They were scrapped: who will have to pay extra for customs clearance of purchased cars
The expected increase in waste collection in November may result in significant financial losses for Russians who have already ordered and paid for cars abroad. They will have to pay extra for customs clearance amounts that are hundreds of times higher than they originally expected. We are talking about hundreds of thousands, and in some cases, millions of rubles, which will have to be paid for an already purchased car so that it can be registered in Russia. Public activists appealed to the government with a request to review and finalize the proposed changes in the rules for calculating waste collection. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
"I don't sleep at night"
Russians who have ordered and already paid for cars abroad risk incurring significant surcharges for already purchased cars if changes to the rules for calculating the recycling fee come into force. Many placed an order and paid for the car even before the relevant draft government decree was officially published. Now such buyers are afraid that their cars will not have time to arrive in Russia before the new rules are introduced.
Victoria from Novorossiysk told Izvestia that in September 2025, her family ordered a Hyundai Custo car from China for 2 million rubles — now, if the recycling rate is increased, they will have to pay about a million more.
— I'm in a position, we're going to have our first child, a very long-awaited one. My husband and I want a large family. We live together with my parents, we decided that we need a big car. The option to order a car from China seemed profitable to us, and we found a company that picked up a car for us. But there was a confusion with the configuration. We agreed with the dealership that they will finish everything that should be on the list by December. We were ready to wait," she said.
According to the woman, she found out about the planned increase in the recycling rate the day after she paid the invoice.
— We agreed that the car will be "made" before December 1, then it will be sent to Russia, it will run for two to three weeks. It turns out that we are no longer meeting the deadlines if the bill is passed. In the best case, the scrap collection will amount from 900 thousand to 1 million rubles — this is a cosmic sum. As a result, the recycling will be half the cost of the car. The agent said that the car had already been bought and nothing could be done — we had become hostages of the situation. I think we'll have to take out a loan with fabulous interest rates. We're going to have a baby soon, I don't know how we're going to pay for everything. Tears come to my eyes," the woman could hardly contain her emotions.
Mikhail from Irkutsk purchased a Nissan Serena hybrid minivan at an auction in Japan through an intermediary at the end of August 2025. The car cost him 1 million 250 thousand rubles.
— I bought this car before the publication of the draft resolution on the increase in recycling. The estimated cost is 1 million 250 thousand rubles. Its power is small — 116 hp (for hybrids, the threshold of preferential rates is planned to be reduced to 80 hp — Izvestia). I'm not sure if the car will arrive in Russia before November 1.: they usually come from Japan for more than two months," he said.
The man noted that under the new rates, the scrap collection will amount to 1 million 200 thousand rubles, which is almost equal to the price of the car itself.
— I don't have the money to pick up the car — I'll lose both the car and the money. The car has already been purchased, it is in transit. I will lose 1 million rubles and be left with nothing. I'm nervous, I don't sleep at night, I'm trying in every way to reach the authorities and the public in order to resolve the situation," a resident of Irkutsk told his story.
Yuri from Yekaterinburg bought the same minivan in September 2025. The 2018 car cost the man 800 thousand rubles, and the amount of scrap collection under the new rules can be even more — up to 1 million 200 thousand rubles.
— My eldest child has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy, and my youngest son also has the disease. Our family needs a minibus to transport the children. I bought a car for 800 thousand rubles. With all the transportation costs from Japan to Vladivostok, with customs clearance and recycling, the car was supposed to cost us about 1 million 200 thousand rubles. But, according to the new calculations, only one scrap collection will amount to 1 million 300 thousand rubles," the man noted.
According to him, the car will arrive from Japan no earlier than mid-November.
— I haven't slept for a week, we're all on pins and needles. Either I will lose 800 thousand rubles, or I will have to pay even more than a million on top. At the same time, the invoice was not issued in my name, but in the name of the intermediary who provided me with car selection services. There are no banks in Yekaterinburg that would work with Japan, and car auctions are paid through intermediaries at your own risk," he said.
Izvestia's interlocutors provided the editorial office with copies of invoices and other documents confirming the purchase of these machines.
The shaft of appeals
In the week that has passed since the publication on the official government portal of the draft resolution on changes to the procedure for calculating scrap collection, "thousands of requests on this topic have come to the mail of the National Automobile Union," Anton Shaparin, NAS Vice President, told Izvestia. He shared examples of such appeals: "I bought a car in China on September 11, before the news about the increase in recycling. Tell me, if the car doesn't arrive in time for the promotion, what should I do? Two children and a mortgage, the family can't afford such innovations financially."
— The flow of letters is only increasing. People are gradually realizing the tragedy of the situation they may find themselves in," Anton Shaparin told Izvestia.
The Federal Customs Service of the Russian Federation told Izvestia that the import of cars in the Far East in the region of operation of the Ussuriysk customs increased 5.2 times. Since the beginning of September, customs officers have been processing about 300 vehicles per day. In just eight months of 2025, more than 32.6 thousand cars imported by individuals for personal use were registered in the region, the department noted.
The Federal Customs Service of the Russian Federation reported that due to the increase in imports of cars for personal use in the Far East, measures are being taken to increase the staff of the clearance department through internal redistributions and the involvement of employees from other customs departments. The shift staff has been doubled to 16 people. This will speed up the registration process and shorten the production time of cars.
— Having such dynamics of registration of vehicles for personal use, by the end of the year we predict registration of about 70 thousand cars. This will be four times higher than in 2024," emphasizes Yevgeny Khitrenko, head of the Ussuriysk customs post.
Write letters
Due to the huge number of requests from car owners, the National Automobile Union (NAS) sent a letter to the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Mikhail Mishustin (a copy is available to the editorial staff) with a request to send the draft proposed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade on increasing the size of the scrap collection for revision. As follows from the document, "sudden changes in the final cost may make it impossible to pay the recycling fee, cars may remain in temporary storage warehouses."
In addition, the letter notes, due to the difference in the criteria for customs clearance of cars by legal entities and individuals, the latter will have to pay even more for customs clearance of cars than legal entities after the new sizes of scrap collection come into force.
He recalled that under current legislation, the amount of duty for a new (up to three years) car imported by a legal entity is 15% of the customs value of the car. If the vehicle is imported by an individual, then, depending on the customs value of the car, a duty of 48-54% is payable, but not less than €2.5–5.5 per cubic cm of engine displacement, the NAS Vice president noted. Currently, this approach with low recycling, but high customs duties for "physicists" and high recycling and low duties for "yurikov" allows us to maintain relative parity, he notes.
As an example, Anton Shaparin cited the Toyota Camry model with a 2,498 cc engine. cm, with a capacity of 200 hp and a notional customs value of $27 thousand. Currently, the total payments for it (duty and scrap) for an individual amount to 1.375 million rubles, and for a legal entity (duty, scrap and excise tax, excluding VAT) — 2.88 million rubles.
Izvestia has calculated together with US how much a full customs clearance of such a Camry will cost from November 1. Thus, the importer, a legal entity, will have to pay a total of 2,423 million rubles to the treasury (336.8 thousand rubles — customs duty, 1.97 million rubles — recycling and 116.6 thousand rubles — excise tax, excluding VAT). An individual importer will have to pay 3.33 million rubles (1.36 million rubles in the form of duties and 1.97 million rubles as scrap) — 906.6 thousand rubles more than a legal entity.
The average delivery time for a car offered on the market today is about 30 days for models manufactured in China or South Korea and about 48 days for models manufactured in European countries, the press service of the Ministry of Industry and Trade told Izvestia. The draft regulatory legal act has been developed and posted on the portal regulation.gov.ru in advance, taking into account these deadlines, the department stressed.
"At the same time, the decision on the need for further development of the project will be made taking into account the conclusions and proposals received based on the results of the regulatory impact assessment procedure and public discussion," the press service of the Ministry of Industry and Trade told Izvestia.
In fairness
Any rule change should be in favor of citizens, not to their detriment, and the decisions themselves should be fair, Sergei Mironov, head of the Fair Russia — For Truth party, said in a conversation with Izvestia. He recalled that the SRRP opposed endless increases in recycling, which hits the pockets of citizens and leads to a decrease in the number of car sales in Russia.
— In fact, this is not a fee, but a sales tax that people pay when buying a car. It has very little relation to the actual cost of disposal. We propose to cancel the recycling for budget, most massive cars and leave it for really expensive and powerful foreign cars. Additionally, we will introduce a luxury tax for such cars. I would like to emphasize that we are talking about limousines, sports cars and, in general, premium segment cars," Sergei Mironov told Izvestia.
Citizens who have already ordered cars according to the old rules should not pay an increased recycling fee, the head of the SRZP believes.
— I am convinced that this should apply only to those who ordered and bought a car after the new payment procedure officially came into force. But, I repeat, we are against all car owners paying for recycling. This way we will not help either the citizens or our car industry," said Mironov.
Most modern cars have a capacity of more than 160 hp, these are cars of the most popular and sought-after segment, primarily family crossovers and minivans, sedans, Anton Shaparin recalled. Imported electric cars and hybrids will become completely inaccessible due to a multiple increase in price, he believes.
— If the proposed amendments are adopted, only historians will study which countries Russians imported cars from before November 2025. At the same time, it will be possible to localize only a limited number of models, which will automatically lead to a narrowing of the market. Without competition from imports to individuals, Russian car factories will inevitably raise prices. The cost will also increase in the secondary market. All this will dramatically boost inflation, which our president makes a priority to combat," Anton Shaparin said.
Separately, the increase will affect those thousands of Russians who have ordered cars abroad and have already paid for them, the expert believes. According to him, the delivery takes three to six months, and in conditions of hype and overload of logistics channels, the time frame may increase further. Such citizens may face the fact that they will have to pay for a colossal waste collection, which for many will simply be impossible, the NAS vice president believes.
Undermine trust
The current situation with thousands of car owners who have bought a car abroad and risk not being able to import it before the possible date of increased recycling is completely similar to what it was in 2023, Maxim Kadakov, editor-in-chief of Za Rulem magazine, notes.
— Two years ago, it was decided to postpone the introduction of new rules for such citizens. I think that now it is necessary to give an opportunity to those who have already bought a car, but do not have time to import it, not to overpay millions. For example, to postpone the date of introduction of new rules to January 1, 2026. Otherwise, it will be very difficult to avoid an increase in social tension," he told Izvestia.
Igor Morzharetto, a member of the Presidium of the Public Council under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, is confident that the revision and refinement of plans already announced to change the rules for calculating and collecting waste in the interests of the state itself. Practice has shown that, despite the increase in the rates of this fee last year, revenues from it to the budget have decreased, he recalled.
— In addition to possible financial losses, reputational losses are also possible. If everything remains unchanged and the proposal for recycling is accepted in its current form, it can seriously undermine confidence in the government," Igor Morzharetto believes.
It's pointless to sue
The chances of achieving any compensation in a civil court due to financial losses due to changes in the terms of the recycling calculation are almost zero, lawyers say. In this case, it is futile to demand damages from the state in court, according to Yuri Mirzoev, CEO of the National Law Company Mitra, a member of the Council of the International Association of Lawyers and Consultants.
— Based on clause 3 of Article 24.1 of the Law "On Production and Consumption Waste", the payers of the recycling fee are persons who import vehicles into the Russian Federation. Accordingly, it is with the importation of a vehicle into the customs territory that the law binds the obligation to calculate and pay the disposal fee. Therefore, the date of the car purchase agreement is not important," he explained.
Drastic changes in fiscal rules always undermine trust in institutions and create a legal risk, says Elena Yakusheva, a lawyer and partner at the law firm Pleshakov, Ushkalov and Partners.
— It is more reasonable for the state to provide for a transitional period than to face a wave of complaints and lawsuits, termination of contracts. Otherwise, the problem will go beyond private stories and turn into a matter of systemic protection of citizens' bona fide expectations," she believes.
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