Re: Russia / Tightening of Controls in Transport under the Transit Regime and Russia / Electronic Appointment Application

Dear Member,
With reference to the letter sent to our Chamber by TOBB, the letter dated 19.12.2024 received from the Ministry of Trade states that, in the letters dated 02/12/2024 and 11/12/2024 shared by our Commercial Counsellor's Office in Moscow, based on feedback from numerous company officials in the transport sector, goods were subjected to physical inspection by customs officials at entry into Russia in shipments made via the Russian Federation (RF) to another third country and delays were experienced, and that strict
inspections were carried out by the Magaramkent Customs Directorate of Russia on the entry of European-origin products into Russia via Azerbaijan; whereupon a letter was sent to the Federal Customs Service of the Russian Federation on 29/11/2024 requesting information on the matter and requesting that the customs procedures of our carriers be expedited.
On the other hand, the same letter states that the transit through the territory of the Russian Federation of products included in the list of dual-use goods specified in Annex 3 of Government Decree No. 313 dated 09/03/2022, accessible at (https://www.alta.ru/tamdoc/22ps0313/#pril3), is not permitted, and it is recommended that carriers be careful in this regard and consider alternative routes.
In this context, it is stated that it had previously been made mandatory for vehicles engaged in international road transport in the Russian Federation to make an appointment in advance for a specific day and time in order to pass through the border gates to be determined by the government, and that the electronic appointment application had started for the Bugristoe (Бугристое) customs crossing on the RF - Kazakhstan border, the Zabaykalsk (Забайкальск) customs crossing on the RF - China border and the Chernyshevskoe (Чернышевское) customs crossing on the RF (Kaliningrad) - Lithuania border; and it is now stated that the Tagirkent-Kazmalyar (Тагиркент-Казмаляр) border gate on the Russian Federation-Azerbaijan border has also been added to the crossing points where electronic appointments apply, effective from 25/12/2024.

Kind regards,
Elazığ Chamber of Commerce and Industry