TAX FREE SYSTEM IN RUSSIA

Dear guests of the Russian Federation,

Since April 2018, the value-added tax refund system (Tax Free System) has been launched in the Russian Federation.  

To be eligible for a VAT refund, you must be a citizen of a foreign country outside of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU – the Kyrgyz Republic, the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation).  

To receive a tax-free service, you should purchase goods for no less than 10,000 roubles (approx. 150 USD in national currency), tax included, from a single retailer during one day at retailer locations approved by the Government of the Russian Federation.  

Certain retailers provide VAT refund services in the following cities: 

• Saransk (the Republic of Mordovia); 
• Kazan (the Republic of Tatarstan); 
• Sochi (Krasnodar Krai); 
• Volgograd (Volgograd Oblast); 
• Kaliningrad (Kaliningrad Oblast); 
• Krasnogorsk (Moscow Oblast); 
• Nizhny Novgorod (Nizhny Novgorod Oblast); 
• Rostov-on-Don (Rostov-on-Don Oblast); 
• Samara (Samara Oblast); 
• Ekaterinburg (Sverdlovsk Oblast); 
• Moscow; 
• Saint Petersburg.

VAT refund is not applicable to excise goods, including alcohol and tobacco.  

To receive a refund, export your purchased goods through border crossings approved by the Government of the Russian Federation.  

1. Road border crossings 
   • Mamonovo-Grzechotki 
2. Air border crossings 
   • Vladivostok (Knevichy Airport) 
   • Volgograd (Gumrak Airport) 
   • Ekaterinburg (Koltsovo Airport) 
   • Kazan 
   • Kaliningrad (Khrabrovo Airport) 
   • Moscow (Vnukovo Airport) 
   • Moscow (Domodedovo Airport) 
   • Moscow (Sheremetyevo Airport) 
   • Nizhny Novgorod (Strigino Airport) 
   • Rostov-on-Don (Platov Airport) 
   • Samara (Kurumoch Airport) 
   • Saint Petersburg (Pulkovo Airport) 
   • Saransk 
   • Sochi 
3. Sea border crossings 
   • Bolshoi Port, Saint Petersburg 
   • Vladivostok 
   • Passenger Port, Saint Petersburg 

Individuals can claim a tax refund within a year after the purchase provided that the goods are exported within three months from the purchase date.  

For more details, please contact Tax Free operators in Russia: 

1. HI.SKY; 
2. Global Blue; 
3. Premier Tax Free.