inviolability of laws. Therefore, you may have a wagon and a small cart of bureaucratic problems, even at the stage of coordinating the route;
• 2nd possible option – Kaliningrad/Lithuania/Belarus/Russia. The most preferred option due to the fact that one Baltic country is removed from the list, which greatly simplifies the time and approval procedure. In addition, the Lithuanian authorities are less suspicious of our compatriots than their Latvian colleagues. Well, as for Belarusians, we are members of the Customs Union, therefore, in principle, problems should not arise in crossing the state border;
• Well, if for some reason you have not found mutual understanding with both the Lithuanian border guards and the consular service, then the third option remains for you - Kaliningrad/Poland/Belarus/Russia. This route is the longest, but you will safely travel around the Baltic states.

An important disadvantage of transit through Europe is also the fact that you will have to deal with local guardians of the law. And the point here is not even that they treat foreigners with prejudice and suspicion. The fact is that you will at least need to check which road safety convention (Vienna or Geneva) the country you are visiting in transit belongs to. And this, in turn, obliges you to take into account what rights you may be required to have - national or national coupled with international ones. We also provided this information in previous articles.

Let's summarize the above - you will have to take into account a lot of nuances if you decide to look at the European powers from the window of a recently purchased car.

Ferry crossing

In our opinion, it is a much more convenient method in terms of not having to comply with bureaucratic costs. You have the opportunity to use the services of a ferry that runs between Kaliningrad and St. Petersburg. The main advantage of this method is that from a legal point of view, you do not leave the territory of the Russian Federation, so there is no need to prepare all transit documents. This is also a saving.

But like any other moment, there are two sides to the coin. We talked about the positive aspects, now let’s note the negative aspects:

• such a trip can only be carried out in the summer, when the Baltic Sea is navigable. But even during this period you will be highly dependent on the weather;
• Savings on customs duties, visas and green cards will not cover your costs for transporting a car on the ferry. You will need to pay for both a parking space and a cabin for yourself. On average, your expenses for such a trip will be at least 20,000 rubles.

But again, you will see the Baltic Sea after spending a few days on a cruise and see (if you’re lucky) Sweden, probably Finland and the very Baltic states that you may not have been allowed into.

What does this status mean?

Customs clearance of transport from Kaliningrad to the Russian Federation is needed if the buyer lives outside the Kaliningrad region. Otherwise, the car will not be allowed into Russia.

The customs clearance process is incomprehensible to many motorists. In order to understand it, you need to consider many documents of customs legislation.

For this reason, many carry out customs clearance, resorting to the help of specialists in this field. Each region has a special economic zone. In this case, any goods that are subject to import must be subject to taxes. The system in Kaliningrad provides for declaration in electronic form. However, the unloading process directly depends on which country the cargo will be delivered from.

Any citizen can use the services of a customs broker. These specialists understand customs processes. For example, if a citizen does not know that customs clearance in Kaliningrad on preferential terms is no longer applied, but many cars are still operated on preferential terms.

It is possible to travel to the territory of other states and return. The rules for importing a vehicle into the territory of the Customs Union will apply, since in case of entry into the space of the Customs Union, you must have permission and a signature on the return of the vehicle. Thus, the car cannot be used for industrial and commercial purposes.

The nuances of driving a car yourself

Now let's talk about the nuances of purchasing and independently driving a car in transit across Europe.

Firstly, many of our citizens are captivated by the illusion that if something is bought in Europe, then it must be of high quality. It is not always so. When buying a used car, the main danger that can await you is the risk of running into a “drowned” car. This was especially true with Japanese cars (though, of course, this fear was more relevant for the car markets of Sakhalin, but even an old woman can get screwed). Also, do not forget that there is a risk of buying a “damaged” car (i.e., one that has been in an accident). Moreover, foreign and our service station masters can carry out extremely high-quality cosmetic repairs. And hidden defects will emerge later.

Secondly, as we have already said, it is necessary to prepare all the accompanying documentation (“green card”, transit visa, etc.).

Thirdly, make sure you have a first aid kit and a fire extinguisher in your car in advance.

Fourthly, do not forget to fill up your car’s tank when leaving Kaliningrad. Since in the Baltics and Poland the prices for fuel are much higher than here. And if you planned to travel through Belarus, do the same, only when leaving the country. Because Fuel prices in Belarus are lower than ours.

Fifthly, pay due attention to compliance with traffic rules. And not only “in Europe” (meaning the Baltic states and Poland) but even in our brotherly Belarus. Because there are very principled traffic police officers there.

Briefly about the cost of imported cars

On the territory of Russia there are general tariffs for customs clearance of vehicles. There are several parameters that will determine how much you will have to pay for customs clearance:

1. Year of manufacture of the vehicle, how much time has elapsed since the release of the vehicle;
2. Car without mileage;
3. More than a year has passed, but less than three;
4. Three years have passed, but less than five;
5. More than five have passed;
6. Engine size and type, such as diesel and gasoline.

The customs calculator will help you calculate the customs payment when importing a vehicle. The calculator helps you quickly calculate payments and the import deposit.

What information will the customs calculator provide?

• Cost of customs clearance;
• The size of the customs rate;
• Deposit;
• Value added tax for legal entities;
• Excise tax;
• Rate.

Payments are calculated using a single rate for a preferential payment method. Customs clearance of a new car, if more than three years have passed since the date of release, will include payments that are calculated from the cost of the vehicle and engine size.

When clearing customs of a new car that was produced in Russia, a different scheme is used - one euro per cubic cm of engine volume. In addition, you need to pay attention to cargo vehicles. In addition to age, load capacity is taken into account. Key role in the type of use, such as industrial or commercial activity.

Understanding customs clearance processes is not entirely easy. However, in order to reduce the cleaning time, you need to fill out all the documents and make accurate calculations. Customs clearance can result in paperwork, so it is better to contact customs brokers. Experts will help you avoid many mistakes . In addition, they will reduce registration costs and save a lot of free time.

What are the benefits of buying a car in Kaliningrad?

As we have already said, the main advantage is that Kaliningrad offers a fairly wide range of used cars from both Europe and the States. Moreover, the price for them differs favorably. The same can be said about the technical condition of the car.

In addition to the above, it can be noted that there are certain benefits for both individuals and businesses. True, everything here depends not only on the model range, age, car, its mileage, but also directly on the functionality of the car.

And finally, we can also note as a plus the territorial proximity to the administrative center of Russia (St. Petersburg, Moscow). The same cannot be said, for example, about fans of “Japanese” cars; they have to drive their cars from Vladivostok and Sakhalin, across the whole country.

Tips for purchasing a car in Kaliningrad

We have already given our readers some recommendations on purchasing a car in Kaliningrad. Now let’s try to summarize it all and present it structurally:

• we remember the “drowned” and “broken” cars. You can recognize a drowned person by a suspiciously low price, by the presence of a specific smell of rotting in the interior (but this, of course, is provided that the seller is either completely lazy or a cheapskate who decided not to spend money on upholstering the interior). An indirect sign confirming the “wet” past of the car will be either completely dead electronics or its problematic operation;
• about broken cars. Of course, it is extremely difficult to recognize them without special help (in the person of a qualified auto mechanic). It is necessary to pay careful attention to cars from the Baltic countries. The local craftsmen can restore even a car that cannot be restored. Pay special attention to cars imported from the city of Marijampole. There is a real Klondike of broken and restored cars;
• Well, among other things, we do not forget about other nuances that accompany the purchase of any car, we check the presence of one owner, the presence of collateral obligations on this car, etc.