The European Commission has confirmed the interpretation of the sanctions legislation regarding Russia, according to which entry into the EU countries with cars registered in the Russian Federation will be regarded as prohibited import, RBC reports.
“It does not matter whether the vehicle is used for private or commercial purposes, as long as it falls under the customs codes listed in Annex XXI (including code 8703), originates in Russia or is exported from it. Most often this applies to vehicles with Russian license plates and registered in Russia,” the document says.
The document also states that the period for which a car with Russian license plates is imported and the customs procedure used in this case do not matter.
The regulation “prohibits the direct purchase, import or transfer” of vehicles. In addition, the European Commission emphasized that it does not matter whether the car is of Russian origin or is imported from Russia.
As RBC writes, the customs authorities of the EU countries may also not allow the personal belongings of Russians (including tourists): cosmetics, suitcases, laptops and mobile phones, as well as leather and fur products, semi-precious and precious stones, toilet paper, shampoos, dental pastes, trailers and semi-trailers for the transport of goods, yachts, cameras.
In the summer of 2022, several citizens of the Russian Federation faced seizures of cars at customs in Germany, writes RBC, and in September 2023, the Russian Embassy in the country announced new cases of seizure of vehicles. The European Commission notes that its explanations are advisory in nature for the implementation of sanctions, but “only the European Court is authorized to interpret EU legislation.”
