Customs Clearance Without a Broker: Your Rights and Options

Let us begin with the rights and options available to participants in foreign economic activity (FEA) regarding customs clearance. Any legal entity in the Russian Federation has the right to:

1. Pay customs duties directly from its bank account to the Treasury of the Russian Federation, bypassing intermediaries — the necessary details are available in the FEA participant's personal account on the Federal Customs Service (FCS) website.
2. Submit declarations and correspond with customs authorities under its own seal and digital signature (EDS), or delegate this right to a partner through a machine-readable power of attorney (MPA).
3. Participate in customs inspections of its goods and interact with inspectors.

Thus, a legal entity and a customs representative formally have similar rights, but in the first case everything is done on behalf of the company itself, while in the second — on behalf of the broker. And this is precisely where the key advantage of working directly under the client's digital signature or MPA appears: all rights and control remain with the company, and there are simply no intermediary risks.

Our company provides consulting services and helps clients build their workflow in exactly this format — where declarations are submitted under the client's digital signature or MPA, ensuring transparency, control and flexibility in any situation.

We work with dozens of MPAs from our clients and know how to prepare an MPA within one hour. After the MPA is issued, we support the client as follows:

• we review the set of documents for the transaction, identify possible shortcomings and provide recommendations on what to correct or supplement;
• we advise on how to properly prepare explanations and supporting documents so that customs accepts them without questions;
• we build the optimal declaration submission scheme to minimise the risks of delays and additional inspections;
• we accompany the release of the declaration, interact with customs and, if necessary, with foreign shippers or consignees (including in English).

The client retains full control: all declarations are submitted on their behalf, all payments go directly to the Treasury, and access to the FEA participant's personal account always remains with them. Even years later, if amendments or corrections are needed, they can be made quickly and without intermediaries.

Our experience shows that this working model is more profitable and safer than filing declarations under a broker's seal. When working through a representative, if their licence changes or they cease operations, it may be impossible to amend old declarations without going to court. When working under the client's digital signature or MPA, there are no such risks.

We support our clients around the clock: declarations can be filed at night, on weekends and on public holidays if the situation requires it. In complex cases, we personally visit the customs office to resolve issues quickly. All documents are reviewed by a senior manager, which allows us to respond promptly to any requests and keep the process under control.

In addition, we advise clients on goods valuation. If the price is "below the risk threshold", we will advise which documents to prepare to confirm the value, avoid delays and recover the security deposit.

We operate on a "one-stop shop" principle: transportation, customs clearance, certification and related services are organised through a single company, with one contract and unified invoicing. This is convenient and saves time and resources.

Our goal is to make the process as simple and transparent as possible for the client: we advise on the right course of action, prepare and verify documents, submit declarations on behalf of your company and help resolve any issues without unnecessary intermediaries or delays.

This is a draft translation for review. Please verify the final version before publishing.