Customs Control 2026: Belsky & Partners Expert spoke at the International Exhibition “Furniture 2025”

November 25, Alexey Kizerev, Counsel and Head of the Foreign trade and Customs Practice at Belsky & Partners, spoke at the “The Impact of direct and hidden factors on the furniture production and sales dynamics in Russia in 2020–2025” session at the ”Furniture2025” Exhibition.

In his report “Foreign trade 2026: new reality of customs control and effective risk minimization practices” Alexey outlined key trends in foreign trade and focused on the growing criminal risks for foreign trade participants under Article 194 of the Criminal Code. According to Alexey, customs authorities are increasingly using criminal law tools to put pressure recovering not only but also their double amount.

The expert also highlighted a number of significant changes which come into effect in late 2025 – early 2026:

• December 1 – the Ministry of Finance's order on the dispatching of goods declarations comes into effect.
• March 1, 2026 – the transition to automatic random distribution of declarations among customs authorities starts which can result in declarations being sent to any region, regardless of the location of the foreign trade participant.
• April 1, 2026 – the National System for Confirming the Expectation of Goods Delivery will be launched requiring importers to submit document of intent to import in advance.

Alexey pointed out the case from Belsky & Partners where the mass reclassification of furniture slides as bearings created critical financial risks for the entire industry. Thanks to the team's comprehensive work, collaboration with the Federal Customs Service, and the support of the industry association, the erroneous classification was reversed. This case, according to the expert, demonstrates the relevance of a systematic dialogue between businesses and customs as well as the need to monitor possible changes including potential adjustments to the classification of gas lifts.

In conclusion, Alexey presented a guideline for protecting foreign trade participants at the pre-trial stage:

• consultations and obtaining a preliminary decision from the Federal Customs Service (Article 264 of Federal Law No. 289);
• departmental appeal (Chapter 51 of Federal Law No. 289);
• departmental control (Article 263 of Federal Law No. 289);
• engaging in negotiations with customs authorities through public and advisory councils and industry associations.