The shipment was obviously sent, but it is stuck at the port. The forwarder said that it was ”being processed”, but after a week of processing, there was still no progress.

Since April 2026, a number of sellers doing the Russian market have already started to reflect:The shipment was held up at the border and I don't know why or when it will be released.

It's not incidental.It's a regulatory revolution that's changing the rules of trade between Russia and China, and many sellers don't realize it's already landed.

Today's post helps you figure out four things:What did the new regulations change? Why are your shipments being held up? What do you need to do to be compliant? What can Enterprise Finance do for you?

01 China-Russia logistics, what is happening?

On April 1, 2026, new regulations on the supervision of imported goods in the Eurasian Economic Union came into force.

In parallel, the Russian Customs SPOT system - a Russian pre-declaration system created specifically for digital regulation, which has been clarified by Decree No. 3213-р of the Government of the Russian Federation:Mandatory from July 1, 2026, now entering the transition preparatory period.

If you're doing the Russian market, whether it's Wildberries, Ozon or a self-built channel, these are two things you need to know.

The core logic of the new regulation is just one sentence:

From ”transportation before reporting” → ”declaration before”, from ”manual verification” → ”three streams of digital verification”

In the past, it was industry practice to send out the goods and then make up the customs declaration documents. Now it does not work. The goods have not arrived, the declaration must first arrive.

02 The SPOT system: the new rules you have to figure out

Filing lead time: 3-7 business days before shipment at the latest

The new regulations require that goods3-7 business days before shipmentThe submission must be made through the system ”Personal Center of Russian Importers” or ”Declarant Service”.ДОПП (pre-declaration information), mainly including:

After submission, the system completes the logical verification of the format within 15 minutes, generates a QR code and synchronizes it with the Russian Federal Customs Service.

The carrier presents the QR code at the border and Customs scans the code for comparison, with verification taking no more than two hours.

Deposit: equal to the amount of tax payable

The new regulations require importers to post a bond within 2 calendar days prior to the entry of goods.

Amount = estimated import VAT + excise tax payable on the shipment

To put it in human terms: Russian customs require you to ”press” the tax money there before the goods arrive. After the goods are successfully cleared, the deposit is refunded; if there is a problem with the declaration, the deposit is directly offset against the fine.

Exemptions (the following are exempt)

• Recognized large taxpayers
• Authorized Economic Operators (AEO-certified enterprises)
• Personal effects
• Enterprises in special economic zones

Small and medium-sized cross-border sellers are, by and large, not exempt.

Feel free to drop customer service if you have questions 📞 Mobile:18676749275 💬 WeChat:qcygscszk

03 What happens when you don't comply?

“Gray customs clearance”, ”tax-paid customs clearance”, ”under-declared value” These past practices used by many sellers to reduce costs, in front of the SPOT system has been almost nowhere to hide - the system will automatically compare the flow of goods, capital flow, document flow, the three streams are inconsistent, directly triggered by manual inspection.

04 Why is Russia doing this?

This is not an accidental tightening of policy, but a proactive upgrade of the regulatory system in Russia.

Background I: Wildberries GMV has crossed Rs 6.1 trillion

In 2025, Wildberries, Russia's largest e-commerce platform, saw year-on-year growth in GMV of $49%, while Ozon grew by over $60% over the same period.The explosion of Russia's e-commerce market has brought with it a huge amount of imported goods, and a huge amount of tax evasion.

Regulatory escalation is the inevitable Russian response to this problem.

Background II: Acceleration of integration regulation in the Eurasian Economic Union

The Eurasian Economic Union (including Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus and other countries) is promoting the connection of the customs systems of its member States and the unification of digital declaration standards, which is a general direction for the standardization of regional trade.

Background 3: Double Impact on Chinese Sellers

In the past, a large number of Chinese exports to Russia relied on informal channels (tax packages, gray customs clearance, understatement). After the implementation of the new regulations, this part of the seller faces only two options:Either comply or get out of the market.

05 What to prepare for compliance when doing Russian e-commerce?

Step 1: Inventory your EAC certification status

A large number of categories sold in Russia (electronics, toys, home appliances, clothing, etc.) require EAC certification.

April 1, 2026New version of EAC certificate launched, adding QR code traceability functionThe old version of the certificate does not support the SPOT system sweep code verification. The old version of the certificate does not support the SPOT system scanning code verification, goods to the port will be directly triggered by the inspection.

→ If your certificate is an old version, contact the certification body immediately to replace it with a new one.

Step 2: Confirmation of ”three streams in one”

Your trade contract, payment vouchers (flow of funds), and shipping documents (flow of goods) must be identical, and the information must match what is declared.

Typical ”high risk filing”:

• Inconsistency between contract price and actual remittance amount
• Discrepancies between the number of pieces shipped and the declared quantity
• Payments were made to personal accounts, but were filed in the name of the company.

→ Recommended immediate combing of trade records for the past 6 months to identify potential triple flow inconsistencies

Step 3: Choose TIR-qualified and compliant logistics

The customs sampling rate of TIR (Transportation International Route) qualified vehicles in Russia is only about 51 TP3T, while the sampling rate of ordinary vehicles exceeds 301 TP3T.

→ Priority is given to regular logistics partners with CMR waybills and TIR documents, and ”gray tax package” services are rejected.

Step 4: Layout overseas warehouse in advance

“Pre-declaration” means that a large number of declarations have to be completed before the goods are sent from China.

It is recommended that sellers who are in a position to do so send their goods in advance to overseas warehouses in Kazakhstan or Belarus, and then send them to Russia from there, so that they can flexibly cope with the demand for document supplementation and declaration adjustment.

Step 5: Build a compliant corporate body structure

To sell in Russia, you need a clear ”importer”.

If you are currently filing on behalf of a freight forwarder or third party, an assessment is required:

• Who is the responsible party when there is a problem with the goods?
• Are your funds traveling a legitimate cross-border collection route?
• Are the sales proceeds taxed under the correct entity?

06 What Enterprise Finance can do for you

It's a compliance threshold game. Compliant sellers live better and better down the road, and the non-compliant ones will be slowly worn out by cargo hold-ups, fines, and clearance denials over and over again.

Founded in 2015, Enterprise Caiying has been focusing on cross-border e-commerce tax compliance for more than 10 years, serving more than 300,000 enterprises and deeply cultivating multi-country export compliance solutions.

For China-Russia trade, we can offer:

✅ Overseas Company Registration: Local Russian LLC company registration, Kazakhstan/Belarus company registration, building a compliant importer body for you

✅ Three Streams of Compliance Diagnostics: Help you comb through trade contracts, payment records, shipping documents to identify high-risk declaration loopholes

✅ EAC/GOST Certification Counseling: Connect with professional certification bodies to assist in the completion of the new version of the EAC certification or the replacement of old certificates

✅ Compliance Logistics Programming: It is recommended to match TIR-qualified logistics partners to spread the risk of customs clearance.

✅ Domestic tax compliance planning: Optimization of export tax refunds, compliant design of funds return paths, prevention of domestic tax risks arising from personal account receipts

To do the Russian market, compliance is not an option, it's the ticket.

Contact me now for a free China-Russia trade compliance program diagnosis:

📞 Cell phone:18676749275 💬 WeChat:qcygscszk