Starting from April 1, Russia will launch a new car scrapping tax calculation system. Individual imports of automobiles from Eurasian Economic Union countries will be regarded as commercial imports. The Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade has published relevant documents on the website of the draft law for public discussion. Experts and car sellers believe that the market will respond to the price increase of imported cars, and some importers may have to withdraw from the market.

Source: RIA Novosti

Scrap tax is a tax paid by automobile manufacturers or importers on each vehicle, which was implemented when Russia joined the WTO in 2012. The tax money is used to dispose of scrapped old cars and develop the entire recycling industry. The most recent important change in billing rules occurred on December 1, 2025, when the tax rate discount for imported vehicles with a power of more than 160 horsepower was cancelled, and some models paid taxes of up to several million rubles. This amendment will affect vehicles shipped into Russia after customs clearance at low tax rates in Kyrgyzstan, Belarus, Armenia and Kazakhstan.

Automobile importer and seller E.N. Evgeny Zabelin, head of Cars, told the Russian newspaper: "Now, it is meaningless to customs clearance anywhere except in Russia." He said that China cars that enter Russia through parallel imports and sell well will experience significant price increases. For example, the price of the Leck 900 luxury off-road vehicle, which currently sells for 6.59 million rubles, will increase by 1.4 million rubles, and the parallel imported Geely Monjaro will increase from 4.2 million rubles to 5.2 million rubles. Zabelin said: "Looking at the entire market, the price increase range of different models is 20%-40%. It will be easier to buy a car from a dealer in the future because the customs clearance costs are lower than those for individuals." He said that dealers clear customs at the invoice value, while personal imports are cleared at the retail price in the China market.

Experts believe that changes in Russia's import rules will seriously affect market prices in CIS countries. For example, car prices in Kyrgyzstan will soar after Russia announced tightening import policies. "Of course, local sellers will make a fortune using this," Zabelin said. But after April 1, prices will collapse. Russian customers will leave, and local consumers will have much lower purchasing power."

Throughout last year, more than 172,000 new cars entered Russia through parallel imports, accounting for about 12% of the total market. In addition, the Russian government decided to postpone the payment period of scrapping tax for its large automobile manufacturers to December 2026, involving the amounts payable in the fourth quarter of 2025 and the first three quarters of 2026. This measure also applies to municipal, agricultural, road building machinery and trailers. The Ministry of Industry and Trade emphasized that this is to maintain the continuous operation of the production line and release part of the working capital for investment and timely payment of employee wages.

Source: Russian newspaper

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