‘It’s not a recycling fee, but a protective measure, but am I ruining the Russian economy?’
The amount of fees for imported cars has increased significantly — up to millions of rubles
Since August 1 of this year, the recycling fee for passenger cars, light commercial vehicles, and trucks has increased in Russia. The changes have affected legal entities and individuals who purposefully import cars from abroad for resale. As the head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Denis Manturov, assured, if people buy cars for themselves, not for resale, then they will not pay more. But in fact, everything turned out to be somewhat different, car owners from all over the country began to complain en masse that now they have to pay for the recycling fee not 5 thousand rubles, but more than a million. Realnoe Vremya talked to motorists from different parts of the country and tells what specific problems people faced.
“We bought a car, but we can't register it”
As a resident of Kazan, Ayrat, told our publication, he bought a car in Kyrgyzstan. It was purchased for 1,4 million rubles. At the moment, the car is under repair.
“We bought a car, but we can't register it. They were physically unable to make a safety certificate of the vehicle structure and an electronic passport of the vehicle. The recycling fee was estimated at 1,2 million rubles. There is nowhere to find money, you know, the amount is unaffordable, there are repairs and penalties for each day of delay, the penalty is calculated on the sixth day, from the amount of the recycling fee, about 560 rubles a day. There is no idea how to get out of this vicious circle, at all, we ask our government to impose a moratorium on this law until January. To be honest, I can't find the words, I feel utterly discouraged, I don't know how and what to do, complete hopelessness," the man complains.
According to Ayrat, they can't justify to him anywhere why the amount of the recycling fee has risen from 5,2 thousand rubles to a million. According to the calculations of the car owner, in total he needs to pay 2,7 million rubles for the car. But he does not understand who he will be able to sell the car to later, at least for comparable money.
“It turns out, it's not a recycling fee, but a protective measure, but am I ruining the Russian economy?' What is my fault? Until October 29, everything was fine, people cleared cars, bought, paid 5200 rubles, and then that's it, we are in trouble," Ayrat asks.
Elena from Chuvashia faced the same problem. According to the car owner, on May 10 they contacted a company engaged in the turnkey delivery of cars. The woman has a large family, so they needed a big car. They looked for in their republic and neighbouring regions, but they did not find a suitable car. Then it was decided to conclude a contract with a specialised organisation for car purchase.
“A contract was signed with the company, all amounts, duties, customs clearance costs were indicated. The car was purchased at auction, the car was cleared through an Armenian company, it was issued to me, since I am a natural person. The contract was drawn up in such a way that I bought the car from this Armenian company. The car arrived to us already on October 23, but it needed repairs to pay for the recycling collection and in parallel send an application for a certificate of safety of the vehicle structure. Everything was completed on October 30 and we went to the Federal Customs Service with a clear conscience, where we were stunned — now instead of 5200 rubles we have to pay 1,2 million rubles. We are shocked," Elena shared.
According to a resident of the neighbouring republic, they took a loan of 1,3 million rubles to buy a car, and now they need to pay the same amount. However, the family simply does not have such money. Plus, penalties have already begun to accrue for the car.
“We planned to drive this car for at least five years. There are no answers, the customs officers shrug their shoulders, they say they can't do anything. We're in despair. As a result, secondhand dealers, and the company where we ordered the car, just they are, did not suffer, they got their own. But we, their clients, are in trouble. The company also imports cars, they just write the price in the ads with the recycling already included. We don't know what we should do now," Elena concluded.
Marina, a resident of Novosibirsk, also complained about the problem with recycling prices. She told us that she bought a car in Kyrgyzstan at the end of October. They crossed the border with the car a few days later.
“I, like many other citizens of Russia, found myself trapped in the recycling fee because of the decree that came into force on October 29 (the Cabinet of Ministers approved another decree according to which if one individual sells a car to another within a year, then you will have to pay the difference in the rates of recycling for legal entities — ed.). The document was officially published on the website only on October 21, and it was a weekend. It was only on November 3 that we managed to sign up for the safety certificate of the vehicle design, and now the customs tells us that we have to pay 1,2 million rubles instead of 5200 rubles. It's just some unrealistic amount for us," Marina shared.
According to the motorist, they bought the car from an individual in Kyrgyzstan, where it was registered. The vehicle was purchased exclusively for personal use.
“There is no way for citizens to get out of this situation, unless they go to a country where there is no recycling fee”
About the current situation, Realnoe Vremya spoke with the president of the Road Association of Russian Car Dealers, Vladimir Mozhenkov. He stressed that the introduction of a recycling fee is a civilised measure so that the state has the opportunity to dispose of these cars. As the expert noted, people can be indignant as much as they want, but this will not change the situation.
According to the expert, the prices were also influenced by that the car market is not too saturated with some models, so there is no special competition. The interlocutor identified another reason — this is the shortage of car carriers, which is observed in the country. If earlier cars were transported from Europe, now it has to be done from China.
“I think that the situation will change by the New Year and holiday sales will begin, and then prices will go down. There is no way for citizens to get out of this situation, unless they go to a country where there is no recycling fee," Vladimir Mozhenkov concluded.
Realnoe Vremya sent requests to the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Tatarstan about the sharp increase in the recycling fee. Upon receipt, the response will be published.
The Tatarstan Customs explained to our publication that on October 29, 2023, the decree of the Government of Russia No. 1722 came into force, which amended the procedure for paying the recycling fee for vehicles. This resolution specifies the conditions that must be met with respect to vehicles imported by an individual for personal use. To apply the reduced coefficients of the amount of scrap collection, the following conditions must be met at the same time:
- in the calculation of recycling fee, it is indicated that the car is intended for personal use;
- the car is registered with the Traffic Police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the direct payer of recycling fee within 12 months from the date of registration of the customs receipt order;
- an individual imported a car (including to other countries of the Eurasian Economic Union) for personal use without being placed under the customs procedures provided for by the Customs Code of the EAEU, that is, the car must be imported into the EAEU countries according to a passenger customs declaration.
In addition, reduced utilisation calculation coefficients are not applied:
- in respect of the second and subsequent vehicles imported before the expiration of 12 months from the date of registration of the customs receipt order for the payment of recycling fee for the first vehicle imported by the payer for personal use;
- in case of resale/purchase of a vehicle for which the recycling fee was paid using the coefficients applied to vehicles imported by individuals for personal use before the expiration of 12 months from the date of registration of the customs receipt order.
Manturov promised that the price for recycling collection for people will not change
Let us remind that the prices for recycling collection for cars imported into the country have been changed in Russia since August of this year. The changes were announced by the head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Denis Manturov.
“Taking into account all opinions, it was decided to index the recycling fee for passenger cars, light commercial vehicles, trucks and buses from August 1 of this year. We also agreed with the proposal of the Federation Council: the indexation of recycling collection has been approved both for legal entities and for individuals purposefully importing imported cars for resale," Interfax quotes him.
Manturov did not specify the size of the indexation of recycling fee. The government decree regulating the increase in the fee was issued just at the end of October.
“We have taken into account the practice that has developed in a number of regions, especially in the Far East, when citizens import a car for their own use and do not plan to make money on its resale. The changes will not affect them. The recycling rate for them will remain the same — from 3,4 to 5,2 thousand rubles," the official assured.