Russia's recycling fee…

Russia's recycling fee is collected by Customs at clearance, and the vehicle is not released until it is paid. Its formula differs from duty and VAT, so the three have to be calculated separately.

The fee equals the base rate multiplied by a coefficient. For passenger cars the base rate is 20000 roubles per vehicle; the coefficient depends on engine type, displacement, power, age and use, and is read from the schedule attached to the government decree in force. Customs collects it at clearance. Personal use at or below 160 hp keeps the reduced band: 3400 roubles for a new vehicle, 5200 roubles for one older than 3 years. It sits alongside duty and VAT, cannot be offset against them, and cannot be merged into one combined rate.

✓Personal use, 160 hp or less

Reduced band of 3400 or 5200 roubles, unchanged for five years

!Personal use, above 160 hp

Assessed on commercial terms; cost jumps by one to two orders of magnitude

!Commercial import

Full commercial coefficient, rising faster at higher power

×Understating the invoice to cut the fee

The fee ignores the declared price and looks only at displacement, power, age and use

One formula, all the variables in the coefficient

The amount payable is the base rate multiplied by the coefficient.

The base rate is fixed: 20000 roubles per passenger car, used included; 150000 roubles for trucks, buses and trailers; 172500 roubles for tractors and construction machinery. That layer has run on Government Decree No. 1291 of 26 December 2013.

The variable is the coefficient. From 1 December 2025 the method changed: it used to look only at displacement, age and use; now the band is set by engine type and displacement, and the coefficient rises with engine power. Battery-electric and series hybrids are assessed on 30-minute maximum power; other hybrids on combustion power plus the motor's 30-minute maximum.

The schedule has more than a dozen bands and changes with each decree, so the schedule in force governs.

The amending decree published on 1 November 2025 and in force from 1 December 2025 has no official number available from public sources, so this article refers only to the amendment to Government Decree No. 1291 of 26 December 2013.

Three separate charges

Item	Base	Collected by	Offsettable
Import duty	Customs declared value	Customs	No
VAT	Declared value plus duty	Customs	Yes, as input tax for companies
Recycling fee	Not the declared value but physical parameters	Customs, at clearance	No

The fee ignores price. Duty and VAT follow the declared value, so a lower value means lower tax; the fee looks only at displacement, power, age and use. Declare the car at one dollar and the fee does not move.

The three sit side by side and cannot offset one another; indirect taxes a company has already paid on an EAEU import do not enter the fee base either.

The personal-use line

Personal use at or below 160 hp keeps the reduced band: 3400 roubles new, 5200 roubles over 3 years, coefficients of 0.17 and 0.26, unchanged for five years.

Above 160 hp the commercial basis applies and the cost jumps by one to two orders of magnitude. Declaring in a private name and reselling afterwards is treated as a commercial import.

From 1 April 2026, vehicles routed into Russia through other EAEU states (Kyrgyzstan, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan) are subject to the same formula even when imported by an individual. The Ministry of Industry and Trade says this raises no coefficient and adds no new charge.

Why used cars step up

The fee is banded at under 3 years and over 3 years, and the over-3 coefficient is markedly higher, which makes it the main cost variable for a used car.

Russia sets no nationwide age cap on imports: an old car is not barred, it simply costs more in this band. Government Decree No. 1065, in force from 1 August 2025, raised coefficients for heavy machinery, trailers and buses; passenger cars fall outside it.

EAC certification decides whether a car may enter; the recycling fee decides what entry costs. The two are unrelated. For choosing between OTTC and SBKTS, see the article on this site, Russia EAC certification: OTTC or SBKTS, which route applies?

Five common miscalculations

✓Multiplying FOB by the coefficient — the fee ignores price
✓Adding the three charges into one percentage for the customer — a merged figure invites challenge item by item
✓Using the nameplate power rating — the 30-minute maximum applies
✓Declaring 3400 roubles for personal use above 160 hp — wrong band, and the gap is large
✓Routing through Kazakhstan or Kyrgyzstan expecting the personal concession — one formula from 1 April 2026

Five checks

Establish use and power

Personal or commercial, and whether power exceeds 160 hp

Apply the base rate

20000 roubles per passenger car

Look up the current coefficient

By engine type, displacement, power and age in the decree schedule

Keep the three apart

Duty, VAT and fee calculated separately

Have the broker verify

Until the assessment arrives, every figure is an estimate

Power and displacement are the values most often entered wrongly. A first pass with the duty calculator on this site (/en/duty-calculator) fixes the order of magnitude, and the broker then applies the current coefficients.

Rates and coefficients in Russia change often. This reflects the position verified on 5 November 2026; the amount payable is subject to the schedule in force and the broker's assessment.