How to drive Lithuanian license plates in Russia

Where can you buy a used car at a profit?

You can buy a used car in the Baltic countries much cheaper compared to the European part of Russia. Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are members of the European Union, and local enterprising dealers bring cars here from all over Europe. Lithuania is very popular among Russians who want to buy a used car from the Baltics.

The secondary market for used cars in Lithuania keeps prices at the lowest level in the entire Baltics.

Here you can find models much cheaper than in the countries from which they were brought. The fact is that Lithuanian entrepreneurs have been importing cars from Europe for a long time and have managed to establish profitable supply channels. They purchase cars for resale wholesale in EU countries. European sellers give a good discount for this.

All purchased goods are delivered by auto transporters to Lithuania, where buyers from Russia and other neighboring countries are already waiting for them. It is not profitable to go to Western Europe to pick up cars on your own due to significant additional costs. Lithuanian resellers are ready to offer their goods even cheaper than, for example, in Germany. They make a markup of 15-30%. Models in high demand are sold at a maximum markup, and those that are not popular can be purchased at a wholesale price or even lower. European sellers, when selling used cars at a significant discount, demand that unpopular models also be included in the main batch.

What methods exist

To officially import a car from Lithuania, it is better for the buyer to choose from legal ways to evade customs duties.

Registration of a car to a company registered in Lithuania

One of these methods is to register a car in Lithuania. To do this, a Russian needs to open his own company in this country and register a car to it. Such a vehicle can be imported into Russia temporarily without customs clearance, and will drive on roads with Lithuanian license plates. At the border, a vehicle import certificate is issued for him, which is valid for 3 months. After this period ends, you will have to return to Lithuania and repeat everything again. The total period of stay of a car on Russian territory should not exceed 6 months a year. If you bring a car this way, in addition to customs duties, the owner will have to bear the costs of registering and maintaining the company. That's why only very expensive cars are bought this way.

Legal ways to import cars from the Baltics to Russia

Our compatriots are not just thinking about how to bring a car into Russia without customs clearance. Customs clearance according to all the rules is a serious procedure for those who want to buy a vehicle abroad, but operate it in Russia. Registration of documents at the customs point and payment of duties requires time and serious expenses. The final amount depends on several factors:

• cost of the vehicle;
• types of vehicles - passenger car, truck, bus, etc.;
• year of manufacture of the car;
• engine characteristics - volume, power;
• availability of a trailer;
• import duties and value added tax in the amount of 18% of the price of the car.

If a car is imported into the country legally without customs clearance, its owner has the opportunity to save money and time. On the one hand, he becomes the owner of a high-quality vehicle, but on the other hand, a lot of restrictions arise:

• a vehicle that has not cleared customs may remain in Russia for a certain period of time;
• Only the person who has issued temporary import can drive the vehicle;
• the car cannot be sold, given away or transferred by proxy;
• It is not allowed to use the machine for commercial purposes;
• You cannot cross the border with other neighboring countries.

Operation of a vehicle in Russia without customs clearance is carried out only under the conditions of temporary import, but not everyone can take advantage of this opportunity. This right is granted:

• citizens of foreign states temporarily staying or residing in the territory of the Russian Federation;
• Russians living in another country.

Temporary import of a car by a foreign citizen

A foreigner can temporarily import a car registered abroad into Russia without paying customs duties and fees. Registration is carried out at the customs point during border crossing. The imported vehicle must comply with the environmental standard EURO-4 and higher, and it must not have more than 12 seats, including the driver’s seat. It can only be used for personal purposes. The maximum period of stay in the Russian Federation is one year.

Temporary import of a car by a Russian citizen

To bring a car from another country under temporary import conditions, a Russian citizen must meet the following requirements:

• availability of a residence permit in the EU;
• having a passport of a citizen of one of the European countries (dual citizenship).

The maximum period for temporary import of vehicles for Russian citizens is only six months.

Thus, for a Russian, the only opportunity to take advantage of such a legal scheme is to obtain a residence permit in the European Union or obtain citizenship. Going through this procedure only for the purpose of buying a used car in the Baltics is unwise.

To obtain a residence permit, you need to pay about 4,000 euros and another monthly tax of 300 euros, and also meet a number of mandatory conditions - to have real estate in a foreign country and spend a certain time there during the year. If we are not talking about expensive car models, customs clearance will be much cheaper than the cost of official residence in a foreign country.

Registration and sale of cars in Lithuania

When you have decided on the car and agreed on the price with the seller, you need to fill out export documents when selling the car

When you have decided on the car and agreed on the price with the seller, you need to prepare documents for export when selling the car. When purchasing, these documents are most often prepared by the seller, since he is interested in ensuring that the export is carried out correctly. The average cost of paperwork when buying a car in Lithuania is 80 euros.

The seller may also ask you to leave a deposit so that you can take the car out of the EU after purchase. As a rule, they ask for 300-500 euros. Be sure to ask the seller for paper for this amount. Registration usually takes about 1 to 3 hours, depending on the queue at the Registry.

I strongly recommend checking the accuracy of your data and the car data in all documents.

After the export is completed, the seller must give you:

• registration certificate;
• document for transit numbers and the numbers themselves;
• insurance in Lithuania green card. If you were not given a green card, it’s not a big deal, you just need to remember to take out insurance at the Belarusian border (for 15 days according to your VIN number);
• export declaration;
• invoice/purchase agreement in your name.

When leaving at the Lithuanian border, ask the customs officer to stamp the export declaration. It’s okay if you are refused, but often customs officers will put a stamp, which is additional confirmation that the car has been exported. The Lithuanian seller will see confirmation in the system, but people are different, it’s better to be safe.

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Gray schemes for importing cars into Russia

At the beginning of 2009, customs duties on the import of used cars older than 5 years were significantly increased. The government took these measures to block the path of foreign auto junk. As a result, importing old cars with an engine capacity of more than 2 liters became economically unprofitable. However, resellers did not change their field of activity and began to look for loopholes in the law.

Scheme "Constructor"

Customs duties were raised only on complete vehicles, while import duties on spare parts were kept at a lower level. Savvy citizens began to disassemble cars into individual units and parts before crossing the border, and then registered them as the import of spare parts. Subsequently, the vehicle is assembled like a construction kit.

Scheme "Cut"

After the introduction of a customs duty for the import of car bodies of at least 5,000 euros per unit, a new gray scheme appeared - “Cut”. It is not difficult to guess what is meant by this term. The body is cut into two parts - front and rear. They are also designed as spare parts, then they are carefully welded and the previously disassembled parts are installed. It’s dangerous to drive such a car, but resellers don’t care much about that.

The second life of “gray” cars

If a vehicle entered the territory of the Russian Federation in the form of spare parts, it cannot be legally cleared through customs as a complete vehicle. You cannot get a PTS for it, you cannot register it with the traffic police. But our fellow citizens found a solution to the problem here too. They change the body numbers - and the “gray” vehicle is used instead of another, similar legal car, which was previously crashed or fell into disrepair for other reasons.

Lithuanian used car website Autogidas

The Lithuanian website for used cars Autogidas has the following coordinates:

With its help, you can buy not only used passenger cars of European brands, but also trucks, agricultural machinery, trailers, motorcycles, as well as purchase spare parts, repair vehicles, and perform tuning.

The search for the desired car is carried out on the main page of Autogidas. There is also information about cars already offered for sale. When you click on the photo of the selected vehicle, more complete information about it opens, as well as the seller’s contact phone number.

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The site does not sell cars. This is just a platform for posting advertisements for their sale. And to purchase you need to contact the owner.

Using a non-customs cleared car in Russia

As you already know, if a car is not cleared through customs, it can move on Russian roads, but for a limited time. For further use of the vehicle, it is necessary to obtain an extension of temporary importation from the customs authorities. You can also go abroad again, return after a while and go through the whole procedure again. Read more about all the nuances of operating cars with foreign license plates in the article “How to drive a car that has not cleared customs.”

Punishment for violation of customs legislation

Punishments for violation of customs legislation are set out in Chapter 16 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation and Article 194 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Administrative liability occurs in the following cases:

• Violation of deadlines for filing a declaration for an imported vehicle – 1000-2000 rubles;
• late payment of fees and charges – 500-2500 rubles;
• untimely return export of a car that came to Russia for temporary import - 1500-2500 rubles.

Criminal liability arises for failure to pay fees and charges in the amount of more than 1 million rubles. When it comes to premium-segment models, payment amounts can easily exceed this threshold. The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in this case provides the following penalties:

• failure to pay a duty of more than 1 million rubles. punishable by a fine of 100 to 500 thousand rubles, forced labor - up to 480 hours, or imprisonment for up to 2 years;
• failure to pay a fee of more than 3 million rubles is punishable by a fine of 300 to 500 thousand rubles, forced labor for up to 5 years or imprisonment for the same period.

conclusions

Whether to carry out complete customs clearance of your foreign “iron horse” or arrange temporary import is something everyone decides on their own. When it comes to a small car no older than 5 years old from Lithuania, Latvia or Estonia, it is better to immediately register it in accordance with all the rules and register it with the traffic police. Registration of temporary import makes sense only if you intend to import an expensive model and are ready to comply with all restrictions on its use. With foreign license plates, you will still need to get used to the close attention of traffic police inspectors. Only risk lovers can decide to bypass customs clearance using gray schemes.